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Authors: Ron Hubbard
Tags: romance_sf
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demanded the huge guard. "How do I know who you are? You ain't wearing no Apparatus uniform!"
"I'll make it worth your while," I said, acutely aware of being a mile deep and at the mercy of these thugs.
The monster seemed to nod as though that was what he had been waiting to hear. He disappeared.
Heller diffidently ate a little bit of the food. He washed it down with another swallow of water.
I twitched the Grand Council order in my hand. "This is a great opportunity," I said coaxingly.
Heller shook his head. "Wait." After a long time the big guard came back. He had a new, shallow cut under one eye. He threw the shoes on the floor in front of Heller and slapped the sweater, now very filthy, at Heller's face. "He wasn't wearing no watch when he came in," he said.
I looked at Heller. "You wouldn't be wearing a watch in a game of bullet ball," I said.
"A friend was holding it," said Jettero. "He gave it back when I left the floor. These apes took it."
"Get his watch," I told the guard. "No watch, no pay." He snarled to himself and went off again.
The water and food were helping. Jettero stood up and I was very alert, gripping the blastick. But he just exercised his limbs a bit. Then he sat down and used a sleeve of the sweater and some of the water to sponge out the shoes: somebody else had been wearing them, they were filthy.
After a long time the huge guard came back. He had a new bruise on the side of his mouth and his knuckles were skinned. But he was holding the watch.
I had never seen a space engineer's watch before. I took it to make sure it contained no trick weapons: life in the Apparatus makes one suspicious. But it was just a big, round dial with a small hole in its face and a heavy metal band. I handed it over to Jettero. He nodded that this was it and began to put it on.
"The pay," said the guard.
I took a ten-credit note from my pocket, a pretty big sum for a guard in Spiteos.
The guard looked at it like it had kicked him. "Ten!" he snarled. "I had to pay sixty credits to redeem that watch!" He made a lunge at Jettero to grab it back.
I snatched at the monster's shoulder to spin him off course. It flung him backwards and he reared up and tripped on his own feet. He hit the side of the wire cage and went down on his knees.
He was absolutely frothing!
"I'll murder you!" he screamed, starting to lunge.
I raised the blastick to kill him.
Abruptly, my blastick went spinning!
There was a blur. Heller's right wrist caught the guard across the throat with a strike that lifted him clean off the floor!
The monster hit the wall with a thud!
He crumpled down like a disjointed doll. He was bleeding from the mouth, out cold.
Jettero picked up the blastick, put its safety catch on and handed it to me. "Never kill a fellow when you don't have to," he said quietly.
He inspected the guard. "He's still alive. Give me seventy credits." And he held out his hand to me.
Numbly, I fished out sixty more credits and added the ten from the floor. Jettero took them from me. Kneeling by the guard, he tapped the cheeks until the fellow started to come around.
Jettero held the seventy credits in front of the monster. "Here's your money. Thank you for the watch." And then it was the cold, not-to-be-disputed voice of a Fleet officer, unmistakable. "Now return to your post and that's the end of it." The guard heard it. He took the money and walked off as quietly as though he had just looked in for a casual call. Indeed, that was the end of it.
"Now let's look at that alleged document," said Heller.
Chapter 4
Jettero Heller took the Grand Council order over to the green glowplate. His back was slightly to me and I couldn't quite see what he was doing. It must have something to do with his watch.
"It seems authentic enough," he said.
I kept a mild smile on my face but I shuddered inside. It did happen to be authentic but only by comparing it to the listings on the planetary file circuit could one really know. The
"I'll make it worth your while," I said, acutely aware of being a mile deep and at the mercy of these thugs.
The monster seemed to nod as though that was what he had been waiting to hear. He disappeared.
Heller diffidently ate a little bit of the food. He washed it down with another swallow of water.
I twitched the Grand Council order in my hand. "This is a great opportunity," I said coaxingly.
Heller shook his head. "Wait." After a long time the big guard came back. He had a new, shallow cut under one eye. He threw the shoes on the floor in front of Heller and slapped the sweater, now very filthy, at Heller's face. "He wasn't wearing no watch when he came in," he said.
I looked at Heller. "You wouldn't be wearing a watch in a game of bullet ball," I said.
"A friend was holding it," said Jettero. "He gave it back when I left the floor. These apes took it."
"Get his watch," I told the guard. "No watch, no pay." He snarled to himself and went off again.
The water and food were helping. Jettero stood up and I was very alert, gripping the blastick. But he just exercised his limbs a bit. Then he sat down and used a sleeve of the sweater and some of the water to sponge out the shoes: somebody else had been wearing them, they were filthy.
After a long time the huge guard came back. He had a new bruise on the side of his mouth and his knuckles were skinned. But he was holding the watch.
I had never seen a space engineer's watch before. I took it to make sure it contained no trick weapons: life in the Apparatus makes one suspicious. But it was just a big, round dial with a small hole in its face and a heavy metal band. I handed it over to Jettero. He nodded that this was it and began to put it on.
"The pay," said the guard.
I took a ten-credit note from my pocket, a pretty big sum for a guard in Spiteos.
The guard looked at it like it had kicked him. "Ten!" he snarled. "I had to pay sixty credits to redeem that watch!" He made a lunge at Jettero to grab it back.
I snatched at the monster's shoulder to spin him off course. It flung him backwards and he reared up and tripped on his own feet. He hit the side of the wire cage and went down on his knees.
He was absolutely frothing!
"I'll murder you!" he screamed, starting to lunge.
I raised the blastick to kill him.
Abruptly, my blastick went spinning!
There was a blur. Heller's right wrist caught the guard across the throat with a strike that lifted him clean off the floor!
The monster hit the wall with a thud!
He crumpled down like a disjointed doll. He was bleeding from the mouth, out cold.
Jettero picked up the blastick, put its safety catch on and handed it to me. "Never kill a fellow when you don't have to," he said quietly.
He inspected the guard. "He's still alive. Give me seventy credits." And he held out his hand to me.
Numbly, I fished out sixty more credits and added the ten from the floor. Jettero took them from me. Kneeling by the guard, he tapped the cheeks until the fellow started to come around.
Jettero held the seventy credits in front of the monster. "Here's your money. Thank you for the watch." And then it was the cold, not-to-be-disputed voice of a Fleet officer, unmistakable. "Now return to your post and that's the end of it." The guard heard it. He took the money and walked off as quietly as though he had just looked in for a casual call. Indeed, that was the end of it.
"Now let's look at that alleged document," said Heller.
Chapter 4
Jettero Heller took the Grand Council order over to the green glowplate. His back was slightly to me and I couldn't quite see what he was doing. It must have something to do with his watch.
"It seems authentic enough," he said.
I kept a mild smile on my face but I shuddered inside. It did happen to be authentic but only by comparing it to the listings on the planetary file circuit could one really know. The
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