Read Online Different Paths by A. E. McCullough - Free Book Online

the shop, Iaido scanned his surroundings
before walking across the street to a pub.
    The Crooked Creek Saloon had a sign advertising
the ‘coldest beer in town’ in red and white neon in the front window. Moving
into the darkened room, Iaido wasn’t surprised to see synthetic sawdust on the
floor, an old fashion jukebox in the corner playing country songs and even a
mechanical bull sitting in the corner. Taking a seat at the bar, Iaido ordered
a beer from the service bot bartender.
    Service bots are the simplest form of androids. They
only run a very limited series of programs but are extremely cost effective for
businesses.
    Taking a drink from his beer, Iaido turned his
attention to the vid-screens behind the bar. The Galactic News was on and
displayed over numerous channels.
    One channel showed a reporter stating that there
was trouble brewing with the JDL over trade routes through their sector which
will cause prices of all imported goods to rise. Another channel was reporting
that two colonies in the Orion cluster were reporting mass riots. The Galactic
Marshals had advised the local governments to declare martial law on both
planets and many feared that the riots would be the foreshadowing of another
war.
    Regionally, there were numerous protests about the
upcoming visit of the Coalition President and the NAPD were reporting a rise in
violent crimes over the last two weeks. However a police spokesman was reported
as saying ‘the violence seems to be random and unrelated’ and they point to the
recent capture of the notorious thief and murderer Jagger Jax as proof that
they were making headway during these troubled times.
    Iaido spied movement to his right and left; without
turning his head he asked, “Special Agent Johnson and Agent Smith, why am I not
surprised to see you here?”
    “Mr. Spartan.” Special Agent Johnson asked, “What
brings you to Old Town?”
    When Iaido didn’t immediately respond, the junior
agent grabbed his arm to forestall the bounty hunter from taking another drink
of his beer.
    Calmly setting down his drink, Iaido glared at the
agent and held up his other hand. “Strike two junior.”
    Somewhere inside himself, Agent Smith felt that he
might’ve crossed the line and slowly retracted his hand.
    With a final glare at the youngster, Iaido turned
his attention back to the senior agent. “You know very well what I am doing
down here and where I have been. Your surveillance teams need practice, if this
had been war, they would be dead by now.”
    “What surveillance teams?” asked Agent Smith innocently.
    Iaido faced the younger agent. “Don’t insult my
intelligence. You have two agents dressed as bums on the street outside of the
Sylvan Embassy; one to the north sitting beside the trash can and one to the
south panhandling on a street not known for its foot traffic… not wise. You also
have a video crew of at least two agents on the roof of the old theatre and of
course your command post in this dump.”
    Iaido turned to the older Fed and asked, “Did I
miss anyone?”
    “How...how did you know all that?” Agent Smith
stammered.
    “Youngster, if you have walked the paths I have
you would know.”
    Special Agent Johnson turned to his young protégé
and said, “Pull our team, all of them. Tell them to report to HQ for
reassignment.”
    Agent Smith glared at the bounty hunter for a
moment before he moved out of sight. Special Agent Johnson said, “You’re
walking a dangerous path Mr. Spartan.”
    “My path was decided a long time ago, I am what I
was destined to be… nothing more and nothing less.”
    Special Agent Johnson took a long drink of his own
beer and watched the vid-screens for several minutes before he broke the
silence. “Do they know anything?”
    Iaido shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not sure. I
don’t believe they are telling me everything. You?”
    “I agree but I also believe that neither of them
had anything to do with Sgt. Major Spenton’s death other