| Chapter 8 |
Beka vs the Port AUthority - Chapter 9
Trance glanced at her watch, she was beginning to get concerned. The two and a half hour mark had come and gone with no sign of Beka. She had dragged out the dinner as long as she could, ordering a meal from the menu that stated she should allow at least 40 minutes time for cooking and encouraging Kelso to talk about himself over desert. After the meal she had insisted that they go back to the gaming room. Their winnings had increased but so had Kelso's hints that they should be quitting while they were ahead and retiring to his house where they could celebrate their good fortune. She wasn't concerned about Kelso but she was worried about Beka.
"I need to go pee, "she told her escort.
"You just went 30 minutes ago," complained Kelso
"I know but I always need to go when I get nervous or excited," she put a suggestive tone in her voice at the word excited. She removed his hand from her waist and walked towards the womens' bathroom putting an extra bit of sway in her hips as she walked.
To her immense relief Beka was waiting for her in the ladies room. "Beka!" exclaimed Trance. "You're late. I was getting worried"
"The job was a bit tougher than I anticipated," said Beka rubbing her forehead. She had banged her head against the edge of the desk as she was diving under it when the security guard had entered the room and a bruise was forming. "And I'm going to have a talk with Harper about making assumptions about computer systems when we get back aboard the Maru. But the job's done. Here's the card. Will you have any problems putting it back in Kelso's pocket?"
Trance made a disgusted look. "I'll have more problem getting myself away from him than I will putting the card back."
"That won't be a problem," reassured Beka, a sympathetic look on her face. "Give me ten minutes, then get in line to cash out your chips. You'll have your opportunity then. We'll meet up outside the casino"
Beka left the ladies room and Trance spent the next few minutes touching up her makeup and rebuttoning the buttons that Kelso's wandering hands had dislodged. Ten minutes later she was back in the gaming room.
"I think it's time to cash in our chips," she told Kelso when she rejoined him. Then deliberately bringing her thigh into contact with his she added, "Afterwards we can celebrate our winnings."
The look the security gave her was that of a carnivore looking at his next meal. He put his arm around her waist and herded her to the cashier, walking so quickly she nearly had to run to keep him from dragging her. They had just taken their position in line when the casino's lights began to flash on and off, and the fire alarm began to wail. . The crowd began to stir nervously and then the sprinkler system activated. Sensing that the crowd was starting to panic the casino security guards began calling out orders, telling the crowd not to remain calm and to walk, don't run, to the nearest exits.
Deciding that a little more confusion might be in order Trance cried out "I smell smoke" Any semblance of order the crowd had evaporated upon hearing her words and there was a panicked rush for the exits. Taking advantage of the confusion and the fact that the casino's patrons were pushing and shoving each other in their panic, she slipped the pass card back into Kelso's pocket then joined the crowd as it stampeded for the doors.
Beka was waiting on the scoot as Trance ran from the gambling hall, water streaming down her hair. The girl climbed onto the seat behind Beka and Beka drove off heading back to the Maru leaving a soaked Kelso alone in the crowd.
"You're all wet," said Beka
"So are you, Beka."
"Yeah, but not as wet as you are."
The two rode in companionable silence for another moment then Trance spoke up again. "Did I do a good job, Beka?" she asked.
"You did good, Trance. You did good."
Epilogue
Time: CY 10090 AD July 5167Location: The Andromeda Ascendant's officers' mess
"That was a pretty good story, Beka," said Rommie. "It reminds me of some of the stories Dylan tells about his days in Special Ops. You should tell it to him some day. But weren't the Takahashis a bit annoyed that they had to pay you for delivering a cargo that the Sakaemasu could have delivered itself once you altered the inspection records?"
"They might have been a little upset," agreed Beka. "But I suspect they wrote it off as a bearable loss considering the amount of money they would have had to pay for bribes and dock fees if I hadn't altered the records. And they probably gained some good will points with the Vercheonites by showing them that the Takahashi family would do what ever it took to ensure that their deliveries arrived on time."
"What about Captain de Vaca?' asked holo Andromeda. "Where there any repercussions for him?"
"I saw him at the next Salvagers Ball," said Beka. "He was still captain of the Sakaemasu. He and Kotone were practically attached at the hip, and she was wearing an engagement ring with a diamond on it that looked nearly as big as a hen's egg."
Rommie reached out to touch the box containing the necklace. "What are you going to do with this?" she asked. "If you sold it, it would go a long way towards paying off some of your father's debts."
"I know it would, Rommie, I expect that's why Nikolay sent it to me. He knew that I'd have refused cash, but this is different." Her tone of voice changed from pensive to determined "I'm not sure what I'll eventually do with it, but I do know what I'm going to do with it in the immediate future."
"Which is?" asked Andromeda's core self.
Beka took the necklace out of the box and held it up against her neck. "Dylan's informed me that he expects me to be at that diplomatic reception day after tomorrow. I'm going to wear this and watch the looks on those oh so elegant upper class ladies when they see the mere captain of a tramp cargo vessel wearing a necklace that most of them would sell their husbands souls for."
| Chapter 8 |