Steven Campbell - Hard Luck Hank - Basketful of Crap

Man, people would pay me to be able to fight a corporation. I could probably get guys from every gang. It would also go a long way to clear my recently-damaged reputation. But still.

“We just don’t have the weapons to fight them. If you gave me like six months I could put something together. With enough money.”

“We can provide you with any weapons you require from our armory.”

Whoa.

“Do you have a list of what’s available?”

“I can provide one.”

“How many people can I hire?” I asked.

“As many as is required,” Naked Guy said.

“What if I needed 10,000 people?” I challenged.

“The attack needs to be carried out within three months. And you may only hire residents of Belvaille.”

“But you’re basically saying I can spend as much money as I need to spend and you’ll give us whatever equipment we want?”

“We can only give equipment that Colmarian United Supply possesses, but otherwise, yes.”

I couldn’t see any problems with this deal. I was going to be the most popular guy on Belvaille very shortly.

“Alright,” I said. “Give me the list of gear and I’ll turn it over to my tech guy. In the meantime I’ll start hiring people. I’m going to need—” and I shrugged. I thought I understood how corporations worked a little. “Thirty million credits.”

It was an absurd number. I might as well have said “three infinities.”

Naked Guy paused. For once. Had a corporation finally been overbilled?

“That sum is acceptable,” he said.

Naked Guy walked to my front door and was about to leave when I thought of one last thing.

“Why do you guys have the Portals?”

He turned and faced me. Those black, reflective eyes were unwavering.

“To avoid the tolls from the Navy blockade.”

That answer sent a shiver up my back. I wasn’t sure about all the other things he had told me. But I knew that last one was a lie.

There was no way the corporations were saving enough on Navy fees to justify building their own Portals. Not unless their long-term plans stretched epochs into the future.

But Naked Guy had been so forthcoming about everything else. It seemed odd he would lie about that one thing. It was also entirely possible that I didn’t understand all the details. I wasn’t exactly a corporate bookkeeper.

But I did know the fees the Navy charged. I knew them for the gangs. Unless the corporations were charged vastly different sums, it didn’t make any sense.

As I was pondering all this I got a tele from Garm.

“What?” I tried to answer as grumpily as she always answered my teles.

“Hi, Hank. What are you up to?”

“Huh?” I don’t think Garm had ever asked such a thing of me. She was not one to mince words or flatter or ask how your day was going.

“I heard your apartment was destroyed by Wallow. Wanted to make sure you weren’t hurt.”

“Oh. Well that’s nice of you. No, I got out long before. I suspected something like that might happen; though, I would have enjoyed seeing Wallow walk across Belvaille. That must have been an impressive sight.”

“How is it you seem to like Wallow but you’re always fighting him?” she asked.

“I have never ‘fought’ Wallow. I have merely had a few disagreements with his fists and his fists have shown me the error of my ways. I just think it’s cool that a Therezian is on Belvaille.”

“Yeah,” Garm said. “You talk to Bronze lately?”

This was why she had called. And it made me uncomfortable. And she was uncomfortable. And we could both see the other was uncomfortable on the tele screen.

“Yeah.” I mumbled something, combining a few grunts and murmurs and hoped that sounded like a sentence.

“I know he’s…fond of you. I haven’t been able to get ahold of him. He doesn’t have a tele of course. Strangest thing. At least he says he doesn’t have one...”

Garm was a great friend. And Bronze was a friend. And if any two people in the galaxy should not be dating, it was them. But that wasn’t for me to say.

I couldn’t look at the tele. At Garm’s face. I looked at my autocannon on the floor. Maybe I should paint it. Or sell advertising space.

“Hmm,” I said, stalling for time.

But how was I going to do this? I didn’t want to rat on Bronze. But I didn’t want Garm to twist in the wind. She might even take it out on me later. Was I jealous? There’s nothing like seeing someone date your ex-girlfriend to remind you just how much you like her. Even if the moment you get back together you want to kill her.

“Oh, before I forget, I heard some guys at the Gentleman’s Club say they were putting together a job to burgle the Pushane Jewel,” I said casually.

“What? That’s my apartment building,” Garm yelled.

“I thought so.”

“When did you hear this?”

“Few days ago.”

“And you’re just thinking of telling me now?”

“I hadn’t talked to you in a bit. Besides, you have security, right?”

“Not enough. Who were they? Was this just ‘guy talk’ or were they serious?”

“Seemed serious. I didn’t see, I was watching glocken.”

“That team is never going to win!” She yelled. “My place better not get robbed or I’m holding you responsible.”

“Do what I do and have Gandrine sit outside.”

“I’ll call you back. If you hear anything more, let me know immediately . Not a few days later.”

“Sure.”

Garm hung up.

That was one way to get out of an ugly conversation.

Not long after, I got an enormous list of equipment available from Naked Guy. It was what Colmarian United Supply could lend us for the attack on the other corporation. The list was over 300 pages long and I didn’t understand the vast majority of it.

I forwarded it to Delovoa and asked him, “If you were going to outfit an army of gang thugs to attack a corporation on Belvaille, and you had your pick of anything on this list, what would you choose?”

I also received a fund transfer.

30,000,000 credits.

I stood there looking at that number. I wasn’t even thinking of stealing that, because he had sent it to me in less than a day based on our five minute conversation. That was not a group I would ever be stealing from.

I teled Cad. I still felt bad about him losing Sassy and getting hurt at the last fight.

“You still here?” I asked.

“Yeah. Where else am I going to go?” he said.

“I’ll give you…forty grand to follow the Gandrine for four weeks. Twenty-four hours a day.”

“What? Why?”

“You’re turning down forty grand?”

“No, I’m just…there must be a reason. And it’s probably bad. Otherwise, I can’t think of a more boring job. Hire like three more people so we can at least talk and play cards.”

“How about I give you fifty grand and you hire anyone you want? I can’t be chasing around people looking to sit in front of Gandrine. Oh, but don’t let them see you.”

“I’m not sure they can see us. Where are they now?”

“By my new apartment.” I opened my door. “Well, not now. But I suspect they will be later. I’ll give you the address. Stay in a building up the street, they’re all vacant.”

“Is this dangerous?”

“I can’t imagine. Even if the Gandrine didn’t want you following them, if you crawl away from them they’ll never catch you. But don’t let them see you.”

“I know. I know.” Cad sighed.

“This is a lot of money I’m offering you,” I said, feeling as if he wasn’t being appreciative.

“Don’t get pissy. You’re basically asking me to watch them watch nothing. That’s painful.”