As for Nguyen, the banks would seize her restaurant chain, and her employment agency would be rendered worthless with no slaves to place. She’d be ruined. And Chief Banks? Without Simba’s money to buy cop loyalty, his tenure as chief would be very temporary.
Mayor Samir would go down with the rest of them. His fate was tied too closely to Simba and Banks. The power vacuum left by Simba and Banks would launch the city into criminal and police anarchy. The fragile balance that Paul and Ram Bandur created between KOP and the criminal element would dissolve. A mayoral election was coming in less than a year. He’d be voted out by a landslide.
Niki poured a new round of tea for us and sat down next to me.
I said, “What do you think, Maggie?”
Maggie blew on her tea and took a careful sip. “I think you’re right. If you succeed, they’ll be cleaned out. They don’t have enough reserve funds to survive the hit-financially, that is.”
“And you’re sure that Lagarto Lines isn’t insured?”
“I’m sure. No offworld insurance company is willing to insure a Lagartan company, and the Lagartan insurance companies don’t have the capital to underwrite a freighter.”
My blood surged. I could do this. I could make a difference. “Abdul?”
Abdul sighed. “Are you sure you want to go through with this?”
“I’m sure. There’s no other way. I might be able to score some vid evidence by hanging around the spaceport with a camera, but the vids wouldn’t go anywhere. The mayor and Simba are in charge now. The DAs won’t take up the cause, and the press won’t run the story. Hell, even if we could get the press to plaster it all over the news, the mayor’s people would discredit the vids as fakes. They’d claim there was some offworld conspiracy by the other shipping companies to close down Lagarto Lines. You know that people would eat it up-a lone Lagartan company battling the offworld powers. At the very best, we’d force Mayor Samir to create a sham commission to investigate the matter. Six months later, they’d issue a report saying they found nothing.”
Abdul walked to the window. He talked with his back to us. My plans were too ugly for him to face. “You know the slave trade won’t end. It’s too profitable.”
“I know it won’t, but I’ll knock Simba and Nguyen out of the business. It will take a while for somebody else to step in and take over. Think of how many people will be saved in the interim. And when somebody does take over, they won’t have a slave ship to use. They’ll have to go back to smuggling slaves through on the regular lines. They won’t be able to transport anywhere near the numbers they can now.”
Maggie asked, “How many people are on the crew?”
“Nine.”
“You really think this is the only way?”
“Give me another suggestion.”
Maggie and Abdul both clamped shut. I didn’t think so.
I said, “We’re talking about nine lives versus a lifetime of slavery for thousands.”
Abdul turned around and pleaded, “Nine people, Juno.”
“The greater good…”
Abdul’s sagging face sagged further in resignation. “Yeah, the greater good. How do you plan on doing it?”
“It’s beautifully simple, but I need your help.”
I had Maggie and Abdul onboard. The rest was up to me and my heartless exploitation of Manuel Hidalgo. After a month’s worth of carroting and sticking, he was my tool. I had his loyalty 100 percent. He actually thanked me for saving his life. He said he felt resurrected. He told me it was the first time in a long while that his life was heading in the right direction.
We met under a bridge. Children played in the river while their mothers roasted skewered geckos over oil drums filled with burning trash. I stayed in the shadows. I was going for a very cloak-and-dagger feel. He was into the spy gig. “Hidalgo,” I said.
“Yes?” he responded. He was wearing pressed whites, one hand in a cast. His hair was trimmed and slicked. His canker sores were in remission since I’d sent him to a doctor to treat his VD.
“Tell me about your progress.”
“I went on my first flight yesterday. Starting next week, I’ll be going regular.”
“Tell me about your cargo.”
“It’s like you said. They’re shipping peoples-all kinds of them: men, women, children. I’ve managed to talk to a few of them. Some got conned into it and actually believe there are high-paying jobs waiting for them, but most are being brought against their will.”
“Do you have the shipping schedules I asked for?”
“Yes.” He handed me a data chip. “I put the schematics you wanted in there, too.”
“Excellent. Go now.”
Hidalgo hung around like a puppy waiting for a pat on the head.
“Go,” I said.
He skulked away, thoroughly dominated. I waited until he was out of sight then stalked down to the riverbank and unmoored a rented skiff. I steered for open water, the motor putt-putting along. One step closer to my vengeance. I couldn’t erase the wicked smile on my face.
I gave the chip to Abdul and Maggie. They spent the next three weeks researching the nets, looking for optimal “camera” placements. When they returned the ship schematics to me, there were five red circles marking the spots. Their mood was somber. I had to keep reminding them-greater good.
Two more weeks passed before the time came to end my relationship with Manuel Hidalgo. I told him to come to Afrie’s.
I waited for him at a table, sipping my brandy, working up the courage to take the last step. I watched Hidalgo come in and sit down at the bar. He was dressed proper, sporting new duds and a stylish hat-no more cast on his hand. He’d gone from screwing johns to squarejohn in no time. I got up from my table and brushed by him on my way to the bathroom. He joined me a minute later.
“You’ve done well, Hidalgo.”
“Thank you.”
“You’ve exceeded my expectations these past few months. I have good news for you. There is only one more thing for you to do. I have no doubt that you can handle it. When you’ve performed this task, I will release you from our agreement-all debts paid. How does that sound?”
He looked disappointed. He was so hooked on playing spy that he was sad it was coming to a close.
“Take this bag. In it, you’ll find five cameras and a blueprint of the ship. The blueprint is marked to show you where I want you to place the cameras. The placements I chose don’t offer the best vantage points, but they are in out of the way places, so you should be able to escape detection. The cameras are already recording. All you have to do is put them in place and then leave them alone.”
“Do I need to retrieve them?”
“No, they’ll beam a signal back on their own.”
“Got it. I can do it; you’ll see.”
“I know you’ll succeed. When I start receiving the feed, I’ll transfer the money into your account.”
“Okay. Thanks.” He looked like he had more to say.
“Spit it out.”
“Can I ask a question?”
I nodded. He’d earned it.
“You work for the government, don’t you?”
“I can’t answer that, Manuel.”
“You’re going to expose the slave trade. I can help. I can testify.”
“I won’t let you testify. It would be too dangerous. You’ve done enough for your people. Now take the bag and get out of here.”
The instant he walked out my enforcer juices ran frigid. It was done. Lagarto was about to begin its spiral into chaos.
I spent the rest of the night at the bar, trying to warm my soul with a brandy bottle…
From my rooftop, I watched the Orbital cross the sky. It passed through constellations, drawing an arc across the heavens. I peeked at my watch. Carlos Simba’s solitary ship would be braking into our atmosphere in just a few minutes. I toasted Manuel Hidalgo again. Shit-bottle was empty. Niki padded across the roof. She’d set the alarm to wake her up in time to catch the show. She sat next to me, our feet touching.