Since SpinDrift was quite used to this expression—even enjoyed this expression—he trilled contently and backed off. To the Floop, as long as he was getting that response from Wildcat life must still be normal.
Big Gun marched to the center of the group.
He was accompanied by a small ferret of a man, whose eyes continually flicked back and forth, giving him the appearance of one of those antique Felix the Cat clocks. Lucky had always wanted one but didn't think the look was especially attractive on a corporate type.
"Wildcat Arrows, under the name of the Whatnot Corporation, we are placing you under arrest!"
"The hell you are." Wildcat poked the little man's chest, causing several of the soldiers to train their weapons on him. "Who the hell is
he
?" He jerked his thumb in the direction of the large man.
"
Who—who is he
?" The ferret sputtered, incensed that Wildcat didn't recognise him. "It's the Big Gun!"
Okay. That made Wildcat hesitate.
Big Gun was not someone to mess around with. The man had the power to make their lives uncomfortable.
What in the hell was he doing here?
Wildcat cocked his head to the side. "And he came all the way out to Dumfug 8 to save me from these misguided pirates? I must have impressed him somehow."
"
Impressed him
?!" The little man squealed. "Is that what you call it? You—you
thief
!"
"You better think before calling me names, mister." Wildcat's voice went very soft. "If you get my drift…"
The man swallowed and stepped slightly behind the bulk of Big Gun. "There are laws against trafficking in stolen merchandise!"
"I'm sure there are but what does that have to do with me?"
Before anyone had a chance to say anything further, Kokol piped in, recognizing at once that her crew was surrounded by a powerful boss-army. She assumed incorrectly that she was about to be connected to a major corporate crime; that of stealing a pleasure droid.
"My men and I have nothing to do with this Masterstroke 6000!" Like any good captain, she quickly looked for a way to get her crew out of there, unscathed by these corporate authorities. "We have nothing whatsoever to do with this! We were just delivering this man to his family. If it pleases the Big Gun, we would be happy to leave at once—"
"Stay right there." Big Gun motioned to his guards to keep a close eye on the pirates. "No one is going anywhere until I get to the bottom of this." He squinted at Kerreth.
"What's this about a Masterstroke 6000?" he asked him.
Everyone looked at Kerreth, who simply stood there, staring back at Big Gun.
Kokol—obviously caught with everyone else—tried to be helpful in the hopes of winning points that would let her and her men leave. "He can't answer you about the crime; he is the Masterstroke."
"
Him
? No, he is—"
"I would like to remain with these people, Big Gun" Kerreth interrupted the boss before he could continue. He nodded toward Lucky and SpinDrift. "They have taken me—as
I asked them to—away
from the planet Slide. No crime has been committed as I sought this freedom on my own. I am a self-realized unit, after all."
"You're a
what
?" Big Gun blinked.
"I know he is owned by the Slide corporation but is there a chance he can be released from his workload?" Lucky put in a plea for Slick. "He's been very helpful on board our ship and we'd like to keep him with us."
Wildcat gave his sister a decided frown. "We would?"
"He is not owned by Slide, you foolish girl!" Heiner sneered. "He is our—" His face suddenly turned bright red.
Probably because Big Gun was grinding his Big Heel into the man's toes.
"The Whatnot Corporation owns the Masterstrokes?" Lucky's brow furrowed. "I didn't know that."
"Oh, this is good!" SpinDrift clapped his claws. "Maybe we can bargain for him?"
"
With what
, you birdbrain!" Wildcat nudged the Floop aside, lest Big Gun get the idea they actually had money to bargain with. "And just why would
we
want to keep him, Lucky?"
Those light eyes sure could stare a body down.
Lucky started whistling and gazed off toward the ice dunes.
The steely blues instantly narrowed to slits and trained on Kerreth.
Kerreth—who had once faced down and killed a Suckemup beast single-handedly—actually took a step back.
"I'll take care of you later," he promised Kerreth. "Look, Big Gun, I just got here myself and—"
"Yes, I know, directly from Cretion. The mines, I believe."
Wildcat's nostrils flared. "I am not a criminal."
Kokol snorted.
Cloud chuckled in Lucky's ear.
Big Gun raised his brow.
Wildcat bristled. "I am an independent entrepreneur—and let's leave it at that. On Cretion, I had not committed any crime."
"Not according to the warden. He had a lot to say about you. His wife was somewhat more complimentary; yet still named you as an escaped prisoner. Why shouldn't I return you to their custody? You are an escaped felon."
"They are running an illegal entrapment scam and using prisoners as slave labor in the orzon mines."
Big Gun shrugged. "Everyone skims off the top. It is frowned upon, but difficult to control—especially in these outward settlements."
"I am not talking about a sliver off the top. I am talking about a good third to half of the take."
Big Gun scratched his chin, but he seemed interested in Wildcat's story. "That would be news to the Orzon Mining Group. Do you have proof?"
"Check into how many men have actually been incarcerated in the last year alone and
why
. Then match it to the official output logs; you'll find production doesn't match. He's not registering the prisoners."
"Hmmm… "
"And I am not an escaped felon. If you check the records you'll find no prison ident for me."
Big Gun nodded to Heiner. "Do it."
Heiner opened his pinkypod and tried to link up to Cretion. It was well known that Big Gun had contacts everywhere. He got a hold of someone and carried on a conversation in a hushed voice for a few minutes. Then he abruptly switched the pinkypod off.
"Well?"
"He's telling the truth, BG."
"Hmm. That could be useful in negotiations with the Orzon Mining Group."
"What about the men incarcerated illegally?"
"That will be up to OMG. I have no jurisdiction on Cretion, Wildcat."
"But you could put considerable pressure on them."
"Perhaps I could."
He wasn't going to give Wildcat more than that and Wildcat was not going to ask. There were things, however, that he could do on his own. And he intended to.
"Let us get back to the main issue. Namely my miadne. I want it back.
Now
. Or things might get nasty. Who has it?"
Wildcat rolled his eyes.
No one here has it, you jackass
.
No purveyor worth his salt would be stupid enough to steal from Big Gun. Steal the stone from the idiot who stole it?
Oh yeah. That worked
.
But never directly from the head of Whatnot.
Wildcat took a deep breath. "I do not have your stone. The Zoltarians do not have your stone. My crew does not have your stone."
"Why do I find that hard to believe? The fate of my people rests on this ascension. Who-so-ever has that stone can ascend; you do realize the danger in that?"
"Hell, yeah I realize it! Makes me wonder why you have the fool policy in the first place! You'd be much better off without it. But then that's corporate policy for you."
Big Gun did not find that humorous. "Do not press me, Mr. Arrows."
"How many times do I have to say it? I. Don't. Have. It."
"Perhaps he is speaking the truth." Kerreth spoke directly to Big Gun.
"
Perhaps
?" Wildcat almost lunged at him. "Your chances of getting a berth on my ship are getting slimmer by the second,
Slick
."
"Easy, bro, Slick is just trying to help. Sometimes whatever he says comes out wrong. He means well."
Kerreth wasn't sure whether to thank Lucky for the help or not.
Sometimes whatever I say comes out wrong
? Wonderful.
Lucky put a hand on his arm, then turned to Big Gun. "I don't understand; if you thought my brother took the jewel, why did you hire me to find it for you?"
Wildcat looked at his sister then at Big Gun, taking in this new information with interest. The man's motives were crystal clear to him. "He used you to get to me."
"Correct and impressive. You see, there was only one clue we had to goon to find that missing stone. Only one." He showed Wildcat the holo picture taken at the scene.
"Arrows," murmured Wildcat. "How interesting…"
"We thought so, too. We tried to track you down and found out you were last seen on Cretion. Imagine our surprise to find out you had just escaped prison. Seemed like terribly convenient timing—what with the Heart of the Merchandiser just having gone missing."
"Too bad it didn't all pan out. These carved arrows don't connect in any way to us. Sorry. No one here has your jewel. You'd have to be crazy to steal from Big Gun. Everyone knows that. My crew is often nuts—but we're not crazy. "
Lucky felt something cold kerplop onto the palm of her hand.
She squeezed her fist.
Hard. Roundish. Faceted. Large.
She swallowed.
Oh crap
. "Ah… actually… I might have the jewel right here."
"
What
?" Wildcat spun around to his sister.
"Braaaak!" SpinDrift keeled over in Floop-faint, obviously thinking they were all doomed.
Kerreth watched the situation, curiously.
Lucky brought her hand up and opened her fist.
Sure enough—there, in the palm of her hand was the gorgeous jewel known as the Heart of the Merchandiser. The pink faceted stone glittered against the icy-white background of the way station.
Lucky's breath caught in her throat. It was the most gorgeous thing she had ever seen.
Next to Slick.
Heiner gasped. "Our jewel!"
Lucky walked over to Big Gun and gingerly placed it in his hand. "I—I'm sorry. I don't know where it came from—I mean I—"
The guards moved their weapons into firing position.
Wildcat quickly stepped in front to shield her. "What my sister is trying to say is that she found it. Didn't you, Lucky?" He gave her a pointed look.
Message received.
"Ah, yes. Yes, I did. Right after we landed. I—I found it by the trash bins… so I picked it up."
Kerreth gave her an odd look.
"So, now she is returning it to its rightful owner. No harm, no foul." Wildcat looked straight into Big Gun's eyes.
A master at reading people, Big Gun rubbed his jaw, thinking the situation over. He was too smart to believe the girl had found it—and too astute to believe she had stolen it. The situation was more complicated than it appeared. Still… it could be simplified now that he had it back.
"She found it?!" Heiner squeaked. "That's unbelievable! I think she stol—"
"Quiet, Heiner." Big Gun glanced at Kerreth. "We have no proof she didn't find it and thus we must take her at her word."
"But-but—"
"Then we're even?" Wildcat asked him.
"For now, we're even. I just wanted my miadne back. However, if anyone should ever get a notion to borrow it again—Well, that would be a dangerous notion for them to have."
BG and his posse made to leave.
"Wait!" Lucky called out to them. "What about the Masterstroke?"
Big Gun stopped. "What about it?"
"Um, since I returned the Heart of the Merchandiser to you, by our contract, you still owe me that Heart of the People thingee."
"What brazen gaul!" Heiner sputtered. "We ought to—"
Big Gun roared with laughter. "Hush, Heiner, she has metal, doesn't she?"
He turned to Lucky. "I suppose we do have to honor the contract with you. Do you want the reward then?"
"
Yes
!" Wildcat and Kokol both responded in the affirmative together.
Wildcat gave Kokol a look.
The pirate shrugged.
Apparently, any question that included the suggestion of a 'reward' was too enticing to either of them to let go unanswered.
"Rogues of a feather…" Wildcat murmured low to her, his lips lifting slightly at the corners.
She winked back at him.
"Um, I was thinking…" Lucky bit her lip.
"Oh, hell." Wildcat pinched the bridge of his nose, positive of what was coming.
Unperturbed, she continued on. "Since Big Gun owes me that Heart of the People, maybe I could trade it for this here Masterstroke?"
Wildcat threw up his hands. He gritted out to her between locked jaws, "Why do you never take the 'money' kind of reward?"
Lucky's mouth opened in surprise. As if it had never occurred to her. "Huh?"
"Hmmm…" Big Gun scratched his head. "Masterstrokes are very valuable."
Lucky wasn't letting go that easy. "You did say that this Heart of the People was priceless. Shouldn't that be enough in trade for him?"
Big Gun eyes gleamed with banked humor. Even Heiner seemed amused.
Lucky was confused. "What is it?"
Big Gun met Kerreth's eyes. "Sometimes the Heart of the People is whatever is in the people's hearts. Perhaps, in some way, this Masterstroke is also in your heart."
SpinDrift woozily sat up. "More likely her part."
Wildcat bent his knee and snapped his leg back. His booted moccasin didn't do much to block the blow that knocked the Floop right back out.
Big Gun smiled at her. "Of course, we must honor our contract, Arrows. Keep the Masterstroke in trade."
"
Woo-hoo
!!!!" Lucky jumped up and down in a victory dance for herself. After all, how many girls get their own personal 6000?
Just her
.
Grinning, Big Gun took two steps before he paused. "Remember, I would not be happy if I were to later find out that he was traded off or taken away by Zoltarian pirates."
The message to Wildcat and Kokol was clear.