Chapter 6

Mark was again at a loss. After what his sister had told him, he knew that he’d have to have help looking up the laws for this situation. Finally alone, after checking up on Nissie, he called the headmaster for help.

“She did what?!” he cried incredulously, “you know, I knew that there was tension in your family, but I never thought that your sister would take it this far.” he shook his head at Mark, “She wants to be with you that badly?”

“Apparently so, I am at my wits end now. Can you check the Imperial laws on this and tell me if there is a way out of it,” Mark almost pleaded.

Clicking off, Mark began to pace the room. The shit was going to hit the fan tonight. He could just hear what his mother was going to say; holy shit, it was bad enough that the woman hated him, but after this, she would be a shrew.

Damn it! He gets trapped in his own contracts by a female, and then more comes out of the woodwork. Mark sat at his desk, waiting for the headmaster to call.

Nissie was starting to get worried. Mark had only checked on her once. She was starting to feel that he might be forgetting about her.

“Sam?” Nissie turned to look at her.

“What’s wrong, Nissie?” Sam jumped at the mention of her name, “Are you in pain?”

“No, nothing like that. I am worried about your brother, though; he hasn’t been to see me often since I took sick,” Nissie felt the tears well up in her eyes.

“It’s ok; he has a lot more on his mind right now,” Sam giggled; Nissie looked intensely at her.

“What’s so damn funny!” Nissie stated, almost in a rage.

“Oh, I’m sorry, hun, it’s not you. I am a lot more on his mind than he has,” Nissie could only look at her questioningly, “you see, I made a contract with Mark using the name of a company I have, very small, but a legitimate business nonetheless. I set the payment extremely high; I just told Mark an hour ago that I could not pay it now that he has satisfactorily repaired what was broken.” Again, Nissie stared at her.

“Just what was broken?” Nissie inquired.

“Why my heart, that’s all, and since he was the one who broke it, then he was the ONLY one who could repair it.” Nissie began to giggle because, at that moment, Nissie knew that his sister had him.

“How much longer do I have to lie here?” Nissie groaned.

“At least til you get your strength back,” replied Sam, eliciting another groan from Nissie. “Hey! I’m not that bad a company, am I?” Sam asked, feigning being hurt.

Nissie only laughed. She was really starting to like his sister a lot.

Mark almost jumped out of his skin when his com went off an hour later.

“Headmaster, did you find anything out?” Mark almost pleaded.

“I’m not sure, but I think there’s a way out of most of it,” he said, looking over the documents on his desk. “Imperial law applies to all, but in the case of dignitaries, there is a lot of leeway given, especially as important as your parents are. This is also afforded upon their offspring.”

“So, how does that help me? Considering the fact that we are earth citizens, can imperial law apply here?” Mark asked.

“Yes and no, it does apply, but she still has to pay. Since she is on earth where slavery was abolished, and you are also from there, Imperial law would refer first to the laws of the planet. So, from all respects, she is more your indentured servant than a slave. But here, the law differs from the Imperial law; after the first two years, you can release her from the contract, whereas Imperial would say she belongs to you til she pays.”

Mark sat back in the chair, so she really did have him, at least for two years. A loud groan escaped his lips as he became frustrated even further when he heard Nissie and Sam laughing in the next room.

“So, what news do you have on Tantka?” Mark asked, trying to relieve the tension that he now felt.

“No, that’s the odd thing. No one has seen or heard anything from him. You don’t think he’s given up, do you?” the headmaster asked.

“No, it’s not a thing that he would do. I think something may have happened to him. Whatever happened, if it keeps him out of my hair, then I have no problem,” Mark breathed a sigh of relief, and maybe it was over.

At the spaceport the next day, a short, rotund man stepped off the embarkment ramp. His keen eyes took in his surroundings. So, he was here and might still be here, which would make his death that much sweeter. The man moved off towards the more deserted part of the city, thinking he had gotten away from Central just in time. Walking as fast as his short legs could carry him, he didn’t notice the slender, long-legged, perfectly composed woman who stepped out of the hatch. Looking after him, she started to follow him at a discrete distance. She’d get him this time; holding her long case more on her back, she watched him enter an abandoned building, looking around before slipping in.

Nissie contacted her sister. They hadn’t talked in a few days, but instead of her sister, it was her assistant who answered.

“Fochan, where is my sister?” she asked.

“She went out last week to implement your plan. She came back and said she missed him. Then she left me explicit instructions on what to do for the next three weeks, and then she left,” he bit his lip. He didn’t want to lie to the mistress’s sister.

“Uh huh, I always knew when you were lying. Tell me what you know! NOW!” she caught herself a moment; she shouldn’t have yelled. Fochan was really scared now; the mistress would skin him alive if he caused her sister to be hurt further.

“All I know is that he headed for the spaceport, and your sister was right behind him. Somehow, he detected that we were after him.

“Did you hear where he was headed?” she inquired.

“All we know for sure is that he was really pissed after he missed you on the last planet, plus Ambassador Doraland, but what pissed him off the most was the fact that he can’t reach Mrs. Doraland or her daughter; it seems he wants her to torture and rape repeatedly.” Foshan lowered his head; his mistress would be pleased that he held out this long.

“Thank you. I think I know where he is now.” Clicking off, Nissie set her comp and called Mark. Running as fast as he could, Mark burst into the room, prepared for the worst. “What’s wrong, Nissie!?” he panted out, having run from the other side of the building.

“I think that Tantka is here, on this planet, or he will be soon!” she cried.

“What?! How did you find this out?” he asked her, waiting for her answer.

Sighing, she knew she was going to have to reveal what she and her sister had been up to.

“After Tantka tried to kill us last time,” she paused, trying to compose her words, “I called my sister; she owns a very high-priced brothel in Central World.” Mark only nodded and waited. “You might say ... she was rather pissed off that he had tried to kill us. I had a plan to take care of him with her help.”

“So you were going to take him on? Oh my god, Nissie, don’t you realize how dangerous he is?” A look of concern crossed his face.

“Not directly, no, but with her resources and the low-life types that she is over, I knew if anyone could get him, it would be her,” Nissie replied.

So far, Mark was impressed with her idea; taking out a new scanner he hadn’t used before, he scanned around the room. Soon, he had a very weak signal. “You’re right, Nissie; he is here, on the other side of the city; he’s in a strategic position.” Again, he cursed under his breath.

“What’s wrong, Mr. Mark? What has he done now?” she asked, the fear apparent on her face.

“It’s not what he’s done. It’s where he is. The little bastard is held up almost dead in the center of the city. My counter programs have this building, and the few around us are protected now, but the rest of the city is wide open; I have to...” Mark’s eyes opened wide, and that was it! He kissed Nissie and ran from the room, leaving a very pleased and very confused Nissie behind.

The headmaster had just sat down to enjoy his lunch when he received an emergency call.

“Headmaster, I need it. Tantka’s here, and I now know what the problem was with it.” Mark shouted, the excitement apparent on his face.

“Calm down, son. Now, what are you talking about?” he replied, slightly confused.