Chapter 48: Chapter 47: Bargaining with the Devil

The dead man turned out to be Mario Amato—a long-serving member of the VDF who came to Vesta with Vitale nearly ten years ago. Both men were from the District of Italy back on Earth, part of a small group that came to escape the hardship there.

Unfortunately for them, they found much the same hardship on Vesta. From what Alex could tell, Mario had been moving from the mining biosphere to one of the watchtowers when one of the bears swooped down from the upper rim and snagged him. Shots had been fired at the bear from the watchtower but they were ineffectual, missing their mark.

In all it was another sad day for the VDF in a long line of sad days. Commander Rooney had personally spoken with Mario’s two wives who now found themselves without a husband.

It also served to evoke a sense of anger from Alex, especially as he surveyed the spot where Mario was taken. It was on the upper ground of the punch bowl that the mining biosphere sat on. The nearby watchtower should have been able to spot the bear and take it down if it had been planted on the upper rim but its current position only left it a small window of time to deal with any incursions on the plain.

It was another reminder of their inefficiencies, something that Alex was determined to correct.

That sense of anger was what drove him to Belladonna’s personal housing unit in Biosphere Three the next morning. Though he didn’t have a high opinion of her, he knew that Belladonna was the only one on the Council that wielded any true power. If he could just reason with her, he should be able to get approval for the changes that needed to happen.

If it meant saving the lives of ordinary Vestans, surely that was something she could get behind, right?

“What do you want?” asked Belladonna, opening the door to reveal a surly face coated in contempt.

Despite the frosty reception, Alex was determined to start with a little charm in the hopes that it would make things easier.

“Good morning, Belladonna,” he said cheerfully. “I was hoping I might grab a few minutes of your time. I just wanted to discuss some improvement matters with you for the VDF.”

“The VDF?” she repeated. “That goes through Rooney. You need to talk to him.”

“With respect, I’ve talked to him already and he told me I needed to talk to you. Can I just grab a few minutes with you?”

Belladonna sighed but she didn’t turn him away. She walked away from the door. “You have five minutes before I have to leave. Make it quick.”

It was an opening but barely. Alex followed her inside to find a housing unit that looked much different from the ones he’d already seen. He knew that Annette’s unit was on the larger side because of her status on the Council but Belladonna’s was simply opulent and big. Paintings and tapestries adorned the walls. Furniture was not just utilitarian like in the other housing units but fancy and colorful. All of a sudden, Alex saw why the rumors about Belladonna pilfering from the mined gold and silver were getting around.

Her unit was just about all the proof that was needed.

“Let’s go, I don’t have all day,” said Belladonna, snapping her fingers as she reclined in a gorgeous, leather reclining chair. “What’s so important about the VDF that I need to hear about it?”

“I’ve noticed a lot of areas in the VDF that could use some improvement,” started Alex, remaining on his feet in front of her. “Commander Rooney has made me his captain because of my experience in soldiering before I came to Vesta.”

“Experience in soldiering?” repeated Belladonna, choking back a laugh. “Is that what you call running a gang? Or whatever it was that you did on Earth to get you put in prison?”

“I wasn’t running any gangs on Earth,” replied Alex. “But I did fight in the Orbital Wars for fifteen years across numerous campaigns.”

“That’s what I meant,” she said sourly. “Little more than gangs of men jockeying to see which Consortium lord had the biggest dick. You were barely soldiers and more like gangsters.”

Alex kept the forced smile on his face. “That experience taught me a lot about military tactics. And the way that our defense is set up here on Vesta leaves us open to many liabilities. I can see why our attrition rate is so poor when it comes to the bears. With a few changes, I can turn that around.”

“What changes are you trying to make?”

“I’m not trying to upset the cart too much,” said Alex. “But a few small changes could go a long way. First, we need watchtowers spaced all across the plain on the road to the mining biosphere. Having coverage far out from the road will reduce the risks of attack as miners/VDF transit back and forth. I’d further recommend that we spread out the watchtowers we have at the mining biosphere. Everything we have right now is too low. It needs to be on the upper rim where we can spot and neutralize threats before they develop into a bigger threat. Patrols need to range further out as well. The key to all of this is to give us more time to kill the bears when they’re spotted and to provide more protection to the mining biosphere and the road itself. I’d also recommend a large increase to the VDF as well as more advanced weapons training—”

Belladonna held up her hand. “Is this a joke?”

The polite smile finally dropped from Alex’s face. “Not in any way, shape, or form. It’s obvious to me why we have the losses that we do. Our defense is a joke to put it lightly.”

Belladonna jumped to her feet. “It is not a joke! The best minds in Vesta came together to put in place the current plan. Are you calling all of them stupid?”

“I’m saying that it’s obvious they have no military training or experience,” replied Alex. “That’s where I come in. I can make these changes to protect us.”

“By adding more watchtowers,” replied Belladonna, rolling her eyes. “Are you aware how much money that costs? We are already in a precarious situation with our credit supply right now that we can’t afford to waste it on frivolous spending like this.”

Alex resisted the urge to laugh. One glance around Belladonna’s unit was enough to put that lie to rest for good.

“I don’t believe that protecting ordinary Vestans falls under the category of frivolous,” said Alex quietly.

“Then you and I have differences in opinion,” retorted Belladonna. “Why are you bugging me with this shit? Why haven’t you talked with Commander Rooney? He’s in charge of the VDF.”

“Like I told you already, I’ve talked to Rooney,” replied Alex. “And he told me that all the changes I’m asking for have been requested once already and denied by you. He said I’d have to take this to you to get approval.”

“This is ridiculous, and don’t think that I don’t see what you’re actually doing here,” said Belladonna.

“Excuse me?” said Alex, the confusion showing on his face.

“More resources for the VDF and lots more men for the VDF—”

“And women too,” interrupted Alex. “Women can fight and shoot just as well as men can. It would be wise considering our gender imbalance.”

“Women fighting in the VDF?” replied Belladonna, shaking her head firmly. “Now I’ve heard everything. You only want these things so that you can recreate a personal gang here on Vesta. It doesn’t surprise me one bit. Once a criminal, always a criminal. I know what you did on the Racine and you won’t pull the wool over my eyes.”

“What I did on the Racine?” asked Alex. “You mean save the colonists from Serrano? That’s the only thing that I did.”

“You have some nerve!” yelled Belladonna, pointing at the door. “Get out of my unit. This conversation is over. I’m denying your request to make any changes. You will deal with the defenses that we have, defenses that were set up by people much more intelligent than you. Now get out!”

“But they won’t protect—”

“Out, I said!” she shrieked. “Or I will raise the alarm and have you removed from the VDF!”

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At this point, it became beyond obvious that Belladonna was out of her damn mind. Now Alex understood how the poor defensive situation came to be. Belladonna wasn’t about to waste any money on the VDF or their long-term survival, not when it could more easily go into her own pocket.

How could the Vestan people allow this woman to speak on their behalf? It was a true farce of justice and all those that died in Vesta had their blood on her hands.

Thoroughly fed up, Alex made for the door. He was barely out when Belladonna called out to him again.

“I’ve heard about your candidacy for the Council,” she said, spitting out every word. “Don’t get your heart set on winning. I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure you don’t get elected. I’m going to make you wish you never even thought about setting foot outside your prison cell back on Earth!”

Alex could only shake his head in disgust. This was going to be a lot harder than it looked.

“We’ll see about that,” he replied just before he slipped out of the door.

The entire way back to his unit, Alex wanted to break something. It wasn’t just that she turned him down but the fact that she didn’t seem to give a shit how many people died. If it meant money coming out of her own pocket, she simply didn’t care.

One thing was for certain—he wouldn’t be able to work with a woman like that. It was imperative that both he and Jenna won the open seats to give them a majority because if Serrano won one of those seats, Belladonna’s reign of terror would continue.

He was still angry when he reached home and he decided to call Ellie on his P-com. She picked up, using a spare one that Annette had given her.

“I don’t see how you worked so long with Belladonna without wanting to strangle her,” said Alex, shaking his head.

Ellie actually laughed. “It sounds like you had a run-in with her. Care to give me any details?”

Alex spent the next ten minutes going over the whole encounter. Not surprisingly, Ellie started to nod her head as she listened.

“Now you see what I’ve been talking about,” she replied. “She’s a literal nightmare, Alex. So self-serving and without a single redeeming quality. Can you believe I spent nearly three years working with her on the Council?”

“I’m almost surprised you didn’t decide to exile yourself just to get away from her.”

Ellie giggled. “At least you’re starting to see my side of it. So does this mean you trust me now?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean when we first met, you had a hard time trusting me. With all that you’ve seen, do you trust me now?”

“I trust you a whole lot more than I did before,” replied Alex, thinking about the question for a moment. “Although, I started to trust you once Dave and Carla confirmed who you were.”

“So that’s all it took?” asked Ellie incredulously. “I thought it might have been once you saw me naked in the river.”

They both started to laugh at that, which helped to dissolve a lot of the tension that had developed because of Belladonna. Alex wasn’t disappointed either when he started to dwell on the memory of water dripping down Ellie’s chest.

While they were laughing, the door to the housing unit opened and a very tired Jenna came in, fresh off her job. She gave Alex a relieved smile but it disappeared once she saw who he was talking to.

The conversation with Ellie didn’t last much longer and they hung up shortly after. Jenna fell against the couch, exhausted, while Alex scooted closer to her.

“How was the job today? You look tired.”

She certainly did but Jenna didn’t seem like she was in the mood to talk. In fact, she seemed like she was in a very strange mood.

“It was fine,” she answered dismissively.

For the next few minutes, he tried to get something out of her that consisted of more than three words but it became blatantly obvious that something was wrong.

“What’s up with you today? Did something happen at work?”

Jenna took a long time to answer. When she finally did, she pointed at his P-com.

“Answer something for me, okay?” she asked, her eyes blazing. “Do you have something for her?”

“For who? For Ellie?”

Jenna nodded. “Yeah, are you attracted to her? Do you want to be with her?”

Alex was temporarily taken aback. “Where is this coming from?”

“I just want to know,” replied Jenna, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

The truth would have done him no good at that moment, especially as Alex was just thinking about the sight of naked Ellie. Or about the way she kissed him.

All that would do would piss off Jenna more. And Ellie’s affections were only harmless.

“I’m with you, Jenna. Not Ellie,” replied Alex, instantly feeling guilty at his answer. “You don’t have to worry about her.”

It turned out to be just what she needed to hear. The scowl that she’d been wearing disappeared.

“I just wanted to hear you say it,” she said, scooting closer to him. “Sorry, you probably think I’m crazy. I just don’t trust Ellie all the way yet.”

Jenna rested her head against his chest and let out a pleasing sigh. Alex had to wonder if she felt how hard his heart was beating because of the lie.

Why did he feel so guilty about being attracted to Ellie?

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