Secrets and Lies Part VI
02 Jul 2017Jellicoe
Merewick was in many ways the most vibrant district of New Rossyth, a bustling sprawl close to the shipyards and spaceport, the part of this city that truly did never seem to sleep. It had been built to house new migrants to the city, mostly drawn by the prospect of work in the yards until they either moved on to more desirable accommodation or left the system. Given its proximity to the spaceport it also made sense to build the low cost accommodation that ship crews needed if they were spending a day or two on the planet and so Merewick was made up of a mix of vast blocks of compact, single bedroom apartments and huge guesthouses offering weary spacers little more than a bed and bathroom, all built in the style of functional simplicity that typified the architecture of the Alliance. Despite, or perhaps because of the transient nature of its population Merewick constantly seemed to hum with an almost tangible energy which in turn made it popular with artists, writers and musicians giving the area the kind of bohemian vibe which attracted students backpacking their way around the bubble. There was a downside to this of course combined with a large, usually poor population seeking cheap escapism from the harsh realities of everyday life made Merewick a criminals paradise as well as the perfect place to receive and store contraband.One of the men who profited most from Merewick's criminal activity took a seat by the bar of the seedy pub in the centre of the district that served as his headquarters. It was rare indeed that Raymond Quinn showed his face in the public bar, but this was not a normal day. There had been a series of police raids on his various interests across the city, his street dealers had been searched and arrested and his vice girls patches flooded with uniformed cops. Morale was low so he was showing his face to let all his staff and punter know that he was still very much in control, but the truth was he was not in control, not anymore and it was not just his interests that had been targeted, every other criminal face in this part of the city had been similarly turned over beginning first thing this morning. At 10AM he had received a summons to a meeting here, in his own place from Inspector George Owen which Merewick's other criminal kingpins were also instructed to attend. Raymond had always rather like Owen, he was an old fashioned copper, firm and straight, no back handers taken or blind eyes turned but he did know the rules of the game and was scrupulously fair in how he played it. Owen was a bastard, the criminal fraternity would say, but at least you know where you stood with him, but now Quinn had stood with the rest of Merewick's criminal aristocracy while the policeman sat in his chair, with his feet up on Quinn's own desk and explained the details of a manhunt for a spy he could feel his hackles rising.
"Jannine Slaney's got the bit between her teeth on this one and she's not going to let go." The detective had said coolly, looking each one of the assembled gangsters in the eye in turn. "And unless we get some real cooperation from you lot business is going to suddenly get very difficult. This morning was just a taster, so tell your people, anyone they come across that could be this man I want to know about and any men over 6' with a Fed accent wanting to get off world I want to know about before you do, capiche?"
Quinns thoughts returned to the present as a fat man with a slightly hunched back entered the bar, bought a drink and sat down, the gang boss would not usually have given him a second glance but there was something about the way this man stood and moved that seemed wrong, his stooping back seemed to give him no pain and he moved too freely for a man carrying so much weight. The man went to join an attractive short haired woman Quinn had had his eye on and sat down much too easily for someone of his size and age. It was probably nothing, the old, obese stooped figure was a long way from the lean fugitive, but then he knew well from his line of business how effective modern disguises could be, and anyway showing George Owen some willing might go some way to getting him off his back.
"Lenny." Quinn said to his hulking companion. "You and Elbows make sure the hunchback doesn't go anywhere." He left the bar to make a holo-call.