Not so heartless

[James Greed]

"…The last one to be sold today, ladies and gentlemen, a young kusari woman! The upset price…. lets say… 500 credits! "
" There is some work you could do for me… or with me!" "I could put that body to a good use!" These, and similar sentences could be heard in the auction hall.
“600.”
“600 from the hooded man!”
“1500!”
“ 1500 from the gentleman in the dark jumpsuit!”
“ 10,000.”
Ten thousand, it is! Ten thousand from the hooded man!”
“50,000 “
“ Fifteen thousand! Any more bids?” The auctioneer asks in a cheerful voice.
The girl just stood there, staring at the crowd, she didn’t really seem to realize the situation. She was still in a shock.
A bald man appeared in the corner, holding a data pad. He stood there, and stared at the girl. Her appearance held some kind of gracefulness, which he could barely understand.
“ No more bids, ladies and gentlemen, then it is-“
“One million credits.” Said the bald man, in a rather calm tone. The crowd fell silent, few were still talking about the bald man.
“ One million from the bald man……Sold!”


The crowd disappeared in 20 minutes, the bald man have paid the one million credits, and left with her. The girl follows the man in obedience, she doesn't want to take any risk, as angering him wouldn't be wise in this situation.
" What's your name, how old are you girl?" He asks in the same cold tone as before.

"H..Himeko..Mizuri...18.." she replies. She is shaking, from the fear and the cold. The man hands his jacket to her. " The name is James Green. That's pretty much all you have to know. Don't worry, I won't hurt you." He smiles at her. The oversized jacket enhances her cute looks. A few moments later, they arrive to a ship. A DL borderworlds transport. "Counterfeit Coin" she reads the name aloud, which is written on the side of the ship. " This will be your home for some time. Better get used to it. "
Days have passed, James didn't want to bother her with anything, nor did she want to come out of the room. Of course, at meals she came out of the room, but they didn't talk much. She reminded him of his so called sister. They weren't blood related, but he adored her as if she was.
After a few days, she came out of the room more frequently, and talked with him more often.
"I'm…..very grateful that …..you have bought me. The others were….. horrible. You ……seem alright." She smiled at him. “ Don’t think of this as a holiday, soon you'll have to help me, and you'll have to learn to pilot the ship." James replied in a calm tone. " It occurred to me... Why have you bought me for such high price?" She asks.
" No reason." " There has to be one!" She tries to force him to answer. " Alright." He sighs. " You reminded me of someone. Someone close. I just couldn't leave you there. And in cases like this, money does not matter. Never tell anyone about this. I am known as a greedy, heartless smuggler. If rumors like this spread..." He grins. " So.... Sssshhhh"
"Not so heartless after all." She laughs.

An hour later, they are sitting in the cockpit. He has taught him the basics about the ship's controls. " This is almost like some of the neural net games." She steers the ship to the right, the ship turns way slower than she have expected it, so she pushed the steering stick to the right fully. The ship suddenly turns fast, so both of them gets pushed into the seat. James takes the controls while lecturing her. " Keep in mind, this is not a game."
The next week passed quite fast. James taught her as much as he could about piloting the ship. “Course set. You’ll be the one to fly the ship today. I’ll be taking a nap. If anything happens just shout… But I’m sure you won’t need me.” He pats her shoulders before leaving for his cabin. She didn’t even have time to oppose. So she have resigned herself to the inevitable, and started the engines.
The flight went smoothly; she did the trade route without having to ask for help. James was surprised at how well she did her first task. “Set course to New Tokyo”
It took an hour till they get there. The ship landed on the planet, and then the two headed for the ship dealer. A fully armed Wasupu was the first thing they have noticed. James searched his pockets for a small card, and then handed it to Himeko. “ She is yours. You have earned it. The run which you flew yesterday covers the price of the ship. Consider yourself free.” He smiles at her. She was stunned and surprised at the same time. She hugged him tightly, whispering:

"Thank you!"

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