Helium3 Episode 2

  ***********************************

  – Chapter 15 –

  Noise burst briefly into the dingy room from the bar below. Tarun closed the door, pushed past the hanging sheet dividing the room, and collapsed exhausted on to one of the beds. He stared out the tiny window at the artificial dusk descending on Revlon. Flickering lights from advertising hordings in the main street lit the room in a stream of different colours.

  Mervyn watched his friend from the adjacent bed, ‘How’s the Casino business?’

  ‘It stinks. They’re going to sack me if I don’t rip-off the customers.’

  Loren’s tired voice came from the girl’s side of the sheet, ‘Gambling’s a rip-off anyway.’

  ‘I know, if there’s big money on the table they like to make certain the punter loses. There’s this button under table... I didn’t use it and someone won a load. Anyway, now they take me off the table if there’s a big bet.’

  ‘Good for you,’ Mervyn said trying to cheer up his friend. ‘I wouldn’t cheat anyone either.’

  Loren’s flaming hair appeared round the side of the sheet, ‘How much did you earn this week, Tarun?’

  ‘Er... well... I um...’

  ‘It is pay isn’t it?’ She demanded.

  ‘Yeah, but...’

  Mervyn felt a sudden surge of exasperation for his friend, ‘You didn’t gamble it away again, did you?’

  ‘There was this dead cert...’

  Loren’s chima turned a frosty white, ‘How much did you lose?’

  ‘The lot.’

  ‘What? Everything? A whole week’s wages?’

  Tarun nodded, ‘I think they used the button under the table -- perhaps they were trying to teach me a lesson.’ Loren’s chima burned bright red and Tarun cowered before her rage.

  ‘Look at this,’ she stormed, crossing the room and shoving a screen-sheet in his face. ‘This is all we have left once we’ve paid for food and board -- three-hundred and fifty credits. Not even enough to get us off this quark-spawn of a place let alone our sleds. How are we going to pay mooring fees now our bursaries are gone? We’ll be stuck here for the rest of our lives if you keep acting like a moron.’ Abruptly the fire left her and she slumped on the bed. Her chima cooled to a dejected blue as she buried her face in her hands, ‘We’ve been here for weeks -- the new semester will be starting soon.’

  ‘Sorry, I thought I could double my earnings... it looked easy.’

  Mervyn stared at the ceiling, ‘What’s De Monsero doing on Starlight while we languish here? This isn’t stopping him and it isn’t finding my dad.’ Loren was right, they spent most of their earnings just surviving. Somehow they needed to earn more or spend less, ‘You’re right, Loren, it’s time to say goodbye to the sleds. We’ll cut them loose tonight. And, Tarun, no more gambling -- it’s a mug’s game. Otherwise you can come and sweep up with me in the barber-shop. The hair clippings aren’t bad, but the tentacle off-cuts still wriggle,’ he shuddered at the thought.

  ‘Can’t you get a better job?’ Loren asked.

  ‘They all think my dad is wonderful, but they won’t employ me because I’m too well known. I only got this job because I lied about my name.’

  They lapsed into silence.

  Eventually Loren stirred herself, ‘Anyway, Mervyn, as I was saying, before Tarun barged in, they promoted me today.’

  ‘Repairing laser razors, instead of sonic toothbrushes, are we now?’ Tarun chided.

  ‘Better than that -- spybots.’

  Mervyn bolt upright, ‘How did you manage that, Loren?’

  ‘The gadget shop is a front for the spybot business. They liked by work so they moved me over.’

  Mervyn stared earnestly at Loren, ‘You don’t suppose the spybot from Starlight...?’

  ‘Actually, one of the repair stock does have an orange scratch the same colour as my helmet.’

  Mervyn remembered how the spybot had clunked off Loren’s helmet in central control before disappearing, ‘You think that could be it?’

  ‘I don’t know, but I’m going back tonight to take a look.’

  ‘We’ll come with you,’ Mervyn said. ‘Where’s Aurora?’

  Tarun suppressed a smirk, ‘She’s on night shift at the restaurant. They promoted her to wait on tables

  ‘Waiting on other people? She’ll hate that,’ Loren said with a glint in her eye. ‘Anyone fancy a bite to eat after we’ve raided the gadget shop?’

  ‘Where shall we go?’ Mervyn asked, then spotted Loren’s predatory grin. ‘No, we can’t afford it.’

  ‘We’ve gotta have some fun,’ Loren said as the grin spread even further. ‘And she’ll want to show us how well she serves.’

  Mervyn thought of the look Aurora would give them if they walked into the restaurant, ‘It’s irresponsible, and Aurora will hate it -- so I’m in. But spybot first, then sleds. Tarun?’

  Tarun laughed, ‘Yeah, I’m in. Come on.’

  The trio wandered up the darkened main street with the lights of Revlon around and above them. They had become so used to Revlon they barely, if ever, looked up at the sweeping town above their heads. At night the market came alive for the evening. Food stalls predominated as the residents of Revlon sought evening sustenance. The smell of dishes from all over the galaxy mingled in the air alternately tantalising and revolting their taste buds. Mervyn’s stomach growled in hunger as he watched a Zetoig twirling noodles on stick, then transferring them neatly to its mouth. A Polerna eating fat wriggling grubs with relish made Mervyn almost retch -- all of a sudden he lost his appetite.

  They pause by the swot pool to watch a game of tag swot cheered on by a half-hearted crowd.

  ‘Look, Killer Keno’s on tonight,’ Mervyn said. ‘I could win five-hundred credits if I beat him -- that’s half a sled.’

  ‘No, Merv, it’s killer swot,’ Loren said firmly. ‘It’s far too dangerous.’

  ‘I wouldn’t need to kill him -- I could win on points.’

  Tarun pointed to a picture of the Revlon champion, ‘He snapped the last contestant in half--’

  ‘Even if you won, Merv,’ Loren cut in, ‘he’d do you serious damage. It’s not worth it.’

  Loren guided them off the main street and down an unlit side alley. Carefully avoiding the reeking bins and piles of rubbish, they wound their way through a maze of alleys connecting the backs of offices and shops. Twice Mervyn halted thinking he spied movement in the shadows ahead. Each time they waited patiently for more movement then pressed ahead when nothing showed. I must be jumpy, he thought to himself. Eventually Loren paused by a back door.

  ‘How are we going to get in?’ Tarun hissed.

  Loren produced a key card, ‘Bought a blank and a second-hand card reader at a gadget stall. Took a copy earlier.’ She held the card up to the door and Mervyn heard a heavy clunk from inside. Loren swung the door inwards and stepped through, ‘Stay here until I’ve disabled the alarm.’ A few minutes later she reappeared and beckoned them inside.

  They entered a scruffy room piled high with crates. Mervyn stepped round a particularly high stack and gasped in surprise. Rack upon rack of spybots lined every wall like balls in a bowling alley. He never imagined so many existed, and this was just the small proportion needing repair. Somewhere a lot of eavesdropping took place. Loren cleared a space among the remains of bioelectronics sprawled over a large table. She fetched down a battered spybot and pulled over a wide-screen viewer seated in the centre of the table.

  ‘See, this is the scratch where it hit me,’ she said pointing to an orange smear. She selected a multi-tool and opened a hatch on the side of the ball, ‘Right, let’s see what we can find out.’ She plugged in a lead. A line of writing and a data box appeared on the screen, ‘Not much we can tell without the password, except it’s registered to one Halival Tarak.’

  ‘Halival Tarak? I know him,’ Tarun said. ‘He was Lord De Monsero’s head of security.’


  ‘If this is De Monsero’s spybot,’ Mervyn said excitedly, ‘then it’s all the proof we need to implicate him in the raid on Starlight.’