Drive

Chapter Four - Backlash

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“G’day there, Captain Reynolds.” Boyle tipped his hat through the cortex. “I understand you’ve hit a bit of a snag, have you? Seeing how I don’t have my artifact here in my hand.”

“Boyle, you may have a slightly better disposition than Badger had, but he never got us in this thick.” Mal paced in front of the screen in his cabin. “Do you even know what’s in there?!”

“Course I do, Reynolds. Wouldn’t be very good at what I do without knowing what I’m after.”

“Then you know how hot it’s gonna get around my ship. I’ll have the whole gorram Alliance fleet coming after me. How do you even expect me to deliver this on Persephone?!”

“You’re looking into this far too much, mate. You stole it in the middle of the desert from an old man with a drinking problem. They could put you in a bloody line up and he wouldn’t be able to spot you out. Just take a deep breath and bring me my artifact.”

“Don’t try and spin your words around on me. You know as well as I do that the Alliance will track down every ship that came and went off Relanor. We aren’t exactly in their good graces either. Plus, if Ott is still on that rock, he’d sell us out in a nano-second to get the feds off of his ship. So…what? What am I gonna do with this? On second thought, what would a weasel like you need that thing for?!” Mal was shouting now.

“You can yell all you like, but you’re taking shots at me pride now.” Boyle threw on a stern face. “Look, Captain. I want that item. I don’t care how you get it here, but I want it. I’ll have you know I have big plans that involve what you just nabbed. Big plans. Get it here and you’ll get your coin. Then we never have to do business again.”

Mal grabbed the screen. “You don’t get it, do you?! The Alliance would go to war over something like this! Think about how they covered up Miranda. What lengths they went through. They’d gladly kill you and you’re entire operation just to keep this out of the public’s hands!”

“N-No they wouldn’t…They wouldn’t dare…” Boyle scra