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BELGRADE'S LANDING
PAGE 2:
Executions always make me sick to my stomach and this was the first time I had had to carry out an execution personally, under my own authority, and it had left me a little shaken. Killing in the heat of a fight is one thing but this was incredibly hard, however much these two deserved what they got. I knew that I had acted correctly, however; the computer had confirmed my verdict and it was so registered. There had been no doubt about the guilt of the pair. They had been on the Rangers wanted list and should have been picked up by security long since. This case grew more complex all the time.
In this instance I felt that their executions just might be the break in the case that I needed. While I knew that I could have gotten nothing out of them in questioning, I felt sure that their executions by a Star Ranger would force someone's hand. I just hoped I would be able to take advantage of the opportunity.
As soon as I entered Jarrrkkkal's office I could see the uneasiness caused by my presence in Betsy's eyes, that I had seen in so many people of late. "The Lupine will watch out for you for a few days" I said. "I've written an official letter to the embassy here identifying you as being of special interest to the Ranger's and requesting their assistance in seeing to your welfare. They'll see you get a good home and education. You don't have to worry about those two downstairs anymore. They won't bother you again."
"Thanks Ranger," she said distantly. "I'll never forget you." I noted that she was afraid to be near me now that she knew what I was, and huddled near the massive Lupine as if for protection. The mystique that surrounded a Ranger sometimes worked to make it a lonely life.
Seeking out the Lupine I said, "I have to go now Old Wolf and I may not be back this way again. If ever there is need, send word to me or contact another Ranger and tell them we are pack brothers. They will understand."
"Hunt well brrrotherrr!" replied the Lupine.
"Hunt well indeed brother!" I responded. I felt like I was saying good bye to a real friend.
Returning to my ship I filed a report on my activities, the executions, and my suspicions. I also sent a detailed report of my dealings with the Lupine and just what had been accomplished there, before settling in for a long nights sleep. I wanted to let the mixture come to a boil before I put in another appearance.
The following evening, much refreshed from being able to let my guard down while aboard ship, I again ventured forth through the port area to see what I could turn up. There weren't many people about in this area of Belgrade's Landing at this time of day. Just as I was passing the dark mouth of an alley I suddenly sensed danger. My reflexes, triggered by the ever watchful computer, threw me to the ground as blaster bolts ripped into the building above me and showered me with hot stone fragments. Shielding my head with my arm I rolled behind a trash bin. When I caught my breath I found my needle gun was already in my hand and pointed off into the darkness.
My little ploy must have gotten someone's attention awfully fast or else it was a simple case of robbery, which I doubted. They, whoever "They" might be, must be desperate indeed if they were willing to gun down a Ranger, since the person of a Ranger is sacrosanct. Any attempt to harm one carries the penalty of immediate execution without trial and, if the attempt were successful, the Ranger's ship would report it and the Rangers would descend on the area like a plague of locusts.
Another blaster bolt split the air ripping into the building above me and showering me with more hot fragments. The shot was returned by two quick bursts from my side of the street, to be answered by a scream. After about five minutes a soft masculine voice called out of the darkness, "I think it's safe for you to come out now."
Cautiously I rose to my knees and, getting no warnings of danger, stood up and stepped out of the alley. Facing me was a slender young man with a blaster dangling carelessly from his right hand. Seeing me eyeing it he smiled and put it away in a shoulder holster. "You must have the reflexes of a cat," he said admiringly. "I have never seen anyone react so fast in my life."
Ignoring this I asked, "What's going on here?"
The stranger just shrugged as if to say this was an everyday occurrence and turned to the dead man. The body was emaciated and wearing dirty, ragged clothing. He had taken the bolt in the chest, but he was smiling as though he had died happy. Alarm bells began to go off in my head. The expression on the man's face was typical of Blue Heaven use, since it turns pain into pleasure. The more intense the pain the greater the pleasure. Addicts of the drug kept seeking greater and greater pleasure until it killed them.
"Friend of yours?" I asked.
"Never saw him before. I thought maybe he was a disgruntled client of yours."
In spite of myself I found I was taking an instant liking to this rascal. It was too bad my first likely contact with the local drug circuit was someone I could have been friends with. We walked on down the alley to the street, leaving the body there for the police patrol to pick up.
"Thanks for the assist," I said extending my hand. "I'm Russ Jennings."
"Jason Steele," came the reply. Looking me over Steele asked, "What brings you to our glorious city?"
"I just thought I would tour the town and do a little shopping."
"This is a strange area to come shopping!" Steele responded, giving me a sidelong look.
"Depends on what you are looking for, doesn't it?" I asked.
With a laugh Steele replied, "Yeah, I guess it does! Maybe I can help you find what you want. I know most everyone around here and what they are into. Besides, I owe you one for drawing that freaks fire."
Gazing intently at him, I decided to take a chance. Lowering my voice I said, "Actually I was hoping to pick up some Blue Heaven."
Steele's reaction surprised me. "Why would you want something like Blue Heaven?" he spat out.
"That's my business isn't it?" I snapped back.
"Yeah, if you want to burn your brain that's your decision. If you really want some, I guess I can steer you to the right place, but it isn't cheap," he said, a trace of disapproval barely detectable in his voice.
Feeling as if I was losing a friend I said, "It's more than that. I want to hook up with a supplier for export."
"I think I can take care of that for you. Understand, this is just business, and you're just the passport I need right now," Steele said coldly, as he jammed the barrel of his blaster into my ribs. He had switched so swiftly that I had had no intimation of danger.
"Hey! What's coming off here?" I snarled.
"I'm taking you to see the big boss and if you make one wrong move you're history. Now with two fingers of your left hand, slowly pull out that needler and hand it over. I'm real nervous and if you so much as breathe wrong, I'll shoot."
With exaggerated care I slowly I eased the needler out of my shoulder holster and handed it over. Things were moving along swiftly, although not quite the way I had planned. At least I was going to get to meet the big boss.
My escort signaled a robo-cab and we rapidly left the squalid port district behind us. We crossed the city in silence, each alone with our own thoughts, and soon arrived at a large residence on the outskirts of the city. After checking with the main house, the guards on the gate passed us through.
The front door was answered by a human butler who led us into a richly furnished library, where we were left to wait in uncomfortable silence. By the richness of the appointments I felt I must be getting close to the head of the operation.
After about twenty minutes a large florid faced man came in, escorted by two bodyguards, but it wasn't until he spoke that I recognized him. All the pieces suddenly began to fall into place and it finally made sense why the head of security on this planet raised a protest when the planetary governor called for intervention by the Rangers. I hadn't reported in to Security Chief Sims on arrival, as Sims had demanded, so I was seeing him now for the first time.
"What brings you here Steele, and who is this character?" demanded Sims.
"Sir, word on the street is you wanted to know immediately if anyone started asking about large amounts of Blue Heaven. I ran across this character and he was asking about where he could hook up with a supplier of it for an export business."
"And so you brought me straight to me," Sims said with an insincere smile. Suddenly he lashed out with his massive fist and knocked Steele to the floor. "You fool! Where are your brains? Don't you know the Rangers have been called in by the governor?"
Steele slowly got back to his feet. His face was flushed with anger and his knuckles were white on the grip of his blaster. "I was following your orders Sims," he said in a voice so soft it was barely audible. If ever death looked a man in the face it stared into Sims' eyes just then.
"The orders were to REPORT anyone suspicious to me! Do you think I want a Ranger dragged in here?" Turning to me he said, "So you're interested in Blue Heaven are you? Well it just so happens we don't like to disappoint our guests here on Primus. Boys, take the Ranger to the basement and see that he gets a nice sample of Blue Heaven." Laughing at my surprise he said, "You don't think they would deny the security chief access to the file on the Ranger they were sending out do you?"
Having no other choice at the moment, I let the two goons take me to the basement. While one held a blaster pressed into my spine his partner took a mask loaded with Blue Heaven from a sealed plastic bag, and forced the mask into place over my face so that I would be forced to inhale the drug. Once that was accomplished one thug held my arms while the other punched me in the stomach a few times to add to the effects of the Blue Heaven. Fortunately my emergency systems were able to help me move to avoid the worst of the force of the blows so that I wasn't seriously harmed. They also locked down my natural imputes to gasp of air so that the intake of Blue Heaven was minimal.
The biggest problem for me now was the wave of intense pleasure that was flooding through my body and threatening to overcome my senses. I was sure they had given me a lethal overdose of the drug, probably with the intent of making my death look accidental, as if a Ranger would ever voluntarily dabble in mind altering drugs. While not too surprised by their actions, it really disappointed me that Steele would be part of this. I had thought I was a better judge of character than that. As I lost awareness of self I felt the computer take control, speeding up my metabolism and dumping adrenaline into my system along with endorphins to combat the effects of the drug.
Rather than fighting pain the endorphins would be counteracting the pleasure surging through my system and overpowering my mind. A few moments later I came back to consciousness feeling weak and shaken but glad to be alive. Taking deep breaths, I got to my feet and tried to work some strength back into my muscles.
Hearing steps in the corridor I triggered combat mode as my brain was still too shaky to handle an emergency. My heightened senses could hear the breathing of one person approaching the door. Quickly sliding to one side I waited in ambush as I heard the latch being tripped.
When he walked in I chopped the blaster out of his hand and knocked him to the floor. Scooping up the blaster I barely stopped my finger from squeezing the trigger.
It was Steele. Reaching down I retrieved my needler from Steele's' belt and put it back in my own holster where it belonged.
Smiling ruefully, Steele said, "I should have known you wouldn't need any help. I always thought those wild stories of you Rangers were just that until now. You don't happen to know Superman do you?"
Holding back a chuckle I asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Why rescuing you of course!" he said sarcastically. "I had no intention of letting them hurt you. I was just using you to get closer to Sims. You were my passport to get into the house and within range of him, so I grabbed the chance."
"Why?" I demanded.
"He got my sister started on Blue Heaven," Steele said, his eyes turning cold at the memory. "I've been after him since, but it's hard to get close to the head of security."
"Why didn't you use your blaster on him upstairs?" I asked.
"It was awful tempting, but you were sort of in the way. Besides," he said fists clenched and fire in his eye, "I wanted him to know why. I'm sorry I got you into this. I let my own desire for revenge run away with me," Steele said bitterly.
I could sense that Steele was telling me the truth and this, coupled with Steele's disgust earlier when I had first asked him about Blue Heaven, convinced me of his sincerity. I said, "If it's any comfort to you, I let you bring me here. In fact, I'm grateful to you for making my job easier."
"You let me!" Steele stared at me in disbelief and then, looking at his blaster in my hand, he started laughing. "I guess you did at that. What now?"
"Now I eliminate one dirty security chief and plug the hole all this drug traffic, among other things, has been pouring through," I answered grimly.
"You know it won't be that easy!" Steele protested. "He'll just drag it out in court and keep on with business as usual."
"You're forgetting I don't have to prove anything in court," I explained. "I, as a Ranger, have determined his guilt. Besides, he and his companions have attempted to kill a Ranger. The penalty for that is immediate execution without trial."
Steele looked at me strangely and asked, "You can make that stick?" At my nod he swallowed and continued, "You know, I fit that description too!"
Looking him in the eye I made a snap decision and handed him back his blaster. "I have logged no such incident," I told him. "You are just cited as rendering assistance to a Ranger. And I can make that stick too!"
With a relieved sigh Steele said, "Thanks! Let's get to it."
I let him be my guide as we went up the back stairs. I was still in combat mode and did not sense the danger until I felt the needler buck in my hand. The guard who had been about to fire on us fell to the floor with a sigh. Dashing across the room, we dived to cover near the door of the library as a blaster bolt ripped through the air above us. Steele turned and fired back down the hall, dropping the butler in the act of trying to shoot us in the back.
The security Chief had barricaded himself behind his desk and was firing at us from that concealment. "Cover your eyes," I whispered to Steele. Pulling the ornamental tab from the shoulder of my shipsuit, I triggered the stun bomb within and threw it behind the desk.
I could see the burst even through my closed eyelids and the hand I had hastily thrown over them. I dashed into the room as soon as the bomb had pulsed. The remaining guard was huddled in the corner and only half stunned. I shot him as he tried to bring his blaster to bear. I then went to the desk and dragged the groaning security chief from behind it. Checking him for hidden weapons, I tossed aside a knife and a pocket blaster.
"Watch him," I ordered Steele as I searched the remaining rooms, but found nothing else except a large stockpile of Blue Heaven in a storeroom. With it was stored a supply of thermal bombs, on hand in case Sims needed to dispose of the evidence in a hurry.
Working quickly I placed the bombs where they would do the most good and set the timers for thirty minutes.
When I got back to the library I found Sims lying on the floor in a pool of blood, a knife in his hand. "What happened?" I asked Steele.
Glaring at me defiantly, the hot tears coursing down his cheeks, Steele blurted, "I let him try on the mask he had them put on you. When he picked up the knife it seemed only right to let him enjoy himself. Just like he did for Karen!"
"Let's get out of here," was all I said.
We hurried out of the house and on down the drive. By the time we reached the gate the bombs had started to go off and the house was in flames. The security people on the gate had drawn their blasters at our approach but holstered them again when I identified himself as a Ranger. Upon questioning them I determined they were just what they seemed to be and had no knowledge of the drug dealing.
I gave them a written order, under my seal, for the fire department to stand by and insure that the building burned completely to the ground. That detail taken care of, I signaled for a cab and we returned to the city.
Steele finally broke his silence when we reached the port, "What about Sims?"
"As I said," I told him coolly, "you are logged as rendering assistance to a Ranger. As far as I am concerned justice has been served and this case is closed. You'll have to come to terms with your conscience on your own." I was not offering him absolution here but neither was I condemning him for doing what I should have liked to have done, were I not constrained from exacting vengeance rather than dispensing justice. Sims' death had in a way been poetic justice and the whole matter was a closed case now, subject to review only by ranger authorities.
With that we solemnly shook hands and I strode briskly off across the port to my waiting ship. With Sims out of the equation the local police could handle the mop-up operation on their own. All I wanted now was a long hot shower and to put as much distance between Primus and myself as I could. This had been a dirty job and someone had to do it, but I hoped that next time it wouldn't be me.
© by Bob Blacketer 1997
All Rights Reserved
Read the exciting SEQUEL to this story
A RANGER'S DEBT
A RANGER'S DEBT
Bob's E-Mail: rblacket@adams.net
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