Read Online The Alien Artifact 9 (Novelette) by V Bertolaccini - Free Book Online Page A

of
money, and far more than I had ever bet before.
    Later that day one of the other
soldiers rushed over to me and went straight up to my face and
stared straight in my eyes, and moaned loudly, “ Malone! The captain wants
you! ”
    I marched after the soldier to the captain’s
office, where he sharply knocked on his door, and I marched in.
    Again I wondered why the hell I joined the
army, and could now barely recall anything of why. It was crazy! I
should have remained out of it and left the job for a more
experienced recruit, and someone that did the things they wanted,
which were far different than I had expected.
    As I stood in front of his desk I listened
to two soldiers in the distance having an argument over racing
horses, on which would win, and in the end I laughed at it, and
Godfrey looked up at me and stared at me.
    “ What do you think
then? ” he
asked.
    “ They ’ re alright! ” I replied
    “ Sure! The horses! ” he continued.
    “ What for? ”
    “ To race! I could win on the horse I
bet on! ”
    The soldier
that took me there rushed in carrying out another order, and him
handed him a document, and rushed out.
    “ Look at
this one! What a beauty! What do think, Malone?”
    Godfrey pushed
over a pile of photos of horses, and I examined them, and just
agreed.
    “ Can you
make good money from a good horse?” I finally asked, considering if
it was an easy way to make a lot of cash, and he just nodded to
agree.
    After
examining the horses in more detail, realizing that they were
basically still all the same, I wondered how they could tell a good
horse, and in the end chose what looked like the fittest horse.
    He was
surprised and instantly agreed.
    “ About
that horse you and all the soldiers bet on …” he finally said
silently, examining me closely, and I sensed he was going to come
out with something.
    “ What
you want to change your bet to it?” I replied smiling.
    “ No! I
want you to make the racing horse all of you are betting on lose or
not run!”
    “ That’s ridiculous!” I replied, nearly
laughing.
    “ No! I want you to do it! As you’re
the one who did it!”
    “ Did what?”
    “ Put me in it! You’ve put me in it
again, Malone! That horse better not run or it better not
win!”
    “ How the hell can I stop a horse
running?” I moaned, thinking of a way to leave.
    “ Shut up! Malone! You’ll find a
way!”
    I could not believe it, and that I had made
such a mistake over with a meaningless action, and I was not even
going to bet on anything.
    “ If my
horse wins I’d split all the money I bet on it with
you!”
    He came to a
complete stop and started shifting over to me, around his desk, and
started telling me what the horse could do.
    I could not
believe the amount he told me he had bet on his horse, and going by
some details he told me in the end I considered betting on it too!
But what I could not grasp was why he thought the other horse we
had chosen was going to win.
    When I
was about to leave, he shouted, “ Sit
down! ”
    He sat trying to contemplate something when
the phone rang and he instantly grabbed at it and listened without
hearing anything, and when someone spoke he launched into an
argument with the person and started thumping his desk with his
fist, and shouted and smashed the phone down.
    He calmed and stared deep into my eyes,
trying to penetrate my mind, and when I stared back he looked away,
while trying to contemplate some thought.
    “ There’s a list of complaints received
about you already! ” he announced loudly, studying my face,
waiting for me to react.
    “ About what? ” I moaned, annoyed, wondering who
would complain, and wondered what the complaints would be
about.
    “ They complain everywhere and people
like you keep ignoring it! Don ’ t you? ”
    Yet I wondered what he was he talking of,
and if there were complaints, and why they never liked him. I
realized again it could be that he was still reacting to my
introduction, when I joined