[center][h2]The Unthinkable[/h2][/center] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/HwEPcyo.jpg[/img] [/center] [b]S.A.M.A.N.T.H.A.[/b] appears courtesy of [@wanderingwolf] [b]Rex Black[/b] is a character created by [@Psych0pomp] Despite China Doll racing forward at flank speed, the tapestry of stars reflected very little change to their progress. The only noteworthy exception was the planet Osiris, sufficiently grown in the cockpit viewports to present her spherical shape. Still, their destination wasn’t much larger than the twinkling pinpricks of an eternal night sky. Sam had cracked KYLE’s rolling encryptions several hours hence, rewarding the First Mate with not only the more serious criminal records, but every bit of dirt scooped up by a diligent Khao Yai detective on the doings of Headhunters M.C. “Su Lin Earp,” Rex voiced approvingly as he studied her notes. “With work like this, they must’ve made her Chief of Police by now.” “No.” After a couple days’ working with the AI, he could almost swear that Sam’s responses harbored deeper emotions. “Her personnel record indicates resignation. Coincidentally, the dates of Detective Lieutenant Earp’s resignation and the official sealing of the Headhunters M.C. files are identical.” “Hmmph,” Rex grunted. “If I were a betting man…” “[i]Persona non grata[/i] status alerts from seven casinos indicate that you are.” He smiled. “Hey, I’m a lucky guy. This detective? Not so much.” He paused to scan the autopilot course heading, which now read straight and true after some recalibration by Yuri. “So Sam, I conjure the bike club made a fat donation to the benevolent fund about that time?” “Indirectly,” S.A.M.A.N.T.H.A. replied. “The donation came from Janitek, one of the Headhunters’ money laundering firms.” “Now we’re talking. How many shadow businesses does the club run?” “Nine. I’m preparing a summation for you now.” “Fantastic,” Rex offered a grateful nod for his unseen cohort’s work. “With complete ledgers, please.” “Waiting in your personal folder,” the AI responded briskly. “Shall I provide my own analysis?” “Fosh. We can go over it all tonight, when I’m in my quarters. Then maybe you can stick around?” he grinned. “Whisper sweet nothings into my ear?” “While that is possible,” Sam replied, “I’d suggest that if your nightly visits to [i][b]Cortex Cuties[/b][/i] no longer suffice, there are hundreds of similar content sources available.” “Never mind,” he chuckled as he reached for the intercom directional switch. “Antonov,” the First Mate keyed his mic. “You there?” After a moment’s wait, he was rewarded with the mechanic’s voice. “Yes, sir,” Yuri answered. “Got a minute to join me in the cockpit?” “Should I bring a toolkit?” “Nope. We’re shootin’ the breeze.” “On my way,” came a dubious sounding response. In the time it took him to walk forward from the engine room, Your Antonov was soon tapping on the door frame. “You wanted to talk to me?” Rex wheeled about in the pilot’s seat. “More like ‘with.’ Do me a favor and dog that hatch, wouldja?” “Sure.” After locking the hatch into place, the younger man turned forward. “What’s on your mind?” Rex waved him into the empty copilot’s seat. “Cap’n’s had me a little busy on this run,” he began. “I don’t conjure the sitch could be a whole lot worse, what with Abby bein’ held and bikers calling our shots.” “Can’t argue with that,” Yuri gave a slow nod. “The ‘suck’ knob’s turned up high on this one, alright.” “So how’re you holdin’ up?” “Fair enough,” Yuri shrugged. “The boat’s solid, and the maint logs don’t show any major work due til I have my arm back. Plus, both Hook and Edina have given me help when I needed two good hands.” The First Mate stretched in his chair. “Yeah, that Eddie,” he smiled wistfully. “We’re refunding her fare for this trip, what with all the work she’s taking care of.” “Good call.” “You think she can handle herself tomorrow night?” Yuri stroked his beard. “She’s plenty nervous,” he admitted, “but I conjure I’d be more worried if she wasn’t. She’s practicing with her pistol, and asking Hook lots of questions. Just between us, I’m planning to hang close to her tomorrow night…in case things go South.” “Good,” the First Mate nodded. “Good. I think the world of her standin’ with us, but she’s still a passenger. You keepin’ an eye out for her takes a load off.” He shifted forward in his chair until his elbows came to rest upon the console. “What’s your take on Hook?” “Johnny on the spot,” Yuri answered. “Been really helpful. I mean, from what I know he usually is, but right now? Could just be nerves about what’s coming, but he’s going all kinds of out of his way to make sure we’re square.” “You know he’s tangled up in all this, right?” “Had my suspicions,” the mechanic replied. “When the captain said there’d been a scrap and a killing, didn’t take long for the two plus two. Did he say why?” With a tilt of his head, Rex said, “Sorta. We all got demons. Hook let his out to play wrong place, wrong time. Now these bikers got the kid, and they’re expectin’ us to just trade him off for her.” “Which we’re not doing.” “No.” The older man paused, his eyes adrift as he lost himself to his thoughts. “Ever tangle with gangs, Yuri?” “When I was a kid.” “Only reason I’m telling you all this is that we need cool heads on the line.” Rex’s eyes landed squarely upon the mechanic. “I got no worries about the doc. But Edina…she gets a whiff of the real stakes and things could twist up fast.” “I’m not following,” Yuri’s brow furrowed. “Simple math,” Rex said. “You hit a gang for one, they’re gonna hit you back for two.” A silence fell over the cockpit as both men considered the unthinkable. Finally, Yuri looked up from his open hands. “So,” he slowly asked, “if they’ve already taken one from us, how do we stop them from killing the second?” Rex turned in his chair to face the forward viewports. “I’ve got a plan.” “What is it?” “Best you don’t know.”