“Two of my favorite new friends.” To the care worker, I said: “Malva, you have so comforted Ilan at a time of great stress in his life.” To Max, I added: “A man who shares my convictions about the levers of power and the bureaucracy of the corrupt. To be young and rebellious!

  “I must ask a small favor of you both. In light of today’s harrowing escapades, I thought it best to begin the healing process. Ilan and I are arranging a summit of sorts to set the town’s future on the right course. It’s a small, private affair, the results of which will be shared with the entire town tomorrow.”

  Max threw back the rest of his beer.

  “Ah-yah. I hear you. We’re not good enough to stick around.”

  “On the contrary. Discussions will be sensitive. My guests need to speak their minds freely. I promise: All will be revealed tomorrow.”

  “C’mon, you old bastard,” Malva said. “You’ve had your fill.”

  Max trusted no one, which I respected. Unfortunately, if pockets of resistance formed after our grand announcement, he’d likely lead the charge. I hated the thought of killing him.

  I helped Ilan finish setting the table. We borrowed glasses and silverware from cantina stock. It was impressive. I loved how the silver domes cast an aura of mystery.

  “Too bad we don’t have a centerpiece.”

  “A what, partner?”

  “You know. Something in the center to add a nice flourish. Some flowers, fruits. Something with candles, perhaps.” The cantina door opened. “Never mind. The guests are here.”

  Actually, just Elian, inventor of Motif and owner of a frustrating case of myostemic plastosis. He was a thin but handsome fella except for the unfortunate implant behind his ear.

  “Welcome, Elian. Please. Join us.”

  “I don’t … Raul, what’s happening? Ship said it was important.”

  “What it is, is dinner.” I extended my hand, which he hesitantly accepted. “I realize today’s events were disturbing, but you’ll have an entirely new perspective on life after tonight. And, if all goes well, I want to give you that promised tour of Bart.”

  He cracked a smile. Ilan showed him to his seat as the door opened again. Ship entered ahead of Lumen. Already, she set hands to hips, loaded for bear.

  “Why am I here, Raul? You’ve done enough for one day.”

  “I assume Vash is stable. I hear those pods are outstanding at making patients comfortable and eliminating pain.”

  “He needs to be transferred to Machado for surgery.”

  “Actually, that’s on my agenda. Please, you’ve had a trying day. I’m sure you’re peckish. Ilan and I prepared a gourmet meal. We also have crucial matters to discuss. Vash will be fine for an hour.”

  I pointed to the table with the grace of a top-flight maître d.

  “What are you scheming now, Raul?”

  “Please. Sit.”

  Ship waited inside the door as Lumen, hands still firmly planted on hips, approached the table. Ilan pulled out her chair.

  “You too,” I told the boy, who looked around like I was speaking to someone else. “Sit next to Elian.”

  Unlike the others, the kid hopped and skipped to his chair.

  After Moon seated Lumen, he and I took our positions at the heads.

  “Dinner and wine are the starter course. We hope you’ll enjoy them. Afterward, we intend to change your lives for the better.”

  The young gentlemen to my right lit up with a sense of anticipation. Lumen, on the other hand, seemed good and damn ready to kill me.

  Excellent. I was up for a challenge.

  22

  S HIP AND ELIAN GAZED AT THE MEAL. They savored the aroma and went for the fish. They chewed with that died-and-gone-to-heaven reaction. Lumen stared at the foreign food but ignored her silverware.

  “This is delicious,” Elian said. “You cooked it with a kiosk?”

  “Tastes fresh from the sea, doesn’t it?”

  “Sure does, Raul. What’s it called?”

  “Kohlna, the staple fish of Hokkaido. Your steak is arullat from Hansen’s Landing. It’s a close cousin to lamb. The purple Dorset peas come from Cairns. The white wine is made by an elite vineyard on Qasi Ransome.”

  Poor Ship ate like a child who’d been fed on daily rations of gruel.

  “Not so fast, my friend,” I told him. “Savor each bite. There are no seconds, I’m afraid.”

  He set down his fork and reached for his napkin.

  “These did not come from protein pellets. The meat is so flaky, and the seasonings are … I never tasted herbs like this.”

  “You’d be surprised what exists out there. The tech for flash-dried meats is more advanced in some systems. Fortunately, Ilan and I have traveled extensively across the Collectorate. We stockpile souvenirs while on business. Drop by someday and I’ll demonstrate the technique.”

  Elian talked with his mouth full, enjoying the beef.

  “Customs must have charged you a fortune.”

  “Oh, we have ways of skirting past the authorities.”

  “Nice.”

  I raised an eyebrow when I saw Moon not eating. He forced a smile and grabbed a fork. Time to play along! We enjoyed the smell of well-prepared food. It brought back distant memories but not motivation to eat. Our bodies never signaled hunger.

  “Lumen, you might at least try a bite.”

  She twirled a fork in her hand and watched the men eat with gusto.

  “Why the elaborate meal? Why do you need to soften us up?”

  Though I’d only known Lumen for a week, I counted on her not to pull punches. She didn’t disappoint.

  “We arrived in this town under suspicious circumstances but with the best of intentions.”

  “I doubt Esai or his friends would agree.”

  “You’d be right.” I turned to Ship and Elian, refusing to allow Lumen to get ahead of the narrative. “Esai, his cousin Emilio, and two others were thieves attempting to sell stolen weapons on the night market. Unfortunately, they were killed for their actions. A regrettable but necessary circumstance.”

  They stopped rifling through dinner.

  “They were thieves?” Ship asked. “They stole from you?”

  “Yes.”

  “They were idiots,” Elian said. “Never cared for Esai. He was an ass.”

  I sighed. “Alas, he was a reckless young man. Based on his criminal history, also quite clearly an ass of the highest order.”

  “Good riddance.”

  Elian returned to his meal. Ship hesitated a beat then drank wine.

  “As I said, Lumen, we arrived with the best of intentions. But the dynamic was fragile from the outset. We took a shine to Desperido. Saw its potential. Made a fair offer to protect it from outside dangers.”

  She scoffed at me. “Wild promises and veiled threats. That was your offer, Raul.”

  “Perception vs. reality. I wish you had taken the offer seriously. Your unfortunate attempt to have us killed only crippled the dynamic further. I’d like to repair it tonight.”

  That time the forks dropped. Ship and Elian stared across the table with limp jaws.

  “It was you?” Ship said.

  “Hold on,” Elian added. “Raul, you’re saying Lumen hired those gunmen?”

  “Alas.”

  Lumen knew I had her over a barrel. Again, however, I chose to control the narrative.

  “The good thing is, my friends, it was all a misunderstanding. She thought we were sent by the Horax to remove her permanently and take over the operations. She confessed everything after we nearly killed her son. She regrets the decision. Yes?”

  Our not-so-gracious dinner guest seethed. Though she didn’t say the words, I smelled a delightful variety of curses behind her lips. So that’s how she intended to play it.

  Yeah, no. Time to draw her out.

  “Please eat, Yesenia. It’s time to make peace.”

  She leaned forward like a woman ready for verbal combat.

  “Excuse me? W-what did you call me?”

  “Yesenia. Your given name. Yesenia Rodriguez. Born 5331 in the city of Malagua to Jesus and Gina Rodriguez. Mother of Vash Rodriguez, born on the seventeenth standard day of 5352 in the remote parish of Todos Santos.”

  Her combat mode morphed into terror.

  “How did you …?”

  “Lumen was your paternal grandmother’s name. You arrived in Desperido as a last resort but used an alias close to your heart. For a time, Vash also used an alias. Then you sent him away, perhaps fearful for his life. Your contacts helped you place him in a good home. But those choices are a discussion for another time. I have no intention of bringing up your birth name again.” I turned to the men. “Nor will it leave this table. Lumen, the degree to which I’ll probe into your biography tonight will depend upon your cooperation. For now, you need to eat. Everything will be explained. We are not your enemies, but we’re also not without considerable resources.”

  I thought my little speech deftly blended a sympathetic tone with veiled coercion. Unlike my partner, I loved hosting a dinner party – especially from a position of leveraged superiority. The food was outstanding, the Kohlna fish revived distant memories (none of them nostalgic), and the humans were compliant.

  Salesmen sometimes used fear as a closing technique, but I saw it as essential to my pitch. They needed to understand we were both serious and dangerous men, not to be crossed. Only then would they have the confidence to stand at our side feeling invincible.

  After Lumen began eating, I turned my focus to our young gentlemen, whose plates were damn near clean.

  “Elian, I have a question.”

  “Ah. Sure, Raul.”

  “How old are you?”

  “Twenty eight.”

  “Still young and bold. Your greatest wish is to one day journey into space. Yes?” He nodded. “I wonder: What would be your second greatest wish?”

  “My second is … I’m not sure, Raul.”

  “Give it a moment. See yourself in space. Now, take stock of the rest of your life. What hole is most in need of filling?”

  Elian leaned back in his chair and glanced at each of us. He rubbed the implant behind his ear, sighed, and straightened up.

  “Respect. Yeah, that’s it. I want to be respected.”

  “Why?”

  “I never was growing up. Not my classmates or my parents. I was short and fat. I buried myself in science texts. I didn’t hit a growth spurt until I was eighteen. When I washed out of the UNF because of my condition, they treated me like scum. I applied for hundreds of biotech jobs. Not one interview.”

  “But found an alternative life here. Elian, we’re impressed with Motif. It’s a brilliant invention. We believe it has staggering potential to flood every interstellar market. If you lead such an enterprise, I predict you will be highly respected.”

  Oh, the light in that kid’s eyes filled the room.

  “You really think so?”

  “Ilan and I have a vision. You’re an integral part of it, Elian. Take a few moments and imagine what it might mean to you.”

  I turned my attention to Ship.

  “We’ve talked about your new arm and how it will change your life, starting with self-esteem. Ship, you managed the supply depot in Lumen’s absence and reopened the cantina. Do you consider yourself well-organized?”

  “Yes, sir, I do.”

  “And leadership skills. If given the chance, would you be able to manage a large team?”

  “I have a lot to learn, Raul. But with the right teacher … yes.”

  “My thoughts exactly.”

  “What do you have in mind?”

  I wagged a finger. “Patience. I’m getting there.” I turned to the oldest mortal in the room. “Lumen, I know it’s odd asking my next question, given that I shot your only child today. But I wonder: How important to you is the group to which you and Vash belong?”

  She set down her silverware.

  “Like I told you before, I will not divulge any details. Don’t push me on this, Raul.”

  Her answer was predictable. Oh, well. She asked for it.

  “Your group – I’ll refrain from calling it a cult, as I know it offends you – is named the Children of Orpheus. As you told me today, it goes back generations. Named after an old Chancellor ship that crashed over eleven hundred years ago. Yes?”

  She wiped her lips and pushed back her chair.

  “No, Raul. You’ve done your homework, but this goes no further.”

  “Yet I’m afraid it must. My homework, as you call it, unraveled an intricate network of connections inside interprovince shipping and the funneling of considerable wealth to a handful of contractors in the industrial sector. During my research, I stumbled upon old stories about events that followed the Orpheus crash. In the interest of expediency, I won’t dive into the details. You already know them.

  “Your contractors have completed extensive studies of that region of Ixtapa. Designs have been passed around. The Children of Orpheus are building something on a grand scale. Something they claim will, in your own words, seek more and better for the Aztecan people. Gentlemen, Lumen has been siphoning most of the town’s profits toward the Children of Orpheus for the past three decades.

  “Now, before you become understandably dismayed, please hear me out. While her actions do amount to a betrayal of sorts, I have a plan to increase everyone’s profit margins while utilizing the very powerful connections Lumen has built over these many years. Let’s call it a win-win proposition for Desperido. Would you like to hear it?”

  Elian and Ship eyed Lumen with bitterness, although neither should have been surprised she was a thief. They answered with silent nods.

  “And you, Lumen?”

  “What choice do I have? If I walk away, you’ll kill me and my son.”

  “Reasonably doubtful.”

  “Then what is your insane proposition?”

  “Simple. Ilan and I will run Desperido effective immediately. We have already placed a protective barrier around the town, but it is not invulnerable, and we’ll face imminent threats.”

  “Where from?” Ship asked.

  “Ship, we intend to triple profit margins for every citizen and establish a firewall that excludes the cartels from our products. We seek two highly motivated lieutenants who want to travel extensively, lead others, and be shown proper respect.”

  I turned to Lumen. “We also want a third partner who already has potent connections worldwide and whose goals of amassing wealth align with our own.”

  Naturally, she threw up her arms in dismay. Who wouldn’t?

  “You walk in here, take over this town, almost kill my child, and you want to bring me in as a partner.”

  “Yes. An equal.”

  “You’re a piece of work, Raul.”

  “More so than you realize. Lumen, let me be frank. I know what happened to your family after the first Collectorate fell. I know you blamed the Cardinales for publicly calling the Rodriguez clan a nest of Chancellor loyalists to deflect attention from themselves. I know you were targeted for death until Evelyn Cardinale – your childhood friend – worked out a compromise with her father, who led the Horax at that time.

  “I know you were the first person the Horax shuffled off the grid to this desolate little town. Your actions thereafter in building the secret economy established a template. I also know you sent Vash away when Nestor Cardinale grew angry with your success here and wanted to teach you a lesson. A short time later, Nestor was conveniently assassinated, and his daughter ascended. You and Senora Cardinale reached a détente of sorts. Monthly tributes and the occasional cartel stowaways.

  “Through all the struggle, you never lost contact with Vash or faith in the Children of Orpheus, of which your late parents were devout members. So much so that you shuffled most of the town’s profits to Orpheus. A betrayal to many but an act of devotion to others. Have I misstated anything?”

  The floor was hers, but the toughest woman I’d come across in quite some time struggled with the weight of four sets of eyes burrowing into her. Yep, humans did not handle the moment well when their house of cards came tumbling down.

  “No, Raul. You got me. I don’t know how, but you got me.”

  “Your story is inspiring, Lumen. People on many worlds were betrayed in the months after the Collectorate collapsed. Friends became enemies overnight. And your new enemies were merciless. You made good on your parents’ legacy. That’s to be admired. I don’t intend to take it away. In fact, I want you to build on it.”

  “How? Triple the profits? Exclude the cartels? That’s mad.”

  “Dangerous, yes. But doable. We’ll start with your tributes to Horax. They end now. The credits will go to the townspeople. This alone should roughly double their incomes.”

  “No, no, no. That’s a death sentence. If I cut off Cardinale, she’ll send her people in guns blazing.”

  “Likely. Almost certain, actually.”

  Elian interjected.

  “Um, Raul. I think Lumen has a good point. I want better pay, but I’d like to live out the month, too.”

  “Not a problem. You should fear repercussions. Unfortunately, those are coming anyway. My contacts confirm: Cardinale is planning to make a move against Lumen and take over the town.”

  Yes, that was a lie, but I’d only need another week or so to make it reality. I promised Moon a bloody war in the desert, and by damn, we were gonna have one!

  “How can we stop it?” Elian said. “We’re not fighters. You and Ilan are, but you’re only two men. How …?”

  “Patience.” I shifted to Lumen. “You will continue to supplement the Children of Orpheus. When we scale our business – particularly in Motif production – you’ll up the ante. In exchange, you’ll call in favors. Just as you did to have my partner and I killed.”

  “Are you serious, Raul?”

  “Yes. The Children of Orpheus are very good at silencing threats. You have other teams. They will form the basis of our defense forces. The rest will be volunteers drawn from the town.” I turned to the gentlemen. “Our new lieutenants will supervise recruitment. Ilan and I have more than enough weapons.