"Taylor received Charlie's message one mornin' and the next afternoon he got the message that Charlie's warehouse had burned to the ground with Charlie in it."
Tim stood up and went to the refrigeration unit.
"Got anything in here besides rabbit food?" He asked, as he rummaged through. "Ah, some of Jake's homemade stew."
"That stuff's at least a week old." Arr warned.
"That's okay Jake's stew gets better with age. I'll just nuke it to kill the bugs." Tim popped it into the microwave. When it buzzed he grabbed a fork and sat back down at the table with it.
Arr was dying to hear the rest of the story. Jake talked about his missions all the time. He often spoke of all the women he'd met and the places he'd been, but never about himself or his family. Not that he wouldn't have told Arr if he had asked, but Arr didn't think he should. Jake never volunteered the information. He wished Tim would get on with the story. However, there was no hurrying the big man.
After Tim had consumed half the bowl of stew Arr could contain himself no longer. "So what happened?"
"Well, Taylor and Jake started to snoop around as soon as the funeral was over." Tim waved the fork around with emphasis. "They found a diary Charlie had kept at his place. Guess all his mercenary genes weren't dead. It was kind of like a ship's log. The entry on the day before Charlie's death said 'Talked to Hughes about the deficiencies in the books this p.m.'
"So Taylor and Jake put two and two together and went to pay a call on Hughes. You see Hughes hadn't left town even though he had been responsible for Charlie gettin' torched. He hadn't done the deed himself, not the type. He'd told Bola. Bola and his men had shut Charlie up for good. Now the plan was that Hughes would play the loyal employee, buy out the company over a period of time and continue his business with Bola on a much larger scale.
"But Taylor and Jake didn't know this goin' in. They thought the problem ended with Hughes. They went in to try and scare Hughes. They told him they had found copies of the doctored books at Charlie's house. They were going to turn them in to the authorities unless Hughes told them all he knew. What they didn't know was Hughes was dealing from both sides of the deck. Hughes acted real scared and ended up trying to cut a deal with the Harcourt's. He told them all about Bola. He offered him up on a platter. Hughes was to set up Bola later that week, when he made his next delivery.
"The guys just weren't thinkin' straight. They bought the little weasel's line of goods hook, line and sinker. Jake told me later that he and Taylor wondered about being double crossed, but decided that Hughes didn't have the guts to do it."
Tim paused to swig down the last of his coffee and get another cup.
"This story has more twists than a country road." Tim eased back down in his chair. "So the next night after dinner, on the way back to Charlie's, the Harcourt's were ambushed. Hughes hadn't let his coattail hit him twice before he'd been on the horn to Bola. Bola brought five thugs. They surprised our boys. It was real nasty. Bola hadn't wanted to use blasters; thought the flare would draw attention. So, all his men were carrying knives. Taylor and Jake were totally unsuspecting. Taylor was dead before he hit the ground. Jake put up a good fight, but was cut up real bad. So bad that they thought he was dead too.
"Now here comes the real twist! What Bola didn't know was that Hughes was out to take over his action as well as Charlie's. He wanted the whole ball of wax. The five guys with Bola had been paid off. They turned on Bola and slit his throat from ear to ear. Then three took off while two stayed behind to turn in this phony story of being attacked by these 'mercenaries' out for their pocket change. They said, they tried to fight them off, but the Harcourt's had killed one of them before they got the better of the two. When they found out Jake wasn't quite dead, they concocted the rest about Jake being the one to have killed Bola. Hughes had to get Jake out of the way. If the authorities would oblige him all the better.
"When I showed up much later, Jake was still in the hospital and accused of murder.
"Two weeks later when they went to transfer him to the prison infirmary I appropriated him." Tim grinned smugly. "It took him about six months to fully recover. By then Hughes was long gone. Vanished like smoke in a high wind.
"From the description Hughes gave Taylor and Jake, Jake said it was Bola who killed his dad. I never have had much of a stomach for revenge. Jake wasn't even out of his twenty's yet. I didn't want him to turn into some vigilante killer. So I advised him to let sleeping dogs lie. There was a whole lot of space out there. He'd just have to avoid that particular piece of space. He was young and not fully recovered yet so he agreed."
Tim gave a scornful snort. "All of what I have been tellin' you happened right here in this solar system. Jake knew he was still wanted for murder here. He should've stayed clear. He's gotten too big for his own britches. Thinks he's invincible. Been listenin' to you blow his horn too much, I think. When we spring him I'm goin' to give him a good talkin' to." Tim's acid tone brooked no argument.
*****
Tim figured there were two ways to get Jake out of jail, the legal and the illegal way. He'd try for the former, but settle for the latter if need be.
He had pretty well guessed what this was going to be all about before he arrived. He accomplished some preliminary work on route. He sent word out that he wanted to talk to this guy named Hughes. He never sought revenge, but he kept track of the 'little slime ball' all these years just in case something like this happened.
Hank, a fellow mercenary, was checking up on the 'snake' to see if he was still where Tim heard he was last.
The GO wouldn't let Tim see Jake either. Twenty four hours after Tim arrived the authorities extradited Jake from Rigil One to Rigil Four for trial. The two cruisers and their occupants followed establishing orbit around Rigil Four.
Tim was pleased that Jake had trained the Henu. The kid took orders well. Tim knew if he wasn't so disciplined he would have gone in before Tim arrived and tried to break Jake out. Whatever he told the kid to do, he did. Arr was looking better. He had a couple of good night's sleep and started eating on a regular basis. So when the word came that Hank located Hughes Tim left word with the authorities to tell Jake they would be back. He took Arr to pick up the 'little weasel.'
Chapter 42
The last ten years were good to Hughes. The seven years immediately following Taylor's death and Jake's escape he moved around and changed his name repeatedly. He had to admit he was scared of what the mercenaries would do. They were not known for their forgiving natures. During that five year period if he found himself alone on a dark street and heard foot falls to his rear he usually broke out in a cold sweat before he realized that it was just a show girl or some late night drunk. But when five years went by and there seemed to be no pursuit, he began to relax.
He had an opportunity to hire on with a large company as the manager of the bookkeeping department. With fake letters of reference and in the name of Gordon Holland, he got the job. He figured he did enough lying low among a whole pool of bookkeepers. He was ready to apply his skills again.
It was however, much better than he could have hoped. The company just lost its president and major shareholder. The old man died of a heart condition. His interests passed to his only child, a daughter named Harriet Caruthers. Harriet was an intelligent, good looking, single woman in her early forty's. She was also very lonely. She spent her whole life taking care of her father. When she inherited his fortune she decided to start taking care of herself.
It was so easy for Hughes/Gordon. He started by making sure he was always the one to take her the monthly reports or any other correspondence that needed her attention. Soon she was asking him to sit in on board meetings. He always agreed with all the 'brilliant ideas' she presented in these male dominated meetings. One thing led to another. Pretty soon it was lunch in the park to discuss her latest ideas before she tried them on the board. She was so very lonely and Hughes/Gordon could be so very charming. She fell for him uncontrol
lably.
Hughes/Gordon's salary kept creeping up to such a degree that he had no desire to skim from the books for fear he would spoil a good thing. The 'bennies' that came with dating the boss were unbelievable. He had company transportation not only to and from work, but at his disposal twenty four hours a day. He was given expensive jewelry and fine clothes. Harriet wanted him to look nice when he acted as her host when she entertained her friends. He was treated as a pampered pet. He easily relaxed into his role as kept man.
The years drifted by lazily. He was comfortable, but not really happy. He couldn't give up anything as lucrative as this sweet deal, but he did wish Harriet was more his type. She was so skinny. He liked his women more rounded, well padded. He had been with Harriet three years when he started to play around with other women. He still acted the devoted suitor with Harriet. He was still in hopes that she might marry him and set him up for life legally, but he just had to find someone more his type. Someone to drink beer with instead of Muldavian liqueur. Someone with whom he could be himself. He found that woman in Suzan. He didn't meet her at one of Harriet's teas or stuffy dinner parties. He met her at a bar on the way home one night. She was his idea of a female. She was cushy in just the right places and had a laugh that tinkled like bells. She never told him to change his tie because it didn't match his shirt or correct his English, or correct anything for that matter. They started a relationship on the side. They celebrated their five years anniversary the night he found the will.
He got up out of Harriet's bed and stumbled downstairs in the dark, to look for some aspirin. It had been a stressful day. There was a problem at work that took way too much time to resolve. That and his celebration with Suzan made him late for Harriet's dinner party. She spent the evening passing him dirty looks every time she caught his eye. This was a very important party for her. A fundraiser for a charity she served on as a board member.
He looked through the bathroom cabinets then the kitchen drawers. Finally he resorted to the desk drawers in the study for the aspirin. That's when he found the copy of the Will. Harriet had just executed it the week before. It left everything to him! Everything! The company, the stock, the house, everything! He couldn't believe it! All his patience had paid off. He eased back in his chair. He realized that his headache was gone. Now all he needed to do was get rid of the big headache upstairs. He would make it look like an accident.
Hughes/Gordon still retained some of his connections with the black market. He acquired a poison that, taken in small quantities, ate holes in the muscles of the heart. It left no trace behind. Harriet would appear to have died as her father, of heart trouble. He wouldn't leave the job to be bungled this time by some fool. He would do it himself over a period of time, perhaps as much as six months. Then he would have everything. He started administering the poison within a week of finding the Will.
Chapter 43
Jake sat in his cell aboard the transport vessel. Injustice had been swift. It took the court only two days to convict him of murder and sentence him to life on a penal planet.
With civilization so spread out these days someone accused of a crime didn't always get to face their accusers. In this case, they used holographic image depositions that were taken by the authorities at the time of the incident. The holographic images were computer generated and programmed to respond as the person who made them initially would have based on their testimony. There was a flaw in this system. If the person was lying the holographic image just continued to lie. Jake didn't have a chance.
The guard walked by the cell door. "Another hour and you're history, Harcourt." He thumped the bars with his club maliciously before moving on down the row.
Delightful people they have in this place Jake thought. He wondered how the company would be when he arrived at his destination.
All mercenaries knew about penal colonies even though no one ever successfully escaped from one. Their air space was marked in bright red on all maps. You had to avoid their area or risk annihilation. All penal planets were protected and guarded by a drone ship piloted by androids. They spoke an unbreakable binary code type language. The ship and its crew were programmed to destroy anything larger than 10' x 3' x 3' that entered their air space. That was the size of the capsule they used to shoot the prisoners from the ship to the surface of the planet. It was just big enough for the man and his kit.
On Jake's way here he was introduced to the contents of the kit by a viewing the guards presented in his cell. It consisted of a tent, a thermal blanket and five days ration of food and water. The tape also showed you the capsule and assured you that it was thoroughly tested for safety. The thing was shot down like a probe to the planet's surface. A parachute opened when it entered the planet's atmosphere. The capsule opened on impact with the ground. Jake heard that many prisoners committed suicide before they ever left the transport vessel. Now he knew why. The ride down didn't look like it was going to be much fun.
Jake had to admit he was scared. He would have felt a lot better if he'd looked out in the courtroom yesterday to see Arr and Tim. There had been no word from them since they left. If they were here now, following this ship, they might be planning to intercept the capsule when it was launched or overpower the transport vessel with his and Tim's cruisers. Even though the Galactic ship was heavily armed they might have a chance with both mercenary vessels. Jake prayed that was the case because he knew that once he was left on the planet there would be no escape.
Jake felt the cruiser come to a stop. It would have parked just outside the range of the drone vessel's guns. The guard came back with his detachment of five men. They removed Jake from his cell and walked him to the launch bay on the ship. The capsule was lying open on the platform. As they approached it Jake thought to himself it looked a lot like a coffin. He stepped up to it, than hesitated. Three of the guards drew their weapons. Jake had the fleeting thought that it might be better to be dusted then submit to this ride and life on a penal planet. Almost in the same moment that part of him that always fought back, no matter how tough the situation, kicked in.
He stepped into the capsule and lay down. He had a moment when they first closed the lid that he thought he couldn't breathe, but it passed. He swore if he ever got out of this he would have more understanding and sympathy for Arr each time they went somewhere in the pod.
Jake felt the launch and the force of speed as he accelerated toward the planet's surface. Even though the capsule was made of quillanium the heat as he passed through the outer atmosphere of the planet was suffocating. He realized as the temperature started to drop and the capsule seemed to drift rather than speed forward that he was entering the inner atmosphere. Tim and Arr were not there waiting for the launch as he hoped. He would now be a permanent resident of Penal Planet #18.
On impact Jake heard the latches on the capsule lid release. Though he was disoriented from the ride, and the not so soft landing, he reached up to lift the lid and get out.
The lid was yanked out of his hands. He was blinded by the bright sun light as hands reached in and grabbed him. They lifted him out and shoved him to one side. He stood bent over with his hands on his knees trying to regain his balance and orientation. When his eyes adjusted and he got his breath back, he straightened up to see a scene that at once frightened and fascinated him.
There were perhaps a half dozen starved, ill clad men fighting over the contents of his kit. Some of them carried homemade weapons of sharpened sticks or rocks attached to wood handles with vines to make clubs. It was a free for all - everyman for themselves. Before Jake could intervene the water was spilled, the tent and blanket discarded and the food devoured.
Jake was to learn in the weeks to come that the other prisoners saw his capsule's trail in the sky and were lying in wait for him. They were all starving. Some had already died. The whole planet was infested with a plague of locusts. The few crops the inmates were cultivating were eaten by the insects. This in itself would not have been bad, but the loc
usts ate everything in their path. The forest and its usual bounty were devastated.
If there was an atmospheric change the drone ship and its crew would have registered it and made the appropriate report to command headquarters. A swarm of locusts however, did not register on their sensors so eventually the ship and its crew would be guarding a dead planet. Starving was going to be a horrible way to die. Jake wished he'd had second thoughts about taking that dusting before coming down.
Chapter 44
Arr had been sitting here listening to the binary chatter between the drone and its android crew for almost a month now. Tim and he were too late. Too late for Hughes and too late for Jake.
It took them eight long days to get to Hughes. He was dead when they finally arrived. There was a woman who was arrested for his murder. The unofficial word on the streets was a story of betrayal. The lady, Harriet Caruthers, was an heiress who was tricked by Hughes into willing him everything. But the last few weeks she questioned changes in his routine and put an investigator on his tail. She found he was being unfaithful. She was a desperate woman. If she couldn't have him no one else could. She poisoned him. Harriet felt remorse later. He was the only man she ever loved. She turned herself in the day before Tim and Arr arrived. Hughes had ruined one more life, but he would not ruin another thanks to Harriet Caruthers.
Without Hughes testimony Tim knew they were in major trouble. They needed to return to Rigil Four before the trial was over and there weren't any options left.
They were too late the second time. Jake was convicted, sentenced to life, and transported to Penal Planet #18. Tim tried everything. He got the best attorney money could buy. They attempted to appeal Jake's case. The court found no new evidence and Tim's testimony was dismissed as hearsay. The appeal never even made it to court.
Tim told Arr the facts about penal planets. He tried to get the boy to accept the hard truths of the situation. Jake was gone. He watched the kid deteriorate before his eyes. Tim thought he would stop eating and sleeping again, but he didn't. He continued to take Tim's orders, but emotionally he became a shell of his former self.