She Bleeds for Us: The Galactic Consortium 3

Chapter 36

The sun was still low in the sky as Jake crossed the tarmac heading towards Brown Bessie, as Åse liked to call the truck they both drove. The day was still cool, in the mid-70s. Cool here in Africa was as hot as it ever got back home, Jake thought.

The heat will climb into the 90s by midday, but Jake would be in a nice air-conditioned cab by then. Brown Bessie was loaded down for a four day trip around sub-Saharan Africa. They had seeds, supplies, and food for more than a dozen villages along the route. Abioya had already visited the truck earlier this morning to load their personal stuff in the cab.

They climbed the ladder up to the cab and began to settle in for the trip. Chatura set to work warming up the engine and Abioya did a final check of their food stocks.

There was a thump against the side of the truck. Jake opened the door and looked down. The man was dark-skinned and if Jake had to guess, a local. But he was dressed in an administration uniform.

He smiled up at Jake. "Hey, almost forgot your bags," he said. He had three large duffel bags at his feet.

Jake took one minute to look around the tarmac. There was nobody else in sight. "Yeah, I guess we did. Thanks."

The man handed up the duffel bags one at a time. They were heavy in Jake's hand. He passed them off to Abioya who stowed them on one of the bunks.

Jake shut the door again and Chatura began driving towards the gate. Despite the completely uneventful and anti-climatic handoff, Jake discovered that his heart was hammering in his chest and he was sweating. It was one thing to talk about doing this, but now they were committed.

"Now what?" He asked Abioya.

Despite his eagerness to help Devaki, Abioya was looking uncertain now, too. He shrugged. "Do we look inside?"

"Do we trust hir?"

Abioya nodded. "I do."

"Then we don't look," Jake said. "We just make the drops. Any idea where?"

Abioya turned one of the duffel bags over and pointed. They each had a series of numbers printed on the small tag, coordinates and times.

Chatura had been waived through the gate and they were already on the highway heading east out of town. Jake took the copilot seat, a giddy feeling rising in his chest. It was official, they were smugglers.