Stealing Spaceships 2 Chapter 2

“One thing you should know about me,” I exhaled, as the goons escorted me toward the building. 

“Yeah, what’s that?” the second refrigerator asked. 

“I don’t like being told what to do,” I growled. 

Before they could say anything, I glanced up at the building to make sure we were in a position that everyone inside could see us, and then I picked up my right foot and slammed it into the side of the first goon’s kneecap. I jerked my arm out of his grip as he rocked back with a little moan, and I swung my free hand up at the second goon’s jaw. 

He dodged it, just like I thought he would, but the surprise of my attack made him let go of my other arm. I brought it up in a fist and crashed it into the underside of the man’s jaw, so his head rocked backward with a series of little clicks. I couldn’t tell if the sound was the teeth rattling inside his skull or the vertebrae of his neck crying at the blow, but either way, it reeled him away from me so I could turn my attention back to the first goon. 

The first refrigerator-sized man crouched down and held his knee where I had kicked it, but as soon as he saw me turn toward him, he forced himself to his feet. Both of his fists came up to guard his face like he was in a boxing match, but with his hurt knee, he just stood solidly on one foot. 

“Not exactly the best boxing strategy there, is it?” I asked cheerfully. “Aren’t you supposed to bounce around or something?” 

The goon came at me with a left hook, but that was hardly a surprise since all his weight was still on his right foot, so I just sidestepped the blow. It left his jaw unprotected for a second, but Honey Bee slowed down the world for me so that I could see exactly what his next move was going to be. 

The man knew his jaw was unprotected, and he was turning too quickly to shield himself. If I tried to hit him in the jaw or the throat, I’d make contact, but not enough to knock him out. But he was so concerned about protecting his face that he had left one other, oh-so-important area totally defenseless. 

Poor bastard. 

I grabbed his jacket for better leverage and then rammed my knee up into the goon’s crotch. He howled like I had shot him, tottered away from me, and then doubled over from the pain. I almost kicked his knee again to make sure he stayed down, but he looked pathetic enough that I figured I would save him the pain of a torn knee ligament. 

The other goon stumbled back toward me, but he staggered first one way and then the other, so I wondered if I had managed to cross the man’s eyes for him when I hit him under the jaw. He took a swing at me, but he was so far away that I guessed he must be seeing double. 

I stepped up to his side and tapped him on the shoulder. He swung his head around to look at me, and I glanced over his shoulder at the crime bosses’ building. They still had a good view of our fight, but more importantly, I now had a good view of the five additional goons that were headed toward me as reinforcements to the two refrigerator-shaped men. 

The concussed goon swiped at me, but again, he only grabbed empty air. If he didn’t work for such assholes, I might have actually felt sorry for him, but I didn’t have time for sympathy at the moment. Instead, I stepped around him again, grabbed a fistful of his collar, and launched him at his goony companion. 

The two refrigerators collapsed against each other in a heap on the frozen ground, and I pivoted back to face the five new goons coming onto the scene. 

“Are you here to finally bring my invitation?” I asked cheerfully. “Or is that still lost in the same place wherever your manners went to?” 

“Bosses want to speak with you,” one of them muttered. 

“What a fucking coincidence,” I growled. “I want to speak with them too.” 

Honey Bee let me see the world in slow motion again so that I could plan my attack on these five new fuckers. None of them were as big as the first two goons, but that also meant they were probably faster, and that meant I would have to be faster still. They all wore weapons strapped to their hips, and I knew I could easily steal their guns and shoot each of them with their own sidearms, but that would defeat the point of what I was trying to do here. I could get away with beating up these assholes, but if I wanted to work for their bosses, I couldn’t exactly go around killing all their goons. 

As the five goons moved toward me as a solid wall, I saw my solution right in front of me. The two men on either end of the goon wall each had an additional sidearm, and from the shape of the holster, I’d bet anything they were laser guns instead of projectile weapons. 

“Now that’s something I can use,” I muttered. 

I ran straight at the wall of goons, but just before I made impact, I dropped into a slide and skidded across the slick ground. The heel of my boot cracked into one of the men’s ankles, and I made a low round kick close to the ground to take the footing out from another man. They stumbled into each other, and it was enough to distract the other goons as they grabbed at me. 

When one of them reached for me, I jumped back straight into the arms of another goon, but he was so surprised that I had walked right into his grasp that he didn’t make sure I was secure. Before he could tighten his grip on me, I reached into his holster, pulled out his laser gun, and fired a round at his foot. 

The shot burned a hole through the leather of his boot, and he yelped as it singed his toes. I aimed the gun at the next closest asshole and fired again, this time into the man’s shoulder. The wounded goon clutched his shoulder where the laser round had burned into his skin, but I knew unless I shot at his torso or his head, he would be fine. 

Three more laser shots wounded the other three goons, and then I saw that I had only one round left before the gun needed to recharge. All seven goons the bosses had sent were on the ground around me, all wounded or whimpering to different degrees, so instead of wasting another round on them, I looked up at the building since I knew the bosses were watching me. I aimed my gun at the center pane of glass on the third story and pretended to shoot, and then I fired up into the air instead. 

“Come on,” I said to one of the goons on the ground. 

“Wh…. mm…” He was nursing his ankle like I’d twisted his bones around backward.

“It’s just a flesh wound,” I sighed. “Come on, I still want to meet your bosses.” 

He looked up at me, and for a second, surprise replaced the expression of pain on his face. I nudged him again with my foot. 

“Or don’t come, it’s all the same to me,” I exhaled. “I’ll just see myself inside, how about that?” 

I stepped over the goon and headed toward the crime bosses’ building. I didn’t glance over my shoulder to see if the goons followed me, but when I got closer to the building, I looked in the reflection of the glass panes and saw that they were all picking themselves up and slowly following after me with their tails between their legs. 

I knocked politely on the door to the building. I could have hacked the lock, but I figured the bosses had already suffered enough embarrassment for the day, so I just waited until someone opened it from the inside and a wave of heat rushed out to greet me. The man who opened it gestured to the stairs just inside the door, but I took my time getting there. Even though the crime bosses had buildings all over, basically anywhere that they could hold a race, this was the first time I’d been inside one of their buildings, and I wanted to get a good look at what they had to offer. 

The first floor of the building seemed to be filled mostly with run-of-the-mill partiers and race-goers. They’d probably all paid a low fee to gain admission to the heated building, and there were large screens all along the back wall that showed the race course. There was a projector outside, of course, that showed the race to everyone who didn’t pay for the nicer seats, but the quality wasn’t as good. 

There wasn’t anything particularly interesting to me on the first floor, so I started up the stairs. The second floor was completely dark as I passed it, but from the moaning sounds in the shadows, I could guess what the second floor was used for. This floor must be for the next tier up in ticket prices. 

I grinned as the moans continued, and then I bounded up the next flight of stairs to the third floor and the crime bosses of Sakma who all waited for me there. As soon as I stepped off the stairs into the room, I felt all eyes turn toward me. I stood on the threshold of the room to get my bearings before I plunged any deeper into the crowd of crime bosses and their lackeys. 

The first thing I noticed was the women. Sure, the room was mostly filled with men of every size and description, but on the arm of every man was a beautiful woman, and they all looked in my direction when I entered the room. The building was so well-heated that unlike the crowd outside, they didn’t need much clothing to keep themselves warm, and so as I moved forward into the room, I felt like I was swimming in a sea of soft skin and generous hips. The women weren’t shy about brushing up against me either, and I grinned as I made my way through the crowd and toward the only three people in the room who weren’t looking at me. 

I stepped in front of the three seated men who were still looking out the window. These were obviously the men I needed to talk to, so I forced my eyes to focus on them instead of all the beautiful women in the room. I inhaled and closed my eyes for a second against the other thing I had noticed when I first came in the room, and that was the smell of all the food. Everything smelled so warm and so rich that I damn near forgot why I was there, but there would be time for food later. Even if the air inside did smell like fresh bread from a bakery mixed with a slow-roasted honey barbecue. 

“I think you wanted to see me,” I told the three crime bosses in front of me. 

There was movement from the entrance to the room, and I glanced up to see that the goons from outside had finally stumbled back up the stairs after me. I had wounded them, but I had a feeling they were gonna be hurt a hell of a lot worse by the time their bosses all finished with them. 

The crime boss in the middle leaned back in his chair and drummed his fingers against the arm of his seat. He looked like he was in his early fifties, with greying hair just at his temples and a clean-shaven face that showed every line of the harsh weather on Sakma. He wore a thick coat with a fur collar fastened at his throat and sunglasses that kept me from seeing his eyes clearly. I didn’t need to see his eyes to know that his expression was a mix of amusement and irritation. That much was clear from the way he chewed on the end of the unlit cigar in his mouth. 

“We did want to see you, yes,” the man answered. “Thank you so much for your help.” 

“Any time,” I exhaled. “But you know, if you wanted to talk, you could have just asked me to come up for a drink.” 

“But then we wouldn’t have been able to see you in action,” the man laughed. “Besides, would you really have accepted a dinner invitation from me? Or from any of us here?” 

I glanced around the room and laughed when a beautiful redhead looked away from me, as if she’d been caught wanting something she wasn’t supposed to have. 

“Well,” I sighed, “I can’t say that I would have refused an invitation from everyone here. Maybe just from you three.” 

The man with the cigar laughed. 

“So why am I here?” I demanded. “I assume it’s not just because the judge shorted me fifty of my prize money.” 

“They call you X, is that right?” the man with the cigar asked. 

“That’s right,” I answered. “And they call you…?” 

“Alek Varenski,” the man finished. He didn’t hold out his hand, and I didn’t offer my own.  

“Well, isn’t it just a pleasure, Alek?” I told him. 

“As if we did not already know who he is,” Honey Bee chimed angrily. “Does he think we are stupid?” 

I didn’t answer her question, but I picked my next words carefully. It was true that I already knew who Alek Varenski was before he introduced himself. I would have been total shit at my job if I had been on this planet for almost three months and not figured out who Alek Varenski was. He was the head of the Three Families of Sakma, and if anyone here was going to let me work for them, I had to be cleared by him first. 

“Listen,” I said finally, after none of the three men offered to speak first. “You and I both know why I’m here and what I want, so let’s just cut to the chase, shall we? ” 

“Very well,” Alek said, with a glance at the two men on either side of him. “But before we do, let me ask you one very important question.” 

“Shoot,” I answered. “Pun intended.” 

“I have indulged you up to this point,” the crime boss said, as he took the cigar out of his mouth. “I was curious to see how an outsider would perform in our races, and I was especially curious to see what a… mechanic… could do to impress me.” 

“Well,” I sighed, “as you can see, I’m one hell of a mechanic.” 

The grim line of Alek Varenski’s mouth did not move, and I was beginning to think that this whole planet was as humorless as it was frigid. Maybe the cold did something to people’s brains after a while, or maybe it just froze their muscles until they forgot how to smile. 

“You have won, that much is true,” the crime boss admitted. 

“More than once,” I clarified. 

“More than once,” he repeated. “But that is all. You will not win again.” 

“You can see the future, can you?” I asked. “I bet that makes for a mighty nice side hustle.” 

“You will not win again,” Alek echoed himself, “because you will not enter any more of our races.” 

“Didn’t you have a question for me?” I reminded him. 

“I did,” the crime boss said, “but the matter of our races is not finished. However, since you seem so eager to know, I will ask you: why did you not come directly to me when you were looking for work?”

“Would it have made a difference if I had?” I challenged. 

“No,” the grim-mouthed crime boss said, without humor, “but I would like to know why you thought you could so disrespect me and then expect me to offer you any kind of position in my organization.” 

“I meant no disrespect to you, and I mean no disrespect to your friends here,” I explained, with a nod at the other two bosses, “but when you’re new in town, you don’t go straight to the top.” 

“And did they not also tell you that we would not work with you?” the crime boss asked. 

“Oh, they did,” I told him. “Your old pal Jessum here told me absolutely no outsiders, and Flossy here--” 

“Flonisovski,” the crime boss on my right corrected me. 

“Right, Flonisovski,” I said patiently. “Nice to see you again. How’ve you been? How’s your mother?” 

Ondrian Flonisovski glanced at the head of the Three Families like he’d been caught with his pants down. He opened his mouth to explain, but Alek just held up a hand. 

“I know he is only joking, Flonisovski,” the head crime boss said to the youngest of the three. 

“Good, because I would never--” 

“Ondrian!” Jessum said shortly, and the youngest crime boss fell silent. 

Ondrian Flonisovski must have been new to his role as head of one of the Three Families. I was sure there was some tragic tale that explained it all about how his father was gunned down in the street or something like that, but I didn’t particularly care how Flossy had gotten promoted to his new role. I just knew it made him the weak link, unlike Alek Varenski and definitely unlike Northrop Jessum, who looked like he would stab you in the eye if he didn’t like the way you blinked. 

“Annnnyway,” I said with an exaggerated sigh, “yes, they both told me they wouldn’t work with outsiders, and neither would you, so I just figured you needed to see what I could do first.” 

“Your logic is solid,” Alek answered as he began to chew on the end of his cigar again. “But all the same, you will not enter another race here.” 

“And just why the hell not?” I pressed. “I’m guessing it’s not because you want to hire me as an on-call mechanic.” 

“It is not, no,” the grim-mouthed crime boss confirmed. 

“Even though you’ve seen the kind of racing ship I can put together from spare parts?” I sighed. “You know, the kind of racing ship that makes all of yours look like amateurs? I could do that for all your ships, racing or otherwise. And I think you’ve seen I’m pretty good in a fight too, so forgive me if I don’t see your logic here.” 

Alek Varenski took the cigar out of his mouth again and leaned forward. He held out a hand to Flonisovski, and the younger crime boss handed him a lighter. The grim-mouthed man lit his cigar and took a few puffs before he sat back in his chair. 

“Because we only work with family,” Alek said finally, “and you, my dear Mr. X, are not family.” 

“Well, I guess they don’t call you the Three Families for nothing,” I joked. “When you’re tired of losing, why don’t you all come down and see me? I can fix you up with whatever you need, for the right price, of course.” 

“I’m not sure you understand me,” Alek said. He looked at the other two bosses. “Was I unclear?” 

“I thought it was very clear,” Ondrian Flonisovski said quickly. 

“Very,” Northrop Jessum echoed. 

“Oh, crystal clear,” I exhaled. 

“So you understand me?” Alek Varenski challenged. 

“I understand, alright,” I answered, “and what I understand is that you still owe me fifty for the race.” 

Alek nodded at Flonisovski, and the youngest crime boss pulled out a bill from inside his suit jacket. 

“I will give you what you earned,” the head of the Three Families told me, “but if we have to have another conversation, it will end less… pleasantly.” 

“It will end with a bullet,” Jessum grunted. 

“Thanks for the clarification,” I said, and rolled my eyes behind my glasses. “I appreciate you being so blunt about it.” 

“Leave town,” Jessum grunted again. “Now.” 

“I think we understand each other, so that is all,” Alek Varenski said. “See that you mind what I said, and I trust I will not see you again.” 

I took the fifty from Flonisovski, gave a little bow to the Three Families, and headed for the stairs. I was tempted by all the food, but I didn’t want to stick around any longer than I had to. The narrow minds of these assholes was making me reconsider my plan of the last few months. 

In theory, Sakma had been the perfect planet to lie low until things settled down with the Dominion. It was on the edge of the galaxy, and that meant the government gave as few shits about it as the rebels did. There was enough of a crime scene there that I didn’t think it would be too hard to make myself valuable to a crime boss until I had the money and the parts I needed. Sure, I had the schematics for the ‘X’ engine, but I’d never get to build it if I didn’t find some asshole willing to work with me. 

And even though crime was about all that Sakma had going for it, these narrow-minded fuckers couldn’t see a good deal when it fell right in their laps. I had already proven that I could win any race they threw at me, and they knew I had pieced together my own racing ship from spare parts, so I had more than proven I was a handy mechanic to have on staff too. But as long as they refused to work with anyone who wasn’t ‘family,’ we couldn’t help each other out. 

When I got back to my shop, I flipped on the lights and turned up the heat so I could take my heavy jacket off. I had enough orders from locals to keep my power on, but I was still a long way from getting all the money I needed. I tossed my jacket and gloves onto my work bench and then pulled the bench over to my engine base. 

My hands were already cold, but I ran my fingers over the engine base anyway until the freezing metal made me forget that I was inside at all. I had spent a decent portion of the money I brought with me on the engine base when I first landed on Sakma, but I’d never be able to finish all the upgrades without a local contact for less-than-legal parts. 

“We could try another planet,” Honey Bee suggested. 

“True,” I agreed, “but then we’d still have the small issue of getting a ship to fly off world.” 

“Perhaps we should not have traded the ship for this shop,” Honey Bee chimed. 

“Didn’t have much of a choice there, now did we, sweetness?” I answered. 

I had left the Dominion military prototype with the rebels after I stole the schematics for it, and in return, they’d paid me. When I’d thrown in the extra tidbit that the Dominion might know the location of their secret space station, they had thrown a ship into my payment so I could leave their base before they moved it to a new location. It had served to get me the fuck out of there, and it had also served as a nice down payment on my mechanic shop here. 

I dropped my hands from the engine and leaned back on the bench. When I heard the door to the shop creak open behind me, I didn’t move, but I slowly reached for the gun I had hidden on the underside of the work bench. 

“Hey, you!” a woman’s voice said behind me. Her voice was as smooth as velvet, but she sounded pissed. 

I grabbed the gun but held it hidden against my leg as I stood up, turned around, and smiled as I saw the blonde who had just entered my shop. She was gorgeous, but she looked so mad that I had to study her to make sure I hadn’t actually already met her. Or slept with her. 

But no, I knew I would have remembered her if that had been the case. Her pale cheeks were rosy from the cold, her lips were full and red, and thick waves of blonde hair fell over her gray fur coat. She was a petite little thing, and her head only came up to the middle of my chest, but even though she was short, she looked like she could pack a punch. Her hips were broad below her small waist, and there was just the slightest hint of full cleavage that peeked out from beneath her fur coat. 

“Trevor Fucking Onyx,” the blonde growled. “I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure yet.”