Last Voyage of Delilah, Episode 304: Albion Dodge

Air Date: 28 Jan 2015
Present: Andy, Kim, Terri, Matt and Maer

Jump to Part 1 | Part 2 | Special Features

Wednesday, 07 Nov 2525
Trans U Polaris Class Delilah
On approach to Albion
White Sun (Bai Hu) system

It takes a week to get to Albion from the sensor net that caught up Delilah. During the flight to the Core:

• Eli continues to improve, recovering from his wounds.
• Vikki is unsuccessful in installing the drone CPU into Dori … for now.
• There is a BOLO on Delilah as the crew has NOT arrived at Ariel as instructed by Cmdr. Higgs of IAV Garrett Voerge.
• As a precaution, Poco snaps out our pulse beacon. This will buy the crew some time, possibly evade arrest due to the BOLO.
  
  

The crew is a day out of Albion when the Count's secretary Ms. Ada Xavier waves Delilah with more details of the sale. She will vet the crew and the goods before allowing them to go on to meet her employer on the moon Avalon. The crew agrees to the arrangement.

Rachel slows down on approach to Albion and the comms chatter she picks up doesn't sound good. Albion's Orbital Guard is boasting they've detained and are inspecting a Shulan Maersk container ship.

Really? A Shulan Maersk is HUGE, easily carrying THOUSANDS of containers. The OG is inspecting ALL of them? And they find out that it's not just the big boats getting pulled over for inspection. ALL boats are commanded to heave to for boarding and inspection in orbit.

What's got the Core all twitchy that they'd even CONSIDER such a Herculean task? Is the President coming to visit? Coupled with the sensor array being activated out in the middle of nowhere, the picture of the Core being spooked over something is starting to come into focus. The crew just doesn't know for what or why.

Valentine tells the crew to jump on the Cortex to find out what's going on. Rachel gets on the Spacer channels calling for hr friends to dish. She's got some influence thanks to her port connections and contacts.

She's hailed gladly by her friends—Hey, Rachel! Where've you been?!—and they fill her in.

• These are paranoid times
• This has been building up for some time
• The widespread belief, helped along by propaganda, is that rest of the Verse is out to attack the Core
• There have been terrorist attacks on civilians
• It's feared that there are terrorists everywhere
• The older generation of Core spacers are a bit skeptical about all the hoo-rah, but they're not willing to push back much against the government because …
• Regulations are much tigher and everyone needs proper papers and vouchers to gain permission to land.
  
  

Rachel asks one of her friends if it's as serious as all that.

Rachel: What happens if you gotta boatload'a tourists an' they just wanna come an' see this place. Do they not even allow any kinda fly-in-and-just-see-it? If so, I been advertisin' somethin' wrong then. This use'ta be a place to go show people. Told 'em I could get 'em in on nothin'.
Friend: Well … Unless there's an agency on Albion that says you can come in with a bunch'a tourists?
Rachel: Oh my Lord … I appreciate the heads-up, darlin'. I really do.

Behind the pilot's chair, Vikki says once Rachel's signed off:

Vikki: Looks like we need to get on the horn to Xavier, then.
Rachel: Yeah.

Rachel and Valentine discuss their options. Most of Rachel's contacts are ground crew and bar buddies at the ports. However, she vaguely remembers that Lazarus had a contact on Albion, a Harvey Daimler at port, a mid-level Port Authority officer. He and Lazarus weren't exactly buddies or anything, but Daimler might be able to arrange a pass for Delilah.

Rachel: He ain't exactly reliable but …
Valentine: This is Laz we're talking about. Reliable isn't what I'd associate with him running Delilah.
Rachel: He's reliable as in, we didn't get shot at with missiles nine times out'a ten. Now the tenth time, you probably got shot at.
Valentine: Wait, the requirement for being reliable is not getting shot at nine times out of ten?
Rachel lays it out for Valentine. Reliable is kinda relative, whether you're talking about ports or getting shot at or even best friends.

Rachel: A best friend only shoots you once in a while.

And it's been a little while since Lazarus dealt with Daimler. Figuring the odds, Valentine nevertheless tells her to go with it. She tells him that he'd have better luck with Daimler than she, as she's never really dealt with him. He was Laz's contact.

Tian receives a message from Dr. Wickett. It's short.

Message: Reading between the lines. Prescription enclosed.

Sure enough, there is an Rx enclosed for meds to treat her condition. The requested research is not attached, however. It's too big a file and in these paranoid times, it would be an automatic red flag to those who might be monitoring message traffic. Tian decides that if she wants to look at the research, she'll have to go talk to Wickett directly.

Reading the prescription, Tian sees Wickett's warning that the Rx is on the down low. It also advises her not to take the meds without supervision. The standard litany follows: do not operate heavy machinery while taking the medication; do not operate moving vehicles; stop taking medication if you become depressed and have thoughts of hurting yourself or others … etc. etc. etc.

Valentine, meanwhile, manages to contact Daimler. The image on the wave screen is grainy and streaky but it's good enough for the conversation that follows. Daimler is looking a little crumpled and his accent sound a bit Cockney.

Daimler: (squinting) Who's calling? I don't get a lotta personal calls.
Valentine: Mr. Daimmler, my name is Captain Quick, Valentine Quick.
Daimler: Valentine Quick …. Valentine … Quick … ?
Valentine: You might have known Laz? Lazarus Quick?
Daimler: Lazarus Valentine …
Valentine: No, Lazarus Quick.
Daimler: (oh!) Lazarus Quick. Right, right.
Valentine: My dad.
Daimler: (lightbulb!) Oh, yeahhhhhh! How is Lazarus? (smiles) I think he owes me some money.

Is there anyone his father didn't owe money to? Valentine stifles a sour smile and says:

Valentine: Well, where he is, he's not going to be able to get it to you. I'm afraid he passed on.
Daimler: Oh. Did he leave me his will?

Valentine sketches a wave over his shoulder.

Valentine: Maybe you can see behind me on the screen here the kind of heap that I'm flying in?
Daimler: Oh yeah. I can see your old ship from here.
Valentine: That's what he left me in the will.
Daimler: So he left you the ship … Well, I don't think he's cleaned the camera lens in a while either … (squints) … Is that Rachel?
Rachel: Hey.
Daimler: You don't look that much older.
Rachel: Aww, you're sweet talkin'. You're just a sweet—
Daimler: You're older, but not that much older.
Rachel: All right, now you're in trouble. I see right through you, you old goat.

Snickers and laughs on both sides. It's part of the banter that precludes business.

Daimler: So to what do I owe this early wake-up call. You know it's seven o'clock in the morning over here, right?
Valentine: Can't say I did. But I do now.
Daimler: Well, you can check the local time when you're makin' a call.
Valentine: No, we've been having issues lately with the feed and the computer … And everything.
Daimler: Is this business or pleasure?
Valentine: Business actually.
Daimler: Is this official business? Because I’m not on the clock.
Valentine: No, not official business.
Daimler: Well, then. Let me get a cup of coffee.
Valentine: Sure.

It takes a minute or two. Daimler comes back on-screen.

Daimler: So, right. Yeah. I can't find my receipt for that money but I'll write up a new one. I must say, my consolences about the, ah, being dead.
Valentine: I appreciate that. That's very thoughtful.
Daimler: He wasn't murdered, I assume?
Rachel: No.
Daimler: What?
Rachel: He wasn't, no.
Daimler: Wait on a second … (Thinks) …. Lazarus Quick—wait! You sure he wasn't murdered? No, I don't mean in cold blood.

No? What other kind is there?

Daimler: I mean in like, angry passion.
Valentine: Not that I'm aware of.
Daimler: Or like a crime of passion. Or just a gun fight.
Valentine: When I saw him, he was in an urn.
Daimler: Doesn't seem like a fair fight if he was in an urn.
Valentine: That's true.
Daimler: So, I … yeah. That's not good.

Rachel just nods and leans back in her chair. She'll let Valentine handle this one. Daimler shifts around a little on the screen.

Daimler: Hold on a second. Lessee if I can get this whojawhatsis to work … Uhhh … try this in a minute.

The screen fizzes with static and he disappears and then reappears a tick later. He looks a little odd. There are vertical and horizontal lines and his image is visibly worse.

Daimler: Ah! That's better. Encrypted. So, ah, Mr. Quick Jr. What can I do for you, sir?
Valentine: I've got some business on Avalon—
Daimler: Avalon? … (interested) … Go on. Getting' up in the world, I see. I never get invited to Avalon.
Valentine: When we started on this little journey, we didn't realize how—is excessive too strong a word for the paper work you need to get a landing spot? We were hoping you could help—.
Daimler: Not harder than burying a body. Know what I mean?
Valentine: Actually, I do.
Daimler: That's right. Cuz, you're dead. Heh.
Valentine: (breathes a laugh) Yes.
Daimler: That's a good one. That you can laugh about it. You know, people get all upset when they're dying. But we're all gonna die.

So why not have a sense of humor about it, right? Cuz there's no escaping it. Nobody gets out of here alive, right? So why not laugh?

Daimler: If you can't laugh about it—
Valentine: Then what's life all about?
Daimler: No, that's not what I was going to say. Hold on …
Valentine: You'll figure it out.
Daimler: (thinking) … if you can't laugh about it …
Rachel: (filling in) … You're already dead, darlin'.
Daimler: If you can't laugh about it, then … (still thinking) … what's it all about?


Valentine: There you go.

The man doesn't seem too bright. Either that or he hasn't woken up completely for the day. Rachel isn't impressed with Lazarus's old friend.

Rachel: I think I'm gonna end up clawin' my ears out.
Valentine: No, you won't.
Daimler: Yeah, I'm afraid I don't got tickets to Avalon on me. As I say, never been invited myself and they're all private. They don't even go through us.
Valentine: Actually we need a ticket to Albion more than Avalon. If we can get there, then we might be able to get that information.
Daimler: Well, that I might be able to help you with. Now, um, assuming you're going to Avalon, that must mean you got some money you can lend me or give me in exchange for these services. Which are potentially dangerous to my livelihood as well as my personal health. So, um, what kind of percentage am I getting?

Valentine steps away from the camera for a moment. Even if he gave Daimler 1%, it would be an immense amount. Does he want to do that? Just because Daimler's his father's friend, it doesn't necessarily mean he deserves a cut. He settles on a figure that is more in line with the usual portside bribe and offers it to Daimler.

Daimler: I might be able to arrange something for that. You got the money now?
Valentine: It would have to be after.
Daimler: Hmmmm …. Speculative work is a bit more …
Valentine: I know. I can put that number up by half again to make up for the speculative nature.
Daimler: Rachel, this young gentleman here. Is he a chip off the old tree?
Rachel: He's a little more upstandin' than Laz was.
Daimler: Well, that may not be so good. Because I do have a small favor … That I could ask you to do in exchange for the very hard to obtain matter at hand. Now I could send you out a form to fill out for an unregulated, ah, non-paired landing, or … well, I'd have to do this on my own time. Right now I have to go to work.
Valentine: I'm open to a lot of possibilities. What did you have in mind?

Daimler makes as if he's about to cut the call but Valentine's hasty affirmation stays his hand.

Daimler: Well, in my line of work, I'm often forced to confiscate contraband materials. Now it is my job to dispose of such things that are not evidence of a crime. And I might need some help disposing of this material. If you know what I mean. I'm not being literal, if you know what I mean. Don't take the words at their face value, is what I'm trying to tell you. I'm trying to subtly suggest something.
Valentine: I see.
Daimler: Now I can't keep this on too long. I get on my shift at 1100 hours, which is 4 hours from now. I need my beauty regime. And I will begin, assuming there's not a line of people waiting to get on planet. If so, I'll see what I can do about pushing those through, if you know what I mean. And then I'll work out this landing pass for you, perhaps a ground pass or two. Do I have your agreement?
Valentine: That's fantastic. You do indeed, sir.
Daimler: I'm sure Rachel will tell you that I care about people keep my agreements. And also, of course, that you're not here illegally. The consequences of not following through would be quite interesting.
Valentine: Dire, yes.
Daimler: I'd hate to have terrorists in our midst.
Valentine: It would be a bad thing. We'll wait on your pleasure.
Daimler: (satisfied) … All right. Shoot me your ID numbers and such and I'll get you on the list in a few hours. In the meantime, you might want to stay out of a parking orbit until such a time as we can make this legal … -ish.

They close on pleasantries and Rachel sends the information requested. She pushes the button and sits back with an irritated sigh.

Rachel: Why, I forgot how much I hated him.
Valentine: I don't know. He didn't seem any worse than most people we encounter.
Rachel: No, but I forgot about him. And then when I remembered, I remembered "I don't like you".
Valentine: Okay … (rubs hands) … Now we're going to go and achieve some contraband then. So to speak.
Rachel: (wry) Achieve contraband.
Valentine: That's just a phrasing. … (air quotes) … Dispose of … (/air quotes) … if you know what I mean.
Rachel: Boy! Why are you air-quotin' me?
Valentine: Because I enjoy the look on your face when I'm doing it—(grins)—I'm sorry.
Rachel: You're still young enough that I c'n cuff you upside the head.
Valentine: When has that stopped you before?
Rachel: (gruff affection) I ain't cuffed you upside the head, yet. You need a good cuffin' upside your head.
Valentine: I'll leave now, before I get cuffed upside the head. I'll be back in four hours.
Rachel: (sourly) So you want I should … (air quotes) … Fly Casual … (/air quotes) …?
Valentine: … (air quotes) … Yes … (/air quotes)
Rachel: (pissed) … (air quotes) … Good … (/air quotes)

Valentine ducks off the bridge before he can get into trouble with Rachel … and into potential trouble with Poco in the crew lounge.

Poco: Uhh … So … Boss?
Valentine: Yes, Poco?
Poco: I noticed on occasion that when I leave out certain things from my past that you've gotten … upset.
Valentine: Okay. I'm beginning to see where this is going. Go on.
Poco: So in the interest of minimalistic disclosure, that … uh … What's our contact's name again?
Valentine: Harvey Daimler.
Poco: No, that's not it.
Valentine: Ada Xavier?
Poco: Oh, yeah. Xany whatsis. It's a pretty unique name. Stuck out in my mind—I mean, the odds that the crew I was on ripped off her ship and not some other person with the same name's ship … is pretty good. Right?
Valentine: Is it?
Poco: Except it was … on-this-planet-in-this-system—but it's still pretty good odds.
Valentine: I'm going to have to say that no, those are not really good odds. I know good odds and those are not it. Poco: She may not remember me either. I'm sure it wasn't the worst day of her life. She wasn't hurt or anything. She had an escape pod.
Valentine: I'm going to suggest you just stop right there. I feel like you're digging your hole deeper than you need to.
Poco: I wasn't there running the crew, you understand, I was just at the engines and everything.
Valentine: I understand. Was she … when you ... Did you just rob the ship?
Poco: Well … um.
Valentine: Was this piracy-robbing or was it something that you were her crew aboard the ship and then …?
Poco: A little of Column A. A little of Column B.
Valentine: Mostly I'm asking because if it was piracy, then you have no idea what she's like. If you were onboard her ship, then you might have some idea what kind of person she was.
Poco: No, we had an inside guy working aboard.
Valentine: In theory, she's the seneschal for a fairly high-level noble. My point is, hopefully she'll be a professional. Because if she's pissed at you, she'll hold it in because there's a job to be done and it's what her boss wants.
Poco: Let's go with that but I gotta warn you peoples' professionalism is in inversely proportional to the hours they've spent in an escape pod.
Valentine: (sighs) I will file that away for my book, eventually. Thank you, Poco. I appreciate it. No I mean it. I really do. Better to know this now than to find it out later.

Valentine checks on Vikki. She's been subdued and keeping to herself of late. He finds her puttering around in the machine shop, fixing something from Poco's never ending repairs list. She's got something on the lathe and she has to turn it off and raise her faceplate so they can talk without screaming past the noise or safety equipment.

Valentine: Hello Vikki.
Vikki: Hi, Boss.
Valentine: How're you doing, Vikki?
Vikki: Fine.
Valentine: So, we got four hours. In theory. Should things go correctly.
Vikki: Hmm. Gee. I wonder what that would be like?

There's no malice in her comment but none of her usual cheer, either.

Valentine: Yeah, I know, but I feel like in this case we actually are going to get to land because it leads to more trouble. The Verse has a sense of humor about that kind of thing. It wouldn't want to cut us off the trouble at the top of the funnel. No, it wants us to get to the bottom of the funnel.
Vikki: You could almost say you could make book on that. Okay. You wanna start a pool?
Valentine: Nope. How's your ill-gotten CPU going?
Vikki: … Umm …
Valentine: Okay, the length of time it's taking for you to give this answer probably gives the answer. And this is probably because of yes, you did steal the CPU. And the automaton.
Vikki: Hmmm. Grand Theft Automaton. Drone CPU. Gee, you know, one's the gateway to the harder stuff. I haven't … well.
Valentine: I wasn't asking you to report back, I was just curious.
Vikki: Um … (small) … I haven't gotten very far with it.
Valentine: You'll get there. I have faith. Keep at it. Just don't rush for the four hours. It won't go anywhere.

Vikki bites her lip, hangs up her apron, and quits the machine shop.

Vikki: I think I'll go bake and something.
Valentine: Okay. I'll go check the doctor.
Vikki: (out the door) Blueberry or raspberry?
Valentine: Raspberry.
Vikki: Thank you.
Valentine: You're welcome.

Valentine finds Tian next.

Valentine: Doctor?
Tian: Captain.
Valentine: I was just checking in. We should be landing in 4 hours should things go as expected. And yes, I know the joke, etc. etc. but I'm going to assume we're going to land.
Tian: You know the odds of that happening, right?
Valentine: I know, I know. But how's Eli doing?
Tian: He's stable. He's recovering. It's slow. It's going to take a little time but he'll be all right.
Valentine: How are you doing?
Tian: Fine.

Valentine levels a look at her. He's not buying it entirely but he's not going to press the matter either. He has to trust her to tell him if something needs his attention.

Valentine: I was checking in to see if you needed anything, that's all.
Tian: Um … I may need to … run an errand if we get on the ground to a place that actually has a pharmacy that's stocked with what I need.
Valentine: Sure. If they'll let you visit one while you're on this planet. I'm not sure if they'll let you do anything.
Tian: Either way, I just wanted to let you know.
Valentine: That's fine. We're going to have a job to do after we land or during, but before we meet our Seneschal and check out our surf records. Who, incidentally, Poco had robbed at one point … (Off her look) … Yeah. But I'm sure she's forgotten by now.
Tian: Oh yeah. There's no way that this could go wrong.
Valentine: Actually, I can think of several ways that this could go wrong. (sighs) Right. Four hours.

Four hours later encrypted codes are waved over to Delilah. Daimler has come through with our landing codes and permissions: we've been accepted for landfall and are ordered to take up our position in the orbital queue. Once we're in place, we're asked for our landing code. Rachel gives it right over.

Albion Space Control: This is Albion Space Control… uh, contacting the … (pause) … How do you pronounce that?
Valentine: "Delilah"
Albion Space Control: That's not what it says here. The … Castellary? The Cassowary?
Rachel: Cassowary.
Valentine: Sorry. Delilah was the last ship I was on. Not quite used to the new name.
Albion Space Control: Right. So I see you've a new flight plan? We'll see if we can slip you in between a couple of Lords that are coming in. You pass our condolences to your passengers.
Valentine: I certainly will.

Looking at the data on the screens, Valentine sees that there's a Bereavement Code for our landing status. Albion Control gives us clearance to land at Mercy Downs Station, and again they are sorry for our loss. Rachel waits until Albion Space Control signs off before remarking:

Rachel: Well. That as kinda canny … and rude.

So Albion knows we're here but they aren't looking at us real hard. That's the good news, as we've currently got a BOLO on our heads. Valentine worries if landing under false pretenses will skunk the deal with Xavier and the Count. That's the bad news, news we hope we'll never actually have to deal with.

Rachel lands us like a downy feather and as the ship settles on the tarmac, we find a message waiting for us.

Message: I recommend the laundry service at Féizào Shuǐ Yā Laundromat—Harvey.

It's obviously a request for a meeting, most likely about repayment for the favor Daimler just did for us. Rachel opines that it's always bad when a contact recommends a laundry. Good or bad, Valentine has to decide how many of his crew to involve in the meeting. No need to involve Eli, just yet. Before he calls that meeting, there's one more thing he has to do.

Valentine calls Xavier to inform her of his arrival and asks about granting his crew shore leave. They've worked hard on Xavier's behalf and should get a reward for it. Xavier tells him that they are to check in with her in two hours, at most three. Valentine thanks her and ends the call.

Now that he's given Xavier due warning, he gathers the crew and tells them about the laundromat meet with Daimler, warning them they have roughly three hours before they're on the clock again. Are there any tasks they need to do while on the ground?

Rachel states she will shop for booze and apples.

Tian will look for a pharmacy for her prescription. As for Eli, she recommends that he get his chest scanned, at the very least, to double check for any damage she might have missed. As he also has people gunning for him, she'll have to find a street clinic good enough to treat him but slack enough not to ask too many questions or even care who he really is.

Poco offers to go to the Laundromat with Valentine as back-up. He's got experience with the rough and tumble side of the underworld and knows that going without backup is stupid and suicidal and all other sorts of foolishness a Captain can't afford to have. Not that he says it like that, of course. No need to get maudlin over it.

Valentine nonetheless reads between the lines and accepts. Vikki states she could actually get her laundry done, so she counts herself in.

Plans made, Valentine and his crew get hustling.

Tian finds a clinic and gets Eli to it. She checks him in and gets her prescription filled there as well. As he's getting tested, she takes the first dose. The prescription is a combination of two meds that aren't generally prescribed together but she takes them anyway. They make her loopy but she's still able to function. When the clinic does all it can for Eli, she takes him back to Delilah. It's hard to tell at times who's more incapacitated, the surgery patient and meteor survivor or the surgeon who saved his life.

They make it back to Delilah without incident. Xavier needn't worry about any scandal attached to those two to spook her employer off the pending sale.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of Valentine and his party.

On the walk over to the Laundromat, Valentine and Poco agree to enter separately to avoid tipping off anyone that they're working together. Poco and Vikki enter first. They spot Daimler in the Laundromat, attempting to pick up an attractive woman half his age getting her laundry done. As they enter, they see him trying to chat her up and help her load and unload the machines. For her part, the young woman freezes him out but it doesn’t seem to put Daimler off.

The guy's persistent, you gotta give him that.

As a precaution, Vikki and Poco have both brought their laundry to give their cover story more weight. As they get their loads to washing, Valentine enters the Laundromat, ostensibly having only just arrived for the meet. Daimler sees him enter and gives the woman his card, telling her to give him a call if she needs anything at all. She turns away and drops the card discreetly on the floor. Daimler doesn't notice. He's already leading Valentine to the rear where a man sits at a desk. The man simply stares. Daimler says something pointedly in Chinese. The man stares. Daimler states again, in English:

Daimler: Heading down. You know. Downstairs. (leans in and whispers) I'm here to make a deal. I'm talkin' to this gentleman about business.

The man finally pulls a key from his pocket and gives it to Daimler, who in turn unlocks a door behind the desk. Beyond lie the stairs going down into the basement. Daimler says as they go down.

Daimler: We do business here, obviously. They give us privileges, of sorts. A conference room. Downstairs.

As basements go, it's fairly substantial, what Valentine can see of it anyway. It's dark, of course, and it's bare bones. A spot of light thrown by an overhead lamp illuminates a ratty card table and a couple of chairs. Dark hems it in from all sides. Daimler sits down at the card table, making it clear that this is his office, and Valentine takes a chair opposite.

They get down to business.

Daimler: Welcome to my office. Have a seat. Okay. So … What I've got is … not a lot. Maybe, two containers worth. I don't like to move it all at the same time. Keep 'em busy an' if they do catch it, it can't be traced to me. Totally untraceable.
Valentine: Totally untraceable.
Daimler: Well, except me, I can trace it, so you can't run off with it. Totally untraceable. This stuff, and don't think you got all my stuff, I got lots. And it's very precious to me. This particular. Not that I need it. But I don't want to do without. But for you, because you need it, you need me. You need me—well you don't but I can still get ya, cuz that's the deal, right?
Valentine: Yeah.
Daimler: Because of that, you take these two containers over to the city of Dover. Meet a guy named Hooper.
Valentine: Hooper. All right.
Daimler: I'll send word ahead. Now I don't get a lotta ships there. It's not a real spaceport. Gotta lotta skiffs. Aeroplanes and such. But he'll know. It's not a big town. People there, simple folk. Don't want to get all fancy with 'em. Treat 'em well, they'll—you know what they say? It's how you treat a person. How you treat a person is how they'll treat you. And that's why I treat you with respect, sir. And I also expect you to also treat me with respect.
Valentine: Of course. You're a wise man.
Daimler: Now lots of people say that without even knowing it. But you …
Valentine: But you know it.
Daimler: Well, you know, I think I know what this means, in selling stuff.
Valentine: That's very wise.
Daimler: So. Right.
Valentine: Two containers. Dover.
Daimler: And we're all Even-Steven. So, ah … thing is …

Here we go. Valentine has been waiting patiently for the penny to drop.

Daimler: I don't have a truck. You'll have to figure how to get those containers. But I'll set you up. Right around … oh, three hours into my late shift. Set you up. Come by and grab those containers. Get them on your ship. And I want you to know, I don't want police or Feds roamin' around. You've done this before?
Valentine: Yeah.
Daimler: So you know how to do this, right? Now as I said, I don't want this traced back to me. Because it's not traceable. You understand what I mean when I say it's not traceable. I don't want it comin' back to me.
Valentine: Understood.
Daimler: Okay. Some people don't understand this.
Valentine: I'm not a name dropper, sir.
Daimler: You're not a name dropper. Not like the girl, the bird upstairs, gonna drop my name? (pulls out his business card) My card? Want one for later? All right. So you go. ick 'em up. All arrange, well, doctor your little bereavement pass, say your funeral's over in Dover. You go over there. Lickety split. You're all good. You talk to whoever's got your invites to Avalon. And I think we're all good. Yes.

Daimler seems pleased. He's got it all arranged.

Valentine: I assume I don't need to know what's in the containers.
Daimler: Well you don't but it's pretty good stuff. Well, first of all, there's a big import ban. People are afraid of doing business with, well, you don't want to pay off the terrorists doing business out from the Rim and the Border. So … now I do want to do business with them because their money is as good as your money. And sometimes better. In fact, since you have no money—
Valentine: I was about to say, yes.
Daimler: It's better, in this particular case, relative to the amount of money that you have.
Valentine: That is very true.
Daimler: Because it is some and you've got none.
Valentine: You're good with math, sir.
Daimler: Well, you don't get where I am without checking my numbers and my figures. So you do that—(points upstairs)—it's good stuff and I don't ask a lotta questions. I don't wanna know. Remember: Untraceable. I don't wanna know too much. That way it can't come back to me and bitin' me in the behind. Which I also not want.
Valentine: Two containers. Pick them up. Take them over.
Daimler: Give them to Hooper. No one else!
Valentine: Hooper. Yep. And you'll let him know we're coming.
Daimler: I'll let him know you're comin'.
Valentine: Okay.

Valentine starts to rise but Daimler's still talking.

Daimler: This Hooper character. I haven't done a lotta business with him. But it would be good if you could talk me up a bit. He's a good source. It's a little town. But I don't think he does all his business in that town. Now I'm not castin' aspersions or dispersions on anybody.
Valentine: Of course you're not.
Daimler: Why not? Because I don't want it comin' back to me. That's why. I want a good reputation.
Valentine: That's right.
Daimler: And that's what I want you to do. Is give me a good reputation.
Valentine: I'll make sure that the only thing that comes back to you is a good word.
Daimler: I think I can do with that. It'll be traceable. Trace me back. In a good way.
Valentine: Sure.
Daimler: With this man. And anyone else. But, no, don't talk about me a lot to anyone else. Just him. In fact, just leave me out of the rest of it. If anyone asks—
Valentine: I don't know who you are.
Daimler: "Who are you, sir? I never met you before today." Is that right?
Valentine: That's right.
Daimler: Can you say that honestly?
Valentine: I believe I can.
Daimler: All right.
Valentine: Pleasure doing business with you.

Again, Valentine rises. Again, Daimler stays him.

Daimler: If there's a complication … the police, nobles, worse yet, the Feds. This is very expensive stuff. So if you can get out with it, bring it back to me. Don't just dump it. I know you smugglers—can I use that word? I don't know if that's an offensive slang word or not.
Valentine: No, go right ahead. From people it might be but from you, I don't think it is.
Daimler: I don't see people that way. I don't like to use a derogatory term.
Valentine: Of course you don't. You treat people with respect. I can see that.
Daimler: You know why? Because I would like to be treated that way. So if I can use that term, in a respectful fashion. So now sometimes, and I'm not saying you would, but sometimes they'll dump the cargo when they get boarded. You don't dump it. Bring it back to me. BUT … it can't be traced back to me.

Daimler sits back. Valentine waits to see if he's finished.

Daimler: So. I think we got it covered.

Nope. Not finished.

Valentine: I think we do.
Daimler: You pick them up.
Valentine: Drop them off.
Daimler: Drop them off. Not throw them away.
Valentine: Not throw them away. You don't need anything to come back?
Daimler: Untraceable. BUT …yes. He will pay you. And you will bring the money to me. All of it. I know how much it should be. I'm not going to tell you, you know why? Because if there's more, I don't want you holdin' on to the excess. Nahhh, I'm just kiddin'. He would pay you more? Who would do that? Would anyone ever pay too much? Would it happen? Not a concern of mine.
Valentine: Not in the world of smugglers, anyway.
Daimler: All right. So it'll be at oh-two-hundred hours, then? All see if I can arrange a distraction for the security for the impounded containers section. I got a way of lookin' through that. This isn't the first time I've done this?
Valentine: I've no doubt.
Daimler: You can ask your pilot, your co-pilot. She knows
. Valentine: My pilot.
Daimler: I'm pretty reliable in this regard. So … any more? No. All good. Do we shake hands?
Valentine: We can.
Daimler: Well … I don't know if that's a good idea. I don't want it traced. We'll bow. Respectful like the Chinese, yeah?

And so it goes, with Daimler negotiating in a curious mix of paranoia and insouciance and with Valentine agreeing to the minimum needed to get the job done while keeping his crew safe. When the details are finally arranged, Daimler has Valentine leave the basement first.

Valentine leaves and takes Poco with him while Vikki stays behind to watch her laundry. Valentine quickly fills Poco in on the details and Poco says he can probably scare up a truck they can use to move the containers from the impound yard to Delilah. As they talk, Valentine notices a blonde woman who seems to be watching them from a nearby shop window. She's better dressed than the neighborhood and she steps back when Valentine notices her.

Seems like they've picked up a tail.

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