Confused as I was, I drew myself to the pedestrian lane as I went through the options I had.
I was petrified at the thought of having to return to the syndicate without the speeder, and worse on the first day. Fortunately, I still had a few credits left so I could just head back to the train station and take a train to the industrial district.
The problem was I had not started my journey from any stage in the industrial district.
Although I had studied the map overnight, I had not processed all the mag train terminals on the industrial level, which meant I did not know the direction of the syndicate compound without referencing the speeder lane.
If I took the train and it dropped me on some random stage on the industrial level, I would have to navigate on foot and try to discern from which direction I had come.
The thought of that sent another jolt of electrifying fear through me.
In the late cycle, more than one or two people had mentioned that I was likely to get bleed.
This was when crime thrived in Ord Mantel.
All manner of desperate individuals had come out and now sprawled across the city.
I cast my eyes back at the group. Some of them were still giggling and looking at me.
The Wookiee attendant was not even concerned with me in the slightest.
I contemplated for a second heading back there and trying to use more polite and beseeching means.
Maybe he still had a soft side. I mean, Chewbacca had. And since they were from the same species, maybe if I explained my situation, he could take pity on me.
However, I had to drive that thought out of my head.
There was no explaining my situation. That would burn my identity and, one way or the other, end me up in an even worse predicament.
I was just turning back, having decided to return to the train station, when I saw a speeder approaching further down the lane.
My heart gave a thump of excitement.
I could be wrong, but in all likelihood the person riding this speeder resembled Koji.
As the speeder came nearer, I became certain of it.
There was no mistaking the Zeltron boy.
He looked calm and happy, and I was surprised to see that he too was returning this late in the cycle.
Then again, he might have had permission, seeing that we had not left at the same time.
Probably he had been released late in the mid cycle and so he was excused to return this late.
I did not wait for him to stop. I screamed his name as his bike whizzed by.
"Fuck."
I cursed, certain that he had not heard me.
With the vast population moving around, nobody even cared about me yelling. It seemed just like another bit of side drama on the busy market street.
But Koji had heard me.
That was when I realized why people assumed that riding a speeder was common knowledge.
The lanes were packed, but I saw Koji carelessly perform a dangerous maneuver. He crossed into a lane with oncoming high speed speeders, dropped to a lower level, shot up to a higher level, then did a U turn on the opposite lane and headed back toward me with the biggest grin plastered on his face.
I decided the dude must have ridden speeders all his life.
For a second I held my breath, thinking that one of the hurtling speeders would crash into the Zeltron boy. But his skills seemed on another level, and every time he just moved sideways at the last second.
"Hurry up," he yelled as his speeder bike lowered onto the Wookiee's landing pad.
The same pad where I had lost mine.
The Wookiee stood and headed toward him.
I rushed toward my friend, barely stopping to think about what the Wookiee was up to.
He had fetched one of those printed signboards.
'Two credits for a stopover.' it read.
He growled at Koji as I came in.
But Koji smiled casually.
"Sorry mate, not parking. Just picking up a friend."
Koji turned to me.
"What in the galaxy are you doing here?" he said. "Where is your speeder?"
He was almost certainly asking why I had not already returned to the syndicate compound when he suddenly held his tongue.
"Not here," I said, hopping right behind him.
"Your weight will slow us down," he said, grinning.
Not once did that broad grin disappear from his face, which made me wonder what the hell was wrong with him.
What was there to be happy about?
The Wookiee moved to stand right in front of Koji's speeder and gave another threatening growl.
"Sorry mate, I will be gone, I will be gone."
"No gone."
Our towering ape like adversary grabbed the speeder's head and plucked the key out of the console.
"He says five credits for being rude."
The translator and a bunch of others had joined the Wookiee.
Koji was still arguing while smiling when I pinched him on the back.
"Not here."
I reached into my pocket and counted the five credits.
It was no loss for me anyway.
I handed them to the Wookiee.
He tossed the keys back to Koji, who grabbed them and shoved them back into the bike, quickly bringing it back into hovering mode.
"Nasty dude, that one," Koji said as the speeder swooshed back into the lane.
The Wookiee glanced at us as if he was ready to jog a few steps and pluck us right out of the lane.
I did not want to take my chances with that. Seeing his long legs and the agility of his kind, it was not something I would put entirely out of his reach.
"What is up with you anyway?" I asked Koji as soon as we had cleared a good distance.
"Me? Nothing. It is just a good day. Oh Jax, I am telling you, I have a feeling. I will be clearing my debt and yours soon enough."
I could not see his face, but I could still sense the smile was there.
I did not want to know why he was this naive.
He just did not sound like normal Koji.
"Are you high?" I asked, suddenly remembering that the morning lesson I had left him with involved sampling spices.
"Yeah. A little," he said. "But that is beside the point. Jax, I think I am a natural at this."
That was where I stopped my questioning.
I had my answer.
For the next few minutes I listened to him go on and on about how much he loved the thing until we pulled up at the syndicate compound.
Immediately I could tell everything was not good.
Two enforcers were waiting for us. Next to them were the assistant boss and the boss himself, Hato, and the handler.
The fuck had we done?
Hato glared at us as I disembarked from Koji's speeder.
"Finally someone decided to show up," he said slowly, pacing toward us.
The assistant boss had already turned toward the handler. Grabbing the old man, he shoved him forward.
"Did you not tell them? Did you not you tell them about riding the same speeder?"
The old man tried to push himself free, but he could not shake the hulking man.
"Of course I did, chief."
"Let him go, chief," Hato said. "Clearly the mistake is on our smuggler's son here. Where is your speeder, kid?"
Hato asked calmly.
And just like I had noticed before, when Hato asked something calmly, you had every right to be scared.
I hurried to explain myself.
"The Wookiee on the first landing pad took it. I paid for six hours, but I was late because of rush hour prices. He said he does not watch for bikes after the paid time."
"Of course he does not. What do you take him for?" the boss said, smiling. "Nobody is a charity worker in Ord Mantel, kid."
He reached for his datapad.
"Look at this."
He displayed to me a green and red button listed under my identity.
One strike, ninety six.
Just beneath it was written confirmed kill switch trigger.
Above it was cancel.
"You had exhausted your warning. I was about to blow your head off your shoulders."
Just looking at it made my entire body begin to tremble.
For fuck's sake, cancel. Cancel.
"But seeing that you are here, and seeing that it is your first day, I will cancel this. But as for the speeder."
He turned to his assistant.
"What do you think was the value of the land speeder?"
"Eight thousand credits," the chief said.
"You heard the man. That is eight thousand credits on your debt, which brings it to eighteen thousand."
I did not argue.
I was too relieved for another chance to keep my head.
But I was definitely certain that even a brand new land speeder of that kind would not cost more than four thousand credits. And that one had not looked anywhere close to new.
Hato ignored me and turned to Koji.
"Someone is happy. What makes you happy, my Zeltron boy?"
"I think I am a natural, boss. I think I am a natural."
Fuck.
I cursed inwardly.
Shut up, dude.
Hato smiled and grabbed Koji by the neck, locking heads with him.
"Indeed you are, my boy. Quite a natural you are. What is that I smell?"
He turned to his enforcers.
"This one has been to a brothel. Smells like a whore. Did you find somewhere to empty your balls?"
Koji looked down shyly before turning back to the boss.
"Yes, boss."
Hato's smile broadened, and honestly this time I could not tell whether there was danger in it or if it was genuine.
"And how much credit did you pay?"
"Nothing," Koji answered quickly, smiling.
Dude was sick.
"Boss, I did not pay anything."
He reached into his pocket and produced the entire 100 credits that was supposed to be the day's budget.
"I paid nothing."
Hato's manner suddenly changed.
"You are saying that a whore serviced you for free?"
I could see even the other smugglers and the assistant boss showing a hint of respect.
A whore servicing someone for free.
"I am guessing it is those pheromones. By God, we might have just found a way to penetrate all brothels in Mantel."
He eagerly grabbed Koji's neck again and locked heads with him.
"Indeed you, my boy, might truly be a smuggling natural."
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