Page 27 of A Darkside Interlude

If they went into Teluria without a Citizen-ID, they’d eventually be caught and deported back to Darkside. If they tried to hitch a ride on an illegal transport, they’d probably end up somewhere even worse, with no credits, no home, and no identity. If they ran into the desert… well, nobody could survive in the desert. There were no roads and no land-vehicles going in and out of Teluria, and worse, she’d heard chilling rumors of crazies and monsters existing out there. Folks had wandered into the desert and disappeared, never to be heard from again.

And everywhere they went in Darkside, they would be followed. The Syndicate had eyes and ears everywhere.

The only way out was by air.

If Mari ran now, they’d catch up with her eventually, and everyone knew what happened to those who ran from the Syndicate.

They’d kill her. They’d dissolve her body in acid and obliterate any trace of her existence from the face of the Earth. Then they would do the same to Artoo just for being with her; just to deter anybody from getting ideas.

He would only be safe if he ran on his own.

“Ya get down here now, honey Blue. I know yer up there. I can smell ya. Don’t make me come up after ya. Ya wouldn’t like it.”

“Artoo, go!” Mari pushed her little brother toward the roof-hatch. To her relief, he got the idea and started to move. She thrust her hand into a tear in her mattress and retrieved the treasure chest—a small grey metal box. Inside were various credit chips and the precious krath. She tossed the box to Arturo. “Should be just enough in there to pay the MQ exam fee and buy a night in a sleeping pod.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. Good thing Artoo was a decent lip-reader. “Remember what we talked about? Go to one of the Teluria gate-offices. You’re already registered for the exam, all you have to do is pay. They’ll log your bio-print and give you a single-entry pass for Teluria. Get inside as quickly as you can, but whatever you do, don’t show them the alien coin. That’s ours. Just do it, little bro, and don’t look back.”

If you don’t see me again… She didn’t say the obvious truth.

Clangclangclang. The drop-ladder fell. Footsteps echoed on the metal rungs. They were coming. Artoo tucked the treasure chest into his jacket and pushed out the roof-hatch, all the while staring at Mari with worried eyes.

“See ya soon,” she said gently, giving him a push. “Now, vamosh.”

Artoo climbed through, easily pulling his slender body through the narrow opening. He turned and glanced back at her, shaking his head. His jaw jutted out at a stubborn angle. “I’m gonna go and find that boss alien who likes you. He would want to know about this.”

“But what can he… Artoo, don’t fuck this up—”

But Artoo was already gone. The hatch dropped into place with a quiet click, just as a familiar figure emerged from below.

The Collector grinned, displaying perfectly black teeth. “Hello, Blue.”

Chapter Twelve

“I’ll do a double shift tonight,” Mari blurted before the Collector had a chance to speak. It was better to try and put out the small fires before they turned into raging infernos. “Lots of tourists around at this time of year. I might even get lucky and find some alien metal.”

The Collector, who Mari knew only as ‘K’, bent his head as he walked across the tiny roof-space. His shiny black shoes echoed loudly on the synth-timber planks.

“Nah.” His unnerving black smile widened, and he clasped his tattooed hands together. His inked fingers were adorned with thick gold and silver rings. “Ya don’t understand, sweet Blue. That ain’t gonna cut it anymore.”

Dread pooled in the pit of Mari’s stomach. “Wh-what are you talking about?”

“Yer time has come, sweet cheeks. I let ya do yer thing here for a while because I like ya, but a more profitable gig has transpired. Time to make those talented hands of yers do some real work.”

“No…” Mari backed away as the Collector closed in. She knew exactly what he was talking about, and she didn’t want a bar of it. “I wouldn’t be a good pick for that sort of thing. Give me a week, K. I’ll steal so much swag you won’t know what to do with it.”

“Nah.” The Collector became serious, and Mari couldn’t read him, because his eyes were hidden behind those impenetrable holo-lenses. Come to think of it, she’d never seen his eyes. “Nothin’ personal, Blue, but yer value in the world has just gone up into the stratosphere. See, someone took a shine to ya last night, and he’s willin’ ta pay more than what a lifetime of yer stealin’s ever gonna be worth. It’s just business. Now, are ya gonna come peacefully, or am I gonna have ta get forceful on ya?”

Mari’s dread turned to despair. “Someone wants to buy me?”

“Certain gentleman with pockets deeper than the infinite Universe. Got a thing for the Eurasian girls, and with ya being a virgin to boot… Yer a rare commodity in these parts, girl. See, Blue, the problem is that when a woman like ya sets out to attract men, ya attract men. Sooner or later, one’s gonna bite.”

Mari grabbed her night-robe from its hook and put it on, wrapping it tightly around her body. “This is a bad idea, K. You see, your gentleman’s going to be pretty disappointed when he realizes that I’m just not cut out for that kind of work. You wouldn’t want to have an unhappy customer now, would you?”

“Don’t worry about a thing, Blue.” The Collector’s smile was mirthless, and it terrified her. “They got in-house trainin’. Ya’ll be well taken care of. In terms of livin’ standards, yer about to take a real step up.”

“And that’s meant to make me feel better about being sold?” Sold as a fucking sex slave? Mari couldn’t bring herself to say the words, to acknowledge the reality. Deep down, a small part of had always feared this day might come, because anyone from the Dust Alleys who was young and in decent health could be spirited away by the Syndicate and sold to the highest bidder.

She thought she’d done enough to keep her job as a thief.

Obviously not.

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