1.64 - The Hangover
I wash down a bite of my omelet with a sip of orange juice.
The flavor is great, and washes away the dryness of the omelet. Edan seems
pained with every bite of food or sip of his drink. Still, he’s doing a lot
better than last night. I couldn’t carry him any further and used a coatrack to
take him to the hotel room. At least now he can eat properly, even if the
hangover is taking a toll on him. At least the café we stopped at to have
breakfast is quiet. Tortuga amazes me; this place seems like an endless metal
monstrosity, yet there’s always these beautiful spots to feel like you’re on
the most amazing planet. A small café with a forest motif, complete with grass
carpets and wooden tables made to look like logs.
“Hey, you need to take better care of yourself, I won’t
always be around to take care of you,” I sound like Mom lecturing Dad.
“Yeah, I know. It’s just nice that you are right now,” he
shifts in his seat to avoid the artificial sun shining through the fake
windows.
“Well don’t overdo it. I know we haven’t been in contact for
a long time, but we’re not going to lose touch anymore,” I shift my seat to
block the light from his eyes.
“Thanks.”
“No problem,” I take another bite while he struggles through
a glass of coffee. “If I’m going to stick with you until this thing is over, I
need to know everything. Let’s start with who, attacked us last night. You said
Straiv’al. I’ve done my research but I need to know if they were enemies or
just a set up.”
“Just a random hit by a flock. I don’t deal with Straiv’al,”
he pauses, “don’t think I’m racist or anything. It’s just they tend to stab
everyone in the back and rob deals, even their own. As you can see they had no
problem going at both sides of our little deal.”
“Unaffiliated guerillas focusing on wealth not political
means. Probably think they’re untraceable. Alright. Next question, what was the
deal? You all kept your lips sealed but I need to know.”
“You putting together some army plan because I really can’t
follow right now. Mentally, I’m just not there yet.”
“Eat your food and drink more. Hangovers can be prevented
with proper hydration. It’s funny I have to treat you like one of my soldiers.”
“Whatever,” Edan rolls his eyes, but takes a drink of water
this time.
“Alright, the deal. Break it down.”
“We were hired by a client, I’ll call him Phil. Phil’s son
was taken. Phil works at a company that has some really groundbreaking tech. He
stole it, and gave it to us. We were making a trade for the cash. We’d give the
cash to Phil, he’d pay the ransom for his son.”
I struggle to project a display on my wrist comp that I can
write on. Edan shakes his head and continues to eat as I lay out my board with
the information that we’ve got. I don’t make any connections or try to figure
out plots between nations. This is just some criminal stuff, and I’m out of my
element. I’ll need his help filling in the gaps.
“We’ve got three goals. Number one, we get back the tech
that was stolen. No need for Phil to lose his job. Number two, we get back the
cash that was taken so we can pay the ransom. Number three, we go get Phil’s
son ourselves.”
“Do I have any say in this? I smuggle stuff, broker deals
and steal the occasional item. But, I’m not big on the whole kick in the door
save the day thing.”
“No, you don’t get a say in this. But, since you’re the
captain, I’ll let you present it all as your idea.”
“Fine, what’s the first step?”
“We need to collect some information on who hit us.”
“How do you suppose we do that?”
“You telling me you don’t know any information brokers,
fixers, or anything like that?”
“I know plenty, but I only know one guy around here,” Edan
seems disgusted at the thought.
“Sounds like you don’t want to call him.”
“I don’t.”
“Call him anyway.”
“I’ll call Nastas and he can call.”
Edan makes the call while I finish my breakfast. He doesn’t
want to eat more, but I make him. It’s the same with drunken soldiers. Make
them eat, drink water and give it an hour they’ll be through it. Nastas arrives
looking more damaged than Edan. He’s wearing a large curved hat to keep the
light from his eyes. The usual neat robe he wears has been replaced with knee
high boots, green shorts and a yellow tank top displaying a combination of
muscle as well as the stone like structure of Meteorian skin.
“What is so urgent that you felt the need to contact me at a
time like this,” Nastas starts one of his long speeches again.
“Nope, got a hangover. Not doing this. We need to go see
Tawa.”
“Tawa,” Nastas asks.
“Yeah, Tawa,” Edan places a hand on his shoulder.
“Shit,” Nastas rolls his eyes.
“That’s it? That’s all you have to say,” I ask causing Edan to burst into laughter before the pain of his hangover calms him down.
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