Nothing.
Disoriented, with the knife hilt jutting from under his chin, the man ignored Lilly, struggled to stand up, and hobbled in slow motion back toward the pits. She thought he would collapse but he kept going, silently.
Lilly held out a bloody hand as the Skynut landed. She put the little drone back in her pocket, waited for the file to finish and uploaded the video on her Pigeon.
She typed, “Just getting started…,” and then ran into the shadows.
Twenty-three
Ripp and Gus turned back onto the main road. They drove around a few piles of rubble at the intersection and headed north again. Gus stayed close behind in the Nucrean Guard transport as Ripp took the lead.
“Those soldiers keep getting younger,” Gus said through a crackling com.
“You’re just getting older,” Ripp shot back.
“Ha! I know they were coming after us to kill us but I still feel bad about it all.”
“Drinking at Johnny’s before a con makes you soft I think.”
“Probably,” Gus admitted thoughtfully.
“Luckily that didn’t take very long. Only about an hour or so from the depot.”
“Depot? As in the military depot we have picked clean already?” Gus asked with growing irritation.
“The very one.”
The comms went silent.
“Nun wants us to locate information,” Ripp added with a large dose of hesitancy.
Ripp looked at the monitors and saw that Gus had slammed on his breaks.
“Have fun. I’m heading back,” Gus said, obviously hurt.
“Whoa, c’mon.”
“You know I don’t do paper work! That’s why you wouldn’t tell me what the con was about isn’t it?”
“It’s not like that Gus. C’mon. Easy money.”
“I ain’t gonna risk my neck out here for some damned file. Not sure if you remember what happened last time we were out here, but I do. I’m good. Go on and find your files. I’m heading back.”
Gus turned his transport around, hiting a railing hard. “Hell! Who’s gettin’ soft?” Gus shouted.
“Not much of a market for stolen Nucrean transports you know?”
“You let me worry about that.”
“Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I need you, brother,” Ripp said.
“You know how I feel about these kind of runs. On your own Ripp.”
Gus finally got the transport turned around and headed south.
“I’m sorry. I should have told you. Just stay. We already know the area and it’s three times the normal fee.”
Ripp said the last part slow and loud waiting for it to set in, but there was nothing.
Ripp stopped his transport and waited. “Yes, Nun is paying us triple our fee.”
Still, there was nothing.
“Well?” Ripp said getting a little nervous that Gus was out of range.
“Gus?”
Ripp cursed to himself under his breath and put the transport in drive just as Gus flew by.
“Get outta the way, asshole,” Gus said.
“Thought you’d come around,” Ripp said as he smiled and followed.
Twenty-four
Nun’s compound was an old cracked cement and steel building, right in the middle of two other identically old cracked cement and steel buildings, south of the East Market. There were no windows and only one entrance, which always was heavily guarded.
Lilly charged right up to the two armored men that were guarding the door. Both the guards let go of their rifles for a moment, and without adjusting their gazes gave her high fives as she walked by.
She passed two more guards that were inside the door.
“Hey, Lil,” one of them said as she hit him on the arm.
She passed room after room of supplies, gear, and weapons of all kinds, skipped down a flight of stairs, and charged into a large empty room. On the other side of the room, there was a wide door where two heavily-armed guards stood. She recognized Jim, but hadn’t ever seen the other one before. As she reached for the handle the new guy stepped in front of her.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he said.
Lilly looked at him as if he had just eaten his own feces. “I need to talk to Nun and you’re in my way.”
“We don’t sell dolls here. Go away, little girl.”
Lilly looked over at Jim, who was trying hard not to laugh. “You been planning that one for a while haven’t you? Waiting around for the first girl you saw? So witty. Really, I’m impressed. Especially coming from a guy who can’t even close his pants up.”
Lilly looked down at his belt and pointed with her eyes. She bolted past him as he checked his zipper.
“Hey!”
Jim finally let out a laugh, as the other guard chased after her.
Inside the room, there were a handful of people looking at small arrangements of rare electrical devices. She recognized a member of the consulate that had paid Ripp and Gus to drive him around the Fringe for a day so he could be able to say he had been out there.
She spotted Nun talking with a hooded woman that looked very familiar. Normally she would never interrupt Nun, but she turned and saw the angry guard coming right for her.
“Nun.”
Nun looked up and saw Lilly and his guard coming right for her. Nun held out his hand.
“She’s okay.”
Nun turned to the woman who was keeping her face hidden.
“Excuse me for a moment,” Nun said graciously and walked over to Lilly.
“Sorry, boss,” the guard said, trying to catch his breath.
“She’s okay. Hello, Lilly. I wasn’t expecting you,” he said, irritated with the guard but not her.
“As in Ripp’s Lilly?” the guard asked.
“Yes. Lilly, moron, moron, Lilly. Now that you’ve been formally introduced you can go stand at your door again.”
“Sorry boss,” he said, and headed back to the door.
Nun closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “What can I do for you, Lilly?”
“I want another contract,” Lilly said as she put her hands on her hips.
Nun smiled. “Let’s talk in private.” He put his arm around her shoulder, acknowledged another patron waiting with a nod, then walked her to his office.
Nun’s office was lit with a red hue except for the white glow of a holodesk near the far wall. He motioned for Lilly to sit and closed the door.
“Ripp and I talked about your last con, and your little outburst in the market.”
Lilly shifted uneasily in her seat.
“He made a pretty compelling argument for not having you do open cons. He says he feels you aren’t ready for that kind of competition.”
Lilly wanted to respond, but remained silent as Nun leaned forward across the holodesk, creating ominous shadows on his face.
“Personally, I disagree.”
“I know I let my guard down. It won’t happen again.”
“Oh, I believe it.”
Nun walked over to a shelf, grabbed a small box, and sat down in his chair. He looked at it closely as he turned it over. Lilly started to get impatient.
“I want a solo contract if you have one.”
Nun looked at Lilly with the stoic face that he was well known for; a hard man to read.
“I don’t think Ripp would like that,” he said as he set the box down, sending an electronic ripple across his desk.
“Don’t really care about what Ripp would or wouldn’t like right now. I know I can handle it,” she responded with confidence.
“I sense a bit of desperation, and you know I don’t do desperation,” he said as he sat back in his chair and folded his arms.
“I want a con because I am ready for one, not desperate for one. Just determined. I think there’s a difference,” Lilly sat back in her chair and folded her arms right back at Nun.