Taner's Running Game (The Two Moons of Rehnor) Read online

  "I don't think about those things," Telix smirked and ordered another glass. I waved for the barmaid to bring me one, too. The guys and the girl in the booth looked like they were taking their time and it sounded like arresting them would be a losing proposition anyway.

  "It's been nearly ten years," I mused.

  "Saint help us if Akan ever becomes king," Telix muttered.

  "Why do you say that?"

  Telix shook his head. "Just keep your head down and your nose clean, Taner. Don’t cause Akan any trouble and you'll stay out of trouble yourself." I watched Akan's guards get up and leave the bar while the blonde disappeared down a hall. "Don't," Telix warned grabbing my arm as I made to leave the stool.

  "Just going to the can, dude," I replied and followed the girl. If I couldn't arrest Akan's men, I could at least try to cut off their supply and maybe her supplier, too if I was lucky. I waited outside the ladies room until the blonde came back out. Her eyes were wide and dilated and her nose was a little drippy, but she smiled broadly at me and reached for my arm.

  "Hey Sugar," she cooed. "You want to have a good time?"

  "What are you selling?"

  "It depends on what you want to buy." She pulled up her shirt to show me two beautiful pale breasts, and for a moment my resolution faltered. "Come on," she wagged her finger and led me through the back door. We walked out into the alley to a corner behind the trash. A rat scurried in front of us, which ruined my mood, but I played along anyway so I could find out more about her stash. "You're kind of cute," she continued now removing her shirt, "even if you are a Royal Guardsman."

  "How'd you know I am a guardsman?" I stared at her chest, my mood quickly returning with avengence.

  "Your haircut, Honey Bun. It always gives you guys away so I'll give you the Royal Guard Discount and you'll only pay half price."

  "You have a discount for us?" I mumbled as she reached for my crotch.

  "You're my very best customers." She winked and knelt to get to work.

  "Listen…uh, Blondie? That's not really why I'm here."

  "Oh yeah? It sure looks like you are."

  "Yeah, well, don't pay any attention to that guy. I need to know where you got the drugs. Can you take me to your supplier?"

  "Before or after I'm done with you?"

  "Now?" I squeaked. "Okay, later works fine, too. Yeah. Later is good. I'm totally cool with that."

  She gave me the discount, but I paid her extra with a tip, so she offered me a pinch of her drugs because she thought I was such a nice guy. I wasn't a nice guy. I was a creep who used a whore. I was a rotten scumbag guardsman who took advantage of a girl. I refused the pinch of Horkin, so she snorted it up herself. Then she asked me why I wanted her supplier. Was I going to arrest the dude?

  "Nah," I lied and shook my head. "I want to supply some friends. You know, more guys who are in the guards."

  "Come on then," she agreed and taking my hand, we headed down the hill toward the lights of the old city. She chatted as we walked and told me her name was really Claire.

  "How long have you been doing this?"

  "Being a working girl you mean? Since I ran away from the Orphan Home when I was twelve years old. It's what all the girls do and even some of the boys. I was one of the House Father's favorites, so I learned the trade real early."

  "I'm sorry," I said, and I really was this time. "Maybe I can help you get out of this life. I could try to get you a job in the Palace if you are interested in being a maid. If not, maybe I can help you go to school and learn another trade."

  She studied my face for a moment probably judging my sincerity and then reaching up, she kissed me on the cheek. "You're a real nice guy, Mr. Taner. Maybe I'll take you up on that offer. I don't think I want to spend my life out here doing this on the street." She shivered, wrapping her hands around her thin shoulders, so I took off my jacket and draped it there instead. It was autumn then, and the night had a bitter chill as a cold wind blew in off the ocean. As we walked along, leaves drifted across the sidewalk and beneath the hissing yellow gas lamps. We passed bums who stood around old oil drums burning fires to keep themselves warm. A city bus drifted overhead filling our nostrils with the fumes and a few gunshots and then some screaming sounded from somewhere not too far away.

  "It's not much further," Claire insisted as we passed between two buildings and through a dark narrow alley that seemed even narrower as it was littered with mounds of trash. We emerged from the alley in front of another old and decrepit building with a cracked and sagging cement stoop that lead up to the broken door. In the corner behind the stoop, a couple of bums were sleeping beneath a cardboard tent which wobbled and threatened to blow away each time a gust of wind came up. "Come on." Claire pulled my arm, and I followed her up the stoop where a small boy was sitting with his hand on a big brown dog's head. He was just a little guy, not older than nine or ten with long black wavy hair that reflected in the gold light of the gas street lamp. He was smoking a cig while the dog chewed on some kind of bone. "Hey Senya," Claire called. "Is Tina around tonight?"

  "Sure Claire." The boy smiled, and something flashed at me. I didn't have time to think about that or look closer at the boy. As soon as I heard the name of my sister, my heart began to race. It couldn’t be her, could it? There were probably a million or more girls called Tina. Tina could be anyone. She didn't have to be my sister. She was home in Turko with my mother, my aunt and her twin girls, wasn't she? Yet, I knew in my heart as Claire rapped on the door, it would be opened by none other than my sister. Her hair was still brown and hung in straggly thin wisps and her eyes in the dark hallway had seen better days. She had only one piercing through her eyebrow and one visible tattoo on her neck, but she also had a bruise in the middle of her left cheek and her arm hung as if it had been recently broken.

  "Blessed Saint, Tina!" I cried. "How could you have gotten yourself into this mess?"

  "Don't start with me, Taner," she snapped and made to slam the door.

  "Do you know each other?" Claire asked. "Hey Tina, he just wants to buy some stuff."

  "No, he doesn't," Tina yelled through the cracks in the wood. "He's going to take me in and send me home."

  "Tina!" I begged. "Please open the door. Just tell me what happened that caused you to end up here?"

  "Come on, Tina," Claire agreed. "Maybe he can help us both out. Wouldn't it be nice if we all could get off these streets?"

  "No!" Tina shouted, so I shoved Claire aside and using my best blocking tackle, I knocked down that door. Tina was sitting on a linoleum floor that hadn't been cleaned in about forty years, and the only piece of furniture in the room was an old worn out couch. She was crying and rubbing her eyes in the same way she did as a child and as I had a few times before, I gathered her into my arms.

  "Come on, Sis," I said into her stringy greasy hair. "Let me take you home to our mom and your little girls."

  "I can't, Taner," she wept. "I don't want anyone to see me like this. I've made a horrible mess of my life."

  "Then I'll get you some help, and you'll get your life back on track again. Will you let me, Tina?"

  "No." She pulled away from my embrace. "Get out of my flat and don't ever come bother me again."

  "Then you're under arrest," I declared and tackled my little sister, placing her in cuffs and then hauling her away.

  "Where are you going," Claire asked as we headed out the door and down the steps while the boy and the dog sat watching.

  "I'm taking her to jail where at least she'll get some help. She'll go through drug rehab and then she can get a job and get back to raising her kids. Maybe in a few years she'll be okay."

  "I hate you, Taner," Tina spat.

  "That's okay because I love you, Tina," I replied and fishing out my cell, I rang for a city cop to pick her up.

  "What about me?" Claire asked after I had shoved Tina into the back of the cop's speeder.

  "You can come with me to the Palace. I'll show where you can
apply for a job."

  "Oh thank you, Taner," Claire cried and wrapped her arms around my neck and this time when she kissed me, it was more than just my cheek. We started to walk back home, but before we did she turned around and called to the boy who was still sitting and watching us leave.

  "Do you want to come with us, Senya?" she asked. "Maybe you can get a job at the Palace, too. You could work in the kitchens or gardens or maybe you could even be a page." The boy just shook his head and smiled strangely in the dimly lit night. "Well then, you take care of yourself, little one. Be safe out here on the streets."

  "I am," the boy replied, "far safer here than I would be there." It didn't occur to me how strange his answer was, and frankly, I forgot all about him as soon as we walked away.

  Claire was hired on as a maid and given a flat not far from the guardhouse where I lived. Tina was sentenced to three years in prison but would be released on probation after six months if she completed drug rehab treatment. My mom and my nieces were thrilled I had found Tina even though they had never told me she'd gone missing. I got credit for the arrest which meant a gold star on my record and Captain Loman even sent me a letter of commendation. I didn't care about any awards, and the credits didn't matter. What I cared about was my sister who was finally getting some help. In addition, I had shut down two sources of illegal street drugs, and I had gotten a girl off the streets so that she could live a normal life. I think I did pretty well in my first assignment as a Palace detective, and so I took the next day off to sleep late and watch a few football games.

  ****

  "Taner!' someone was yelling. I rolled over and pulled the blanket over my head.

  "I'm cold," a soft voice mumbled, and she yanked the blanket back her way. The vid made a buzzing sound and someone yelled again.

  "Taner! You're wanted in the Captain's office in exactly ten minutes."

  "Ah, seriously?" I groaned. "It's the middle of the night."

  "No, it's not," the vid voice replied. "It's just after 11AM. Now get your ass out of bed and report to duty right away." I tossed my feet onto the floor and pulled myself up.

  "I don't have to be to work until 3PM," Claire bragged and rolled over to continue sleeping.

  "Lucky you." I reached for my trousers, which puddled on the floor and then found a shirt that was wrinkled but not dirty. I slipped on my suit jacket and then stuck a hand under the bed where I found my shoes but no socks. Sockless, I headed out of my room in the guardhouse building, down three flights of stairs and across the Palace courtyard. The sun was high in the sky, and it was a blissfully warm day with a perfectly cool salty breeze blowing in off the ocean. I arrived at the Captain's office a full twenty minutes late and waited my turn outside in a chair. When I was finally admitted, the Captain was talking on the vid, so I stood at attention and gazed out the windows. After a long conversation where I tried not to listen, the Captain turned his nearly colorless blue eyes upon me. He was a big guy, enormous in fact, well over six feet tall and a girth that was easily three of me.

  "Lt. Taner," he barked. "You're fully twenty minutes late."

  "I know, sir," I apologized, I hoped contritely enough. "I…"

  "I don't care for your excuses. Keep the girl out of your bed. We are a military organization, not a fraternity house. I'd put you in detention with a month's worth of demerits, but I've got a task for you and you're a fairly good detective."

  "Thank you, sir," I smiled until I noticed him frowning, so I started frowning too and hoped I looked serious enough.

  "A gold figurine in a vase is missing from the Palace museum. It dates back a thousand years to the reign of Mishka Kalila. It's a priceless antique, and it was stolen two nights ago. I need you to find it and return it to me."

  "How could someone get into the museum? Isn't it locked during off hours? Was the area dusted for prints? Did you use ultra-violet light?"

  "That, Mr. Taner is why I've called you. Now get to work and don't show me your face until you have the figurine and vase in your hands." I liked a good mystery as well as the next guy, so I headed for the museum and did all the things I mentioned. I dusted for prints and used ultra-violet light until a found a partial left thumb print on the missing vase's stand.

  "Is this facility secured?" I asked the museum curator. "Don't you know who goes in and out? Isn't there some kind of record?"

  "Four maids work at night and six in the morning," he replied. "It could have been anyone of them. They all come and go."

  "Bring them to me," I ordered and sat in his office interviewing each girl while showing them a pic of the figurine and vase. It was kind of an ordinary vase if you asked my opinion. It had a pretty floral design, but it also looked very old. The figurine was of a naked girl who poured water into the vase, so I suspected the two together made quite a work of art.

  "Did you see it?" I asked.

  "Sure, I dusted it once or twice," a few of them said. "But I certainly didn’t take it. I have no use for such junk." The last maid I spoke to was of course my own Claire who smiled at me shyly and tried to sit in my lap.

  "Come on, Claire," I insisted. "Tell me what you know of this vase."

  "I don't know anything, honey. Now kiss me real hard."

  "I'll see you later," I replied and rose to my feet, shoving her off my lap and onto the floor. "I've got a mystery to solve and no desire to fool around. When you're ready to cooperate, then we'll talk again."

  "Oh Taner," she cried as I left the museum building and returned to the guardhouse where I examined my own room. I scanned everything Claire could have touched for a possible thumbprint but couldn't find a thing until I awoke late that night. It was just after 2AM when I turned on my light with sudden inspiration as to where I could find a print. Claire had been in my bed, and in a moment of passion, she had reached over head and gripped the headboard with both hands. That's exactly where I found the print and a few minutes later, I raced it to the lab knowing full well it would be the match to the one on the vase's stand. Now where was the vase and figurine, I still had to determine. A thumb print wasn't conclusive. I'd need to get Claire's confession, too. Except, she wasn't talking to me. She was in quite a snit and hanging out with a big Private who stood in front of the armory.

  "Come on, Claire," I cajoled as she snuggled up to the dude. "I know you took it. Just tell me what you did with it and I'll go easy on you."

  "Save me, Butch," she giggled and wrapped her arms around his chest. "I didn't do a thing, and Taner wants to take me to jail."

  "Butch?" I asked and looked closely at the Private's face.

  "Hey, you're that Tan-dork kid," he responded and clapped me on the shoulder. "Are you after my girl again, junior? How's your breakaway speed now?"

  "I don't need it," I replied, "because I'm a lieutenant and I order you to release Claire before I arrest you as well."

  Butch removed his hand and smiled sheepishly at Claire. "Sorry pumpkin, he's right. He out-ranks me big time. Just tell him what he wants to know and then he'll leave us alone. I promise you tonight, I'll show you all my best blocks. I'll show you some tackles too if you're a really good girl and then if you want to, we can even hike the ball."

  "Sounds awesome, Butch," Claire muttered and glared back at me. "I don't have it, Taner. I never did. I just took it for somebody who paid me a few coins."

  "Who Claire?"

  She pouted and wouldn't answer the question.

  "Come on, Claire, help me. I thought I meant more to you."

  "You were okay," she shrugged. "I suppose it was kind of fun, and you got me off the streets although the money there was better. Now, I've found Butch." She smiled up at the big guy. "So I guess it's over between us. Good luck and goodbye, Taner. I hope you meet someone else."

  "No, you don't," I grabbed her arm before she could walk away. "Who paid you for the goods? Just tell me this much and I'll let you go."

  Claire glanced up at Butch as if looking for direction. The big dude just shru
gged and resumed his military stance.

  "Lord Phylyp," Claire said at last. "He gave me four coins. I don't know why he wanted it, but he took it and ran."

  "Thanks Claire." I released her, so she ran away herself. "Good luck with her," I told Butch. "You make a decent guard."

  "I was an awesome offensive lineman especially as Center until I injured my knee, which ended my career."

  "I wiped out my ankle," I informed him, "which killed my breakaway speed."

  "Bummer dude," Butch said and showed me his fist.

  "Bummer for you, too, buddy." I touched his knuckles to mine and then walked way in the direction of Prince Akan and Lord Phylyp's suite.

  I couldn't exactly barge in there because Prince Akan was afforded a certain amount of autonomy by the King. I couldn't let the issue slide either. After all, it was my job to recover the figurine and vase. I decided to wait until they left to do something else, and then I'd break into their apartment, grab the goods and escape. I'd run right to Captain Loman's office where I'd turn the things in. I just wasn't sure if I should tell him how I found them. I took up a post in the maid's pantry closet just outside of Akan's ornate suite door. It was raining that day and water puddled on the floors of the open corridors and hallways that criss-crossed the Palace buildings. The Palace was constructed of pink marble blocks which was beautiful to look at especially at night. During the rain though, it became as slippery as hell especially when wearing leather soled dress shoes that didn't have any grip. On top of all that, Akan lived on the third floor so I'd have three flights of stairs to bolt down in the rain. My ankle had been feeling alright when I'd worked out in the gym, but when I made my run for it, I'd need every ounce of my breakaway speed.

  Akan and Phylyp were in the suite a long time which meant I stayed in the closet for half of the day and well into the night. My legs got numb and my back started to ache, my ankle tweaked a little, but I thought would hold up alright. I needed to use the bathroom, and I was getting really hungry. My cell buzzed with a call from my mother and then buzzed again with a text from Claire.