Chapter 20 #2
I smile wanly and shake my head. There are a few more occupied tables, but nobody is paying any attention to me or giving any sign that they are waiting for someone.
Crap. I’m going to sit at a table and wait.
Maybe my contact is running late, and he’ll find me.
I can’t even consider the possibility that I’ve been stood up.
Brannock claims we need the halla harvester or at least know what they do to survive.
If not, we’re as good as dead on that planet.
I take a seat in the back corner, not far from the lone hooded man.
Here, I’m equal distance from all my bodyguards if things go pear-shaped.
I scan the menu screen, looking for something to order, and find a Coke.
Who would have thought I’d find an Earth item this far into space?
When I look at the price, though, I nearly swallow my tongue.
Holy shit. One thousand galactic credits.
The rest of the galaxy works on galactic credits, which makes things a lot easier.
I use my wrist communicator to order the Coke.
It’s ridiculous, but I have the money, and I hope it’s fairly safe for me.
I can’t really look to the guys for advice.
Once that’s done, I take another look around the room, hoping maybe I missed someone, but everyone seems to be occupied except for the large, hooded figure across from me.
I study him for a moment. I don’t think they are looking at me, but it’s hard to tell because there’s just a dark space beneath the hood.
I don’t know if this being doesn’t actually have a head or if they are just shrouded in the darkness of the hood.
Movement behind him has my eyes jolting up.
The whole back of his cape is wiggling and moving in agitation, a little like my cat’s tail does, but this is a whole lot more.
I choose to look away, not willing to find out if it’s my staring agitating the being or something else.
A chime sounds, a small gap opens in the table, and my drink pops up.
I chuckle with pleasant surprise. It looks exactly like a glass bottle of Coke I’d get on Earth.
The color is right, and it is sparkling with carbonation out of the top of the open bottle.
Hopefully nobody spiked it with anything, but the guys are all here, so I have to trust them to get to me if anything happens.
As I reach for it, there’s a flurry of movement at the entrance to the bar.
I stop what I’m doing and look up, hoping it may be the person I’m here for.
I stop and stare in shock, unable to help myself.
I’ve seen a lot of interesting creatures, but none of them have made me say, “What the fuck?” quite like this one.
He looks like a corn cob grew a face and started moving around.
Seriously, his arms and legs are shaped like the elegant leaves of a corn husk, and when he moves, it’s in a rambling gait.
There is no discerning between body and head, he’s just one piece, but it’s segmented like kernels of corn, just more round than square.
His coloring is unusual. His arms and legs are the dark green of an avocado skin, but the rest of his body is a mottled green, like a brussels sprout.
If this is one of the halla harvesters, he must be well camouflaged on Husadavia. Maybe that’s the trick to surviving.
I don’t want to stand up and wave in case I’m not who he’s looking for and I embarrass myself, so I finally take a sip of my Coke and wait. A wide smile crosses my lips at the familiar taste, and a sense of rightness flows through me. Things can’t be all bad if they have Coke.
When I look up again, the corn man is heading in my direction. My heartbeat increases, and I sit up straighter in my chair. Here we go.
“Lila Adams?” The voice that comes out of him almost has me bursting with laughter. It’s high-pitched and kind of girlie, but I manage to keep my shit together and nod, gesturing to the chair in front of me.
“Yes. Would you like a drink?” I ask him, and he shakes his…
body, looking around with nerves. Suddenly, his body shudders, and one of his kernels bursts, and I shit you not, an honest to goodness piece of green popcorn-like substance drops to the ground.
I blink in shock before peering under the table.
“Do you need that?” I ask, pointing to the bit that just exploded and fell off him.
“No. Did you bring the money?” He ignores my question, still not taking a seat, and he’s casing the joint like a junky coming off a three-day bender.
“Money?” I ask him just as a message appears on my communication screen. It’s from Link. I don’t look up to where he and Saxon are, but instead, I read what it says.
We’re paying him a hundred thousand credits for the information.
“We’re what?” I shout, but the creature in front of me jumps and starts to back away.
Shit. “Ah, yup, I do. I just have to transfer it to your selected account,” I tell him quickly, not wanting him to bolt.
He twitches a little more, and another kernel explodes, this time off of his back, and drops to the floor.
“Fine.” He holds out his long green limb, and I notice there’s a communication device much like mine on the end of his wrist.
“Information first,” I argue, not completely stupid and na?ve. I don’t have any doubt the minute I pay this guy, he will disappear.
I can sense him fighting with himself on whether he’s going to tell me anything or cut his losses and leave. This is no calm and collected person here to share information with me, but someone who looks like they are terrified of whatever he is about to tell me.
“Okay, how about I ask questions, and you answer them? How do you harvest the halla fruit without dying?”
I mean, it’s why I’m here, right?
He glances around once more, and I do the same.
What is he looking for? The room’s occupants are either here for me or fairly innocuous.
I frown in surprise as I notice the table across from me is now empty.
I didn’t even see the large, hooded being leave.
Aw man, I really wanted to see what he looked like under that hood.
But how did I miss it? There’s only one entrance.
“Zeygan has some power I’ve never seen before,” he mutters under his breath.
“Zeygan?” I ask.
“Our boss. He just stands there, and nothing approaches us while we harvest the fruit.”
My heart sinks as he imparts this knowledge.
“I thought you were the leader of the halla harvesters. That’s what we were told. That you were the one who could give us information.”
He sneers, “I gave you information. I didn’t promise you any success.
” He slams his hand against mine, and I hear a beep as the funds transfer.
Quicker than I can react, he tries to leave the bar, but of course my guys are prepared.
Saxon uses his speed and stops the being in his tracks, and Xavier appears, still wearing his glamour, and freezes him on the spot.
I don’t doubt all of them overheard the disappointing conversation.
I don’t think they are going to have any luck, since he doesn’t seem to know anything, but maybe we can get more information about this mysterious Zeygan.
“I’ll take him back to the ship and see if we can’t extract more information from him,” Xavier tells me.
“Try to find out when he has to be at work next. If I have to, I can mimic him and take his place. I guess that’s the next best possible solution.
” I’m trying not to panic. Our rescue mission just took a step in the wrong direction, but we’ve got this.
Between me and my guys, I’m sure we will come up with a solution.