Gaylen and Kiris walked out, down, and into the street to join Bers and Herdis. Then they walked around the nearest corner and made a bit of a distance between themselves and the building.

“So, what’s the verdict?” he asked.

“Tries hard to look smart and in control, because deep down he knows he isn’t,” Kiris said. “I’d advise strongly against prodding his insecurities. And I strongly suspect there’s a gun hidden in that desk. On the right.”

“Right.”

Twenty minutes later, Gaylen, Kiris and Bers walked back to the front of the building. The guard raised a single eyebrow at the sight of them.

“There’s a complication. I need a quick word with your boss again.”

The man wasn’t impressed, but did step inside, and come back a little while later with another invitation. This time Bers went with them inside and up, past the same shady men. Gaylen took the opportunity to do another scan of the place, and its dangers and strategic factors.

They went back into that office, and found Boss Guill still behind the desk, now with a bottle and a fancy-looking glass.

“Wow, that was fast,” the man said sarcastically. “I guess this is why you’re called ‘runners’.”

He swirled whatever was in that glass, and took a slow sip.

“Seriously, though. What’s going on? I don’t like complications. They’re annoying.”

“This shouldn’t take long,” Gaylen said. He again walked slowly up to the desk. The red suits were back in the room as well, watching everything. Gaylen did not doubt for a second that Bers could rip them apart if it was just a matter of brawling. But if they had guns, and a quick draw, then who knew how that went?

“This is already taking too long,” Guill told him. “But oh, please, let’s hear it.”

“Maybe your people told you there were four of us the first time,” Gaylen said. “There was a woman who waited outside. And on our way here, the first time around, we stopped at a shop. I don’t know what you call them here, but I would go with ‘novelty shop’.”

He reached into his pocket and brought out a small, black device. It was about the size of a standard comm, and he put it on the desk.

“This is an interesting little thing. I’ve seen bigger ones in museums and period films. But look, there’s nothing in there now…”

He pushed a button and a small hatch opened.

“... but there is a tiny needle. And when this thing is activated, it spins a little disk. The needle reacts to noises and engraves them into the disk. It can then be played back, like an audio file.”

Gaylen cleared his throat. Guill may not have been smart, but he could still tell where this was going, and his face was darkening fast.

“We ordered a rent-car, and the lady from outside is currently on her way to our ship, with the disk. The disk with a recording of you incriminating yourself, because standard scramblers don’t work on something so simple, and-”

Guill sprang to his feet as if he’d sat on a needle. Gaylen heard the two guards move. And Bers made a low, slow sound that was somewhere between a chuckle and a growl.

“You. Dirty. Bastard,” the casino boss bit out through his teeth. He had moved a bit to the side, as he had earlier. Probably closer to a particular drawer.

“There are no clean people on this side of society,” Gaylen told him evenly. “Sometimes you hit, sometimes you get hit. That’s just how it is.”

“Oh, you want to talk about hitting?” Guill asked in a menacing sing-song.

“I want to talk about that meeting with your boss.”

“You think you can come here and make a fool out of me and-”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“No fools here,” Gaylen said. “Just a little trick hardly anyone thinks of.”

He didn’t like saying soothing things to this guy, but Kiris’s warnings were not to be ignored.

“You don’t skip a chance to gain an advantage over people,” he went on. “You’re smarter than that. So, we are still just talking business. I have no stakes on this planet, and I’ll be leaving in mere hours. So I’m happy to throw that disk into the recycler as soon as I’m out in space. And we’ll never see or hear from each other again.”

“Hn.”

Guill put up a fake smile, suddenly trying to seem indifferent and in control.

“Ah, runners. You’re like flies. Vermin the docks and the lanes. And if you’re nothing more than that, then what business do you have with the big man?”

“That’s between me and him.”

“Between him and you…” Guill repeated.

He glared, and Gaylen knew exactly what he was doing; trying to think of something, anything, that would solve this situation without having to admit defeat. But he was defeated, and a broadening of that fake smile marked the moment he accepted it.

“Tsh. Fine. Sure. Heh. Go and talk to the big man. See where it gets you. See if he doesn’t see right through whatever you’re doing, and make your life a lot harder.”

“So you’ll give the word?” Gaylen asked. “I can access him in-”

The door opened, and Gaylen turned to look. It was the guard from the main entrance. He noticed the tensions in the room, and it brought him to a momentary stop. Then he focused on his boss and spoke.

“It’s… ready. The delivery is here.”

“Ah!” Guill exclaimed, with more fake glee. “You know what? This is good timing. I’m going to show you folks something.”

He walked around the desk. There was a darkness to this; Gaylen could tell. He didn’t know what exactly, and Kiris’s touch didn’t signal imminent danger, but he still knew this was going someplace bad.

“Come on, come on,” Guill said, as he went past Gaylen’s group and joined his men around the doorway. “Let’s show them, boys.”

“Are you sure?” one of the red suits asked. “This is a big s-”

“Yes, I’m sure!” Guill barked. “Come on!”

Reluctantly, Gaylen did follow, and Bers and Kiris followed him. Guill led the train of people across the top floor landing and to the door opposite his office. The boss waved his hand in front of it, and Gaylen saw a big ring on his middle finger blink for an instant, before the door hissed open.

“We’re housing something, you see!” the man said. “Temporarily, but sometimes housing the right stuff even for a little bit is a big deal!”

Beyond the door was a space that held three other doors, and a third red suit outside of one of them. This one was openly wearing a gun. Guill waved him aside and stepped up to the door. It was thinly disguised to look unremarkable, but up close Gaylen could tell that it was far more robust than a simple lounge, closet or bathroom called for.

Guill swung around to face them.

“I’m connected, you see. That’s why you’re here, after all. You know I know people. You know I have a hand in making things happen. And sometimes, they’re bad things!”

He waved his ring in front of the door. It beeped gently.

“Big, bad things.”

Beyond was a small, dark room. The illumination from outside fell on the ragged form of a man. But as he flinched and turned to face the doorway, Gaylen felt more like thinking of him as a boy. He was tied hand and foot and gagged with some sort of tape, and sported a big, ugly, fresh bruise on his forehead. Even with all that, Gaylen recognised the face. It had been on the news, after all.

“Say hello, Emil,” Guill said cruelly. Then he turned to face Gaylen. “Do you know who this is? Oh, you do, don’t you?”

“I do,” Gaylen said, and shifted his eyes to Guill.

“Sure you do. Everyone does. This was the new High Justice’s big winning card. Emil here was going to inform, and testify, and bring down a whole lot of hardworking people, and their businesses. Now the cops are turning everything upside down, because it doesn’t occur to them that he’s being moved. Of course, it’s only until a bunch of the right people can get together to… have a talk. Look at him, runner.”

Gaylen did look, although he didn’t really want to. He’d seen this kind of desperate, hopeless terror and misery before. Those were the kinds of eyes that haunted a man. Ghosts in one’s soul.

“Keep this in mind, my man,” Guill said. “This tells you what kind of fellow I am. What kind of network I am a part of. Keep that in mind going forward, before you get any ideas about screwing me over, or making the big man ask me why he had to look at your face.”

“I will,” Gaylen said.

“See you in a few hours, Emil!” Guill said to the captive, and pretended he was going to kick him for a second, before closing the door again.

He let out a satisfied exhale.

“Anyway. Yeah. I’ll make your meeting happen. Start heading there now, so I don’t have to look at you or hear your voice.”

“Happily. Just remember my side of our bargain. I don’t want to see any funny stuff when I arrive on the scene.”

“Oh, you won’t,” Guill told him. “But on the topic of funny stuff: Don’t get it in your head to play hero. Half the cops around here are on the take. You go running to them with a story about what you just saw… well, you’re betting your fate on a coin toss.”

“I’m not a hero,” Gaylen told him.

“No. You’re just some asshole, and I want you gone.”

Guill clapped his hands.

“Now, boys, escort our friends out into the street.”