to him.
“I really pray you are everything we hope you are. And while you are working this job, feel free to drink here at no charge, but I won’t have such terrible language used within these walls in the presence of my daughter and the rest of our customers.”
* * *
“This isn’t working!” Mitchell hollered.
Lubrication fluid burst out over him. He spat it out and tried to keep it out of his eyes. He pulled himself across the floor and sat back against a sidewall, staring at Wizard who had given up too.
“The fit isn’t right here at all.”
“What, these assholes given us the wrong part?”
The two of them looked at the new coil they were trying to fit, and the old one that was in two parts and lying on the deck where Andrews had stripped it.
“This for the wrong engine?” asked Mitchell.
They both were quiet, trying to figure it out.
“You think Mason getting us into this job is a good idea?”
“I don’t know, Mitchell. You have been to town and seen it all. I’ve just been here. All I know is the price, and it’s dangerous.”
“Come on, man, you were at the briefing.”
“Yeah, and it just seemed like another job to me.”
“Another job? We’re talking about facing several hundred trained soldiers, and we have no ship to rely on to get us the hell out of dodge.”
“Like things usually go perfectly? Way I see it, we didn’t choose to be here, and we’re here till these repairs are complete. Rest of the crew may as well work and get us some money.”
Mitchell fell silent. A moment later Andrews had a moment of clarity as he stared at the coil they were trying to fit.
“It’s a different part.”
“I know. I’ve been telling you that for the last ten minutes!”
“No, it’s the right model for this ship, just newer than our blocks here. I bet they’re a new model. Can’t be a whole lot different.”
He got to his feet and staggered over to where the twisted parts of the old coil lay, picked up one of the fragments, and returned to Mitchell.
“Look, the basic component is the same. It’s just this reinforcement ridge that has been added. We cut that off, and the baby will slide right in.”
“You sure about this, man? I mean right now we can go back and maybe exchange it. We start fucking with it, and God knows.”
“Come on, when have I not known what I was talking about?”
“Maybe if you’d spotted this damage a little earlier, we wouldn’t be on this shithole planet at all.”
Andrews shook his head in disbelief.
“When we talked about this mission, you were all too happy to be working for that ten million credits.”
“Well it’s easier to like the job up until you get shot,” he replied.
“Fetch me the tools I need to get this job done, and maybe you can be in the air before you know it.”
“Mason has got us in for the long haul here. We might be airworthy tomorrow, but we ain’t going anywhere.”
“Don’t know about you, but I’d at least like to have the option.”
“Yeah, yeah, all right. I’ll get you the tools. Don’t break anything now while I’m gone.”
Mitchell staggered to his feet. He had almost forgotten about the pain in his ear now for all the sweat dripping from him. Without any climate control, the ship was like a sauna.
“Goddamn you, Mason, sweating my ass off for this job.”
He passed through the engine bays towards the cargo hold where their power tools were held. The table in the middle of the room was still filled with cards and empty cups from their game. For a moment, he wished it could be all over, and they’d just be continuing that game.
“Some things just ain’t worth the money,” he said to himself.
He went to the racks of equipment and pulled out a cutter when he noticed a shadow cast over him. His heart almost stopped, and he turned to see three armed men stood on the ramp of the ship.
“Felix Mitchell, you are under arrest.”
He looked at them for just a moment, and then turned and ran as fast as he could. Two lasers smashed into the bulkhead, and the men pursued him. He reached the cockpit, slammed the blast door shut, and sealed it. The three men began hammering on the door, but he knew they didn’t stand a chance of getting through.
Mitchell collapsed down against the doorway. He didn’t even know what they wanted,