First draft
Ten hours later, the Nostromus had finally returned to Daxum and Omen, Dia and Rodriguez were on their way to the brig.
"How do you want to play this?" Omen asked.
Dia halted, regarding him curiously for a moment. "This is your field. Why are you asking my opinion?"
Omen looked at her seriously. "Fanning asked for you, not me."
"Yeah, but he was one of your men, wasn't he?"
Omen shook her head. "No, actually, he wasn't. He answered directly to Reyes. I would've never hired someone like him."
Dia raised a brow. "Someone like him?"
"Fanning is..." Omen paused, hesitating, seeming to make up his mind. "You could say that like most pirates he is an opportunist. At least that's how he presents himself."
Dia couldn't help but recall the look on Fanning's face when Reyes ordered him to destroy the battlecruiser. Granted, all pirates were eager to give the Empire a bloody nose, but Fanning was different.
He was the only one who actually enjoyed killing for the sake of killing.
Dia narrowed her eyes. "Do you think he was faking his personality to fit in?"
Omen nodded grimly. "That's what I'm afraid of. I think that Fanning is not what he pretends to be."
"How so? Wait..." Dia paused, remembering something. "is this related to the smuggling ring?"
"In part, but mostly it's my intuition talking." Something indescribable flashed through his eye. Regret, maybe? "To tell you the truth, I have always thought there was something wrong with Fanning, but I had no evidence."
"So, why are you telling me this now? What changed?"
"Now I know that Fanning is related to the Spider. Besides, the fact that Fanning asked specifically for you is suspicious."
Dia nodded silently. That was a good point.
"I'm pretty sure" Omen continued, "that Fanning knows more than he lets on."
Dia opened her mouth, then closed it, hesitating for a while. "Sorry Omen, but have you considered that maybe he's just bullshitting us?"
Omen was pretty calm. He didn't look offended by her inquiry. "I doubt it. Smuggling antimatter is a capital offense. The fact that Fanning is still alive means that someone was protecting him from the Syndicate's retaliation."
Dia frowned. "But from what I heard, the Syndicate couldn't get rid of the smugglers because that would mean admitting that someone managed to cheat the system."
Omen snorted. "True, the Spice Lords couldn't get rid of the smugglers without admitting that the rumors were right. That's why they waited until things quieted down before making their move."
Dia opened her eyes wide. "So what, they just got rid of them? And no one noticed?"
Omen shrugged. "Public opinion is short-lived, corporal. I can assure you that everyone involved in the scandal disappeared a long time ago."
"Everyone except Fanning." Dia sounded a bit calmer this time.
Omen nodded. "As I said, someone was protecting him. Someone powerful."
"The Umbra?" She asked quietly.
"Or the Spider. Maybe both." Omen's expression turned somber. "But yes, I'm almost sure he was working for the Umbra."
"And that's why he knows so many things."
Omen nodded a bit brusquely. "That's my conclusion, too. The Umbra must have deemed him trustworthy enough to keep his secrets."
"Then why did he throw him in the brig?" Dia objected. "There was no evidence of foul play. As far as the Umbra knew, the torpedo could have really malfunctioned."
"That was quite unlikely." Omen reminded her. "Besides, we know that Fanning was passing information to the Spider. Maybe the Umbra suspected something was up with him and was keeping an eye on him. Or maybe he already knew that Fanning betrayed him and was just waiting for the right moment to strike."
"There are a lot of maybes." She remarked.
"Yes." Omen admitted reluctantly. "But if there is one thing that I know for sure is that Fanning was selling antimatter to someone."
"And you think that someone was the Umbra." Dia grimaced. "Great."
For a split second silence descended on the hallway.
Then Dia cleared her throat. "Anyway, I still think it's best if you take the lead. Besides..." She trailed off. An idea suddenly struck her, a way to vent her frustrations. "On second thought, I may have an idea."
Omen gave her a guarded look. "I'm all ears."
"Have you ever played good cop bad cop?"
Omen raised a brow. "Like in those old olo-movies? "
"Exactly." Dia smiled at him, a wicked light shining in her eyes. "You play the good cop."
A bit uncertain, Omen nodded. "I can do that, I suppose."
Rodriguez cleared her throat. "What about me?"
"Just stay behind me and try to look threatening." Dia eyed the minigun in Rodriguez's hands and added. "It shouldn't be a problem for you."
The merc winked at her. "You got it, Sweetheart."
The three of them entered the brig. Fanning, who had been lying on his bunk, stood up when they approached his cell. "Welcome back." He glanced briefly at Omen and Rodriguez, then back at Dia. "I see you brought some new friends with you."
"Let's skip the chitchat, shall we?" Dia said. "It's time you keep the end of your bargain."
"Oh, I would love to do that, but as you can see, I'm kind of stuck here." Fanning gave her a creepy smile.
Dia clamped her hands on her hips and scowled at him. "You don't have to meet him in person, do you? Just call him, Fanning."
Fanning sighed. "Fine." He said, making it sound like he was the one making a big concession. He looked at Rodriguez and Omen warily. "But can I at least get some privacy?"
"No can do, buddy." She gave him her best psychopathic smile, " I wouldn't want you to get any strange ideas."
Fanning flinched, and her other self woke up, purring her approval. "At least let me out of here." The pirate said, his tone more subdued.
Dia turned toward Omen. "What do you say? Can we trust him?"
"I think we can." Omen nodded, playing along with her. "Besides, he could use some fresh air."
Rodriguez sniffed the air and wrinkled her nose in disgust. "And a shower."
Fanning lifted his left arm up and sniffed under his armpit. "Yep, I think she is right."
"Shut up." Said Dia, sharp and peremptory. Then she glanced at Omen, "I don't know if that's a good idea. He's already tried to escape once."
Omen shrugged. "He is unarmed. He can't do much damage. Besides, I think he's learned his lesson."
"I totally do." Fanning swore, putting his hand over his heart. "Pirate's honor."
"Say another word, and I'll drop you off the airlock." Dia said, her tone dangerously even.
"That would be a bad idea. We still need him." Omen gently reminded her.
Dia snorted.
"Why don't you let him out?" Omen said in a conciliatory tone. "Just for a few minutes." He spoke quietly, but he was still loud enough for Fanning to hear him.
"Fine." Dia conceded with an exaggerated sigh. "Let him out, Rodriguez."
While the merc turned off the force field, Dia switched on the comms, "Mitchell, can you encrypt the call? Audio only?"
"Of course, corporal." Mitchell sounded vaguely offended.
In the meantime, Rodriguez had escorted Fanning to a separate room.
"You're doing fine so far, but be careful not to overdo it." Omen said to her before they entered the interrogation room. He sat across from Fanning while Dia remained standing.
"Now, at the risk of repeating myself," Dia whispered in Fanning's ear. "I'm watching you."
A naked threat. Still, Fanning was a tough nut to crack. Other than a few beads of sweat dripping from his forehead, he looked completely unaffected.
"Corporal." Mitchell said, "I'm ready."
Dia tapped on her comms. "Alright, patch us through."
Then she looked at Fanning and gave him a nonverbal nod, signaling him to start talking.
"Robert, it's me."
"Charlie? What a surprise." Robert, aka the Spider, sounded mildly annoyed. "I heard the Umbra killed you."
"Who? Me?" Fanning forced a laugh. "It'll take more than that to get me."
"Get to the point." Dia hissed in his ear.
Fanning froze, his hand shaking ever so slightly. Maybe he wasn't so calm, after all. "Listen, I need to get inside the Palace."
A long pause. "...the Palace? What for?
"Don't ask questions. You need to send a delegation there anyway, don't you?"
"Maybe." The Spider answered, his tone guarded.
"Come on, Robert, I know you. You'll never miss a chance to make money. The Umbra's people already contacted you, didn't they?"
"...let's say for a moment that you're right. Why should I send you of all people?" The Spider asked. "The Umbra thinks you betrayed him. If he discovers you..."
"He won't." Fanning assured him. "I really need this favor, Richard."
"Sorry, little brother, no can do." The Spider said after an overlong pause. "Too risky."
"Really, Robert?! After everything I have done for you..."
"You didn't help me out of the goodness of your heart, little brother." The Spider's voice suddenly became harsh, "Maybe you forgot who paid off your gambling debts, but I sure didn't. Now, unless you can give me one good reason why I should help you..." The Spider paused, giving him the chance to respond. When Fanning didn't say anything, he said, "Nothing? Well, then..."
"Wait, don't hang up! I...I will make it up to you! I swear!"
"...how?"
"I'll come up with something. I promise."
Robert was silent for several seconds. When they were starting to think he wouldn't answer, he said, "...alright."
Fanning closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief, but the Spider wasn't finished talking.
"But listen carefully, little brother. This is the last time I help you. You hear me?"
Fanning opened his eyes and gave a slow nod. "Loud and clear."
"Alright. As you suspected, my engineers are supposed to go there anyway." Robert continued. "You can tag along."
"When?"
"Two days for now. The meet's set for 18.30." The Spider paused. "By the way, can we meet in person?"
Fanning looked back at Dia, and she shook her head. "That's...not possible."
"...I figured as much." Robert said. "Alright then. Meet my men at the train station. And Charlie...leave your guns behind. The Palace's detectors are better than they used to be."
The line went dead.
"He noticed someone else was listening." Omen said quietly.
"My brother is not an idiot." Fanning said proudly.
Ignoring him, Dia asked, "Will he be a problem?"
"Hard to say." Rodriguez answered, "I'm more worried about the guns." She gently caressed the barrel of her minigun. "Do we really want to go there unarmed?"
"Secrecy is our greatest weapon." Omen said grimly. "If someone finds out who we are, it's game over."