Wrong Side of the Tracks

[Brian T. Riley 0]

Getting through New Atlantis security was going to be difficult. No weapons were allowed on the space elevator or the central square, excepting of course the brutish looking Colonial guardsmen. Experience had its perks though, and as had worked so many times in the past, a generous bribe had slipped Brian and his team through the meticulous scans.

 

That was over an hour ago. Brian looked over at Sam sitting across from him in the bar; a miserably dirty, seedy dive in the Fourth tier of New Atlantis named the 'Bleeding Wyrm', and considered their position. There had been some discussion on the best way to try to find these poachers during the fifteen minute trip down the space elevator. He had overruled the idea of splitting in to teams but hadn't been much more forthcoming in his plan. Not that it was much of a plan. Brian figured there was little point in combing the countless bars and flop houses in New Atlantis. It would be far more efficient to get the information they needed from someone who was sure to know.

 

Valera's people were here. He could feel their eyes on him. It was the reason for the jacket. The leather jacket that had lain unused and nearly untouched for the past five years. The replica of a leather flying jacket from the 1^st American Volunteer Group, the Flying Tigers, a group of pilots from his favorite part of Earth history. It was a beacon. While most wouldn't remember his face, the jacket and the Chinese blood chit on the back were unique and memorable.

 

Brian suppressed the temptation to look around the bar for the rest of his team. Eagle, Torre, and Tom were supposed to have entered the bar separately and hopefully mingled into the crowd unobtrusively. He took a moment to wonder about Eagle, and hoped that he would follow his lead. Their personality conflict on Axrekravia seemed to have been reconciled, but he wasn't sure if Eagle was prepared to take orders from a junior officer, no matter the situation.

 

A glimpse of a dark haired woman out of the corner of his eye and his thoughts flipped unbidden to Samantha. He had barely spared her a glance after the staff meeting and he felt guilty about it. Brian had been preoccupied with his part of the mission, working out his meager plan and working up the courage to go through with it. He had thought that another encounter with her would make him more reluctant to go through with his potentially suicidal idea, and he was probably right. At the moment he wished he could have those few minutes back, just to see her one more time, to touch her silky lips…

 

Brian reverie was shattered by a quick tap of Sam's cane on the floor. His eyes refocused on his companion and he read his look. Somebody was coming this way. It was time.

Edited October 14, 2008 by Brian T. Riley