with a masking agent?"
"What about it Jessica?" Gabriel looked the Canadian in the face, and she suddenly looked sick. "Jessika, who are you working for? Tell me and I'll let you go, otherwise I'm arresting you on suspicion of capitalism."
"Let's just arrest her!" Adoración pulled out her own pistol. "We can't trust anything she says!"
"Shut-up!" Gabriel snapped. "You're her partner! You haven't noticed anything? That doesn't seem likely."
Adoración suddenly turned raising her gun towards Gabriel. "Oh, you think so, you puto? I'll kill-" her sentence ended as Roelof cut a hole through her heart with his pistol. The laser beam cut a through the airship's fuselage behind Jessika, and air started blowing out through the hole.
"Stop!" Gabriel yelled, but it was too late, Jessika was lifting her pistol from her holster. Gabriel reached for his own pistol, but Ferderand burnt a hole through Jessika before Gabriel got his gun from its holster. Then there were two holes in the fuselage. Roelof and Ferderand ran to plug the holes with the emergency repair kit while Gabriel checked the bodies for signs of life. There was none, this isn't what he'd wanted.
"I think we should skip the rest of today's work-site, and head out to tomorrow's work-site," Roelof suggested a half an hour later, after the holes were permanently patched. "If she was injecting a masking agent, then she might not have gotten to tomorrow's patch."
"We're not involved in whatever they were doing," Philibert said. "You can ask Cecilia Arreola. I worked for her for years before joining the NSDR."
Gabriel glanced around at the rangers, who were now all in the cafeteria. The bodies of the two dead rangers had been dragged outside. "Has anybody seen them meeting with anyone in the chasma? Anybody know who they met in Rotterdam?"
Philibert hesitated and then answered, "Jessika worked for Arreola Biotics a few years ago, when I was still there. Ale Rodríguez is the only one still working there from back then. They were lovers back then. She also was involved with Chidimma Aniakor. She used to worked for Arreola for a while, I don't know where she works now, but I've seen her riding with Elías Medina."
"That makes sense," Ferderand stated. "They're all working for the same company. How are we going to figure out which one?"
Gabriel Esparza hesitated. Figuring out who they were working for was one thing, but finding the plants came first. "We can't focus on that right now. We have to find the plants."
"What do you want to do with the bodies?" Roelof enquired. "Should we call the sheriff’s office?"
"No," Gabriel answered. "Leave them outside. We can call the sheriff in a few days. We have the video recording from the cafeteria as well as witnesses. It's better whoever they're working with doesn't know they're dead."
"Ashok hasn't been out yet today," Ferderand observed. "He might come by here this afternoon if he doesn't go out to the work-site."
"Right, make sure to cover the bodies," Gabriel turned to Roelof. "I like your idea about skipping to tomorrow's work-site, but with them neutralized there's no reason to skip ahead. We'll see what we find there tomorrow. Today we'll finish up the work-site we've already started. Tonight we'll post a guard by tomorrow's work-site. If anybody else goes out there I want to know."
The day drew on, windy and dusty. Gabriel nervously watched the sky. There was a massive storm to the south, and Gabriel was concerned it could spread to the north. Martian dust storms had been known to last for years, and if it spread as far north as Noctis Labyrinthus they might not be able to get the plants in the ground this season.
A cloud of dust swirled above the work site, where the rangers were working in teams of two. Ferderand was handling the scanner, and Roelof was digging the plants out of the ground. Ashok arrived shortly after lunch to watch.
"Nibhanupudi Biotics, male plant," Ferderand read off the scanner. "Christin Biotics, female plant."
Ashok checked the number of Nibhanupudi Biotics' plants the rangers had found at that site, and compared it to the numbers from the previous year's audit. Gabriel Esparza was diligently avoiding the annoying owner of Nibhanupudi Biotics. Roelof was still reading from the scanner, "Nibhanupudi Biotics, female plant."
Ashok put his com back in his pocket. "Guess I'll head back, Esparza. I've got business in Rotterdam."
Gabriel glanced over to Ashok and muttered, "Sound's good. You aren't needed here."
Ashok chucked returning to his bike. "Maybe I'm needed somewhere else then."
Gabriel's looked back at Ashok somewhat confused. "Hopefully someone needs you for something."
"That wife of yours look like she has some needs," Ashok said. "Maybe I'll visit her."
Ashok turned on his bike and lifted into the air, his bike quickly becoming a blurry blue streak back towards Rotterdam. Gabriel Esparza's face went a redder shade of brown than normal, then he grabbed a shovel and ran for his bike.
"Damn, Ashok's in for it now!" Roelof said running for his Italika. "It takes a lot to get Gabriel pissed off. I wondered if Ashok's ever been in a fight before!"
"Lets go!" Ferderand yelled jumping on to his air-bike. "This is going to be good!"
By the time Ashok realized Gabriel was chasing him it was too late to out run him. It was also too late to buy a faster bike. Gabriel's Italika had covered most of the ground between them in a couple minutes, and Ashok's imported and much more expensive Bajaj was designed for Earth's thicker atmosphere, and its turbofans couldn't propel it nearly as fast as the Italika Gabriel was riding. Gabriel pulled up along side the Bajaj and thrust the shovel through one of the Bajaj's turbofans.
It was a move commonly used back in the war, but rarely used since as it ruined the bike, and often killed the rider. The turbofan's blades ripped off and the bike spun out of control, throwing Ashok, and then exploding when it hit the ground. Ashok's impact sent out a cloud of dust, luckily he didn't land on a rock. He staggered to his feet and pulled his gun, then stopped. Gabriel's bike was floating above him, and Gabriel's gun was aimed at him. Ashok had never been in a gunfight, and his gun was barely from the hostler. Several other rangers also floated nearby.
"Roelof, take his gun," Gabriel shouted over the sound from his Italika. "I'm going to teach him a lesson in manors!"
"What do you mean?" Ashok snarled. "You planning to shoot an unarmed man?"
"No, you son of a bitch," Gabriel replied harshly, "I'm going to beat some manors into you with my bare fists."
Ashok grinned. "You want to go hand to hand with me? I'll kill you!"
Roelof landed near Ashok and took the gun from his hand, then stepped back to his bike. Gabriel landed next to Roelof and handed him his own gun before turning to Ashok.
Ashok was the bigger man, not taller but muscular. Gabriel was a thin wiry man, and didn't look like he should be able to take Ashok. Ashok was smiling confidently, and then jumped at Gabriel.
Ashok came fast lashing out with his left and catching Gabriel by surprise, but failed to knock him down. Gabriel moved in on Ashok and thrust a short open left into Ashok's abdomen. It jolted Ashok, but he jerked away and smashed both hands into Gabriel's respirator mask. Gabriel tried to duck a left, but caught a right. Then he closed in and threw Ashok with a body drop. Ashok came up fast and dived at Gabriel's knees and they both went down, and then they were up and fighting, throwing punches with everything they had.
Ashok sprang close, swinging with both hands. The dust rose from around them in a thick cloud, and it became difficult to see the fight after a couple minutes. Neither man would back down and they fought bitterly, brutally, at close quarters. Blood trickled from a cut in his forehead where the mask had been smashed against his head, leaving the taste of blood in his mouth. Gabriel set his feet and slammed a right fist into Ashok's solar plexus. Ashok was winded and knocked back and few feet, and Gabriel moved in throwing his right and his left. Ashok's hands came down and Gabriel lunged, swinging high and hard with both fists. Ashok went down into the dust and rolled over.
Ashok staggered to h
is feet and stood there weaving, then he suddenly lunged. Gabriel met him with a stiff left, followed by a right. It caught Ashok above the ear, and he fell to his knees, his head spinning. Gabriel moved in, and pulled Ashok to his feet, and holding him with his left, struck him twice in the solar plexus, and then three shots right in the respirator mask. Then he shoved the man backwards, and Ashok staggered and fell back into the dust.
Gabriel walked back to his bike and leaned against it for a minute, before climbing on to it.
"It's time to get back to work," he said to the rangers, and then turned back to Ashok. "And don't talk about my wife again!"
"You better go back to the base-camp and cleanup," Roelof suggested looking at Gabriel's mask. "You've got a lot of blood in there."
Ashok was still laying on his back, and Ferderand motioned at him. "Should we help him back to Rotterdam?"
"Let him walk!" Roelof said.
After he showered and sprayed a bandage on his forehead, Gabriel's mind returned to their situation. It was a mistake let Ashok goad him into a fight. He was probably going to charge Gabriel with assault. But Ashok was