Chapter 3
Drugs and Thugs
Teran worked hard switching back and forth with Doss learning the job of working the main entrance. Trevers and Preston walked by talking and hands moving about. “Looks like the bosses are upset.” Doss observed.
Teran was certain it was about the flat face drugs. Hopefully Justice had dealt with the ship and drugs aboard. Unfortunately that would cause the bosses here to be difficult. At least the drugs had been taken before they arrived.
Lunch arrived and someone came to take their place. Doss led the way to the cafeteria. They filled their plates sitting at the end of a table. Preston and Trevers sat nearby. “One of her crew must have talked. There is no other way for them to find the drugs.” Trevers observed.
“She bailed herself out and heads our way. Soon Ing blames us although I told her we informed none of our men. There is no way she was snitched on by anyone here.” Preston said.
“Soon had best be checking out her own guys.” Trevers replied.
Teran was pleased it had gone off so well. The only shame was their supervisors were angry now. These were dangerous men on a good day. Today was not a good day. “Ready to go back?” Doss asked.
“Anytime you are.” Dropping their trays, they headed back.
He liked the job well enough. Had he been here for real he would have worked his way up until he eventually ran the place. Trevers position probably paid well. Even Preston’s wouldn’t be too bad. They had a normal life, but didn’t appreciate it.
It was nearly the end of his shift when a female with black hair and slanted dark eyes walked up to their entrance. She started to walk in without being checked. Doss stopped her. “Everyone must be searched.”
“Do you know who I am?” She asked.
“Soon Ing, the lady captain.”
“That’s right. Trevers will give me admittance without being searched.”
Doss called Trevers who said to wave her by. They did as instructed. Not long after she passed through, they were off work and he was done. They went to the cafeteria for supper. Teran liked Doss and he didn’t believe he was involved in anything improper.
“You did a good job today. You’ll be working with me for the rest of the week. Once we get through the week, you’ll come back to work and I’ll be off on vacation. My first one in over a year. I’m glad we finally got some new recruits.” Doss grinned.
“I hope you’ll have a great vacation.”
“It’s all planned and it’ll be wonderful. I got me a mail order bride with the money I’ve saved.” Doss admitted. He didn’t say he wouldn’t be back, but Teran suspected it.
“Will I be trained on the other jobs?”
“Already tired of this one? Once you’re here a while, they’ll rotate you guys around. This is the hardest position for a general guard. Some of the jobs inside the labs are tougher. You’d have to be here a long time to work there.”
“Just curious. This job is just fine for me for now. It’s not too easy, not too hard.”
Doss chuckled. “Never heard the not too easy part before.”
“Makes it less likely to be boring.”
“Around here boring is good. Too much excitement kills.” Doss explained.
“Gotcha. Boring good, exciting bad.” He grinned at Doss.
“You’re a quick learner. That’s a good thing with Soon on the station. Trouble follows that gal especially when she’s worked up.” Doss observed.
“How can you tell she’s worked up?”
“Watch her next time you see her. She has a long earring hangs past her shoulder. When she’s upset she twirls it around.” Doss described. “I may be an older feller, but I’m an observant one. Stick with me and I’ll tell you all about these people.”
“I would appreciate that.”
“You’ve got awful good manners for a guard.” Doss observed.
“My mother was raised as a lady. She raised me to mind my manners like a gentleman. Dad reinforced it with discipline.”
“Good to know. I’ll try to watch my manners best I can.” Doss promised.
“What’s this place really like?”
“They do some things I don’t like. Patty and Ladonna, they’d like to go, but they stay for the kids.” Doss explained.
“What kids?”
Doss looked around carefully. “They grow ‘em here in the lab. They hafta because no one decent will give up their kids for experiments. Would you?” Teran shook his head. “Their numbers are down because they got a bad donor. They’ve also had a few escapes. Some of their testing is legit, don’t get me wrong. Some of it is bad, maybe illegal. Who knows?” Doss continued.
Teran knew, they’d hidden what they did, but growing kids for experimentation was illegal. There was no way to do it legally. It was banned in every part of the galaxy. The law, such as it was, would shut this place down if they knew. Now he had information, but still no proof. His lens, the one in his right eye recorded everything sending it on via a small satellite drifting near the station. Buried in his ear, he had a recorder that did the same.
He had to get into the area kids were to get the proof he needed. Apparently, they weren’t going to let him in there any time soon. Glancing up, the vents caught his attention, but he was too big to make some of the turns.
“Be careful about asking questions around here. People who do disappear and I kinda like you. You’re alright for a young’un.” Doss observed.
“Thanks, old timer.”
Doss chuckled. “That’s okay, but take my warning. You gotta be careful around here.”
“Where you come from originally, Doss?”
“Meta five. It was an iron ore mine. The folks there come from around Tennessee and surrounding area. You gonna tell me I talk funny?” Doss asked.
“No, Sir. I was just wondering.”
Doss laughed. “Keep telling me that. You’ve got good manners. The others always say I talk funny.”
They finished their meal and went their separate ways. Doss said he was turning in for the night. Teran went on the prowl checking out all the accessible areas to see how they connected to the places he needed to go. He also kept his eyes open for the area Patty and her friend hung out in, but it appeared to be in the off limits areas of the station.
As near as he estimated, over half the area of the station was restricted. That was a large area to set aside for secret needs. One lab and one of the areas regular experiments were run was not in the restricted area. That told him what was going on in the other areas must be prohibited. He’d been around labs and areas were things were done that intellectual property and none of them hid their work like this. Many had windows looking in so employees could be observed but the work itself not seen.
Maybe that was oversimplifying things, but if they were growing and using children, it certainly explained the need for isolation of those areas. Maybe he needed to speak to Patty. If she was trying to help the children, maybe they could work together. The problem was it was clearly impossible to find her unless she came out to the public areas.
He made his way back to his room where he searched for devices that didn’t belong and found none. Next he made a call. “Tar? You can’t have found something already?” Justice asked.
“No proof, but I was told they are growing and experimenting on children here. I also was told Patty was forced to stay because of threats made against the children. They say she was made and raised here.”
“We heard that too. That’s why we sent you in. We were also told there was a self-destruct in the children’s section. We just don’t have the proof we need to support a raid.”
“Damn. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“We needed you to go in without having judgements already made. Patty may be the key, but we can’t come in until the bomb is deactivated.” Justice admitted.
“This just keeps getting worse.”
“All I can suggest is get some sleep and hit it hard tomorrow.”
“Thanks for nothing.”
Justice chuckled. “Undercover work is hell.”
Yeah, like he didn’t know that? The line had dropped so he put the device back in its hiding place. Relaxing didn’t seem possible, but a hot shower at least helped. The hardest thing always seemed to be turning off his mind because it raced once he lay down.
It seemed sleep was the furthest away when it was the most desired. Yet, somehow against all his expectations it just hit out of the blue. When he woke before the alarm, he felt better even though he still had no idea how to get the proof he was sent here for. The next two days went well as far as work was concerned and he felt like he could easily fall into a routine.
The third day he got off work surprised to find Patty waiting for him. Doss shot him a look showing he was stunned. He just shrugged his shoulders. Hell if he knew why she was here, but he was glad to see her.
“Follow me. We’ll have supper.” She directed.
“Okay.” He followed her.
Patty led him passed the restricted sign to an area he’d not seen. There were two offices and an area with computers and lab equipment. Looking around with interest, it seemed to him Patty and Ladonna did many things back here or least were capable of doing them.
She led him right into her office where a meal was set up for them. “Just sit there.” She instructed as she closed the door. “There is no listening devices in here. If anyone asked say I was just interested in sex.”
“What?” He asked.
“They’ll want to know why I took you here. The truth won’t do. Tell them I wanted sex.” She said it slow like speaking to a child.
“What do you want?”
“Who are you really? You’ve been making unauthorized transmissions on a state of the art device. Why?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Don’t insult me. It’s hard to untangle, but I’ll have it all soon.” She played a short clip of the start of his talk with Justice. “Is this the Justice that works to keep the peace?”
Damn! Was she good or bad? Did it matter at this point? He needed to convince her not to rat him out. “Why would you care?”
“I’ve lived here all my life. My friends live here with me. What happens here concerns me greatly.”
“Fine. Yes, Justice tries to keep things running smoothly. He especially worries for females and children. We all do.”
“What are your plans for this station?”
“First we need to know if they are doing things that are illegal then we need the proper proof. At that point we will attempt to take out the self-destruct and any bombs we find. Once that is done, those willingly breaking the law will be arrested and the victims will be helped.” Teran said.
“How will you find the bombs?”
“Many have an odor some of our people can scent. We will also search the whole station to be sure we have everything neutralized. It is our hope not to endanger anyone who is innocent.”
“What of the guilty?” Patty asked.
“They will be assessed. There are different levels of guilt. Some may even be given a deal if they help us find those in charge.”
“You should eat. This food is hard to get.”
“Have you heard enough?”
“For now. You clearly have no plan and are winging it.”
“The details in a place I know nothing about are impossible to plan for in advance.” He explained before he took a bite. If anything, this food was better than the cafeteria. Teran continued to eat.
“I didn’t think you looked like a Teran.” She admitted. He didn’t answer since he was eating. “I’ll need more information before I decide if you have a chance of success.” He shot her a look of disbelief. “So far, I see no chance. My kids will be punished if you fail. You’ll just die.”
Teran decided Patty was crazy. That may have been a development of her being kept isolated. Maybe she had even been born that way. Getting help from her might not be reliable. Another way might have to be found. Admittedly she was beautiful, there was no denying that.
“What plans do you have for tonight?” Patty questioned.
Teran choked. “Are you hitting on me?”
“You have to be kidding. I’m just trying to make them think we’re involved. Otherwise, they’ll question what we’re doing together. We need a good story supported by what they do know or have seen.”
“I knew that. I was just joking.” He didn’t want to look foolish, but he feared they were past that already.
“Sure. If you stay in my room until early morning, they’ll all think we’re an item.”
“What would we do in there?”
Patty grinned. “I have hundreds of Earth movies and cartoons. There are also two separate beds.”
“Two beds?” That was strange.
“For sleepovers with the kids. They always end up sleeping with me anyway, you know how kids are.”
He did a little bit since he had siblings and friends, but he’d not been around other people’s kids in years. “Sure.” This mission was just getting crazier by the minute.
“Finish your food and we’ll go to my room.” Patty directed.
“Aren’t you going to eat?”
“Yeah, I forget sometimes.”
“It’s hard on your body when you go without fuel for long periods of time.” Teran watched with satisfaction as Patty began to eat.
It didn’t take long for him to finish his food but Patty ate slowly and gracefully. She took a bit longer to eat. “We’ll have some snacks while we watch movies. Have you ever had popcorn?”
“No, isn’t that a movie snack from Earth?”
“I see you’ve heard of it. There will also be soft pretzels. Ladonna and I made some soda. We like it, but I’m not sure if it’s authentic. We’ll probably never know.” Patty admitted.
“I’m willing to give it a shot. I’ve heard about some of it. Some of my friends have researched Earth foods and habits.”
“Really? I wish I could meet them and discuss my research. I was told I was part human.”
“I believe you are also part Phoenix and possibly a few other races.”
“That’s what I thought too, but I was told Phoenix were only legends.”
“Hmm, maybe once we have this place neutralized we can figure you out. If you wish, of course.”
They walked to Patty’s suite of rooms and she invited him to sit on her couch. She rushed around gathering things and even some food she identified as snacks. A pretty woman joined them. “This is Ladonna, she is my best friend.”
“Nice to meet you.” Teran greeted.
“Nice to meet you, too. You are pretty.” Ladonna observed.
“Ladonna! Don’t say things like that.” Patty grouched.
“Why not? You said it and I agree.” Ladonna informed.
“Just put in one of those creeper movies. You like horror movies right?” Patty asked.
“Never saw one.” He admitted.
“You’re in for a treat. Especially with all the cool snacks.” Ladonna offered.
“Is this popcorn?” Teran asked.
“Yes and it’s buttered.” Ladonna observed.
He grabbed a handful out of his bag and ate it. “These are good.”
“Okay, let’s be quiet. The movie is on.” Patty instructed.
The movie started with an ordinary Earth day in the life of the main character. It was interesting because he knew lives were different now. It didn’t take long for people she knew to start dying.
“Don’t open the door.” He screamed at the heroine’s best friend. Teran shook his head. She’d opened it anyway and lost her head. Was life on old Earth truly this dangerous? From what he knew, it wasn’t this bad now.
The death count kept climbing with the main female character avoiding death by accident or through luck. “Yes!” He yelled as she finally conquered the bad guy and he fell into the water down there too long to survive. “Finally he’s dead.”
“Don’t be too sure. There are several more movies in this series.” Patty explained.
“What is a series?” He asked.
“In this case it is a group of movies where the bad guy just keeps coming back.” Ladonna declared.
“But how?” Teran asked.
“You have to watch all the movies to see. Now let’s watch some cartoons.” Patty said.
The cartoons she put on were violent, but funny. They made no sense and he decided they were just for entertainment purposes. Several of the characters were cute and lovable while others were pitiful and never seemed to get anywhere.
“You need to get some sleep since you work tomorrow.” Patty informed. “You want to sleep here or go back to your own room?”
“What do you think would be best?” He wondered.
“If we want them to think we’re serious, you should stay here. Remember it’s just sex. Otherwise the bosses will worry. Also they may bug your room. Check it tomorrow night. We can’t see each other every night. That would seem too serious.” Patty suggested.
“Where do I sleep and can you set an alarm?” Teran asked.
“I’m so jealous.” Ladonna said looking lustfully at Teran.
“Why?” Patty asked.
“You have a sex toy. A living breathing one.” Ladonna replied.
“We’re not going to have sex.” Patty said.
“Fine, spoil my fantasies.” Ladonna complained. “I’m outta here.”
“Pay her no mind.” Patty declared. “She’s odd at times.”
He followed her into a bedroom that looked more like a kid’s room. The beds were doubles but one was like a boat and the other like a spaceship. The comforters were cartoons of various types. The walls were covered with maps, animals, and different types of transports.
There was a playground in one corner and what looked like connectable items of various kinds someone was making things out of. Another corner had a screen and a bunch of mini discs for viewing. The last corner was for miniature scientists with microscopes, calculators and other equipment.
“This looks like a child’s room.”
“The kid’s come here when they feel well enough if I have time to play.”
“How many children?” Teran asked.
“We had fifty-one, but there are thirty –eight now.”
“They died?” He was horrified.
“Six escaped, I told them a bad employee took them. It was an employee who was cruel to the kids. The employee is gone now. One of them died from an odd disease that has no cure. Six were sent away before I could intervene. It’s a constant battle between good and evil here.”
“I hope we can help. Where do you send the kids?”
“We have people who care for them. I send them money and check on the children as needed.”
“Good. Children need to be loved and cared for.” Teran announced. “What do we do now?”
“I will set your alarm. What time?”
“Aren’t you going to do it?”
“I am connected to the computer. I have already done it. You should go to sleep now.”
Teran took off his shirt and sat down to remove his boots and socks. Undoing his belt and pants, he slipped them off as well.
“You are undressing?”
“I usually sleep naked, but for your sake I’m leaving my underwear on.” He smirked at her. Maybe he hoped she would be driven wild with need and admit she wanted him? Nah, she just turned away. That was alright because he was more comfortable and might actually sleep now.
Pulling back the comforter he settled on the bed. It was like lying on a cloud. It was so much better than what he was used to that he would miss the bed when he went back to the other room. Sleep found him quickly and his sleep was restful.
It was a surprise when Patty woke him and she had clothing for him. That looked like the uniform the other guards wore. He suspected it would draw some snarky comments from the others but if she wanted to draw attention to their affair, she was going about it the right way. She also had a nice breakfast for him.
There was a nice carafe of coffee, a loaded omelet, berry pancakes with a choice of several syrups, and a pile of bacon. “This is wonderful.” He felt like kissing her for such a good meal.
Once he was done, it was time to go but he was reluctant to leave. “You’d best go so you’re not late. I will come for you again later this week.”
He left as she suggested walking to his station at the entrance. Doss was already waiting and he looked up at him with a questioning look. He didn’t say anything. “Come on, give it up. What did she want?”
“She was interested in getting know me on her own terms.”
“Oh, my! She used you for sex.” Doss declared.
“We used each other.
“I never wished I was pretty before, but I do now. She got you a new uniform I see. Any other presents?” Doss asked. They stepped up to take the place of the guards getting off duty.
Once they were out of ear shot, he motioned to Doss. “We watched an old Earth movie and ate popcorn.”
“Damn, I heard of that. I saw a cartoon once.” Doss admitted.
“She had them too. It was fun.”
Doss asked questions about the movie and the cartoons and between that and their work, it was suddenly lunch time. They made it to the cafeteria and piled their trays with food. Teran knew it wouldn’t be good when he saw Trevers and Preston going through the line. They sat near them and he saw when Trevers noticed his uniform.
“Looky here, Preston. The newbie already has his new uniform. How can that be?” Trevers asked.
“Only way besides me or corporate is Patty or Ladonna. I’m believing it pays to be pretty.” Preston admitted.
“Pretty is as pretty does. Isn’t that so?” Trevers said to no one in particular. “I think pretty boy needs to fight Friday night.”
“Sounds good to me. He won’t be so pretty after that. Isn’t hard head Dick the other fighter?” Preston asked.
“Sure is. Be ready right after work in the gym. You’re about to be tested.” Trevers said. After that they finally got back to eating. Teran had never stopped eating because Trevers never seemed to care what he had to say.
“I hope you can fight.” Doss whispered.
“I can fight a bit. Know anything about this guy, Dick?”
“He’s a rock head and not just because his head is hard, he’s dumb as a stump. Guy’s one hell of a fighter, but he can be outmaneuvered. He’s got big fists and can hit hard, his head is like a ton of bricks. But he’s got an old wound on one side. There’s a scar if you look close enough. It’s also easy to piss him off and then he comes in wild. Dick killed two guys in the last three years, so they backed his off the matches. He’ll know they want you hurt real bad since they’re letting him back in the ring.” Doss explained.
“Damn, he sounds extreme. Why would they want me dead?”
“Them two get jealous easy. They aren’t worth much more than I am even though they make more. Life’s disappointed them.” Doss noted.
“Maybe it’s the choices they made.”
“No doubt about that, but now they are making choices for you and you have one night to prepare.” Doss advised.
“We’d better get back to work.”
They got up and dropped their trays under the morose eyes of their supervisors. Teran felt better once they were back at work and away from them. “You certainly bring excitement to the job.” Doss teased.
“I can’t seem to do a thing to stop it.”
“Maybe you can get Patty to help you. I’m surprised they are willing to risk her ire. She’s not nice when she’s not happy.” Doss pointed out.
“Then it is surprising they’d risk it, but they are.”
“They must really hate you.” Doss chuckled like a hyena.
“It’s not that funny. They may act worse if I manage to win, but I don’t want my job to change my looks.”
“Dick is pretty good. I’d like to see you whip up on him. Don’t remember him losing any fights recently. I might warn you that he cheats.” Doss declared.
“You should have told me that first.”
“Well I’m telling you now. Watch out for weapons that aren’t easy to see. He’s the king of hidden improvements. He’s even been known to stab an adversary or two with a skinny blade. I think he calls them icepicks.” Doss explained.
They continued to work until quitting time. It was obvious the word had gotten around by the way the guards coming back to take their places looked at Teran with pity. “Poor bastard.” One of them whispered.
Teran didn’t let it bother him. He would keep on and ignore the looks he received. Doss stuck with him. “I’m even going to bet on you so you’d better win.” He told them as they ate supper together.
There was no time to work out or practice so he decided rest was his best plan to follow. He’d not been here long enough for it to hurt the condition he was in. That meant he was still in top shape. It had also been less than a week since his last training session so a good meal and a good night’s sleep which he’d gotten last night, would help more than anything.
He met Doss for breakfast before they started their shift. Teran refused to let it affect his outlook. They had a big meal with corned beef hash, eggs, and waffles. This cafeteria was a great place to eat. Doss said Patty ran it and she did a hell of a job. It was why this place held staff better than any of the other places the company owned. That and its thin veneer of respectability. Only keeping those that were under Travers was a problem. Patty had no say there.
Once an employee was here the veneer cracked. It wasn’t long before they realized the pace was iffy at best. At least the new guards and all the support staff were safe from the illegal activities. These fights weren’t legal either especially if people died as a result. Since they hired those escaping from a less than perfect life, no one probably knew they were missing.
The rest of the day went well and at lunch he stuffed himself full of foods that he felt would give him energy for the long haul. The other fighter had probably been off today resting and had trained constantly in the days before as he would have done in his regular job. Dick had the benefits of being Trevers’ man.
Teran had no benefits from Trevers. The male hated him for whatever reasons. His work day had just come to an end and he had an hour to prepare himself before the fight was on. At least his job wasn’t physically tiring. He had no doubt the fight would be.
Going to his room, he pulled up the last fight held here on his computer so he’d know how to dress. The two fighting seemed to be in workout gear. After one round, they’d both stripped off their shirts. This fight wasn’t to the death nor did it end with a serious injury. These guys were almost playful.
He pulled up the last ten fights and finally found Dick. The male looked like a serial killer. Muscular, tall, and broad he matched Teran’s own size. Doss had been correct about him not being fast, but he was brutal. He also used brass knuckles, the imprint was left behind when he hit his adversary. The other guy was too out of it to know or care, but the men around him didn’t seem to care either.
That indicated there were no rules at play here. With an anything goes brawl, no wonder people had died. Death matches were illegal everywhere in this galaxy. It surprised him his people had no idea they were doing any fights at all. How was that even possible?
Once he changed to appropriate gear, he headed down the hall to the gym. A few stretches to warm up was all he intended to do. There was no point in giving away his level of fitness until he had to.
“There you are.” Doss greeted him the second he walked in. “Good choice of clothing. Same stuff Dick is wearing.”
“I never heard of Dick before.”
“There’s a good reason. You’ve heard of Greg Samoul, haven’t you?” Doss asked.
“Hell yeah. Famous boxer who moved into anything goes fighting. Got his bell rung really bad and killed a guy in his next fight. He went a bit crazy.”
“He sure did. Got a job working for Trevers and someone said he was a real dick. He liked it and it became his fighting name. Trevers fights him once a month. Sometimes he waits a month in between so he doesn’t get caught.” Doss explained.
“Holy fuck. That man is a legend.”
“That man is looking to take you down.” Doss pointed out. “You need to get him first.”
“That’s one man I never wanted to fight.”