Where It's Due

"Alfonse checked the deck, securing the area for the mission team. 'All clear!' He tugged the cargo strap, indicating its tightness. The deck captain walked over, checking the periphery. 'We've got a major move of chips coming through here. Let's be ready, lieutenant Grove.' Alfonse saluted, eager to get along with his protocols.

Standing six-foot-two, Alfonse Grove was a handsome black man. Recruited into the military at age thirteen, he had ascended to the rank of lieutenant over his twenty-two-year career. This was an important move. Thirty thousand credit chips, straight from Awkswarma, and he was on the receiving team.

The chips were loaded, by indicators on the right side, from five credits all the way up to five hundred thousand. A lot of cash was at stake, and the team was vigilant. 'Heads up, Grove!' one of his fellow soldiers barked. The final shipment was coming through nearby.

A member of the transport team walked past, wheezing at the heavy load. Alfonse put down his weapon, eager to help. He grabbed a corner of the cargo box, his duty gloves slipping as he grasped for a secure hold. With a yell the transport member lost control of the cargo, the cargo box hitting the transport bay floor with a dull, reverberating thud.

'Grove!' The team captain rushed over, hopes for a purely clean mission draining from his face. 'I'll get this, lieutenant. Just back off!' Alfonse groaned, embarrassed, and overwhelmed by the immensity of the mission. As he walked off, his foot kicked a small credit chip that had popped loose from the dropped cargo. No one noticed, as soldiers were busying themselves up righting the cargo and moving it into the compound.

Alfonse picked up the chip in wonder and checked it, by himself now in a corner of the docking bay. He let out a low whistle. Five thousand credits, fully loaded and ready to go. The team had gone inside with the cargo, leaving him alone with his embarrassment for sullying a high value mission operation.

They had treated him badly. Well, why not. He slid the credit chip into his jacket pocket smoothly, making sure no one had seen the move. He stood up straight, making an attempt to look busy, and thought to himself. 'There's a few nights of partying, anyway.'

Behind him, a mounted camera made a dull noise. Alfonse's heart froze. Of course. The security cameras. He turned to face the noisy unit, casually checking his perimeter. In the distance, he could see his fellow soldiers slowly running towards him, cutting off his path of escape.

Something occurred to Alfonse, a mission speech his commander had given, assuring them that no entity would partake in these chips but the government headquarters they were delivering them to. Or else. Alfonse gulped, a cold, eerie sweat trickling down his back as the soldiers rushed towards him.

Bent over on his knees outside the compound, Alfonse groaned. His commander gave him one final look. 'Where do you want the shot, Grove?' Alfonse was sobbing, unable to regain control over himself.

A blast reported, and the soldiers walked back into the compound, shaking their heads incredulously at what had just happened."