Alternity 2 Chapter

Alternity 2 - Chapter 10

"A purse?!" exclaimed Beka looking at the tiny black handbag that Tyr was presenting her. "You're joking, right? It's bad enough that you're insisting that I wear a dress but I refuse to carry that silly thing. What do you expect me to put in it anyway?"

Tyr and Beka were in Beka's room at one of Palmrya's local hotels making finishing touches to the clothing they had just rented. After leaving Harkness to deal with the local police they had taken up residence at the hotel. Beka had wanted to go back to the Maru but Tyr had argued against it arguing that the vessel was sure to be watched by the local police and possibly by who ever was looking for Venst. Beka had reluctantly conceded that Tyr had a point and agreed to get rooms at the hotel. Separate rooms.. Once they had settled in the duo had decided that Harkness' orders to stay out of trouble didn't meant that they couldn't do some investigating on their own. A visit to Le Chat Noir was obviously the first place to start but as it was a rather upscale club and they had brought nothing but work clothes with them a wardrobe upgrade had been in order. Fortunately the hotel concierge was able to direct them to a shop that rented formal wear.

'This," answered Tyr holding out a small pistol to her.

This time Beka was sure Tyr was joking. Her favorite gauss pistol fired 12.5 millimeter hollow point slugs. One round would take out anyone not wearing body armour and stagger anyone who was. The pistol Tyr was holding out was maybe 6 millimeter caliber and a third the size of her gauss pistol. "Now I know you're joking," she said. "What do you expect me to do with that thing? Point it at someone then when they fall over laughing kick them in the head? That toy wouldn't stop a jakalope let alone a full grown man."

"You depend too much on power and not enough on accuracy when you shoot." responded Tyr refusing to get involved in an emotional argument with the Andromeda's pilot. "This will stop a man just as well as your favorite if you put the rounds in the right place. Now unless you want us both to be unarmed you will quit complaining and carry the purse."

Muttering imprecations about fashion and gun laws Beka complied and a few minutes later they were en route to the cabaret and hopefully to find a clue to the whereabouts of Venst

Arriving at the cabaret Tyr turned over their rental car to a valet. The doorman guarding the entrance to the club gave them a careful once over as they entered. Apparently they passed muster since he let them in. As they entered an usher took them to the table that Tyr had reserved earlier. By this time Beka was feeling as out of place as a fish in a sandbox but Tyr seemed perfectly at ease. It was still early evening but the cabaret was already crowded. Beka noticed that quite a few of the women customers were covertly eying Tyr as he passed their tables. Though to be fair Beka did have to admit that Tyr did look quite handsome in the outfit that he had rented, something the salesperson had called a tuxedo.

There was a haze of smoke in the club. Beka's nose wrinkled in distaste as the fumes reached her. She decided that if the smoke was from cigarettes the inhabitants of Mohendjo Daro either had the toughest lungs in three galaxies or lung transplants were offered free of charge at the local hospitals. There was soft chattering of numerous conversations accompanied by the occasional clink of glasses and the voice a woman singing. The woman was accompanied by a musical instrument, which sounded to Beka's untrained ears like an Earth piano. As her eyes adjusted to the gloom she could see there were maybe 50 tables scattered about the main room of which perhaps three fourths of them were occupied. There was a small dance floor on which a half dozen couples were listlessly dancing and a small stage upon which the woman Beka had heard earlier was performing. She spent a minute to eye the other women in the club and was suddenly glad that Tyr had insisted she wear a dress. The other women patrons were wearing outfits that made her dress look almost shabby in comparison. She wasn't the best dressed woman in the club at least she wasn't embarrassing herself either. As they sat down at the table the usher led them to the woman on the stage finished her act and stepped off the stage.

The woman was blonde. The type of blonde that could only come out of a bottle and was a masterwork of cosmetic surgery. She had a figure that had every man in the club, including Tyr drooling. Her dress looked like it had been painted onto her body and if the neckline had been any lower it would have been illegal. She sauntered up to the table where Beka and Tyr were sitting her hips swaying provocatively. As she approached the table she bent over allowing Tyr a good look at her cleavage but before she could say anything Beka found her self muttering "Buzz off sister and get your own man, this one's mine." The woman give Beka a wintry smile and walked off towards another table.

"Buzz off? This one's mine?" asked Tyr.

"It seemed more practical than shooting her," said Beka mentally kicking herself for her slip of the tongue. "I need you focused on business not on some woman's breasts."

No sooner had the singer left than another woman, girl actually, approached their table. Like the singer the girl was dressed to catch the eye of any male capable of breathing. Her dress revealed more than it concealed and her legs were wrapped in pair of fishnet stockings that showed them off to perfection. She was wearing a hat that reminded Beka of a pillbox but somehow it didn't detract from the sensuousness of the girl. She was carrying some sort of box, a carrying strap went over her shoulders and helped support the weight of the box and it's contents. The box was filled with packs of the weeds Harkness had called cigarettes. "Cigarettes, Sir, Ma'am?" she asked. The girl was young, probably younger than Trance, but there was a hardness in her eyes and a brittleness in her voice that made Beka suspect she sold another commodity besides cigarettes to the males in the club.

"Do you have any Humos de Oro?" Tyr asked.

The girl shook her head 'no'. "That's an imported brand, sir,"she said. "We only sell domestic brands here but perhaps you would like a pack of Taj Mahals they are just as aromatic."

"No, thank you," said Tyr displaying more courtesy than he normally would to someone offering him poison. "We're newly arrived on planet and I've had trouble finding them. I don't suppose you know if any of your patrons smoke them. I could ask them where they purchase them."

The girl paused for a moment before answering as if she was considering if she should answer the question. "Actually sir, Bulldog, I mean Mr. Drummond smokes them. He's has a permanently reserved table and is here nearly every night so perhaps when he comes in you can ask him."

"Be sure to point him out to me when he comes in," said Tyr.

"I'll probably be quite busy sir," said the girl, "but I'll try to remember."

Tyr removed some of the local currency from his pocket and placed a ten crown note on the girl's tray. "Maybe this will help you remember."

The girl gave him a smile that was a sweet as saccharine, and just as artificial. "Oh thank you sir. It should be easy to spot him when he comes in. He's always accompanied by his bodyguard, an Ogami, but I'll be sure to let you know when he does."

Shortly after the cigarette girl departed a waitress approached to ask if they wanted to order drinks before ordering dinner..

A glass of mineral water for me, please," requested Beka. The waitress. who like the other women employed by the club was almost dressed took the order without a change of expression.

Tyr's order was not so mundane. 'Do you have any Terroir Argolis of the 290 vintage in stock?

The waitress gave him a surprised look. "That's hardly a common order sor. I'll have to check."

A few minutes later the waitress with the sommelier in tow returned to their table. The sommelier made a show of opening the bottle and after presenting the cork for Tyr's inspection poured him a glass. Tyr swished the ruby red wine around in the glass inhaled the bouquet and took a sip. He rolled it around over his tongue and then nodded his approval. Tyr signed the credit chit for the drinks and the waitress and wine steward departed.

"Not sparing the Commonwealth's money are we?" asked Beka. "Just how expensive was that bottle?"

"Very," replied Tyr, totally nonplussed over spending someone else's money.

They spent a few minutes sipping their drinks while waiting for Drummond to make his appearance. After a bit Beka suggested that they go out to the dance floor. "As long as we sit here we're going to be expected to buy drinks and if that bottle of wine was a expensive as I think it was the Commonwealth can't afford for you to buy any more."

Tyr grunted noncommittally but arose from his seat. Somewhat to Beka's surprise he offered her his arm as he escorted her onto the floor.

Beka wasn't quite sure what to expect when they stepped onto the dance floor. She knew Tyr was more than just a hired gun. She had eaten his cooking and knew for a fact that he was an accomplished chef and that he was well read but other than that she really knew very little about the man except for the few facts he had chosen to reveal. She was a competent dancer and could probably help him muddle through if the need arose. She was pleasantly surprised to find that the need was not going to arise. Tyr expertly gathered her in his arms and began to guide her across the dance floor. She began to relax content to follow his lead, enjoying the feel of his arms around her, the warmth of his body and his masculine scent.. One dance led to a second and a third. Beka had nearly surrendered herself to the music when Tyr spoke up..

"Our friends have arrived," he said as he maneuvered her around so that she could see.

As the cigarette girl had stated the man Beka assumed was Drummond was accompanied by an Ogami warrior. He was also accompanied by a human male. Beka was unfamiliar with Ogami physiology but the creature seemed large even by Ogami standards. There was no question about the purpose of the human though. From his broad shoulders,closely cropped hair and cauliflower ear to his poorly fitting suit with the conspicuous bulge near his left armpit he might as well have been carrying a sign stating 'hired muscle'.

Drummond was almost the physical opposite of his bodyguard. He was of medium height, slender without being skinny, with silver grey hair that was immaculately cut. He had the type of tan that came from hours spent in a tanning booth rather than from exposure to the sun. His suit was obviously tailor made and Beka knew without looking that his shoes would be the most expensive available and that his hands would be carefully manicured. As he approached the table that obviously been reserved for him the cigarette girl and several of the waitresses began to gravitate towards the table. The human body guard pulled out a chair for his employer then he and the Ogami assumed positions standing slightly behind Drummond. As he sat down the cigarette girl bent over to speak to the honored guest waving her hand in the general direction of Beka and Tyr as she spoke.

"So now what do we do?"

"I ask him where he obtains his Humos de Oro of course."

With that he escorted Beka back to her chair and walked over to the table were Drumond was sitting. The two men exchanged a few words and then to Beka's surprise Drummond offered Tyr a cigarette which the Nietzschean accepted, allowing the Ogami to light it for him. He returned to the table the cigarette dangling from his fingers.

"Did you learn anything interesting?" asked Beka

"He's almost certainly the man we are looking for. The aftershave he is wearing is identical to the scent I detected in Venst's house"

"What scent? I didn't smell anything when we were at Venst's house."

"That's because most unmodified humans don't use their senses. Nietzschean senses aren't significantly better than human senses. What is different is that we Nietzscheans are trained to pay attention to what our senses report. You humans spend most of your time half asleep not paying attention to your environment." He stubbed the cigarette out. "It dulls the sense of taste and smell," he explained as he picked up his glass of wine. "And this wine deserves better than that. Now we wait until our suspects leave and then follow them. I want to have a chat with Mr Drummond."

Not too long afterward Drumonds's human bodyguard left his position behind Drumond and left the building, exiting through the door they had come in earlier. Tyr started to get up form his seat only to be stopped by Beka's outstretched hand.

"Stay here," she said. "If Drummmond's body guard doesn’t come back he'll know something happened to him and that you were mostly likely the cause. He'll just stay put until he can get more help and we won't be able to do anything, and just might find ourselves having to explain to the police why you assaulted his bodyguard while he goes on his way. Wait till they all leave."

Drummond's bodyguard returned at about the same time as Drummond.s dinner arrived . The singer who had approached Tyr earlier was now sitting at Drummonds table sharing a meal with him. Despite the attractions of his dinner companion Drummond didn't linger over his meal. He ate quickly, gave his companion a quick kiss on the cheek, arose fromr the table, and with his bodyguards assuming fore and aft positions headed towards a door labeled 'parking'.

"Now we follow them," said Beka.

As the trio left the club Beka and Tyr followed. The door led into the mouth of an alley Beka had just enough time to see that the alley way connected to the cabaret's parking area when she sensed movement to one side of her and a fist came hurtling out of the darkness towards her head. Drummond and his bodyguards had ambushed them. There wasn't time to fumble for the gun in her handbag so she dropped it to the ground and assumed a fighting crouch. Tyr had trained Beka well and while she was no match for a Nietzschean warrior she was the equal to any human. As the man punched at her head she pivoted to the side to allow the blow to go past her and as her attacker's arm was extended she brought her own arms up. one one each side of his elbow. capturing his arm between hers. She exerted pressure and there was a cracking sound as the mans elbow broke. Shifting her grip she levered her shoulder into the man's armpit and still maintaining her grip on his arm leaned forward throwing her attacker over her shoulder. When the man landed on the ground she finished him off with a well placed kick to his head.

With her opponent out of the fight she turned to assist Tyr. He had dispatched Drummond's Ogami body guard and was advancing on their primary suspect. Strangely enough Drummond didn't seem concerned at the prospect. There was actually a slight smile on is face as Tyr closed. Tyr's fist lashed out almost to fast for Beka to see and struck Drummond squarely in the chest. To Beka's complete astonishment Tyr's fist passed completely through Drummond as if the man was no more than a holographic image. He wasn't an image though as he proved a second later by stepping backwards so that he was no longer impaled by Tyr and then grabbing the Nietzschean by his jacket and one handedly lifting him off the ground and throwing him against the cabaret wall as if he was a toy. Tyr's head hit the wall with a thunk and he slid to the ground stunned.

By this time the noise of the fight was starting to attract patrons and valets from the car park. With a contemptuous glance at his unmoving bodyguards Drummond turned and stepped through the wall of the building on the other side of the alley.

"I guess he isn't one for knocking," Beka said as she helped Tyr to his feet.

Chapter 9

Chapter 11