Tatar
Again in this dark and stinking place, as I get off the transport ship I am hit by a nauseating stench of rotten fish, urine and pine disinfectant, showing that dirt is difficult to cover when it has spread so far.
I adjust the parameters of my breathing mask and immerse myself in the dark alleys of Tartarus, a place lost in the middle of a world forgotten by Parliament, where, far from the sight of the army, all sorts of evildoers gather to hide before or after committing their misdeeds.
I feel disgusted just to step on its streets, all the scum of the galaxy seem to gather here to scratch each other's backs, traffickers, hired killers, pirates and smugglers of all kinds, get the market for their products, drugs, animals, palladium, iridium, weapons and humans, are traded like toys.
Since I left the security division of Polaris, this place has become a recurring destination, for some reason all roads always lead here, all human evil seems to converge on this very spot.
Degenerates and addicts roam its streets, looking for their share of morbid vice, seekers of forbidden objects and substances, or those who for a fee are willing to kill those they need to get out of the way.
For several years Petersen's smokehouse has been the place I visit to seek the information I require, in addition to catching up on the ins and outs of local gangs and gangs, there, Simon Petersen the owner, has always been my trusted contact.
-Oliver, how long has it been since you've been here, - said Petersen cheerfully as he saw me enter, his round, stretched-out face seemed to glow in the colourful lights of his shop's entrance.
-Hello Simon, I'm afraid it's been less time than I would like, -I answered, looking inside the place, where piled up as if they were bony corpses, almost two dozen addicts were leaning on deckchairs, with a needle connected to their carotid artery, by which they were hydrated and nourished, while remaining completely outside the real world, in a hallucinatory dream of Morpheus, a product synthesized from opium, which can produce extensive and pleasant erotic dreams that can last for days -. I see that business is going well.
-No doubt there is always a market for a good product, you want a chair, I have only one free one, take advantage of the fact that I have just received new product from Persephone, -he said smiling as he showed me all his big, fake, blindingly white teeth.
-You know I don't come here for your product, what do you know about the Soriano girl, -I asked without much protocol, as I looked at her ugly face.
-Because I should know something, my business is not girls -he said, looking away from his room full of human remains.
-Come on Simon, you know everything here in Tartarus, don't tell me you haven't heard about the case.
-Some things are better left unsaid, -he said, clearly distressed, -and others are better left out.
-How's Clarice? -I asked, knowing her weakness. Usually the best way to make someone loosen their tongue is to know some of their secrets.
-Damn it Oliver, that's not fair, you know I'd do anything for Clarice, -he said, putting on two big puppy dog eyes-. Fine, but get me out of this, I don't want them to know you were here or I'll be in trouble.
-Relax, I never put my friends at risk -I said.
-On the North Boulevard, a mile from here, towards where the Gao casino is, there is a bar called The Pleasure of the Kan, where the Satoshi meet, they control the traffic of girls from Cepheus, - he said with a worried face -. Two weeks ago, they received a new shipment and I heard that tomorrow buyers will come. It seems that there are people from Avalon and Eden who are their customers. If he's here in Tartarus, he must be there.
-Thank you Simon, you've been a great help, take care of Clarice, we'll see you soon, -I said before I left the premises.
-I hope I won't see you for a while, these visits are becoming too frequent -he said as he saw me leave.
After the war, even though the Parliament was in charge of rebuilding the infrastructure and creating stimuli to activate the economy of the planet, Cepheus remained a difficult place to live, hundreds of rebellious soldiers hid among the ruins of the cities, mimicking the people who tried to survive. They formed gangs and gangs that later organized themselves into criminal syndicates, which in the midst of the chaos of the reconstruction of the planet created all kinds of criminal operations, in the absence of local forces to provide security.
Thirty days ago, the daughter of Lion Soriano, a member of the local parliament of Cefeo, was kidnapped while she was with her friends, in one of the new shopping centers that began to proliferate in the cities of the planet, there were never any demands from the captors, simply the girl and two of her companions disappeared, without leaving any trace.
Soriano contacted her friends in the parliament and they in the security division and the security division came to me, which brings me back to this stinking place, looking for these three missing girls. It seems that my reputation, after the case of the Polaris murderer, continues to take me to these dark places, even after I have retired from active duty.