“Heh,” Maltese laughed. “I didn’t realize your last job was to allow your cargo to get seized.”
Carmen bit her lip not to spit in his face. She wanted to put the heel of her boot on his throat. But that wouldn’t help. That was why she’d brought Norvik.
“The unfortunate incident with the Corporate Operational Police Service aside, our record shows a crew that delivers,” the Collectivist countered. He paused for a moment and then added, “Discreetly.”
“Discretion’s a valuable commodity,” Maltese mused, taking a slow sip.
He sighed, a theatrical sound. Then he tapped a thick finger on a datapad.
“All right. Since you asked so nice, and because I’m feeling charitable, I got a little something you can have. It’s risky, but I get the impression that doesn’t matter to you given your current … operational capacity.”
Hope, fragile and treacherous, flickered in Carmen’s chest. She leaned forward slightly.
“What is it?”
Maltese smiled, revealing stained teeth.
“Coffee.”
Carmen blinked.
“Coffee?”
“Contraband coffee,” Maltese clarified, as if that made it better. “High-grade Arabica bean, smuggled out of the Solari Agri-Domes. The corporations love their monopolies and the exclusivity contracts that come with them. I’ve got a client who wants a better deal than what’s currently available to them.”
Carmen sighed. It wasn’t the kind of job that was going to solve their financial problems. No matter how illicit the cargo was, it was still a relatively low-grade smuggling job.
“Where does it need to be moved?” she asked, hoping they might be able to throw something else on the load, depending on where it was going. Maltese grinned like a fleshy wolf.
“Babcinq,” he said. “Apparently, there’s a stimulant vendor who specializes in rare blends for the rich and powerful.”
Unable to stop herself, Carmen choked. Babcinq? The heart of the United Planetary Alliance. The seat of the Senate. The central hub crawling with COPS patrols and corporate security. Where their outstanding fines and warrants were undoubtedlyflagged on every system. Carmen stared at him, the fragile hope shriveling and dying.
“Babcinq? You want us to runcoffeeinto the most heavily policed port in the sector?” Disbelief warred with outrage in her voice. “With theAntilleslooking like a salvage yard reject? That’s not a job, Maltese. That’s a fucking suicide run.”
Maltese spread his hands wide, a picture of mock innocence.
“It’s what’s available, Captain. Take it or leave it. Payment’s … modest. Enough to resupply you, might get those shield upgrades you need. Won’t touch your fines or your debt to Velasco, but, hey, it’s something.”
His eyes glinted. That greasypendejo. He was enjoying this.
Norvik shifted beside her. His voice remained smooth, somehow devoid of Carmen’s simmering fury.
“The proposed compensation seems … disproportionately low for the inherent risk profile, Mr. Maltese. Given the destination and our vessel’s current notoriety within UPA enforcement databases. Perhaps a more equitable adjustment–”
“The price is the price, Collectivist,” Maltese said, cutting him off with a wave of his meaty hand. “I’m not paying you extra because you trashed your already-useless reputation with those fines you owe. The elevated risk is your problem. Coffee to Babcinq. Payment on verified delivery. That’s the offer.”
“We cannot accept the job without the means to fulfill it,” Norvik said, still emotionless. “Payment up front. As you say, it’ll help us resupply, which we must if we are to undertake the journey.”
Maltese grinned like a rabid rat. His eyes twinkled with malice.
“Fine,” he said. “You can have your money now. It ain’t much, after all.
“But if that java don’t make it to Babcinq, don’t bother coming back here. No amount cash you can come up with will pay off the bounty I’ll put on your heads.”
Carmen seethed. Maltese was a nobody. She’d only come to him because he could get the kinds of jobs that would pay what they needed. And because no one else would talk to them. But the inference that he could actually hurt them made her want to take what was left of his sandwich and shove it up his ass.
He leaned forward again, his small eyes boring into Carmen’s.
