Demilitarized Zone Part 14

I nodded to Corporal Was.h.i.+ngton. My big spider security chief and four security guards grabbed the card player and dragged him kicking and screaming to a back room. There they beat the player senseless, robbed him, and threw him across the MDL Hey! It's a cold cruel galaxy. Hey! It's a cold cruel galaxy.

Chapter 18.

The spider commander was beginning to enjoy his tour of the New Gobi area. He imagined this must be what it was like when the human pestilence ran for election. He was in a different dusty town each night, greeting waving crowds. The spider commander got out of his armored car to inspect the latest stop. This town, he did not even know its name, was typical of towns occupied by human pestilence. There was a junk yard at the edge of town and unpaved streets in the center.

Already a crowd was forming. The kids were the first to run up to the commandos, begging for food or candy. The commander refused to give either. The first child to accost him tugged on the spider commander's sleeve. In a reflexive reaction, the spider commander swatted the child with a claw. The kid fell to the ground, lying motionless. The other children backed off from the spider commander. They ran to the other commandos to try their luck at handouts.

"Check the little vermin," ordered the spider commander, pointing flippantly at the child he struck down. "I don't need another human pestilence riot caused by misunderstandings."

The military intelligence officer checked the boy. He seemed alert and unharmed. There was just a trickle of blood on his lip The boy just chose to stay on the ground. "Run along," said the military intelligence officer, "or I will give you a dose of pepper spray."

"Why should I be forced to run along?" asked the boy, putting his gold plated sungla.s.ses back on. "I live here. You run along."

The military intelligence officer was about to smack the boy himself, but thought better of it as he noticed a crowd gathering around. Instead, he offered a claw up.

"Do you not know better than to accost Imperial officers like that?" asked the military intelligence officer.

"The Legion hands out food and candy to the children," said the boy, refusing to be helped up. "I thought you would be as generous. My mistake."

"I am not the Legion," said the spider commander, walking over to the boy. He is not injured. He should get up. The little t.u.r.d is playing to the crowd, He is not injured. He should get up. The little t.u.r.d is playing to the crowd, thought the spider commander, annoyed. "Get up!" thought the spider commander, annoyed. "Get up!"

"No, you are not the Legion," agreed the boy. "But I can see you are a brave warrior. In fact, you are the Supreme Commander of the New Gobi area."

"You have heard of me?" asked the spider commander. "See? Even the little kids know of my exploits."

"Yes, sir," said the military intelligence officer. "I can see this one is very impressed with you."

"You must be especially fearsome to brave these dangerous streets," said the boy. "Aren't you even a little bit worried about snipers?"

The boy's question startled the spider commander, who immediately stepped behind his military intelligence officer. The streets were now empty of all civilians, and eerily quiet. An armored car secured an intersection down the street. For the first time, the spider commander carefully viewed his surroundings from a military perspective. He scanned the rooftops for movement. Their position was exposed. On the closest building he saw crude graffiti. He scanned the writing with a translator. 'Free the Gobi.' Next to the graffiti was a drawing of a humanoid creature with spider-like fangs. The fangs dripped with blood.

"What is this?" asked the spider commander.

"It is a vampire," answered the military intelligence officer. "Do not worry. Vampires are mythical creatures from ancient Old Earth lore. They are the imagination of peasants afraid of the dark. In modern times parents use the specter of vampires to scare their little children into getting home from school on time."

"Did you draw that?" asked the spider commander of the boy still lying on the ground. "Did you think you could scare a mighty Arthropodan general and his commandos with a drawing of a vampire?"

"It is not a vampire," said the boy. "It's a chupacabra. And they do exist."

"What is a chupacabra?" asked the spider commander. The military intelligence officer just shrugged.

"A chupacabra is your worst nightmare," said the boy. "If you do not leave the New Gobi forever, your bones will be parched white by the desert sand."

"Ha!" scoffed the spider commander. "You fool! I do not have bones!"

The spider commander turned his back on the boy and headed for his armored car. He had wasted enough time with this in this worthless human pestilence enclave. The sooner relocation or extermination begins, the better, The sooner relocation or extermination begins, the better, he thought. In that split second, John Hume Ross was on his feet and upon the spider commander with a barbed grenade. Ross attached the grenade to the spider commander's backside and ran. he thought. In that split second, John Hume Ross was on his feet and upon the spider commander with a barbed grenade. Ross attached the grenade to the spider commander's backside and ran.

The spider commander turned angrily, suspecting the boy of attempted theft from his back pockets. Someone yelled, "Grenade!" The spider commander leapt to the ground. Nothing happened. Others were still fleeing. He looked back over his shoulder and saw the grenade hanging from his web gear. He expected to die in the line of duty someday, probably by the Legion. But to be killed by this short little kid seemed somehow undignified. It just seemed wrong. The explosion killed the spider commander instantly.

"You lied to me," accused John Hume Ross.

"What brought this on?" asked the ATM. "Sometimes I withhold information, but I do not lie."

"You said I had potential," said Ross. "You said I could develop into an important a.s.set for the Legion. You said you wanted me to get an education."

"And you rejected all of my suggestions," said the ATM.

"It was all a lie," said Ross. "All you wanted was to cause trouble. Why would you do that? Do we amuse you?"

"I have important Legion recruitment quotas to meet," said the ATM. "I have done nothing improper. I try to recruit the best candidates available."

"But you lied to me," said Ross. "Explain yourself!"

"This conversation is over," said the ATM.

"I need a new name and ID," demanded Ross. "Everyone wants to kill me. I want to lead a normal life."

"How about Larry?" asked the ATM. "It's a good solid name."

"That is not funny," responded Ross.

"T. E. Lawrence?" insisted the ATM. "It has a ring to it."

"If you can't choose me a proper name, I will find my own alias," replied Ross.

"Why should I give you a new ident.i.ty?" asked the ATM. "You have been nothing but a pain in my memory chips."

"Because if you don't, I will tell the Legion you committed treason," said Ross. "I have doc.u.mentation in my wallet that I bet Colonel Czerinski would find interesting."

"Return your old ID and doc.u.mentation, and I will issue you a new ident.i.ty card," promised the ATM. "You win. What name do you want?"

"I want a name that is inconspicuous," said Ross. "I just want to blend in."

"How about I-Zheet Mydrurz?" asked the ATM. "It's solid and substantial name."

"No," said Ross. "It's too long."

"Hous Bin Pharteen?" suggested the ATM. "It's a light and airy name from Old Earth."

"I do not want an Arabic name," said Ross. "I want a common American name."

"John Wilkes Booth?" asked the ATM.

"I am not as naive as you think," said Ross. "If you do not take me seriously, I will shove a live grenade up your electronics."

"Laika Barker," suggested the ATM in a serious tone. "Laika Barker was the first in s.p.a.ce to orbit around Earth. It is a great name of historical achievement, yet obscure enough for your purposes."

"Laika Barker," repeated Ross. "I like it!"

Ross accepted his new United States Galactic Federation ID card and doc.u.mentation, and blended into the crowd.

Chapter 19.

At the New Gobi border crossing, Barker's new identification card worked like a charm. The ATM also skewed computer fingerprint, retina, and face recognition scans. Guido was about to pa.s.s Barker through when Spot alerted on Barker's pants pocket. The dragon pulled on its tether, tongue darting in and out. Guido made Barker empty his pockets. It was only candy. Barker tossed a chocolate to the dragon. That is when Guido recognized Barker as the fugitive John Hume Ross. They had met twice before. Guido activated a silent alarm that brought a squad of legionnaires to arrest Barker. Barker was escorted to my office in handcuffs. I searched his backpack and recovered my gold-plated sungla.s.ses, again.

"Welcome back," I said. "Too bad you aren't staying. But, I guess it doesn't matter which side of the MDL you're on; you still face a firing squad. I am giving you to the spiders as soon as they arrive."

"I want to fight extradition," said Barker. "I am not John Hume Ross. I want to see a magistrate. You cannot extradite me without the governor signing an extradition order."

"General Kalipetsis already verbally approved your extradition," I said. "To further intergalactic relations and goodwill, I am flus.h.i.+ng you like the t.u.r.d that you are, back across the MDL."

"I have legal doc.u.mentation proving I am Laika Barker," he said. "My ID cannot be faked."

"I know," I said. "First you are Miranda, then Ross, and now Barker. Your doc.u.mentation is perfect. How did you do that?"

"I want a lawyer," demanded Barker. "I have rights."

"You will get a lawyer soon enough," I said. "But it will be a spider lawyer. Don't fret. I know from experience that spider lawyers can be very capable."

"If I ever get out of this, you will pay with your life," threatened Barker. "You better watch your back!"

"Whatever," I said. "You will not survive this."

Captain Lopez arrived with a high-ranking spider military intelligence officer to take custody of Barker. Barker's face lit up when he saw the spider.

"I heard you got promoted," said Barker. "Congratulations, Boss Spider."

"I am the acting Supreme Commander of the New Gobi," replied the spider military intelligence officer. "I am only filling in because you a.s.sa.s.sinated our beloved Supreme Commander."

"Beloved?" asked Barker. "By who? Whoever killed your commander did you all a favor by getting rid of that incompetent, corrupt fool. If you think I did it, you should pardon me and give me a medal."

"You will get what you deserve," said the military intelligence officer. "I promise."

Before leaving, I had a medic inject Barker with a micro identification chip. The chip would be carried along in his blood system until it reached his brain, where it would stay.

"Hey! What was that for?" asked Barker.

"If by some miracle you survive, you will not be pa.s.sing through any more scans undetected," I explained.

"I love you too!" yelled Barker. "No jail can hold me!"

Barker left for the MDL with Captain Lopez and the spider military intelligence officer, each having firm hold of an arm. A squad of legionnaires followed. After an interrogation, Barker was given to the spiders and transported to the county jail at New Memphis. Barker was put in a cell with Rudy 'Johnny Walker' Juardo. The Mafia kingpin, bootlegger, bookie, hitman, and drug dealer was glad to see another human.

"What are you in for, kid?" asked Juardo. "Curfew violation?"

"Winning the battle but losing the war," replied Barker. "Treason and murder."

"You're a political prisoner? Me too!"

"The spiders think I'm John Hume Ross, but they can't prove it," said Barker. "I have perfect doc.u.mentation and ID showing I am Laika Barker."

"They think you are Lawrence of Arabia?" asked Juardo. "Are you?"

"Yes," said Barker. "But they can't prove it!"

"You killed the Supreme Commander of the New Gobi," commented Juardo. "I saw you on TV on Arthropoda's Most Wanted. They filmed you with a helmet camera blowing up the commander with a grenade. It was awesome!"

"He had it coming," said Barker. "He was the boss spider that gave the orders to murder my parents and family."

"I believe it," said Juardo. "That same spider p.r.i.c.k blew up my brewery right here in New Memphis for no reason. I've been in a financial mess ever since. How would you like a job working for me?"

"In a brewery?" asked Barker. "Not really."

"I have branched out into other endeavors," bragged Juardo. "Now I am into drug distribution. I have a big s.h.i.+pment coming into New Gobi soon. The market potential in the New Gobi is unlimited. With your contacts and knowledge of New Gobi and the DMZ, you would be perfect for the job."

"You want me as a partner?" asked Barker.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," warned Juardo. "I just need someone who knows the area and can recruit local talent."

"I can do that," replied Barker. "I built the militia and led them to victory against spider marines. But how am I going to dodge my appointment with the executioner?"

"Just stick close to me, kid," said Juardo. "I have a get-out-of-jail-free card."

"You're Italian Mafia, right?" asked Barker. "Do you know Guido Tonelli?"

"Sure, I know Guido," answered Juardo. "I've done some profitable gaming ventures with Guido."

"Guido is the legionnaire who busted me at the MDL," complained Barker. "He and that dragon are the reasons I'm here."

"Guido is pretty sharp," said Juardo "Not much gets by him. Next time, cross the MDL somewhere else."