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Hawk · 11-29-2010, 01:31 AM,

A few hours later both men were standing in one of the larger spaceports of planet Manhattan.

Jack pointed down the street, 'According to the directions Thumper gave me we head that way. It's a bit of a walk.'

'Lead on boss, I'm with you.'

Jack and Stephen walked about a mile and a half from the landing pad where they came in. They found themselves in a rough looking neighborhood on the edge of the spaceport. After making a few turns Jack saw the place they were looking for. Then his face turned sour. 'Of all the blasted places he could have picked for a meeting.'

'Calm down. Hey, it'll be like old times.'

'In case you've forgotten, those were old times I never liked very much.'

They walked into a dimly lit bar with no shortage of loud music and rowdy clientele. Even those who weren't in uniform would stand out in a crowd. They were obvious Liberty Navy. Jack just shook his head as he and Stephen took seats at the bar and ordered drinks. After a few minutes of small talk a man approached them. He did not have the obvious look of a navy man. 'Gentlemen, 'he said 'my boss sends his regards and asks that you join him at his booth.'

They got up from their stools and followed him to the back of the establishment where two more men where sitting in a corner booth. Jack recognized one of them immediately as Thumper, a contact who had gotten them work many times in the past. 'Good to see you again Jack, 'Thumper greeted them as they slid into the booth 'I believe I owe you a bottle of that rum you love so much.'

'I believe I owe you a swift kick in the pants for choosing a navy bar as a meeting place. '

'You don't like the place? I think it has character. Back on Earth in the old days this would be called a squid bar, hardly an appropriate name since the discovery of the nomads. Anyway, what would you prefer one of those dives outside town where half the people are looking to rob you and the other half work for the LSF? There's nothing going on in here cept navy boys getting drunk and rowdy. As long as there's not major trouble in here the place stays off the radar.'

'Ok great,' Jack answered him. 'What have you got for us?'

'Ok, down to business it is. As usual I've got a mess o' cargo that needs movin. This trip shouldn't be too bad. The cargo's all legit so long as no one looks too closely.'

'And that would mean exactly what?'

'It means you ain't goin to be carryin contraband Jack. Just don't let anyone inspect it too closely. You might not like what they find.'

Jack nodded. He understood the meaning perfectly. Thumper was known for having contacts within the Lane Hackers. The goods he was talking about probably came from one of their heists and now they need someone to move it for them. 'Ok, sound simple enough. Where do we make the pickup?'

'This one will be done in space,' Thumper said as he passed a small data card across the table, 'All the information you need is on there. I believe you know how to decipher that. The buyer will be waiting for you at Planet Cambridge. The encryption codes to contact him are on that card.'

'And payment?'

'Six and a half million and you get paid when you deliver.'

'That's a little slim for this job Thumper. There's got to be more money than that involved here.'

'That's the job Jack. You tellin me you don't want it?'
'Didn't say that, just didn't think you'd sully your reputation by low balling us that way.'

'You think so eh? Tell you what I'll do. If you can pull this off without causing any trouble for me or my friends I'll see to it that you have another job lined up in Bretonia so you can keep right on moving and earning at the same time.'

'Thumper, there just aren't that many people who can pull this off as efficiently as we can and you know that.'

'This is the job Jack. It's all I've got to offer you. There aren't many who can do what you can do but there are plenty who are stupid enough to try. You keep doing right by me and I'll see to it that your ship stays full. There's money to be made if you want to work. Besides, I'm working on some new angles we can talk about when you come back this way. A bit more risk than most captains will even consider, but the payoff is better than either of us have ever seen.'

Jack looked at Stephen who gave him a nod, 'Ok, we're in.'

'Excellent. I'll send the signal. My friends will be looking for your ship at the rendezvous. Don't be late Jack they get nervous when you stand them up.'

'Don't worry about us and thanks. We'll see you in a few weeks I guess.'

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