Lasers, Lies and Money Read online

  Lasers, Lies and Money

  Book 1 of the Outsiders Trilogy

  A Novel

  Alex Kings

  Copyright © 2019 Alex Kings

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be redistributed,

  photocopied or sold without the author's permission.

  To keep up with new releases and have access to extras, visit the author's website at www.AlexKings.com

  Contents

  Chapter 1: A Good Day for Crime

  Chapter 2: Liberty Spaceport

  Chapter 3: The Outsider

  Chapter 4: The Knives Are Out

  Chapter 5: The Twins

  Chapter 6: No Survivors

  Chapter 7: Partners Become Prey

  Chapter 8: A Daring Rescue

  Chapter 9: Mr. Hand

  Chapter 10: How Honourable

  Chapter 11: Welcome Aboard

  Chapter 12: Settling In

  Chapter 13: No Money

  Chapter 14: Sukone

  Chapter 15: Parties and Blood

  Chapter 16: Volpone

  Chapter 17: Dead Weight

  Chapter 18: The Biggest Party on the Planet

  Chapter 19: Into the Mansion

  Chapter 20: Quality Control

  Chapter 21: Oranges

  Chapter 22: Time's Up

  Chapter 23: Fireworks

  Chapter 24: Answers

  Chapter 25: Serving Staff

  Chapter 26: Disguises

  Chapter 27: A Technical Fault

  Chapter 28: Tap Your Foot

  Chapter 29: He's Going to Shoot Us

  Chapter 30: Maintenance Car

  Chapter 31: Doing Maintenance

  Chapter 32: Who'd Stop Me?

  Chapter 33: Train Crash

  Chapter 34: Hotel

  Chapter 35: Allies

  Chapter 36: Information Brokers

  Chapter 37: Making a Call

  Chapter 38: Killers

  Chapter 39: Glass Beach

  Chapter 40: Past the Wall

  Chapter 41: Together, Alone

  Chapter 42: All Investment Comes With Risk

  Chapter 43: Gunnerside

  Chapter 44: The Courier

  Chapter 45: Not Intruding

  Chapter 46: Suspicions

  Chapter 47: A Lot Less Glamorous

  Chapter 48: An Impressive Rationalisation

  Chapter 49: Fear

  Chapter 50: The Trade

  Chapter 51: The Chase

  Chapter 52: We've Failed

  Chapter 53: Falling

  Chapter 54: Better than a Nuclear Weapon to the Face

  Chapter 55: There Aren't Many Escape Routes

  Chapter 56: Painting Flowers

  Chapter 57: Reprimand

  Chapter 58: Nereus

  Chapter 59: Found You

  Chapter 60: Quartz Club

  Chapter 61: Nice Save

  Chapter 62: Hunted

  Chapter 63: A Dark Past

  Chapter 64: Car Chase

  Chapter 65: In The Dark

  Chapter 66: Not A Lucky Man

  Chapter 67: Between Shells

  Chapter 68: Missing

  Chapter 69: A Death

  Chapter 70: Finished?

  Chapter 71: Some Fatal Blind Spot

  Chapter 72: A Last Meal

  Chapter 73: From Below

  Chapter 74: Admin Work

  Chapter 75: Operations Room

  Chapter 76: Somewhere We Can't See Them

  Chapter 77: A Gunfight

  Chapter 78: Rurthk Vs. Sukone

  Chapter 79: Fire

  Chapter 80: Explosions

  Chapter 81: Kill Us All

  Chapter 82: Innocents

  Chapter 83: All Of You

  Chapter 84: The Base Falls

  Chapter 85: Send

  Epilogue

  Chapter 1: A Good Day for Crime

  It was festival day on Cantor. In the capital city, Liberty, balloons and banners held by drones floated in the sky. An angular, transparent airship, like a giant flying diamond, cast rainbows on the chaotic mix of towers downtown. Revellers of all species filled the streets, ignoring the regular chill winds. The spaceport was packed with liners and shuttles.

  The young woman making her way through the crowds towards the spaceport was entirely unnoticeable. Black leather jacket, black jeans, short black hair, long-faded tan. She dragged a hovering suitcase behind her, winding it awkwardly through the masses of people. She could have been any human tourist, but still she kept looking over her shoulder, worrying that someone might recognise her.

  A couple of Petaurs in security uniforms hung from the gates of the spaceport. Petaurs looked a little like sugar gliders. Slightly smaller than humans, they had big eyes and skin flaps for gliding that ran from their arms down the side of their body to their legs. Their hands, their feet and their hairless ratlike tails were equally dextrous, and they found hanging from objects as comfortable as standing upright.

  Cantor was their new homeworld. Thirty years ago today, the Petaurs had escaped their slavemasters, the Albascene. In return for their services in the War of the Ancients, humans had given the Petaurs the colony Cantor to make their own.

  The security guards were looking out over the crowds filing into the spaceport. The young woman kept her head down and pushed forward.

  One of the guards caught her gaze, and gesturing with a furred hand tipped by small claws, summoned her over.

  Her insides froze. Please, no. They can't have found me, she thought, walking over to him.

  The guard gave her a friendly smile. “Name?” he said in Isk.

  “Olivia Finch.”

  She rooted around in one of her jacket's inside pockets for a moment, then took out a small transparent blue square and handed it to the guard. He took it and held it up to a scanner strapped to his uniform.

  Olivia forced a smile, hoping that the forgery would work.

  The scanner chimed. The Petaur frowned, and held it up to her eyes. She stared at the shiny camera lens, letting it check her biometrics.

  The guard nodded and returned her ID. “That's all in order. Have a good day, Ms. Finch.”

  “Thank you,” said Olivia. She headed into the spaceport, heart pounding.

  *

  “Is this really a good day for crime?” muttered Mero Iskultine.

  “It's likely to get worse if you keep announcing it out loud,” Rurthk said with a voice like grinding stones. “Besides, every day is a good day for crime. Give me a hand with this, will ya?”

  The two aliens guided the hovering pallet down the cargo bay ramp and onto the concrete of the spaceport.

  Mero, a Petaur, was the slighter of the two. His tail flicked up and patted his overalls to ensure the gun hidden beneath was still there. “What I mean is, it's festival time. Guards everywhere. Heightened security. Anathema to dishonest scoundrels like us.”

  Rurthk was bigger and uglier. Thick, greyish-pink skin dropped in folds over his elongated face and neck. Small black eyes looked at Mero over a ratlike face and two giant, razor-sharp, yellowing fangs. His coat was a uniform coarse grey fabric.

  Rurthk was a Glaber. And he was captain of the ship.

  “More security, but it's spread thin,” he replied. “We don't do anything stupid and we don't get unlucky, we'll be fine.” They moved in silence for a while before he added, “That's all anyone can ask for in this life.”

  “Money,” said Mero. “Can always ask for more money.”

  They fell silent for a moment as they moved the pallet past a small crowd where a Petaur security guard was admonishing some tourists for drinking inside the spaceport boundaries.

  When they wer
e past, Rurthk activated his comms with a subvocal command. “Eloise?”

  A soft, singsong voice came in reply. “Have you seen that airship? It's gorgeous.”

  “Eloise, focus. Passengers, remember? Helps this run look just a bit more legit.”

  “Don't worry, Rur. I'm on it.”

  “I want to be out of here as soon as we've loaded the goods.”

  “Uh huh,” said Eloise. She closed the channel.

  Having crossed half the spaceport, Rurthk and Mero reached the gates. An old air-cushion hovercraft sat on the crumpled black rubber of its skirt. On top, its cargo container was decorated with a combination of rust and flaking yellow paint.

  A human leaned against the fence beside it, smoking.

  “Captain Rurthk! There you are at last!” He spat the cigarette out and crushed it under his boot as he went to open the hatch on the hovercraft.

  Chapter 2: Liberty Spaceport

  The passenger lounge smelt of perfume and strong spirits. A group of abandoned, luminous pink balloons huddled against the ceiling.

  Olivia stood gesturing at a screen on the wall, looking through lists of destinations and fares. Most ships that had a space for passengers advertised here.

  “You're not looking for an ordinary journey, are you?” said a singsong voice behind her.

  Olivia froze. Someone had been watching her, and she hadn't noticed. The thought sent a chill up her spine, but she ignored it. “How'd you figure?” she said.

  The woman who stepped up beside her looked like she'd come out of an entirely different, much more high-class event. Her dress, a vivid but elegant mix of reds, purples and whites, trailed behind her. Her painted fingernails and her lips were the same shade of red. Blonde, perfectly-engineered curls trailed halfway down her back, and she had a fresh orchid pinned to her hair. She was just shy of six foot.

  “You skip past all the big-name liners. You skip past all the big-name tourist destinations. You want something different.” She offered Olivia a bright smile. “My name's Eloise, by the way. Pleased to meet you.”

  Olivia tentatively shook her hand. “You're right,” she admitted.

  “In that case,” said Eloise. “Might I suggest this?” She gestured at the screen several times, going right to the end where a single advert stood alone. “The Outsider. Our destination is Hagbard. It's not known for its weather, but the nightlife is very good. 150 credits.”

  Olivia read the advert then turned back to Eloise. “You came down here to tell a stranger that?”

  Eloise tapped the screen. “It's all a bit soulless, isn't it? I prefer the personal touch.”

  “I've never been to Hagbard,” murmured Olivia. It wasn't like she had any better plans. She shrugged. “Sure, I'll do it.”

  “Wonderful!” said Eloise. She took a thin plastic square from her dress and gestured at it. The smart matter expanded, tripling in size. With her tablet extended, she gestured at it a couple of times.

  The advert on the wall screen turned grey. Position Filled, said the label next to it.

  “Well, then, let's go!” said Eloise brightly. She contracted her tablet and put it away. As she led Olivia out of the lounge, she reached out and grabbed one of the balloons to take with her.

  They headed across the spaceport. Olivia trailed a few steps behind, watching Eloise, who was winding the balloon's ribbon between her fingers and humming a tune lightly to herself. Early afternoon sun glittered off the parked ships. The flying diamond airship descended behind the skyline of towers.

  “Here we are!” announced Eloise. “It's not the prettiest ship in the galaxy, but it has its charms.”

  Olivia stared at it for a moment. “This thing can actually fly?” she blurted without meaning to.

  The ship looked like it should have been retired a decade ago. In fact, the more she looked at it, the less certain she was that she could see the original at all. The whole thing seemed to be made of patches, ranging from old rivet-filled steel to brass-coloured plating to greying heat-resistant ceramics. The left sublight engine was short and stubby; the right was elongated and pointed.

  It was about fifty metres along. It sat a couple of feet off the ground on eight landing struts, three of which were of an entirely different make to the rest. Behind the final pair, a cargo ramp opened out onto the concrete.

  Halfway down its length was an island of elegance. Against a white background, the ship's name was hand-painted in flamboyant electric-blue cursive. The Outsider. Beside it, a stylised red fox seemed to prowl through snow.

  A Glaber and a Petaur were pushing a pallet laden with plastic barrels towards the ramp. When they saw Eloise, they stopped.

  “Here, let me introduce you,” Eloise said, leading Olivia over. She pointed to the Glaber. “This is our Captain, Rurthk. And this is our pilot, Mero.”

  After a moment's hesitation, Olivia shook hands with each of them.

  “Right,” Rurthk told her. “Rules are simple. You get free run of your room and the viewing lounge. Everything else is off-limits. Trip takes 48 hours. We've got self-heating food and drink in the lounge. Make sure you check the label to see if it's human-compatible first.”

  “Shouldn't have to say that,” added Mero is a silky voice. “But we had this one fellow grab a Varanid sauce without looking. Lost half his stomach.”

  Rurthk glared at him for a moment, before turning back to Olivia. With his loose, thick skin and small eyes, Olivia found it impossible to tell whether Rurthk's expression was welcoming or not.

  Rurthk nodded. “Pleasure to have you on board.”

  “Thank you,” she said softly.

  Eloise extended her tablet. “150 credits, then.”

  “Are cryptcreds okay? Olivia asked, taking out a small transparent thumb-drive.

  “Fine by us,” said Eloise. She plugged the drive into her tablet for a moment, read it, and nodded. “Okay, you're all set.”

  She waved to her shipmates, then led Olivia up some stairs to the passenger airlock and inside the ship. The corridor was narrow and smelt faintly of machine oil, but the walls were decorated with a mural showing fields of sunflowers.

  “I've never seen a Glaber so close before,” said Olivia.

  “Few people have,” Eloise said.

  “Actually, I thought the ship was …”

  “Human?” offered Eloise.

  “Yeah. Well, the name's in English, not Isk.”

  Eloise nodded. “Rurthk let me name it. I did the sign.” She smiled proudly.

  “And the walls? Said Olivia, looking at the sunflowers.

  “Those too. Anyway, here's your room.” Eloise opened the door and gave Olivia a keycard. “We'll be launching in a couple of minutes, so I've got to go help Rurthk. See you soon.” She put a hand on Olivia's shoulder and gave her a friendly smile before turning and striding down the corridor.

  Chapter 3: The Outsider

  Black plastic barrels filled the cargo bay. Mero smacked a switch with his tail, and the cargo ramp rose with an intermittent grinding.

  When it was closed, Rurthk popped the lid off one of the barrels. The inside seemed to be filled with grey powder. Carbon nanotube feedstock. Perfectly legal. He carefully removed the false tray, just three inches deep, to reveal the barrel's true contents: Thousands of tiny black seeds.

  Mero hissed and turned his face away, hand covering his nose. “By the ancestral abyss, Rurthk,” he growled. “Tell me before you do something like that.”

  Rurthk ignored him and stuck a bioscanner into the barrel. After a moment, it chimed. “Genetics checks out,” he murmured.

  “So we're not being defrauded. Good. Now can you put that stuff away?”

  “They're just seeds,” said Rurthk.

  Just genetically modified seeds from an alien jungle. They, too, were perfectly legal. But the tariffs were astronomical, and the Outsider's employers weren't interested in paying.

  Rurthk put the tray back in place and sealed the barrel. He could smell
the seeds too. The Glaber sense of smell was almost as sensitive as the Petaurs'. But unlike Mero, he had no sense of disgust. Even walking through a sewer wouldn't faze him.

  “Eloise,” he said, as the door behind him opened. “Can you smell anything?”

  Eloise sniffed and wrinkled her nose. “Maybe a bit?”

  Mero muttered softly, his tail flicking in annoyance, as he headed off towards the cockpit.

  “How's our guest doing?” asked Rurthk.

  “She's fine. Timid. I don't think she'll go anywhere she's not supposed to,” said Eloise.

  “Good. But keep an eye on her, anyway.”

  The ship began to hum. Mero's voice came over the intercom. “Launching now.”

  *

  Olivia spent a couple of minutes lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling and fiddling with the sleeve of her coat.

  So, she was going to Hagbard. Decision made for her. What was she going to do there? Nothing to do but find a job and keep her head low, she supposed. Even now, making definite plans even for the next month seemed hopelessly optimistic.

  She sighed. Dwelling on it didn't make her feel any better. She sat up and left her cabin.

  The ship proved easy to navigate. Every door and corridor off-limits to passengers was clearly marked. That left only one path, to the observation lounge.

  A giant, oval window covered one wall. Immediately in front of it were a couple of small tables. A selection of chairs suitable for different species were stacked in the corner. Climbing bars were fixed to the walls and ceiling behind the table, which Olivia guessed must be for Petaurs. The opposite wall was lined with labelled cupboards.

  Olivia stood and looked out the window. They were leaving orbit already. Cantor glowed white. It was a cold world. Most of the planet was a frozen wasteland. Ice caps covered 90% of the surface. But a thin band of green, speckled with blue, ran around the equator. There, temperatures rose enough to be comfortable. She's only been there a couple of days, but she felt sad to be leaving it behind.

  The door swung open and someone stepped through.

  Another human. He was fat, dressed in a slightly worn grey suit. His grey hair was thinning but fluffy. But his huge, friendly smile, set among wrinkles and jowls, gave off an aura of irrepressible jollity.