The Criminal Streak Read online

  Once again Gwin and Britt headed out into the walkway. Those wishing to get from the buildings to the Garden walked until they reached the stairs to one of the many pedways spanning the walkway. These were multi-layered so visitors could exit each floor of the buildings and reach the Garden or the walkway.

  Gwin and Britt only went as far as the first pedway and climbed the stairs. They walked halfway out then leaned over the rail and watched the traffic beneath.

  “That one is from Nonturn,” Britt said, pointing to a person with a flat head and long arms.

  “She’s from Junis.” Gwin indicated a person with eyes on the sides of her head. By constantly turning her head she could see in all directions.

  They spent some time playing their game of picking out the aliens and trying to name their planets before returning to the walkway and continuing their circuit. The pace was slow but there was no anger, no pushing, and no hurrying. Generations of crowd walking had bred patience. Gwin and Britt stuck to the brighter area beside the building, passing a few darken doorways where businesses no longer operated. No lights shone inside and they knew illicit dealings could be taking place in the dark. As they passed each one they held on tighter to their purses.

  At Harlot Row, a block long section of the Hub, they looked up at the guys and gals leaning out the windows. They were all calling and waving down to the crowd trying to attract a potential customer’s attention. Some had on clothes that hid nothing, others had nothing on at all.

  “Want to see where Thom was murdered?” Britt asked.

  Gwin shuddered. “I don’t think so.”

  At the end of Harlot Row was an archway. They’d just reached it when two men ahead of them began to fight. The crowd in front stopped immediately. This was such a rare occurrence everyone in the vicinity wanted to watch. Some even climbed to the pedway above for a better view.

  However, the perpetual movement continued from behind and the crowd worked its way around the fight. In doing so, it separated the friends, sweeping Britt away while leaving Gwin caught behind the fighters. Gwin tried to push her way out while keeping an eye on her friend at the same time. But the last she saw of Britt was her hand waving in the air.

  Suddenly, Gwin felt a prick in her arm. She twisted around to see what had happened. An unfamiliar face leered at her before the darkness flooded her mind and she crumpled.

  Chapter Ten

  Jawn’s thoughts turned to his mother again and whether he should at least phone her during a lull in sales. He’d last seen her as he boarded the train for the ride to the Fringe. Her eyes were red from crying, she was pale, and she had obviously lost weight. She’d waved listlessly and he’d wondered how she would survive. Her husband was dead and her two sons were convicts.

  “Why didn’t you ever call?” Jawn asked.

  “What?” Georg asked, taking some money from a customer.

  “If you were this close, why didn’t you phone Mom and Dad?”

  “What good would it have done?”

  “You don’t know how much they worried about you. How they blamed themselves for not helping you more.”

  “It wasn’t their fault. I did it myself.”

  “They’d have been glad to hear from you.”

  “I doubt it.”

  Jawn knew he should call her and let her know they were both doing okay, but somehow he couldn’t. His guilt had increased with each day that he’d been in the Fringe. He knew that instead of trying to rob a professor, he should have asked for an extension while he found a job. He could have saved money to pay for his exams. If he’d done that, eventually he would have been earning good money and able to help support her.

  He decided he couldn’t bear to hear the sadness in her voice, couldn’t listen to her ask how he was doing. And his guilt grew with him not phoning.

  He wondered if it was guilt that had kept Georg from calling.

  Jawn saw three police hats returning from the direction the first one had gone. His stomach burned as he watched they come closer. He couldn’t see the officers themselves because of the crowd. He shook his head and forced himself to take a deep breath. Everything was taken care of. They wouldn’t get caught.

  Suddenly, the hats turned in their direction and there was movement in the crowd as people shifted out of their way. Jawn just had time to say, “Georg….” when two of the officers were upon them.

  One of the officers seized him and roughly turned him and pushed his face into the wall. Jawn couldn’t resist. Total white panic made him too sick to do anything.

  “Hey,” Georg yelled, trying to ward off the other officer’s hands. “What are you doing?”

  The officer grabbed him and twisted, slamming his face against the wall and holding it there.

  The third officer picked up their backpacks. “Well, what do we have here?” he said, pocketing three packets of tobacco.

  “Curt,” Georg managed to say. “You’ve got no reason to do this. You were paid this week.”

  Curt ignored him. “Looks like you don’t have much left. That means you should have quite a bundle.” He searched Georg’s pockets until he found the money, which he slid into his own.

  “So, who’s the little man with you?” Curt asked.

  Jawn remained silent. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the crowd surging past them. Some ignored what was going on while others glanced over. He knew what was going through their minds. The same thing that had gone through his when he’d witnessed an arrest. ‘I’m sure glad that’s not me.’

  But it was he. And there was nothing he could do about it except wish with all his heart that it was a nightmare and that he would wake up. It wasn’t a nightmare, though. It was real. Oh, if only Lony hadn’t gotten sick. If only Georg hadn’t been so eager for him to learn the business. But, no ifs could change what was happening and when he felt the cuffs on his wrists he knew his life was over. He was going to the orbital prisons.

  “He’s my brother,” Georg said.

  “Your brother?”

  “Yes. And I don’t know what you’re doing or why, but leave him alone. He’s only been in the Fringe a month and he came here because I made him. It’s not something he would have done on his own.”

  “I really don’t care.”

  “Let him go back there. He wasn’t selling. He was only helping me.”

  “And that makes him as guilty as you.”

  The officer had handcuffed Georg and let him stand up straight. Georg turned to face Curt. “Why Curt? Why are you doing this?”

  “Because it’s my job,” Curt grinned.

  “It was your job last night and no one was arrested.”

  “Maybe because it wasn’t the right guy.”

  “Do you mean you were waiting for me specifically? Do you have a problem with me? Do you want more money? Do you want more packages? What? We can talk about this.”

  “There’s nothing to talk about. I’ve been paid very well for doing my job. I must say that it’s been nice doing business with you, but partners come and go.”

  “Who paid you to do this? I’ll give you more.”

  Curt shook his head. “I don’t think you can match the percentage of sales that I will be getting. But enough chit chat. It’s time to take you and the evidence to jail.”

  With that the officers took each of them by the arm and pulled them through the crowd. Jawn looked up at Georg who was staring at someone. Jawn followed his gaze and saw Davi smiling at them.

  “Goodbye, Georg,” he mouthed as they were led away.

  * * *

  “Will the meeting please come to order?” the moderator banged the tapper. He waited a few minutes for quiet. “The first thing on our agenda is the colony planet. Exploratory Officer Gwin may continue her comments of yesterday.”

  He stepped back and looked out over the audience. All was quiet. No one moved. Soon there were some mutterings and people in the first few rows turned to see if she was coming.

  “Explora
tory Officer Gwin?” the Moderator called.

  Still no one stood.

  Royd looked at Zudo, who just smiled back.

  The moderator turned to the Leaders behind the table. “It appears that Exploratory Officer Gwin is not in the audience. Do you wish to give her a few more minutes and go onto other matters or do you wish to vote?”

  The Leaders conferred, then one said. “It doesn’t seem as if this was of much importance to her, so we will vote.”

  Pieces of metal were handed to each and when they’d written down their choice, the pieces were gathered and handed to the moderator. He counted them, then announced.

  “The Leaders have decided on the fifth planet in the report.”

  Royd turned Zudo and grinned. “I knew we could do it.”

  “It’s not over yet,” Zudo said. “We still have to make sure the contracts go to the right places.”

  “We will.” Royd raised his hand and stood when recognized. “Since I was in charge of the exploratory mission and I know the route, I would like to ask the Leaders for their recommendation that I be put in charge of the whole mission from buying the spaceships, to making the deals for fuel and supplies on the stopping planets, to commanding the mission.”

  The Leaders conferred and nodded. “We will send our recommendation to the Space Organization that you be the Flight Director for this mission,” Leader Seven said.

  “Thank you.” Royd sat down.

  “What if the organization won’t go for it?” Zudo asked.

  Royd smiled. “I’ve been doing some checking. No one else wants the mission. They figure it will take up too much of their time. When I volunteer to lead it, the organization will be glad to accomplish two things at once—find a leader and get rid of me.” He paused a moment. “I guess not getting promoted is paying off in the long run.”

  Lizz from the Association for the Ethical Treatment of Prisoners stood. “Which of the prisoners are you sending?” she asked.

  The Leaders consulted again. “Since this experiment is to rid us of the worst of our society, the first ones to go will be the murderers and drug sellers in the ships above Megalopolis One. But we will only send about 2500 for now. Once the colony is established and working we may add more.”

  “How will you be picking them?”

  “There are approximately 2500 prisoners on the Ceriem and Raydor. They will be sent first.”

  * * *

  Gwin’s dream carried over into her first waking moments. Someone was banging her on the head and she came awake with a terrible headache. She lay with her eyes closed, totally confused. Was she on a flight? No, she remembered returning home. She sensed the bed she was on wasn’t her own. Whose was it? Finally, she opened her bleary eyes and looked around the dimly lit room. She was lying fully clothed on her couch in her living room.

  Why on the couch? Why with her clothes on?

  She couldn’t remember. She put her hands to her temples and rubbed. What time was it? What day was it? Had she been sick? She looked at her watch. It was almost noon. The date didn’t register and she couldn’t remember what day yesterday had been.

  Then she recalled going to the Hub with Britt last night. Had it been last night? She wished she could remember yesterday’s date or anything about yesterday that would remind her. She stood unsteadily and went to the bathroom where she found a bottle of painkillers. She took two and returned to the couch, sitting on the edge.

  What had happened at the Hub? Another piece of memory returned. There had been the tobacco dealers, but she and Britt hadn’t bought tobacco and they hadn’t gotten drunk. After the drink at Buddy’s they’d just walked. Until the fight started. She remembered that and then seeing Britt forced along the walkway by the crowd. Britt was waving. Then what?

  Gwin slumped over sideways onto the cushions of the couch. She grimaced at the pain in her arm. She sat up again and raised her sleeve. On her upper arm was a bruise. Why? Had she hurt it last night? No, there had been a sharp pain and she’d turned to see someone watching at her. And that was all.

  Earlier parts of her memory now crowded for recognition. She’d been at the Assembly yesterday. There were protestors. No, she’d protested. No, there were protestors who didn’t want the prisoners sent to another planet. She’d protested against the Leaders choosing her planet.

  Then the big burst of memory: the one that left her cold and prickly and wretched.

  She was supposed to return there this morning to present her reasons. She looked at her watch again although she knew the time. She’d missed the meeting, missed the opportunity to shield her planet from human intervention. For she knew it was the planet they would chose. She dropped her head into her hands. What had happened last night to cause her to miss the meeting and to give her such a headache?

  The phone rang. She should call Britt. Maybe she would know. The phone rang again. She picked up the receiver more to stop the noise than to answer.

  “Hello?”

  “Gwin? Is that you?”

  “Britt.”

  “Gwin. What happened last night? Where did you go? I’ve been calling you all morning.”

  “Oh, Britt. I just woke up. I’ve got such a terrible headache and I missed the meeting and I don’t know why.”

  “Where did you go after we were split up?”

  “I can’t remember.”

  “Do you have your scarf and your purse?”

  “Why?”

  There was a pause.

  “Britt, why?”

  “Another customer was found dead at Harlot Row. This time the police have some evidence. They wouldn’t tell me what, but I did see a scarf that looks like the one you wore last night.”

  “Oh, no.” Gwin looked around the room. She didn’t see her scarf or purse. She rushed into the bedroom looking in the closet, through the dresser, under the bed. She returned to the living room and frantically searched under the couch, behind the cushions, in the chair, behind the television. She couldn’t find them.

  “They’re not here,” she whispered to Britt.

  The doorbell interrupted their conversation. “Someone’s at my door,” Gwin said, confused. Who would be calling on her today? Both her mother and Mikk would be at work and she was talking to Britt.

  “Are you expecting anyone?” Britt asked.

  “No. At least I don’t think so.”

  “Take a look before you open it.”

  Gwin walked over and peered through her peephole.

  “It’s the police,” she whispered, fearfully turning away. “What should I do?”

  “They’re probably just there to question you.”

  “But I didn’t kill anyone.”

  “I know and after you answer their questions so will they.”

  “But I don’t remember anything about last night after we were separated.”

  “It will come back to you.”

  “Oh my god!” Gwin screeched, looking down at her clothes.

  “Gwin, what is it? What’s wrong?”

  “There are stains on my clothes, reddish brown stains.”

  “Oh no.”

  There was a banging on the door. “Police! Open up!” A voice yelled.

  Gwin slumped against the wall beside the door, tears in her eyes. “What’s happening to me, Britt? What’s happening?”

  “I don’t know, but we’ll work it out.”

  More pounding on the door.

  “What am I going to do? Oh Britt, what am I going to do?”

  “I’m afraid you have to open the door.”

  * * *

  Lizz boarded the shuttle for the Ceriem. She sat in a window seat hoping whoever sat beside her wasn’t the talkative type. The Assembly had made their decision yesterday and she wasn’t in the mood to make conversation. But, she was in luck. The guy who sat down immediately stretched out and fell asleep.

  The flight took an hour and Lizz spent the time looking out at the blackness. Shela would be spending weeks flying through
this darkness to the planet. And it would be ten years before she could come back.

  She hated to face her sister, to tell her that she had failed, even though she’d known it was a futile attempt in the first place. You really can’t win against the Assembly. Lizz wiped the tears from her eyes. Shela was Lizz’s younger sister and Lizz had always looked after her. Shela hadn’t been very smart in school and once out, had gone straight to Harlot Row and set up a room. She’d hired a hustler to solicit customers, paying him a percentage of her evening’s earnings.

  And for six years Lizz had spent most of her free time trying to convince Shela to leave Harlot Row and get a real job.

  “Look around my apartment,” Shela had always replied, pointing to her wardrobe, her exotic perfumes, her imported wines kept for special customers. “Even with paying the government, my hustler, and my landlord, I still make better money than you ever will. I’d be crazy to give this up.”

  The shuttle landed at the port for the Ceriem. Everyone around her stood and gathered up their bags, which held extra food and clothes for the prisoners. Lizz remained in her seat. It would be a few minutes before the connections were made and the door to the search room opened. She had no desire to wait in line.

  When the shuttle was almost empty she stood. She held her purse and bag ready for inspection. She stepped into the search room where there were three desks with two guards at each. One looked through the articles of clothing or bags of food while the other ran a scanner over the person. When it was her turn, she laid her purse and bag on the desk and held her arms out.

  “Who are you seeing?” Same question asked each time.

  “Shela.” Same answer given each time.

  When she was cleared she was handed a piece of metal stating who she was and whom she was visiting. There were three doors, one on each of the three walls. She went to the one to her right, which automatically opened. She stepped into the small anteroom that held another desk and one guard. Lizz presented her metal to the guard, who marked it down in his ledger. Although she recognized him, with all the faces he saw everyday he didn’t remember her. He asked his first question.