Suns (LGBT - Sci-fi - Romance)

Chapter 24

Chapter 24 

Two weeks down, two to go. Stefan smiled to himself as he sat down behind his desk, activating his console unit. He and Nick had gone hiking on Isis yesterday, just for the afternoon because that was all the time they could both spare but it had been fun. He was already leaping ahead in his mind, scanning his schedule for when they might be able to take a short holiday together even if it was only two or three days. Maybe they could camp out overnight. Alone. He smiled again, in anticipation. 

He and Nick were getting on really well, building a solid friendship as well as enjoying the sexual tension still simmering between them. Viktor's disapproving presence was the only cloud on his horizon. Stefan had been rather guiltily looking forward to the day he returned to Capella, only to find that he had extended his stay on Aykut, booking another week at the Golden Crown. Their relationship was still rocky and Stefan had been hoping some time apart would allow the dust to settle.  

Not to mention he couldn't help feeling it would be far easier to tell Viktor that he and Nick were lovers, if and when that happened, if Viktor was safely distant in another star system. 

At least he was spending today down on Isis, trying his hand at some freshwater fishing in the river near Hathor.  

He looked up as Kim appeared in the doorway.  

"Captain?" 

"Yes?" 

"I thought you'd like to hear this, sir. Bartok, one of the men we picked up for the silver mine job, wants to negotiate a trade. He says he'll tell us the location of the silver they extracted, in return for a reduced sentence." Kim looked excited by the idea, but Stefan was less sure.  

He was fairly certain any silver would have been sold on as soon as it was extracted, not left sitting around to gather dust.  

"Whereabouts is this silver supposed to be?" 

"Still in the mine, in one of the tunnels. He says he won't give us the co-ordinates until he has a deal. Will you see him sir?" 

Stefan got to his feet, he supposed it wouldn't hurt to listen to the man. Bartok was one of the prisoners detained in the cells below, a short, stocky fellow who looked around nervously when he saw the Captain come down, followed by Kim. 

"Not here," he said in a low voice, his eyes flicking to the cells on either side. 

At the Captain's nod, Kim opened the cell and fastened the man's hands behind his back with a quick twist of plasfoam. He led the way back upstairs to his small office, Rice following in the rear. Once they were all seated, Rice let Kim take the lead. "Right Bartok, tell the Captain what you told me," he ordered. 

Bartok licked his lips before he spoke. "I know where the last lot of silver was stored, we didn't have time to move it before we were caught. I'll tell you where it is if you give me a deal. I want my sentence halved, and you have to swear you'll keep me away from the other men. If they find out I've talked to you, I'm dead!"  

Rice could see the other man was sweating heavily. He frowned, "If your story checks out, I'll see what I can do. I can guarantee you'll be placed in a different prison but as to the sentence, that will depend on what other crimes you are wanted for, as well as how much silver we recover." 

Not unexpectedly, Bartok blustered a bit, trying for a more definite commitment but in the end he gave in and told them the co-ordinates.  

Kim took Bartok back down to his cell while Rice put through a call to Corporal Nakamura down on Isis. Not only was he was the most appropriate person to investigate Bartok's story, but after his recent experience in the mine Rice would be quite happy if he never saw another tunnel again in his life. However, he met with a setback. 

"Sorry Captain, I've got my hands full here with a search and rescue party. Couple of hikers lost in the mountains. I might be able to get to it tomorrow, would that be soon enough?" 

"Don't worry about it, Corporal. You're right, the hikers take priority. I'll organise something from this end." Now that he knew the silver was there, Rice didn't want to leave it. He knew it wasn't totally rational, after all he hadn't even known of its existence until a few minutes ago. The silver was probably just as safe where it was until tomorrow as it was yesterday, but he felt the sooner the Patrol had it in safe keeping, the better. He'd send Sergeant Forrester down with Kim to check it out.  

Come to think of it, where was Forrester? Surely he was due back from patrol half an hour ago? Although occasionally something happened to cause a delay when a man was out on the streets, it was unlike Forrester not to let him know. He contacted the Sergeant on his wristcom and got through immediately.  

"Sorry sir, I was just about to call you. I've had a bit of an accident, broke my wrist of all things! I'm in the medic centre, I thought that someone had called you when I was brought in but apparently not." 

"What happened? Were you attacked?" asked Rice, concerned, evidently today was going to be one of those days! 

"Oh no sir, just an accident. A chap asked me to lend a hand while he was trying to get a big box into his hovercar and somehow it slipped. Like a fool I tried to catch it as it went down, reflex I suppose, but it landed right on my arm and broke my wrist. He was very apologetic, but it was my own fault. The medic says I'll be able to return to duty tomorrow, but no lifting or heavy work for a week while it heals. I'm very sorry sir." 

"Can't be helped, John. As long as you're not badly hurt." 

"No sir, now I've got it set, it's not bothering me at all, apart from being a bit awkward of course." 

Rice frowned again. He supposed he'd have to send Nick down with Kim, not that he thought Kim couldn't handle the job by himself but it would be wiser to send two men. He wasn't expecting trouble but that didn't mean he shouldn't take precautions, especially where something so valuable was concerned. Two men could watch each other's back. 

Besides, he wasn't sure how much silver there was. If they couldn't carry it between them, one could guard it while the other went back to the surface to call for assistance. He had found to his cost that wristcoms could be of limited use when underground. 

He called Nick and Kim into his office and gave them their orders. He could tell Kim was excited by the mission, no doubt imagining piles of hidden treasure to be discovered.  

"We need to get our hiking boots, sir, but we should be ready to leave in about thirty minutes if that's okay with you?" Nick replied, wishing that Stefan could have gone with him instead of Kim. 

"That's fine Lieutenant. Once you locate the silver, if it's there, don't hesitate to call me if you need further assistance."  

Nick nodded and departed with Kim in tow.  

Stefan wondered, suddenly uneasy, if he should have gone with them, but he had a meeting scheduled that afternoon with Ser Mitcham. His assistant had made the appointment yesterday, the space station manager requesting a briefing on the illegal mine and how Rice intended to deal with the twelve men involved. As more than half of them were held in temporary detention around Aykut, it was a valid question. 

Perhaps he should reschedule the meeting though, he and Private Wanganeen were the only patrol men here on duty. With Forrester injured and Connell and Kim heading down to Isis, when he added Nakamura into the equation, four of his team were now unavailable, dealing with emergencies elsewhere, all of which had occurred in the space of an hour or two. All valid reasons of course, but it made him uneasy for some reason.  

Rice hesitated for a moment and then called Private Gregoryan in from his leave. "I'm sorry about this Gregoryan, but we've had a few things come up. I need you back in here, the sooner the better." 

"Of course sir," replied Gregoryan, who had been in the middle of helping a friend repair his hovercar. "I'll need to go home and clean up but I can be there in about an hour." 

"Thank you," Rice felt a little easier, but not much.