Egan Yip - The Judge

Coranite Chronicles: The Judge

Egan Yip

CHAPTER 1

Delivery

His back against the wall, Darek sat down near the thrivingmarketplace and placed his satchel by his side. The wait wasgetting on his nerves. He watched as the crowd moved about. Bitinghis lip, he glanced at the faces of the people, searching for acertain someone.

Then he found him. An old man came walking down the busy street.Their eyes met.

The old man was grim and solemn, not a hint of anything pleasantin his expression. He stood near Darek and said, Youre thedelivery boy?

Thats right, said Darek, looking up at him. And yourelate.

The man nodded but said nothing in reply.

Whats the pay for the job? Darek said. Thats all I need toknow.

Five thousand credits.

Darek jumped to his feet and exclaimed, Five thousand? Hisloud, disappointed voice startled the people around them. Are youkidding me? I thought this was an off-world job! Some of the localjobs are worth just as much!

It is an off-world job, said the old man, his voicecracking. But dont you worry. Thats just the advance. Im notthe client. Im what youd call a middleman. When you deliver thepackage to the real client, youll receive ten times the amount.The man held up a thick envelope and waved it in front ofDarek.

Darek hesitated, trying to hide his desperation with a pokerface. He needed the money, but such a low advance was suspicious.Too suspicious.

Take it or leave it, the man said, tapping his footimpatiently, I already have others lined up for this job.

Gritting his teeth, Darek snatched the package from the old man.I-Ill do it.

A wise choice. The old man revealed a fleeting smile andhanded Darek a piece of paper. Here are the instructions for thedelivery. I will deposit the credits in your account by the end ofthe day. Then the old man walked away without so much as agoodbye.

As he watched the old man disappear into the crowd, Darek heaveda heavy, heartfelt sigh. He wondered how wise of a choice it reallywas. Darek had worked in the delivery service for years and knewthe risks that came with it. No one cared about delivery boys.Off-world jobs were often dangeroussometimes even suicidal.Receiving high pay in any other job would be considered a blessing.But for a delivery boyit usually meant death. If you survive, youbask in glory and riches. If you donttheyll always find someoneelse.

Darek stuffed the package in his satchel and went back to theAlbiore City Delivery Agency, which was only a block away from themarket. He stopped to look at his reflection in the front window.He looked like a wreck. He straightened his ragged black jacket,dusted off his ripped jeans, fixed the shoulder strap of his bagand roughly combed his shaggy brown hair with his fingers. Wheneverything looked as good as it could, he smiled at his ownreflection. Then he turned bright red as he looked through thewindow and saw people snickering at him.

He entered the agency through the sliding glass doors.

Darek, said the female receptionist at the front desk, whatare you doing here? I thought you went home.

Walking past her, Darek said, Just went to speak with aclient.

Oh, Darek. The receptionist frowned. So you tookthat job? Leave that job up to the veterans. If you wait afew more days, Im sure we could get you something moresuitable.

Thanks for the concern. Darek stepped into a closing elevator.But I dont think I can wait a few more days.

Darek got out on the fourth floor. He walked down the hall andheaded straight for room 406. The door was already open. Darekpeered inside.

A man sat at his desk, hammering away at the keys of hiscomputer. The man was thin and pale, his blond hair combed downwith a greasy shine. He kept the blinds shut, leaving just an ounceof sunlight through the cracks. As he typed, he kept one hand onthe keyboard at all times. Every so often his other hand wouldventure off, seizing a piece of pie for his pointy lips. The trashbin by his side was overflowing with crumpled pastry boxes.

Even though Darek was at the door, the man ignored him,continuing to work. In an attempt to get his attention, Darekrapped on the door. The man didnt even blink; he intensified histyping until it sounded like a sudden downpour. When he finishedthe last word on the page, he placed the final period with a slamof the finger and then looked up.

Darek Wayker, the man said, as he adjusted his glasses. Didyou take the job?

Thats a stupid question, said Darek. Of course. Why elsewould I be here?

Heh, all right. Then Ill take it off the listings, said thethin man, chuckling. After he stared at the computer screen for amoment, he burst out laughing. Man, you took it! You really tookit! He laughed so hard that tears jetted from his eyes. I cantbelieve it! You actually took it! The day has finally come!

Feeling somewhat uncomfortable, Darek shot him a look ofdisapproval. If you dont need me for anything else, Ill begoing.

Wait, wait. The man calmed down, wiping away the tears.Darek, weve worked together for a while. Do you mind if Ill behonest for just a second?

Darek crossed his arms. I think Im going to regret this, butIm listening.

I hate your guts, Darek. I really do, the man said. Youvecaused me so much trouble. You have no idea how long Ive waitedfor this day. Youve finally chosen a really bad job, Darek.Really bad. Quite a few boys havent returned from thisone.

I bet youre happy, Darek said, his eyes narrowing.

The man nodded with a wry grin. I am. But let me just give youa word of advicefull of truth and clarity. Dont do it. The job isnot worth it. As much as I hate you, Id be downrightheartless not to warn you. Fail this one, Darek. Fail it and neverreturn.

Darek walked to the Guridoh, the only tavern by the agency.Since it was so close to the delivery agency, many delivery boyswould frequent it for meals and socializing. He sat at a table witha few of his friends, including his best friend, Jenson, whom hehad worked with several times on occasion.

Jenson was chubby, had curly brown hair, and always wore a pairof black goggles atop his head. Though only seventeen, just twoyears older than Darek, he was highly respected by all the deliveryboys. He held the record for the most jobs completed with a perfectsuccess rate. He was also a genius. Jenson would take internationalplacement tests for fun and, though hed get perfect scores, hednever submit them for review. He was a strange person for sure.Darek knew that once Jenson was out of this dump, hed be able toland a high-ranking government job easily. But he never seemed likethat kind of a guy.

Jenson inched his chair up to Dareks, poured him a glass ofsweet punch and asked, So, howd it go?

Darek banged his head against the table in despair, surprisingeverybody. Darek lifted his head slightly to speak, his foreheadnow swelling bright red. Well, I did it. I took the jobthe onlyjob that was available. His head fell back down. He muttered,Its all because I failed the last few jobs. Talk about bad luck.And if I fail this one Darek sighed.

Even if he didnt finish the sentence, Jenson knew what Darekhad on his mind. All delivery boys had reputation points. Successhelped them garner more points, and if they had more reputationpoints, they would get higher priority when it came to pickingjobs. But if they failed jobs, they would lose points. If they hadno more points leftitd be the end. Darek would be thrown outallties severedand hed have nowhere to turn to.