Dirty Work: Volume 2

Story Three - Speed Demon - 3

I climbed the stairs of the main office building in the paddock. Outside the windows I could see the workmen at the barrier still arguing about the politician. I could almost hear the clatter of the wrench against the floor as the one threw it down in disgust at the other's comments.

At the top of the stairs I wandered down newly painted hallways with fresh plaques above the doors. Inside the offices were dozens of conferences, charts up on the Halo-Screens, numbers and graphs going this way and that as people scratched down their key figures for the work coming up. I didn't really care about all of the stuff behind the scenes. I just wanted to introduce myself to Mr. Draddas, introduce Dirty Work as a potential sponsor for the circuit, give the details of the boss and where he could be found, and get back out to watching the Zoomus. I hoped the guys on the barrier had fixed it by the time I got out again so the rider could fully open up the throttle and blast around the circuit like an absolute demon.

Finally I found an office that had the right name on the door. I knocked thrice and waited to be admitted. Opening the door was the man the boss had sent me an image of. Thin, bald head, black suit, he looked like the perfect mafia hit man, if ever there was one.

'Can I help you?' he asked.

'Mr Draddas?'

'That's me. Do you have an appointment? I'm afraid I only go by appointment. If you could make one with the lady at the reception downstairs...'

'I'm afraid my boss told me that I must speak to you today, and making an appointment would have taken too long,' I said.

He frowned and looked at his watch. 'No, I'm afraid I'm very busy. You'll have to see the lady on the desk. I'm sorry.' And with that he shut the door in my face.

I stood there for a moment, unsure as to what to do, before I retraced by steps and descended the stairs again, arriving at the front desk a moment later. The Torkaxion behind the counter looked up at me and smiled. 'May I help you?'

'I'd like to make an appointment with Mr. Draddas,' I said.

'Certainly,' the receptionist said, waving a hand and bringing up a Holo to float between us. 'When would be appropriate?'

I studied the table in front of me, and then scowled. 'What about twenty minutes time?'

The lady looked closely, took off her glasses to look closer, and then replaced them. 'Why, I'm sure he won't mind,' she said. 'He's such an understanding man, even if he can be ruthless when he needs to be.' She took my name and entered it into the slot. 'In business, you need to be ruthless sometimes.'

'So I've heard,' I said. I spied a small red sofa near the stairwell and parked myself on it, picking up a racing magazine nearby and flicking through it. There wasn't anything that piqued my interest however, not as much as seeing someone truly hammer the throttle on a real track had done. I relaxed back and allowed myself a brief respite, and did nothing.

Not long after I was back knocking on Mr. Draddas' door. This time he opened it with a pleasant smile. 'Please,' he said, 'come in. I'm sorry for earlier, but I'm awfully stressed at the moment.'

The office was plain, a few chairs before a large desk where there were so many Halo-Cores, screens and other devices active that it gave me a headache just looking at it all. Another screen was active on the right hand wall and he waved a few graphics away as he walked past. He sat himself down behind the desk and swiped the holos aside to clear a line of sight. 'Now, Xayne, what may I do for you?'

'I've come on behalf of my employer,' I said. 'He runs a club in the red sector...'

'No,' Draddas said instantly, a hand coming up to silence me. 'The answer is no.'

'I haven't said what he wants to discuss...'

'I don't care,' Draddas said. 'I've worked with clubs like that before and they're always a nightmare. Late payments, sleaze, drug enquiries. More hassle than they're worth. Shame, I liked some of the people that ran them, half of them aren't as bad as you'd think, but no. On principal, a flat no.'

This straight up denial for me to even give the proposal outlined for me left me a little off-kilter. I wasn't really sure what to do next. After my explanation and dismissal, I could work at bringing him around, but this wasn't going to do anything. I hadn't been prepared for getting shot down before I'd had a chance to lock and load on my end.

'Is there nothing I could do to make you even hear out my boss' proposal?'

'Absolutely nothing, I'm afraid.' He stood up and extended his hand towards me. 'Sorry, but it's just never going to work out.'

I frowned. I cast my eyes around the room, looking for some source of inspiration to help keep me in the game. My hand was beginning to twitch, wanting to extend itself towards his, to shake it, to agree to never speak of dealing again. I could see the boss reprimanding me, telling me how much the club needed it, had counted on me, to help get it back up again. Think of the girls, he would say, that aren't going to be able to afford the heating for an extra month, because that influx in cash isn't going to be there. Think of them. Think of how you could have done better. Think.

'Had one of the Zoomus' stolen, Mr. Draddas?'

I had spied one of the screens pushed to one side of the desk, where I made out a picture and the headline STOLEN. I didn't need much more, a plan was already forming.

'What? Oh, yes,' he said, glancing at the screen. 'It's nothing major, nothing we can't deal with.'

'What if I could get it back for you?' I wasn't sure I could, but I needed to push. It was the only option I had left.

'The Zoomus?'

'Yes, sir. Give me two days and that machine will be back parked in your garage.'

'You're joking.'

'No sir, I'm most certainly not. It should be fairly easy, all things considered, if you'll give me as much information about it and the theft as you can. I'll be sure to catch the thief and get your Zoomus returned to you. In exchange, however, I want you to give a serious consideration to any business proposition my boss or I send your way.'

'Son, if you get me that Zoomus back, I'll give you advertising space directly opposite the main grandstand.'

Only now did I stretch my hand out. Sometimes it pays just to delay things a little.