Read Online Merkiaari Wars: 01 - Hard Duty by Mark E. Cooper - Free Book Online

price for this introduction, he could think again. Damn him!
    Eric followed the two men using Ashfield’s cameras until they entered the plaza. He picked them out on his sensors and tagged them for targeting. Even slowed by the Raytheon inside his clothes, both would be dead before they could think of betrayal. Still, he didn’t seriously feel threatened. He watched for any surveillance on himself or on his visitors and found none. He stood to greet them as they reached his table.
    “Gentlemen, please sit,” Eric said shaking their hands as if this were a normal meeting. Both men looked taken aback but did sit. “Kanarion... yes I know it’s not your real name. You were supposed to introduce me to a certain someone. Mister Zhang here doesn’t fit the bill.”
    Kanarion’s face darkened.
    “If you think I’m paying you fifty thousand for this meeting,” Eric went on. “You’re stupider than you look.”
    “You!” Kanarion began in a rage, but his companion stopped him from leaping up with a hand on his shoulder. Kanarion sat back fully and hissed the words, “If you try to screw me, you won’t live to regret it.”
    Eric grinned nastily at the blustering man. His targeting reticule pulsed redly, spinning and centred on his forehead right between the eyes. Kanarion was only a thought away from death; his companion too. Zhang was more sensible. He had moved a little apart from his friend after his initial instinct to restrain Kanarion. A quick assessing look was all Eric needed to assure himself they were both unarmed.
    Eric leaned forward. “You had a job to do. You didn’t do it. Why should I not just walk away? Oh, and by the way, threaten me again and I will shut your mouth for you. Permanently.” Eric let Kanarion see a glimpse of the Raytheon under his arm, and smiled when he looked away. “No answer?”
    “If I may?” Zhang said. “He can’t help you, but he knew I could. He hasn’t failed.”
    Eric sat back and regarded Zhang thoughtfully. He kept both men targeted, but had his sensors do a sweep looking for anything interesting. A wire frame representation of both men flashed up onto his display as the sweep commenced. A few seconds later a couple of places flashed amber on the models, but none red. A query showed Kanarion was carrying a wand, but although its carrier wave showed it was active for incoming comms, it wasn’t in use. Zhang had a number of devices in his pockets. An inactive wand was one, the other two might be minicomps of some kind, but neither device was recording or active in any other way. Both men’s wristcomps were active of course, but unlike Eric’s military issue, they had no ability to broadcast.
    Eric dismissed the sweep’s results to concentrate on Zhang.
    “... knows to keep silent. If you agree?”
    Eric quickly reviewed his log of the last few seconds, and nodded slowly as if thinking it over. Zhang had proposed paying Kanarion off so that they could get down to business.
    “And you guarantee his silence?”
    Zhang nodded. “He is my sister’s husband.”
    Eric grinned, Zhang didn’t sound happy about that. Eric wouldn’t have been either. “Tell you what I’ll do. I’ll pay him twenty five thousand—”
    Kanarion cursed.
    Zhang whirled toward his brother-in-law. “Keep silent fool!” He turned back to Eric. “Go on.”
    “Twenty five thousand for him as payment for this intro, and he goes away. He doesn’t talk about this and you guarantee it. Then, if you complete his job as you say you can, I’ll pay you another twenty five thousand and you can give it to him or keep it yourself. I don’t care which.” Zhang began to agree but Eric held up a finger and pointed at Kanarion who was looking incensed. “Make me believe you can control him.”
    Zhang turned to his brother-in-law. “You were always a disappointment to my family,” he began and Kanarion’s face darkened. “But this time you accidently did something right by calling me. Don’t