Memory Traffic

Chapter 8: The Job

"That, my friend, is the location of the central hub, the tickets you need to get there, and a much better virus to install when you finally reach your destination. It's based on the virus you intend to use, though, so the interface will be the same."

I narrowed my eyes. "A much better virus? As if I'd believe you."

"I understand that you don't. Yet, I can tell you that any virus you have concocted will likely fail. You will see when you work. It will do nothing. Mine will disrupt the gates for months, maybe even an entire Earth year.

I rifled through the items in the thicker parcel. I found two envelopes with tickets for another set of gates to get us to Vega Prime and several public transport tickets that would, presumably, take us to the hub headquarters. More gate tickets that returned us to Earth helped disguise our retreat. I also found an unlabeled Vegan storage device.

He held out small square devices with our images imprinted on them to us. "Here. Identification for the two of you: you are recently returned from off-world and just moved to the city. If you are stopped by the authorities, just play dumb and say you didn't know you were breaking the law. This will help back that up. It also contains several thousand credits for you to spend, just in case."

She plucked the item from him and tucked it inside her bra for safekeeping. "Why are you doing this?"

He set his jaw. "I have my reasons, most of which are personal. That is all you need to know." He looked her up and down, then studied me. "Your disguises are perfect. How long will they last?"

"About two weeks. Then, our hair starts to show at the roots, and the tan fades."

He nodded. "You'll get your mission done well before then." He lifted the messenger bag off his body and handed it to Sharon. "Here are two sets of more appropriate clothing so you don't stand out quite so much. However, I could not get you the proper badges with the security clearances you need. I tried, but I ran out of time. You will have to obtain them yourself."

"How do we get onto the cleaning crew?" she asked.

"When you get to Vega Prime, wait about an hour local time until the watch has the big hand up and the little hand on the fourth number. At that time, enter the hub's building from the back and go to the office in the basement. Tell them you are looking for work. I will arrange it such that two of their crew will not show for their shifts, and they will feel compelled to hire you. They are preparing for an inspection and hiring extra to help polish everything. From there, it is up to you. You must go now."

Sharon nodded. "I know what to do from there."

Juno looked at me again. "I truly am sorry about Alex. The taking of his childhood memories would not have killed him. His own deal pushed it too far, and the Princess is unscrupulous enough not to care."

I stuffed items into various pockets to keep from balling my fists and slugging him. My stomach was in knots. "You helped."

His voice softened. "Even as resourceful as I am, I cannot take on the Princess alone. I had no choice."

His explanation did nothing to alleviate my anger. I crossed my arms and stared at him. When he realized I would have nothing more to say, he sighed.

"You need to go. Return to the gates and look for the yellow and green ones. Those will be the ones for Vega Prime. You have tickets and should arrive just enough time to reach the hub's central building. I am assuming you know where that is?"

"We don't know precisely," Sharon said, pulling out her phone. "We have several locations marked." She tapped on the screen and then handed him the device.