Eco Freak

Lia’s business took her to the port, in the southernmost part of Haven City. Unlike earlier that day, she drove carefully, obeying all speed limits and not flying recklessly between people. Discretion was important. She couldn’t afford to have the Krimzon Guard on her back.

Because of her careful driving, it took almost twice as long to get to the port, which made her nervous. There was a very narrow window of time in which her meeting was supposed to take place. It would be very bad if the people she was supposed to meet left before she got there.

When Lia pulled the Flyer to a stop at the meeting place – an alley behind one of many dingy bars in Haven City – a group of three men were already waiting. Two of them were leaning against the wall, smoking cigars that filled the air with acrid smoke, and the third was sitting in his cruiser, looking down at his watch every few seconds. When they saw Lia had arrived, they all stood to attention. The man who had been looking at his watch jumped out of the cruiser, an irritated look on his face.

“You’re late,” he said with a distinct accent, marking him as someone who lives near the port.

Lia stepped off of her own cruiser. “Sorry, Jinx. Got here as fast as I could without any KG catching my tail.”

Jinx furrowed his brow, but said nothing. His eyes flitted over to Jak, who was now standing slightly behind Lia. “Who’s the newbie?”

“Nobody important,” Lia responded, not missing a beat.

“Nobody important? I’ll have you know this is my boy, Jak, the first to ever escape from Baron Praxis’ prison. Of course, he couldn’t have done it without my help,” Daxter said smugly, pointing a thumb to his chest. Lia’s eyes were wrenched closed as she imagined throttling the small ottsel. She had allowed them to tag along with her on one condition: they say and do nothing. So much for keeping Jak under the radar, Lia thought sardonically.

Jinx raised his eyebrows until they disappeared under the bandana he had tied around his forehead. He looked down at Jak with pure shock. “I don’t believe it. You’re the one that’s got this whole city turned upside down?”

“Yeah,” Jak responded. Lia was beginning to sense he was a man of few words.

Jinx laughed, and threw an arm around Jak’s shoulder. “Whoo! Let me tell you, Jakkie-boy, I owe you big! Thanks to you, today was the easiest run of my life. All the KG are scouring the city, none are watching the walls! We could’ve come in blastin’ fireworks and no one would’a paid us any attention!” Jinx chuckled again. “Hey, what’d’ya say I introduce you to some people? I know a handful of big players who would be mighty interested in meeting the boy who escaped from under the baron’s nose.”

Before Jak could say anything, Lia interrupted. She grabbed onto Jinx’s arm, forcing him to look at her. “He’s not interested.”

“Why don’t you let the boy speak for himself?” Jinx shook Lia’s arm off. She scowled, and looked at Jak.

“Trust me, Jak. You don’t want to work for the scum these lowlifes serve.”

One of the men who had been smoking a cigar stepped forward. He was a large man, over a foot taller than Lia with shoulders that would make passing through doorways difficult. He had a set of goggles pulled down over his eyes. The large man leaned down over Lia, breathing in her face. “You call us lowlifes, and yet you depend on us. What does that make you?”

Lia set her jaw in a still grimace. “Ever heard of a toothbrush, Retch? I can guarantee you’d be much more popular with the ladies if you cleaned your vile mouth once or twice.”

Retch was not the least bit pleased. “Why I oughta—“ he started, pulling his arm back, ready to strike. Luckily, Jinx intervened.

“Easy now, Retch. We can’t go hurtin’ our client. Bad for business.” Jinx looked over at Lia, a smile stretching his face. “That mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble one of these days, sweetcakes.”

“I can take care of myself.” Just then, a pair of KG strolled past the mouth of the alley. Everyone froze. Luckily, the KG were too oblivious to look down the alley, and they passed on in a few short moments. Lia sighed once the KG were out of sight. “Let’s get this over with. You got the stuff?”

“Sure thing, dollface. You got the money?”

Lia pressed her lips together, but pulled the sack of money hanging from her belt and tossed it to Jinx. Jinx pulled open the sack, his mouth moving as he counted the credits it contained. Satisfied with the amount, Jinx nodded and Retch pulled a burlap sack from the storage trunk of their cruiser. Retch dropped the sack at Lia’s feet and backed away.

Lia, after sending a harsh glare over to Retch, bent down and opened the sack. It was filled with tiny beads of grain. She reached into it, sifting through the contents, making sure there wasn’t any sawdust or pebbles mixed in. Then she lifted it into the air, judging its weight. Lia frowned. “This is five pounds lighter than we agreed upon. At least.”

“Sorry, toots. That was all we could manage. Resources are runnin’ scarce. You understand.”

“Yeah. I understand.” Before anything else could be said, Lia dipped her hand into the money sack in Jinx’s hand and pulled out a couple credits.

“Hey! Give those back!” Jinx shouted, reaching for the credits, but Lia quickly pocketed them.

“Sorry, toots,” Lia said, emphasizing Jinx’s own language, “but resources are runnin’ scare. You understand.”

For a moment Jinx said nothing. Then, a smile broke out on his face. “You really are somethin’, Lia. You want help with the bag?”

“Sure.”

Jinx lifted the bag and placed it in the storage compartment of the cruiser. He worked with nimble hands at tying it down with a piece of rope. Lia watched him.

“You know, I earned quite a bit of money off of you last night.”

Lia cocked her head to the side. “You saw me fight?”

“Mmhmm.” Jinx finished a square knot and then closed the storage compartment lid. “And I bet on you, too. Retch was votin’ for the bigger guy. That’s why he was so sore today. Bled him almost a week’s pay, I did,” Jinx said smugly, tapping a bulging sack of credits on his belt. “You’re a good fighter.”

Lia couldn’t help the wave of flattery that washed over her. A shadow of a smile flickered on her face. “Thanks.”

“What’d’ya say I thank you for makin’ me a rich man. Take you out for drinks. I know this nice place up in the bazaar that has real black market booze, not that cheep swill they sell down at the port.”

This again. Lia allowed a smile to cross her face. Same song, different chorus. “Thanks for the offer, Jinx. But you know my policy: I don’t date smugglers and thieves.”

“Doll, if you’d just say yes, I’d become an honest man for you,” Jinx said. To an outsider it would seem Jinx was being sincere, but Lia could hear the jest in his voice.

Smiling, Lia shook her head. “Say hello to your sister for me, Jinx.”

“I will if you promise to consider my proposal.”

Lia rolled her eyes. “I’ll consider it. But don’t get your hopes up.” Lia climbed into the driver’s seat of the cruiser, and Jak took the seat next to her. Before another word could be said, Lia started up the cruiser and went speeding down the alley and into the heart of Haven City.