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"Aw, come on. What's wrong, little brother?"
"I don't get it," Kyle said. "How can you be so light-hearted about this? We're going to one of the most horrible inhabitable planets of all."
"It's a fourteen-month trip," said Tim casually. "We might as well make the best of it. I know you don't like poker, but I think we'll land with some goodwill and some solid information, too."
"I just don't see how you can be so cheerful about this disaster. I don't think Haven is very civilized. We probably have nothing better ahead than a lifetime of hard labor."
Tim was silent a moment. "Okay, look. I had Jake do some checking around before we left, and I have a deal with Henley you don't know about. But you have to keep this a secret."
Kyle hesitated, his heart pounding with sudden hope that his brother could land them both on their feet. "You don't have to tell me," he said. "I've learned to trust your judgment."
"Let's just say it's a self-contained freezer case," said Tim. "It's heavy, but once we've landed, solar power will keep the freezer going. On Haven, it'll be worth a fortune. That means it's worth our lives if anyone finds out about it."
"Don't tell me any more details," said Kyle. "But why won't Henley steal it, if it's worth so much?"
"On Earth, it's worth a lot of money, but it's not invaluable. In space, it's totally worthless. But mainly, he won't know what the stuff is, even if he breaks his promise and opens up the case to take a look. I doubt anyone on this ship can tell at a glance. On the whole, he'll make a big profit if he keeps his word and hell be at loose ends if he steals the case."
"What kind of a deal did you make with him?"
"Right before the trial, I had Jake sell all of my real estate holdings at fire-sale prices. The deal is, some of those buyers will give him a kickback when they resell. In turn, Jake has agreed to pay Henley a quarter million dollars if he returns with a password."
"What password?"
"The one I'll give him when we've landed safely on Haven with that case in hand."
"Don't tell me any more."
Kyle felt a little better. During the long trip, he observed that Tim was patiently asking crew members as much about Haven as he could. The information was spotty and colored with personal bias and faulty memories, but it was better than nothing.
Kyle took notes on what Tim learned, since that was not Tim's style of behavior. Kyle still felt that he was no more than his brother's shadow, a passive observer with nothing of substance to contribute. Still, he was very glad that Tim was there.
By the time the Olathe landed on Haven, Tim Eng was the most popular deportee on board. The circle of bodyguards in his employ had enlarged to a following that was informal but as loyal as a gang of deportees was ever going to be. Kyle didn't have the personality to inspire them the same way, but they understood that the brothers were a package deal.
The ship landed at Castell City on Splash Island. Kyle dreaded the moment. All he could picture was toiling in some freezing mine until he dropped.
As most of the deportees were herded into long lines headed into Castell City, Rollo Henley personally took Tim and Kyle aside. Their henchmen, numbering over thirty, were also drawn out of the line. Kyle shivered in the cool air of midday, watching.
"I've made the arrangements we agreed on," said Henley. He was carrying the heavy black freezer case. "Here's an address for you in Castell City, in the warehouse district. One of the guards at the processing center will take you there; he's already been paid, so don't let him gouge you. The time is midnight." He handed Tim a slip of paper.
"Midnight." Tim gri
"I've also arranged your contingency plans. Call the number on that paper. If you need those arrangements, they will be made. If not, you can take the cost back out in favors here locally."
"Fair enough."
Kyle hated this. They were talking in code as far as he was concerned. He would just have to wait until Tim took him into his confidence, maybe in private.
Satisfied, Tim knelt, opened the freezer case, and glanced inside. Then he closed it again and held out his hand. "You're a man of your word, Henley. Thank you. And the word for you is, 'Temujin.' "
"Say again?"
"Temujin."
"Temujin?" Henley shook hands with him. "There aren't many men whose word I'd trust over this kind of distance."
"I have to trust Jake the same way, but I do," said Tim. "And I don't expect to get back there to check up on him. In your case, if anything does go wrong with Jake, you know where to look for me." He gri
"Good luck." Henley slapped him on the back. "I'm going to escort your group in separately to expedite your processing. After that, you're on your own."
The processing was routine but boring. Kyle shivered in his standard deportee issue uniform as he stood in line, even after they were all inside the building. By now, he had already heard that Haven was very cold, its relatively small inhabitable area the best of a bad lot. This was no place for guys from Hawaii.
Soon enough, Kyle learned what Henley's bribes had been able to accomplish and what they could not. For instance, Tim's group was sent to temporary housing together pending placement, but they were simply stuck in a comer of a large room with a couple of hundred other people. They were told that they would be sent to various jobs tomorrow. In the confusion, however, Kyle finally got Tim aside for a moment.
"Would you mind telling me what's going on?" Kyle demanded. He rarely spoke to Tim so hotly, but he was frightened.
"Lower your voice," said Tim calmly. He turned Kyle's shoulder away and spoke low in his ear. "Henley has put me into contact with a guy in Docktown. That's where the big warehouses are."
"A guy?"
"Some kind of labor boss, supposedly."
"You mean a mobster." Kyle felt his stomach muscles tighten.
"I'm hoping to cut a deal. Well all be better off working the docks and warehouses than down in the mines."
"What about this wonderful mysterious freezer case?" Kyle nodded down at it, on the floor between Tim's feet. "I thought this was going to save us from disaster."
"Once we find our place in this society, I'll know how to use it. Till then, just help me keep it safe."
"And what's going to happen at this midnight meeting of yours?"
"Of ours," Tim corrected. "We're all going."
The guard whom Henley had bribed, a stout, grim-faced man named Grabowski, kept his word. Shortly before midnight, he walked with Tim and Kyle through the cold, dark streets of Castell City. All of Tim's henchmen followed after them, probably as scared as Kyle was and just as determined not to let it show.
Kyle clenched his teeth to keep them from chattering. In the uneven streetlight, the warehouses loomed large and dark on each side of them. He carried the freezer case because they couldn't risk leaving it behind and Tim wanted to concentrate on other matters.
The walk took nearly an hour. Grabowski finally stopped at the big bay twin doors of a warehouse. He pressed an exterior button that rang a buzzer inside. Then the big doors rumbled upward on their tracks.
Grabowski stepped away. Kyle decided he didn't want to risk getting involved. It was just as well.
Inside the doors, right in front of Tim and Kyle, stood a crowd of big, rough, brawny men in work clothes. Kyle estimated there were at least a hundred of them, though in the shadows he couldn't be sure he saw them all. The man standing in front was about fifty, with a barrel chest and thick bull neck straining at the spotless white dress shirt and expensive suit he wore. He was flanked on each side by a man dressed similarly.