1.64 - The Hangover

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.

0 comments :

Post a Comment