“Why not?”
“Do you want Maxis to know we’re coming?”
“He can’t hear us.”
“He might if you keep talking. If we don’t get up there quick, we might have to resort to violence and shoot it out with him in this stairwell. Now, if that’s what you want,...”
“Oh.”
“Right. C’mon!”
They continued climbing the stairs. At the top Jake glanced around the doorway to see if there was an entry keypad; there wasn’t. “Just have to do this the hard way,” he muttered.
“Shoot the door open?” Evvie asked.
“No, stand and wait.” He tapped his bracelet. “Odin, we’re next to that secret exit. What’s going on in the reception room?”
“One figure is approximately two meters from you.”
“Excellent. Is the channel to Tina open?”
“Here, Jake.”
“Sh! Stand by.”
Jake turned to Evvie. He motioned to her to stand on the other side of the door and to point her weapon at about head height. He leveled his own pistol at waist-height. “Now we wait,” he mouthed to Evvie.
They only had to wait about a minute before the door quietly slid open. Maxis was looking over his shoulder as he stepped through the exit. He turned, and his face almost collided with the business end of Evvie’s blast rifle.
Maxis had a small pistol in his right hand. Jake snatched it away from the stunned man and stuck it in his belt. He holstered his own weapon in an instant. He grabbed Maxis’ left wrist and turned the other man around. He removed the weapon from his belt and jabbed it into Maxis’ back.
“Take two giant steps forward,” he ordered. Maxis complied.
Evvie and Jake were able to use the captured leader as a shield from man’s allies. Jake peered around one side of the other man and shouted. “Anybody moves, and your boss gets it!” He lowered his voice slightly and spoke into his bracelet. “Tina, open that door!”
The effect was just as Jake had hoped. Maxis’ allies had turned around to see what was going on behind them. Their attention was diverted long enough for the rebels to burst into the room unimpeded. Outnumbered and more or less surrounded, they gave up and allowed themselves to be disarmed.
“And that,” Jake said to no one in particular, “is that. And it actually feels good.”
Twelve
One Good Turn Deserves....
Jake shoved Maxis into the custody of several rebels. “I believe this means you’re unemployed, Maxis,” he said with a smirk.
“You can’t do this!”
“I just have.”
“I’ll... I’ll sue you!”
“For what? Deprivation of illegally gained assets? Overthrowing a tyrant? Don’t make me laugh.”
Daniel and Clarissa, with Thorne and Tina behind them, finally entered the room. They walked up to where Jake, Evvie, Maxis, and the rebels were standing. In a strong and firm voice Daniel said to the ousted dictator, “Sordius Maxis, in the name of the people of Antioch Two, I place you under arrest.”
Jake shook his head. “Don’t be so melodramatic. At any rate, you don’t have the power to make arrests.”
“Ha!” Maxis snapped.
“However, you do have the right to hold this idiot in irons until someone shows up that does have that power.”
“Ha!” Clarissa shot back.
“Who will show up with that power, Jake?” Thorne asked.
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Evvie said. “My agent and my mother are on their way here. When we hold a press conference and tell the galaxy what happened, I’m sure those guys will show up.”
A look of vast surprise suddenly came over Maxis’ face as he realized that his favorite artist had just helped put him in the hands of the masses. “Evvie?” he gasped. “Evvie Martini? What are you doing here?”
She glared at him. “I’m helping overthrow you, you tyrant!”
“But...but... but I’m a fan! You can’t do this to one of your fans!”
“I’ll do it to any of my fans who’s a bully and a tyrant!”
“If only she’d do that to all her fans,” Jake muttered.
“It’s not fair!”
“Hey, Sordy, life isn’t always fair. If I were you, I’d sulk in silence.”
Maxis glared at Jake for an instant or two, then shut his mouth.
Jake turned his attention to Thorne and the Rosens. “I believe this fulfills my part of our contract.”
“You fulfilled your promise,” Daniel said in an excited tone.
“You really came through,” Clarissa added. “We couldn’t have done it without you.”
“That is why you hired me, as I recall.”
“So, Jake,” Thorne said, “what do you do now?”
Jake took in a breath. “Uh, well, I...” He abruptly became somber. “I have someone that I promised I would visit when I did something good and important. I think this qualifies.”
“You’re leaving us?” Clarissa asked. “Now? We have to celebrate our victory.”
“You have every right to join us,” Daniel said.
“I know. This is something I have to do first. It...it means a great deal to me.”
“You will come back?”
“Certainly. It might be a little while, a few days or so, but I’ll be back.”
“Okay.”
“In the meantime, before you start your celebration, be sure to get my compensation scheme established. Once you’re up and running again, I’ll need that five percent you agreed to.”
“Five percent?” Thorne frowned. “Of the profits or the gross?”
“Profits, of course,” Jake replied.
“All profits?”
“Mining profits.”
“You’re not going to begrudge him his fee for his help?” Clarissa asked.
“Five percent is quite an amount, Clarissa.”
“It’s what we agreed to, Del. I think our freedom is worth it.”
“Their freedom,” Jake added, nodding to Thorne, “and your right to turn this operation around. No more bribes, no more under-the-table deals, and no more relying on gold and silver.”
“We’ll see,” Thorne said. “I think there might have to be a contract renegotiation in a few years.”
“Okay. We’ll see where you are in five years. Deal?”
“Deal.”
Daniel shook Jake’s hand. “Thanks again. Take care.”
Clarissa kissed Jake on the cheek. “Thank you. Be well.”
Jake nodded. “Pleasure working with you. All of you. Best of luck.” He turned to Evvie. “I take it that you’re going to stay here and wait for you mother and Sid?”
“Yeah. Besides, I think I owe these people a free show.”
“Do I need to pack your stuff, or what?”
“I packed up last night and this morning. Just beam my luggage down here.”
“Fine. I’ll do that before we break orbit. Now, can I ask a small favor of you?”
“I suppose.”
“You don’t need to play up my part in this. I don’t want to get bombarded by other requests to overthrow anyone else. I’d rather not get any other unusual job offers from oppressed people, or from pop stars.”
“Oh, sure, no problem. These things always get rewritten. I’m sure we can keep your name out.” An odd expression came over her face. “That might be a good thing. After all, none of us wants to look like we need help to overthrow a dictator.”
“Fine.” He took in a breath, then let it out. “Evvie, it's...it's been real.”
“Bye!”
“Buh-bye.” He tapped his bracelet one last time. “Odin, teleport me back to the ship.” A moment later his disappeared.
Unable to control herself, Evvie shouted, “We did it!”
A cheer surged through the rebels.
“Yes, we did,” Daniel added when the cheer subsided. “We are now a free people!”
Another, louder cheer went
up. Once it faded a silence fell over the room.
“Okay,” Evvie asked, breaking the silence, “now what do we do?”
Everyone glanced around. “We celebrate?” someone asked.
“Of course,” Daniel said. “We’ve got a lot to celebrate.”
“I can do a rebellion tribute show,” Evvie added.
“Great!”
“Then what?” Clarissa asked.
Evvie shook her head. “I dunno. The videos I saw always ended here.”
“Del?”
“Uh, yeah, well...” He shrugged. “I suppose we can tackle that question tomorrow.”
“Right. Tomorrow. Today, we celebrate our victory!”
***
After Jake had transported Evvie’s baggage down to the planet, he walked onto the bridge and said, “Odin, stand by to break orbit.”
“Course, Jake?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Just run us around the sector for a few days.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want to stick around.”
“You’re avoiding a victory celebration? Have you become ill, Jake?”
“Ha-ha. Actually, I imagine that at some point during or immediately after, they’re going to start wondering what comes next. I’d rather not be around when that question comes up. I’m likely to get hired again. Besides, I think some real experts ought to assist them with that problem.”
“Like whom?”
“Like my cousin.”
“I see.”
“Yes. Maybe this is one last chance to rain on her parade. Open a channel to his office, then take us out of orbit.”
“Done and done, Jake” Odin responded, his voice seeming to contain a hint of satisfaction.
It took several seconds for the screen in front of Jake’s seat to come alive. When it did it showed the face of a young secretary with tight hair and serious clothes. “Mister Bonner’s office. May I help you?”
“I’d like to speak to Josh. Is he in?”
“Who is calling, sir?”
“His cousin Jake.”
“Business or personal?”
“Business, this time.”
“One moment.”
Several more seconds later her face was replaced by a man’s. He didn’t look much like Jake; side by side, no one could have guessed that he and Jake were related. They both appeared to be the same age, though, and both spoke with the same accents. The two had grown up together, were almost as close as brothers, and were indeed related to each other. Although, considering Josh Bonner’s slightly exasperated expression when he saw Jake, one might have wondered if something hadn’t happened to change those facts.
“Jake,” Josh said slowly.
“Good to see you, too.”
“I am busy, y’know.”
“This is business, Josh. I wouldn’t bother you at work if it wasn’t.”
Josh sighed. “If you’re in trouble, Jake,...”
“I’m not in trouble. I’m calling to, shall we say, provide a tip to Earth’s Galactic Justice Bureau. It just happens that you’re the agent I’m providing that tip to, that’s all.”
“What tip, Jake?”
“Ever hear of the mining planet Antioch Two?”
“No, why?”
“Well, for one thing, it’s the second most mineral-rich world in known space. For another thing, until about an hour ago it was the personal property of one Sordius Maxis.”
“Personal property? How’d that happen?”
“His grandfather lied to his employers about the planet’s resources then bought it cheap.”
“So what happened an hour ago?”
“I helped the people of Antioch Two overthrow Mister Maxis. It seems he, his father, and before them his grandfather, were using the planet as their personal bank account, and not sharing anything with the people they ‘hired,’ using that word loosely, to work the mines.”
Josh smiled. “Why, Jake, you did something noble? I’m impressed. How much are they paying you?”
“Josh, I’m shocked you’d ask such a question.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Guess not. Five percent of their annual gross profits, from now on.”
“Wow. That, plus your work for that Martini kid, and you’re a rich man.”
“Oh, you heard about that?”
“I saw your ship in a couple news accounts.”
“I see. Well, that’s why I’m calling you now. Evvie managed to talk herself into assisting me overthrow this Maxis character, in exchange for media rights.”
“So what?”
“So, her mother and her agent are on route to Antioch Two. They’ll arrive in a couple of days. I imagine after a day or so of private talks, they’ll hold a press conference to announce what happened.”
“How does that concern me, Jake?”
“Well, for one thing, there’s the illegal way Maxis controlled the planet. I’m sure publicity will make it hard to collect evidence on him.”
“It could, yeah.” Josh inhaled a knowing breath. “Unless you have some information you’d like to hand over.”
“Love to. I’d much rather hand it over to you than to the media. Stand by.” Jake began tapping keypads on his console to bring up the data he and Odin had collected and transfer it to his cousin. “Now, there’s something else about publicity that you need to know?”
“What’s that?”
“Well, the planet has been mining gold and silver. As I understand it, it’s illegal to sell minerals from a world governed the way that it was on the open market.”
“I think so. Corporate law requires some reporting of illegal management practices, if they’re known.”
“The only way around that would be if certain palms were greased, right?”
Josh smiled. “Bribery, Jake? You have evidence of bribery?”
“Oh, yeah. Lots and lots of evidence. There was even a pension scam involving Maxis and a retirement community operator.”
“Cool.”
“Yeah, well, it won’t be, if what’s just happened on Antioch Two becomes public knowledge before law enforcement can act. I imagine that once the story gets out quite a few suits will try to head for deep space.”
“Very civic-minded of you, Jake.”
“Hey, what’s a cousin for, if he can’t help you put the bad guys away. Oh, and speaking of, one of Evvie’s last shows on her tour was on Antioch Two. It’s kinda bothered me that she got booked on a planet with such a small population. This Maxis guy turned out to be a huge fan of hers.”
“Pity him. Oh, you think he could have put out a little payola to get her?”
“Could be. I’m sure Evvie, her mother, and her agent had nothing to do with, but I’m not at all certain about the booking firm they hired to set her tour dates.”
“Still, such an accusation could be damaging.”
“Maybe, but I doubt it will hurt her all that much. Anyway, I’ll tell the media she’s not smart enough do something so sleazy.”
“That’s mean, Jake. Clever, but still mean.”
“Oh, well. So, are you convinced enough to get moving on all this?”
“Absolutely. I’ll meet with my boss and get his approval. Once that’s done I’ll send word to every related department and planetary office. By the time that press conference occurs, we should have all the major players and most of the minor ones in custody.”
“Except for Maxis himself. Someone’s going to have to come here to arrest him.”
“I’ll see about arranging that duty for me personally.”
“Great. Let me know your schedule. I had to leave the system to send you this message. Tell me when, and I’ll get back here just in time to meet you.”
“Sounds good. Is that it?”
“No, there’s one last thing. I had no problem agreeing to help them overthrow Maxis. Now that that’s done, the people there are going to start wondering what to do next. It might be a good idea to dispatch some experts in
governance and management to provide them with some assistance.”
“Well, the Bureau of Colonies probably needs to be told of all this anyway. I’ll talk to them and see what they can do.”
“Thanks. As much as I liked the payment for services rendered, working with them was a bit of a bitch. Not an original thought in sight till I came along, you see.”
“Aw, poor Jake.”
“Not anymore I’m not.”
Josh shook his head. “Well, I’d better go. You just dumped a load of work onto my lap, and I don’t have much time to spare.”
“Right. Keep in touch, Josh.”
“Will do. Thanks, Jake. Talk to you soon.”
“Later.” The screen went dark.
“Jake,” said Odin, “that was a noble thing you just did.”
“Well, if Josh wasn’t where he is, I wouldn’t have bothered.”
“Why leave the Antioch system to contact him, though?”
“Someone might overhear our conversation and get a bright idea or two. Like contact authorities first, or call the media before Josh can catch all those corporate dirtbags. Or get the idea of hiring someone else to help them run the planet, and give some of my cut to them.”
“Ah.”
“Still, overall, Odin, I think we did well on this one.”
“The operative work being ‘we,’ Jake. You could not have assembled that evidence without my assistance, to start with.”
Jake shifted in his chair. “Yeah, so?”
“Considering that you are financially set for life, even if your ‘cut’ is negotiated down, perhaps it is time to reconsider how we relate to one another. For example, putting this starship and its resources towards projects that do not have economic benefits in either the short or the long term.”
“This isn’t the beginning of a beautiful friendship, Odin?”
“No, but perhaps a more rewarding partnership.”
“Rewarding for whom?”
“Precisely, Jake.”
ABOUT THE JAKE BONNER ‘VERSE
There are five other books in the “Jake Boner ‘verse”: three novellas, a short story collection, and a short novel. All five books are available in print and in an ebook box set. You can read about all five books, and find links to your favorite online store to buy them, by going to the Jake Bonner ‘verse page at my blog.
Thank you for reading Expert Assistance!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Robert Collins is the author of three science-fiction novels: Monitor, Lisa’s Way, and Expert Assistance. He’s also author of two fantasy novels, Cassia and The Opposite of Absolute, and the young adult novel True Friends. He has several short-story collections available, including The Frigate Victory Omnibus Collection and The Case Files of Gwen Conner. He’s sold over 90 stories to magazines such as Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Fantasy Magazine; Tales of the Talisman; Space Westerns; The Fifth Di...; and Sorcerous Signals.