In A Starship's Wake

Chapter Four: Confrontation On The Docks

"Terrence," he corrected

"Whatever." Joseph dismissed, eyeing him with evident distaste.

"You have something on board your ship that belongs to me."

"No, I don't."

"Don't play dumb with me." Terrence's voice rapidly rose to yelling at the starman. "I saw the security tapes. That's the truck Allison got into." He pointed through the door behind Joseph at the pickup parked in an alcove at the back of the cargo bay. "You have her here, and you're going to hand her over. Now."

"No pimp gives me orders, Travis. I will not hand her over so you can turn her into a call girl against her will."

The thug's face flashed angrily again when he used the wrong name, but he didn't correct him a second time. "She isn't going to be a call girl." Terrence's voice was now quiet and dangerous.

"I vividly recall you trying to pressure her into dancing in a strip club." Joseph shifted his stance slightly so that he was actually facing the pimp. "I also recall several statements, classics from the field of forcing vulnerable young girls into prostitution, emerging from your ugly mug. So if that wasn't the intent, what was it? You're going to have a great deal of difficulty convincing me it was anything innocent."

"I won't try then." Terrence's face took on a confident, self-satisfied expression. "Allison Wilkins has already been sold to an offworld buyer. Specifically, a boss in the Ventalian Mafia." Joseph was actually a little unnerved by that; the Ventalians were a dangerous criminal organization, with a presence on many unaffiliated planets Joseph and Tyrone had visited. "He'll be here to pick up his order at the end of the month. He specified he wanted her to be able to work a pole, which is why I'm forcing her on stage tonight.

"She's not the only girl we're selling to them either," he boasted. "The Ventalian Mafia is a big client, and bringing them in as a customer is going to significantly increase my status in the Temoran Kindred. They've already paid, and it's a deal I still intend to make." Terrence had raised his voice a little at a time as he spoke, and it was just below a shout now. "So unless you want an organized crime syndicate chasing you, hand her over."

Many of the dock workers who had been checking irrigation lines drifted over to see what was happening. Joseph wouldn't be surprised if Allison and Tyrone had been able to hear it further forward in the ship. Tyrone needed to hurry up too. The situation was getting tense and Joseph wanted their side to be the first with weapons out. It couldn't be taking him this long to find a rifle. They were scattered all over the ship, in hidden compartments within bulkheads, as a security measure against boarding.

Looking down the ramp at Terrence, Joseph only snorted. "Temoran Kindred? What kind of stupid name is that? It sounds like something a fifteen-year-old would come up with. As for the Ventalian Mafia, I'm not overly concerned about them either. They know better than to follow where we're going." That at least was true. The organization didn't venture into the Teton Sector. "You're going to have to disappoint them"

Terrence looked angrily back up the ramp at him, fists clenched. "There is no disappointing them."

Joseph shrugged. "Well, I guess it's either going to be you killing them or them killing you, Todd. I'd say I was sorry that you'll be losing face with your bosses, but the truth is I'm not. I wish you luck with not dying though."

"The law is a lax thing on this planet. You're interfering with my business. If I kill you, that explanation will be good enough for the authorities. If they bother to investigate."

"I don't think you want to try that," Tyrone said from Joseph's left. He looked back and was relieved by the sight of Tyrone, taking cover against the cargo bay door, with a rifle pointed out at the gangsters.