NOVEL NEXT X2.3.5 - The Collector
X2.3.5 - The Collector
"Asteroid Zeta 17," said Barrus, pointing at a large rock floating in space.
"That's where the Gray Bazaar is?" asked Rosso.
"Yup. That's the number one spot for buying, selling and advertising all sorts of legal goods, illegal wares and all things in between," Arn said smiling.
"It looks like just a—plain rock," Indigo said, peering out of the window.
The ship stopped in front of the asteroid.
"Sending out signal now," Arn said.
"Magic word," said someone on the radio.
"Bubbleguts," she answered, causing the side of the rock to open, revealing a metal shaft.
The ship docked inside a metal bunker. The Jumpers walked out of the ship and their weapons were confiscated. The landing area led to a small hall which then opened to an immense, domed space filled with tents, kiosks, shops and stores. There were colorful lanterns, incense burning, people haggling, and aliens walking by. The whole place was—alive, teaming with energy.
"Wow, who could have ever guessed that all this was going on inside of some rock floating in deep space?" Rosso said, looking around, amazed.
"Are these all—Jumpers?" Roa asked.
"No, these are locals. They have no idea other worlds other than their own exist. The collector, however—he's seen plenty of Exits. He's the one we are here to see," Arn said.
The group entered what looked like a hookah bar where aliens of strange shapes and sizes lounged, smoking strange-smelling vapors from odd-shaped contraptions. They walked through the kitchen, gave some large bodyguard another password, and were let through, down to a small cargo elevator, deeper inside the rock, to a hidden level. The doors clanked open, revealing a luxurious office, completely made of marble and lush carpets.
"Fancy," Indigo said as they walked in.
"Welcome, welcome," said a man's voice.
The group sat down in front of a large, golden desk covered in blueprints, strange artifacts and computer chips. There were stack of cash sitting next to the table, and shelves of vials on the wall.
"This is Tuulbio. Free Man, businessman, and greatest collector in Nyx," Arn said.
"He's one of the richest in Free Society," said Boreo.
The man was around forty years old. He was wearing a tightly-fitted teal suit, and a colorful shirt with flower patterns on it. His chest was out, revealing blond curly hair topped by several golden chains, the largest one had a golden slot machine with "777" on it. He was clean shaven, had his hair slicked back, and wore purple sunglasses, even indoors. He opened a small, wooden box.
"These are Sbaroolian cigars. The most prized in the galaxy, made completely of one hundred percent, fine, hand-picked Tilpacco leaves," he said, offering them to the group.
"I have no idea what any of that means," Rosso said, taking one regardless.
"So, do you have the artifact?" Tuulbio said, letting out a large cloud of smoke from his mouth.
"We have it right here," said Roa, pulling up the suitcase. "First, however, our part of the deal."
The three siblings looked at each other.
"Well—see, funny story—we don't actually know where the closest Exit to Grand Market is," said Boreo with an uneasy smirk.
Rosso lunged at him, punching him in the face without saying a word.
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"Ouch. I guess we deserved that," Boreo said, massaging his jaw.
"You've managed to almost suffocate us on your crappy ship, put us in debt with aliens, get us almost arrested by some intergalactic army, and almost killed by space zombies. And now, you're going to stand there, and smile at us while you tell us that you were leading us on the entire time?" Rosso said, his face as red as a pepper. He pulled out his Gunhand and pointed it at Boreo's face. "Give me one, single reason, why I shouldn't blow your head off."
"Wow, alright. Seems like you bunch have some things to sort out. I'm happy to give you the directions to the Exit, but it'll cost you extra, and first—" he pointed at the briefcase and waved his fingers his way, "first I need to make sure the artifact is original, or we have no deal," Tuulbio said.
Roa glanced at his friends and then plopped the briefcase on the desk.
"Code?" asked Tuulbio, as the smoke from his cigar caused one of his eyes to close.
"0000," said Barrus.
"Zero, zero, zero—are you kidding me? Are you that-incompetent?" Rosso shot him a nasty look.
"What? It's the code that comes with the case," he said.
"Yeah, you're supposed to change it," Rosso blurted back, causing the space pirate to shrug.
Tuulbio connected the flash drive to a computer and his eyes lit up. A wide smile appeared on his face, revealing several jewel-studded, golden teeth. He knocked his hand on the desk, and laughed. "I can't believe you actually managed to steal the constitution of the federation. Well done, you three."
"Easy peasy," Boreo said.
"There was nothing easy about any of it," Rosso blurted out again.
"Alright—deal. We said 7,000,000,000,000 Smarillions for the constitution, minus the late delivery, minus the weapons you bought from me last time, minus ammo, minus the aura I lent you, minus the snacks," Tuulbio listed.
"Snacks?" Arn asked.
"Yes," Tuulbio lifted his sunglasses and looked into his screen, "a chocolate bar, to be exact."
"Right," Roa said, interrupting, "now that you have what you wanted—the other part of the deal. The Exit."
"Right," said Tuulbio, "what will you give me for such information?"
"We don't have anything of value, man, come on, we just got you, unwillingly and unknowingly, the constitution of some space federation. Can you just—throw in a few directions for free?" asked Rosso.
"Nothing's free in this world, kid," the collector responded.
"Alright, how about this?" Indigo said, placing a small vial with clear liquid on the table, causing the dealer's eyes to open wide.
"Is this—what I think it is?" he said, inspecting the vial as the blue-haired girl nodded and smiled.
The collector took out a dropper, squeezed its tip, and released a few drops of liquid on his tongue. After swirling the liquid in his mouth, he smiled and said, "Ambrosia. Very nice. The waters of immortality. This amount should be around, what—twenty years-worth of youth, shall we say?"
"Twenty-five," said Indigo with a serious face.
"Twenty-five, indeed."
"Does that work?" she said.
"Sure. Works for me," Tuulbio said, placing the vial in the desk's drawer. "The Exit is on a planet named Spore. Here are the blueprints," he said, handing them some loose pages.
"And the Exit leads to the Palace's Grand Market floors? Calyxx Town preferably?" asked Roa.
"No, you asked for an Exit. I gave you one. If you want one that leads to Grand Market, you'll have to exchange that information for something else," Tuulbio said.
Indigo sighed and rolled her eyes. "Here, damn it," she said, slamming another vial of Ambrosia on the desk.
"Where the hell did you get all this water?" asked Roa.
"I took it from Balter before we jumped. He always carried a few vials with him, just in case," she said, winking.
Tuulbio smiled again, took the vial and placed it with the other one. "The Exit to Grand Market is this one," he said, passing another set of loose pages to them. "What—or who might you be looking for in Calyxx Town?" he asked.
"None of your business," Roa said.
"Nobody goes to Calyxx Town, unless—they are looking for a woman named—Nirvana," Tuulbio said, smiling as he smoked his cigar. Roa's face grew serious. The dealer smiled, catching on to that minute detail. "I heard Gunhand Nirvana's been up to no good these days. I heard from a few little birds that her friends managed to force open the chokepoint at Ardor's Forge, the one that leads to the Basements of the Palace."
"No idea what you are talking about," said Roa.
"Oh, but I think you do," he said, pointing at Rosso, "that necklace your friend is wearing, that cloak—those are typical of a desert world called Lalh-Ah Land." The Jumpers froze. "And there is no known, still-functioning Exit that comes from or goes to that world in Grand Market, or any of the worlds connected to it. Which means—that you three must have come from the Basements of the Palace." The Jumpers did not say a word. "You see—with enough resources at one's disposal, one can have access to all sorts of information, both old and current."
"Come on, let's get out of here. We got the directions, let's stop wasting time, Sunflower," said Indigo.
The boy from Earth froze as soon as he heard her reveal his nickname. He glanced at Tuulbio who sat immobile. He stared into his sunglasses and could barely see his eyes—but he saw them move. They narrowed into tiny slits—his pupils focusing on him like the eyes of a shark.
"Well, I think we all got what we wanted. If you don't mind—I will be meeting with my next clients now," said the collector, standing up and pointing his arm towards the door.
"Great doing business with you, Tuul'," said Boreo, as the siblings each carried two large briefcases stuffed with cash.
"Oh, and you, white-haired boy," the dealer said to Roa, "you best get that arm looked at."
The Sunflower looked at his arm and noticed that the dark patch had grown to twice its size.
"Why? What is it?" the boy asked.
"I'm no medic, but that looks like Theta Rot. A virus that spreads in the asteroid belt."
"Is it dangerous?" Roa asked.
"It's deadly."