Last Voyage of Delilah, Episode 105: Beaumonde Shell Game, Part 2
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O'Connell: Okay. (sits) I'll wait.
Rachel nods and heads off to the port offices. She's an old spacer. She's been everywhere and knows just about everybody in every port. It's more than good odds that she will know the person on duty at the offices and that being the case, she stands a good chance to bargain Delilah's port fees down. If it's someone she doesn't know, she's good at convincing people to see things her way. Like with young O'Donnell back there, ain't nobody gonna know what hit'em, no, sir. Rachel pets her rat and puts the teeniest bit of swagger in her stride and enjoys the walk.
Meanwhile, Poco's tracking down a truck suitable for our needs. Nothing too flashy—don't want to attract attention. Nothing too cheap or broken down—we need something that works. Nothing too desperate or hard in the bargaining—we don't want to make people suspicious.
It takes some finessing.
In the end, Poco doesn't come out a loser but it's not exactly a solid win, either. The truck he came away with is "extra used", was what the other guy said. It looks it. It sorta-kinda runs. Poco somehow gets it back to the ship and starts looking for what he needs to fix it.
Valentine, Tian, and Vikki hear the truck coming from some distance off. The women have everything ready to hide the cargo once it's loaded on the truck. Valentine steps out to check the landing pad as Poco arrives. He sees O'Connell sitting on a box half hidden to the side. He's dressed in a Navy peacoat kind of jacket and he's clearly sitting and watching for something.
Hinked, Valentine walks over to the truck as Poco drives up to the ramp and leans in through the driver's window.
Valentine: Just a second before you start.
Poco: Nah, it's all right. I got her on the cheap. I'll fix her before we go.
Valentine: I wasn't talking about that but okay. Just give it a second before you open the hatch and start loading it up.
Poco: Wasn't going to load anyway. I was going to fix this up.
Vikki sees the truck rumble up and she whips around to Tian.
Vikki: Are we done here?
Tian: Why?
Vikki: (points) Toy!
Tian: Go on.
Vikki: Thank you! (to Poco) How much have you done?
Poco: What I can.
Vikki: All right. Need some help?
Vikki bounds up to the new acquisition and starts going over it with an avid eye. Something new to play around with as she fixes it. Shiny!
Valentine leaves her to it and walks over to O'Connell. O'Connell sees him and starts walking his way. They meet somewhere in the middle.
Valentine: (evenly) So, you're sitting here watching the ship, are you? There something I can do for you?
O'Connell: Oh. Are you the Captain of the ship?
Valentine: I'm Captain Quick, yes.
O'Connell: Oh, okay. Well, we had some suspicion that you might have accidentall—
Valentine: Who is we?
O'Connell: (pause) … My people.
Valentine: And who are your people?
O'Connell: I represent a corporate group from—
Valentine: Which corporate group?
O'Connell: We're connected to the fishing industry in—
Valentine: What's your actual corporation? Who are you?
Valentine's interruptions rattle O'Connell's cage a bit. Just as Valentine intended.
O'Connell: I'm—I'm Paul O'Connell and … the Fishing Union.
Valentine: The Fishing Union.
O'Connell: Well, the Fishery Union.
Valentine: Okay. Do you have some sort of documentation?
O'Connell: Of course.
O'Connell produces his laminated card. Valentine looks at it closely. He hands it back.
Valentine: And what's the Fishery Union's concern here?
O'Connell: Well, we might think you've accidentally been tricked into carrying illegal cargo. Stolen cargo.
Valentine: And what's this stolen cargo?
O'Connell: It would be intellectual property issues.
Valentine: Intellectual property issues. In what way?
O'Connell: Oh … possibly a collection of genetic material.
Valentine: A collection of genetic material. So you're talking … test tubes? Papers?
O'Connell: It would probably be in some sort of refrigerated unit.
Valentine: I see.
He does, actually. He doesn't let on but keeps up the curt manner, as if he doesn't quite believe the man.
Valentine: And you're looking to do what?
O'Connell: Just to verify that's the case and then take it to its proper—
Valentine: I see. And you have some sort of authority to do this on Beaumonde?
O'Connell: Well, I'm sure the Beaumonde authorities would want to prevent theft. And I'm prepared to do so—
Valentine: I'm sure you are.
O'Connell: However, there may be delays going through those channels, which is why I took it upon myself to meet with you directly.
Valentine: I appreciate that.
He does, actually. O'Connell pretty much admitted that the authorities might not even know he's here. There's room to maneuver in that. O'Connell's next statement pretty much clinches it.
O'Connell: So as not to involve any unnecessary bureaucracy.
Valentine: I appreciate that and I understand—
O'Connell: We in the Union can't stand unnecessary bureaucracy.
Valentine: I was assured by the person who bought passage for the cargo on the ship that all was up and right and—
O'Connell: I’m not blaming you at all, sir.
Valentine: I understand that but I have a responsibility to the people who paid me up front and requested a charter delivery. If you end up calling the Constable for cargo that's perfectly legitimate, I don't see how that's going to work out well for you and it's only going to delay us.
O'Connell: I have it on good authority that this is—
Valentine: (skeptical) The Fishery Union has it on good authority.
O'Connell: It's a multibillion credit business.
Valentine: (oh please!) There are lots of things that are multibillion credit businesses. You have no authority here. You are welcome to tell me that you think it's stolen. And I am perfectly willing to tell you in return that I know it's not. So I'm going to load it onto our truck and we're going to transport it upon whatever time we feel it's appropriate to get it there.
O'Connell: Where?
Valentine: To its location. I don't see where that's any of your business, either.
O'Connell: Pardon the pun, but it seems a bit fishy.
Valentine: Yeah. I'm sure you use that—.
O'Connell: A lot.
Valentine: —Everywhere you go.
O'Connell: I have a license.
Valentine: How nice for you. Is there anything else? Because I'm not going to tell you what it is. I'm not going to tell you where it's going. I have the discretionary duty not to give out that information to just anybody with a laminated badge from some random corporate entity. If it was stolen, I'm pretty sure you'd be going through legal channels. Right now, you are not. Have a nice day.
We're so humped. We were humped the minute O'Connell walked up with his scanner. Even so, Valentine sticks to his guns. His expression is still polite but his tone makes it clear: bugger off'.
O'Connell buggers off. Valentine doesn't move but watches him leave. Once O'Connell is out of sight, Valentine returns to the ramp where Tian's been watching.
Tian: (quietly) What was that all about?
Valentine: (ditto) That was the all-powerful Fishery Union.
Tian: Beg pardon?
Valentine: He seemed to think he was powerful. He seems to think we have stolen cargo aboard.
Tian: I wonder how he heard about that?
Valentine: Don't know. It's possible he's right. He called it intellectual property rights. So it's possible we're transporting something that a corporation's done some DNA-mumbo jumbo on. That said, I can't give it up to him, obviously. It's possible I handled it poorly. It's been a while since I've had to do something like this. I suppose I should have bribed him but I'm not sure if that would have worked. I'm usually dealing from a position of power rather than the other way around.
Tian: So we need to train you to not deal from that position.
Valentine: That is true. We do and the only way to do that is from experience. Hopefully, we'll live long enough.
Tian: Maybe … (groans) I don't want to think about it.
Valentine: Think about what?
She sighs, glances at the truck with Vikki and Poco, and steps a little deeper into the ship. No need to broadcast her doubts to everyone, right? Vikki and Poco are head and shoulders deep under the hood of the truck. Poco's a bit quicker on the draw however and finds the worst problem before she does. She pokes him in the ribs and her comment drifts back to Valentine and Tian.
Vikki: Save some for me, willya?
Poco: Sorry.
Tian and Valentine step a few more steps away. Tian lowers her voice just a bit.
Tian: I would think you were good at bureaucracy
Valentine: I'm good at being the bureaucracy. I'm the House. (a beat) Usually. I don't normally smuggle. I don't normally …
Tian: None of us normally do that.
Valentine doesn't say a word but his glance at Poco says volumes. Tian follows his glance and sighs again.
Tian: Uhn. Yeah.
Valentine: But my point is: yeah. But I'm not sure that would have worked either. I'm pretty sure that this guy thinks it's not quite dead on that we've got this cargo.
Tian: The real question is, does this guy have any authority or will he just try to jump us later?
Valentine: I don't know. He was talking about calling the Constable, which suggests to me that if he thought for sure that we had it and we knew it, he wouldn't bother using that as a threat. He would just go ahead and have them here. Have a warrant or whatever it is.
Tian: Right. They would have been waiting for us when we landed.
Valentine: So he doesn't know for sure but he very strongly suspects.
Tian: No. That's not the only explanation for that action.
Valentine: Explain.
Tian: The other explanation for that action is that he doesn't actually have any authority whatsoever and he's just trying to jump us for it. The fact that he stood there and said "I'll call the cops unless you give it to me…" that tells me that he has no authority whatsoever to take this cargo.
Valentine: I agree.
Tian: So we're short on time.
Valentine: Depending on what he does. He can certainly make it hard for us or jump us.
Tian: That begs the question. They sent us out here. Is there anyone we can contact for backup, here.
Valentine: Maybe. I'm a little hesitant to. I'm on the line to do this as quietly and with as few voices as possible. We're likely meeting out wherever it is the Triad's presence here. Or part of it.
For all their efforts to keep the conversation private, Poco has eyes—and ears—in the back of his head. He pulls away from the truck, leaving it to Vikki, and joins Valentine and Tian. He lights a cigarette and address the last bit.
Poco: You know … (drags on the cig) … We could find another truck and run a decoy.
Valentine: Yeah, we could. (thinks) That's not a bad idea. It give us a 50% extra chance.
Tian: Can we afford a better truck and have us take the loud one to use it as the decoy? (nods at the truck) And just leave it loud?
Poco: I was just fixin' this one enough so it wouldn't break down.
Tian: But that's what I mean. We'll take the loud one and use it as a decoy.
Poco: Yeah. It should run.
Tian: Can we get another one?
Poco: Yeah.
Valentine, Poco, and Tian put their heads together and figure out the logistics of running a shell game. Meanwhile, Rachel is over at the Port Offices, looking for friends and trying to leverage a reduction in the port fees. All she needs is to find someone she knows. It's not too hard. Everyone knows Rachel and everyone knows Delilah is dirt poor. So everyone expects Rachel to show up sooner or later.
Usually she can make it work in her favor.
She starts by asking who's on duty at the Port Authority Fees office. They tell her. She goes over and knocks on the right door. The man inside looks up. He's about to go off the clock as soon as his shift replacement arrives. He's late. He doesn't know where he is buyt he's willing to bet that the deadbeat is probably down at the bar. What was it that she needed? He's irritated and just wants to go home already. He tries to rush her out. She doesn't know the man but she knows she's got him: he wants to go home. She smiles and turns on her grandmotherly charm.
Rachel: Honey, just go on outa here and I'll just sit here and get me a Blue Sun cola and wait for your replacement.
She starts to sit down. Desperate and feeling she's willing to help him out, he tells her the name of the bar. She knows where it is. She smiles and tells him she'll fetch the man over. She walks out knowing that the next time she sees him he'll owe her one.
It's how the game is played, after all.
The bar is pretty much as she remembers it. She knows the barkeep. At the moment, someone's arguing with the barkeep over his tab. She recognizes the barkeep. It's Peter Kowolski, one of her countless friends and acquaintances the Verse over. He's a rather handsome man at sixty-plus, with a luxuriant grey hair and beard. Oh, yes, she remembers him. She waits a beat to size up the situation, then moseys up and flashes the angry patron a smile.
Rachel: Is this bartender bothering you?
Patron: No, I'm just trying to get a little … I'm just tryin' to get a little time.
Peter: He's arguin' cuz he's perpetually late. Makin' me late payin' my staff, my bills, an' all that.
Rachel takes in the patron's clothes and sees he's wearing the spaceport's general uniform. Rachel puts a little honey in her tone.
Rachel: But Peter, he's a spaceport authority.
Peter: Yeah. What?so that mean his shit don't stink?
Rachel: Well, you gotta give him a little better bit'a respect.
Peter: He's used up all that.
Rachel: (to Patron) What's your name, honey?
Patron: (subdued) …. Bob.
Rachel: Well, Bob, now I wouldn't be goin' and owin' Peter, but if I could talk to him, maybe we could scratch each other's back, you know?
Bob: Uh, yeah. I mean, that's really—I'll pay it next week. I swear.
Rachel smiles and tugs him to the side. She leans in and whispers.
Rachel: I got Delilah" on Bay 5 and if you could waive the port fees or significantly decrease them, I'd appreciate it and maybe I could work with Peter a deal that some'a your bar tab—at least for this day—is gone. Cuz you look like you been in your cups a little bit, honey.
Bob: Huhnnn, so you … You got an in with the barkeep?
Rachel: Oh, yeah.
Bob: I wanna make sure that's true. Okay, I'm gonna go check—
Rachel tugs on his arm to stall him and calls softly to the bar.
Rachel: Hold on. Peter, honey?
Peter: What are you getting' me into?
Rachel: I'm just reckonin' I could maybe pay back some'a this boy's bar tab in pleasurable ways more than money?
Peter: (grinning) Don't beat around the bush or anything like that.
Rachel smiles, leans in to whisper something sweet into Peter's ear, and nibbles on his ear lobe for good measure. When he speaks to Bob, he's still gruff but there's a softer quality to it.
Peter: All right. Barton.
Bob Barton: Uh, yeah, Kowolski?
Peter: You head on out. Next week. Or I break somethin'.
Rachel: (to Barton) He's bein' fair.
Bob Barton: (to Rachel) Delilah? I'll see what I can do.
Rachel: Bay 5. Thank you, darlin'.
Bob Barton leaves to make good on his reprieve and Rachel wiggles up to the bar to make it worth Peter Kowolski's time. It isn't long before he takes a break from the bar and takes her somewhere cozy …
Situation handled. Everyone's happy.
Back at Bay 5, Valentine is thinking that maybe he didn't handle the situation with O'Connell in the most optimal manner.
Poco: I dunno why the guy was so riled anyway. He obviously knew what we had … (drags, blows) … I wonder how he knew all that?
Valentine: I don't know. That's actually a good question.
Tian: Let's not worry about it at this point. Let's just get the hell off the tarmac.
Valentine: All right. Are we putting it on the truck? Do we feel it's worth doing?
Tian: Is it worth doing?
Poco: (shrugs) I dunno.
Valentine: So we're considering getting a decoy truck?
Poco: So we load up the one we have now and start driving it off in some other direction. Someone would, like, one person.
Vikki pulls her head out from under the truck hood and joins them. Hearing the last bit, she nods and gestures at Tian and herself.
Vikki: And we get to play shiny lure and someone else takes care of the actual cargo.
Poco: Then pull up another truck about ten, fifteen minutes later and load it up the real cargo and push it through.
Vikki: So it's a shell game.
Poco: Well … I mean, it's worked before. The question is—
Tian: If they're watching us and we take off with this truck, they'll get… you know …
Poco: Yeah. The only thing of it is, if someone gets shot at over this, you give it up. Cuz there ain't anything in the truck worth it. I mean, don't make it easy, but don't get shot over it.
Valentine: This is the decoy truck you're talking about?
Poco: Yeah.
Tian: (to Vikki) You and I will load this truck and take it out.
While she and Vikki make a show of loading the decoy truck, Poco goes to an old friend of his, by name of Finny, to get the other truck for our real cargo. He's looking for a truck that's covered that can still haul what we've got. Finny doesn't run a truck rental place so much as an operation that sometimes comes across … extra stuff.
Which works even better for our purposes.
Poco: (expansively) Heyyyy, Finny. 's Been years, man.
Finny: Do I know you?
Poco: Probably. You were pretty drunk at the time but I pulled your ass out'a that fire ten years back.
Finny: (sarcasm) A fire that was caused by your best friends who were entirely trustworthy, setting us on fire.
Poco: No. No, that was two weeks prior. I pulled you out'a that fire too. The last fire I pulled you out of had to do with a hooker, a cigarette, and way too much alcohol.
Finny: You gotta be more specific.
Poco: When you got to the end of it, she was a guy.
Oh. That hooker. Finny calms down.
Finny: Sorry. So … I assume that you're lookin' for somethin'?
Poco: Yeah, I could use a truck. I got some junk to haul out'a town.
Finny: (skeptical) Junk.
Poco: Yeah.
Finny: You're comin' to me to haul junk.
Poco: Yeah.
Poco's second "yeah" is a little more cautious than his first because he can see his friend thinking it over. In Poco's experience, this is not a good sign.
Finny: Well … I have a truck that can haul junk.
Poco: Fantastic. (gestures) About yea big?
Finny: I promised it to somebody else, but … you know, for a friend…
Poco: For a friend.
Finny: For a friend who really needs to move his junk I might be able to see my way clear to letting it go for … if it were mutually beneficial for both of us. Because that's what being a friend is all about.
Poco: Well … yeah. But you did owe me that favor.
Finny: Those favors have depreciated dramatically in the last couple of years.
Say, the last ten years?
Poco: Tell you what. If the truck gets our shit there and it gets back without breakin' down, then there will be some compensation.
Finny thinks it over some more … and decides in Poco's favor. Poco gets the truck. Deal made, he wastes no time driving it back to our ship. The rest of the crew are waiting for him on the ramp when he arrives. Vikki steps off and hauls the driver's door open.
Vikki: So how'd the deal go?
Poco: (waggles hand) Ehhh …
Valentine: (coming up behind) Could have been better.
Vikki: Does it run?
Poco: (jumping out, popping hood) Yes.
Vikki: (eyeing the rear) Is the cargo area covered?
Poco: Ye-esss …
It's kinda iffy, actually. But still … yes.
Vikki: Okay.
Poco: (off her look) The truck is probably wanted for something.
Vikki: So? We'll just swap out the plates.
Poco: Beats rumor-spreading.
She and Poco busy themselves prepping the truck as Valentine looks on with interest. As they work, they talk.
Poco: I assume it's not me but who's gonna be drivin' the decoy?
Valentine: That's a good question. I'm assuming that—tell you what. It'll be me. I can drive.
Poco: What I mean is I think it should be one of our IRP people, because of the supplies.
Vikki: So Tian and I can be in the truck. She and I are going to be the decoys.
Poco: And just so we know, we're also going to be using the IRP as cover for the other truck. But as long we're following the truck that just went through, we don't really need to be IRP. We just need a copy of the papers.
Valentine: Yes. The question is, who needs to be at the actual location when it gets delivered? I feel I need to be there.
After all, Valentine took on the job for the Triad and he has an obligation to his boss to personally see it through to the end. As for Rachel, once she leaves Peter—happy, thank you—she follows through with Bob Barton to make sure that the port fees got reduced. They haven't been reduced to zero but they have been substantially reduced. So when she eventually returns to our ship, she hands the receipt to Valentine.
Rachel: I'm only gonna do it on big planets, but you can say "thank you" later.
Valentine: I'll say 'thank you" now. If we live to appreciate it, that would be great.
Rachel: What is it with you and dyin'?
Poco: (from the truck) It's because we seem to be tryin' to do it a lot.
Valentine: Well, I'm just trying to be realistic about the situation here. It's a little bit crazy.
Tian comes up at this point with a question.
Tian: So it's Vikki and me driving the decoy?
Valentine: That's the plan.
Rachel: I don' know. You seem to attract people jumpin' through the cab.
Valentine: Your point?
Oh wait. She wasn't here when we made that part of the plan. Valentine fills her in. Poco got us the decoy. We've got a Fisheries guy gunning for our cargo—
Rachel: Oh, that guy.
Valentine: Wait-wait-wait. What do you mean—
Valentine and Tian together: —that guy?
Rachel: I talked to him before.
Tian: Oh bugger …
Valentine: (evenly) If you talk to people that suspect us of having stolen cargo, could you please just let me know? Before you wander off aimlessly?
Rachel: Well, in that case, no more port fees for you, Val!
Valentine: To be honest, I would gladly trade the port fee reduction for knowing that there are people who are more interested in the cargo in our hands. Let me know. Just if you find this stuff out, let me know. It's not that difficult. I was right there on the ramp.
Rachel: That would have required walkin' back up that way.
Valentine: And that somehow is more difficult than getting our port fees reduced?
Rachel: Yeah, cuz that's the opposite direction.
Sometimes Captain is just another name for cat-herder.
Valentine: Just keep me informed. You talk about me being afraid of getting us killed. You know what's likely to get us killed? Me not knowing something I need to know. Because somebody thought it wasn't important before they wandered off to get our port fees reduced.
Rachel: You micromanage too much, Val.
Valentine: I'm not. I'm asking for information. I'm not asking to know what you do. I'm just asking you to tell me things that I need to find out.
Rachel: (sighs) People nose round all the time, darlin'.
Valentine: You mean people are always nosing around our cargo? (off her look) Just bear with me.
Rachel: (relents) I'll have to get a walkie-talkie then.
Valentine: (ditto) You didn't have to do what you did over the port fees.
Rachel: Naw, it's just a little thing … I reckon I c'n do it.
Fences mended. Valentine leaves it at that. Rachel's content to let it drop.
Across the way, Vikki, Tian and Poco are discussing decoy strategies. How do we make sure we're followed and not the cargo? Poco points out that the decoy truck's already enclosed. It could be empty and they'd still follow it, because they'd have to verify that it wasn't empty. The real trick is to get them far enough away from real cargo before they catch up with the decoy and discover they've been duped.
The decoy truck will leave first, of course, and it's agreed that the cargo truck will give it a 25 minute head start before taking off. Mindful of Rachel's misstep on giving suitable warnings, Valentine makes sure that his crew can communicate with each other during the delivery. Comms are found. The walkie talkie duct taped to the engine room wall goes in one truck, it's mate—scrounged from elsewhere on the ship—goes in the other. Both walkies work well enough. Just in case the Fisheries Union man tries to appropriate the cargo truck at our ship before it leaves, we have Poco drive it off-site well before nightfall. Once the decoy truck leaves, Valentine will radio it in for loading and transport.
At the appropriate time, Tian and Vikki make a show of boarding their (empty) truck and trundling off. Tian is behind the wheel. Vikki rides shotgun. Nouveau Lyon is a busy port city, full of hustle and bustle. Her eyes sharpened by growing up on the wrong side of the tracks Vikki's able to spot the Fisheries guy when they drive past him on the tarmac. She notices that he talks into a comm and then looks up at the sky. She warns Tian, who's paying attention to the traffic. Tian tells her to wait until they're out of his line-of-sight before comming back with the news.
Vikki: We've been made.
Valentine: That's good. We want that.
Vikki: The FU guy is talking on a comm and now he's looking at the sky.
Valentine: (really?) He's looking up at the sky.
Vikki: Aerial support, maybe.
Valentine: Once again, if you're made, it's good, Vikki. Definitely do not get yourself killed. If the situation gets bad, bail.
Tian: Val, before you guys come out with the second truck, before you pull that second truck up to that ship, you make sure that he's still not watching.
Sure enough, not long after Tian and Vikki drive past, the union man follows them. Valentine, now alerted to his presence, spots him easily and comms the women.
Valentine: Vikki, Tian. He's left. All his attention's focused on you. Good luck.
Tian: See you back at the port.
Valentine: (changes channel) Poco. Bring her on in.
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