Read Sullivan Saga 1: Sullivan's War for Free Online Page B

position. They got a few idealists like Conner on board without a quid pro quo, but I’ll bet that a lot of the people who were in on the deal were at this party. After Conner and the other honest Assembly members left, I’d wager they got down to business.”
    Wagner looked back at her tablet. “There were thirty-two members at the party. Conner is clean, and Palmer and Howard are dead, so that leaves twenty-nine leads.”
    “Right,” said Wagner. “If we apply the pressure, one of them is bound to crack. And this,” he said, holding up the data chip, “might give us probable cause to put them all under surveillance.”
     
    RICK SULLIVAN PEERED into the small crawlspace behind the freighter’s control panel. He’d fit, but just barely.
    “You’ll only have to be in there long enough to pass the port authority’s inspection,” said the ship’s captain, a man Sullivan knew only as Jones. For his part, Sullivan had only identified himself as Rick.
    “And it has a built-in bioshroud?”
    “Top of the line. They could scan for days and not know you’re in there.”
    “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” said Sullivan.
    “Now as to payment,” said Jones. “What do you have to offer?”
    Sullivan took the energy pistol from his pocket. “This should fetch a good price on the black market.” Sullivan reached back into his pocket. “I have an extra energy clip, too. Fully charged.”
    Jones took the items and turned them around in his hands. “This’ll do. All right, take a bunk in the aft cabin. The inspection is in two hours, but I need to finish supervising the loading of the cargo. I’ll let you know when you’ll need to crawl back in there.”
    “Your crew won’t expose me?”
    “You’re my crew on this run. Save me some money that way.”
    “I don’t know anything about piloting a ship.”
    “You don’t have to. I just need you to monitor the systems while I have my down time. If any red lights flash or any alarms go off, you come and get me.”
    “You’re placing an awful lot of trust in a man who needs to be smuggled off of Earth.”
    “No more than you’re placing in me.”
    “Thanks,” said Sullivan. He’d had to deal with a lot of horrible people over the past few years. It was nice to meet someone who didn’t seem completely despicable. But you could never know for sure; any man could turn against you at any moment.
    Sullivan tried to recall how many good men he had known. Maybe it had been his unique circumstances, and maybe his experience didn’t reflect reality, but there hadn’t been very many. Agent Allen seemed like a good man. Sullivan hoped he’d given Allen and Conner enough to bring down those Assembly members who had been involved in the Edaline land deal. He wouldn’t know for months, of course. News of events on one planet had to be relayed to all the others by ship, and the shortest journey between two planets was three weeks. Most took a lot longer than that. In this particular freighter, Sullivan’s ride to Abilene would take just over four months.
    He settled down onto the bunk Jones had directed him to and closed his eyes. He wouldn’t allow himself to sleep, but at least he could get some rest.

II:
PRISONERS
    6
     
    FRANK ALLEN WAS pleased. The Bureau had managed to round up Assemblyman Palmer’s cronies and charges had been filed against all those who had been a part of the Edaline quid pro quo. It hadn’t been too difficult. There had been a handful of Assembly members who’d cracked once they knew there was real evidence against them. The scandal involved Assembly members from nineteen different planets and had been front page news for a week solid, ever since the Bureau had made its first arrests.
    Allen and Wagner had spent the past week tying up loose ends and were now both taking the paid vacation that they had originally planned for a month earlier. With the Edaline issue wrapped up and Sullivan’s trail cold, there was finally time