Adventure Capital by J.S. Morin

Author:J.S. Morin
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-939233-97-4
Publisher: Magical Scrivener Press

The Hatchet Job blazed through the astral. Running at a depth of just 4 standard units, the conventional thrusters were working overdrive to get them to the meet-up on time. Watching their inchworm progress on the sector map wasn’t helping.

From the copilot’s seat, July Monroe smirked. “This is the first time I’ve seen you uptight. It’s not like Ramsey’s one for punctuality.”

“Ain’t just Ramsey,” Hiroshi Samuelson replied. “We’re putting the squadron back together—some of it, at least. Ramsey’s the least of my problems.”

“But isn’t he—?”

“No! He’s not. Listen, July. Ramsey may have set himself up as head of a new syndicate, but he’s walking a tightrope and doesn’t even know it. He had a crew of six and was barely in charge of them. Now he’s claiming he’s got a hundred and mostly ex-navy. Rest of the half-devils think I’m a liability, but Ramsey’s going to need me if he wants to keep this little empire of his from falling apart.”

Stretching, July eased herself to her feet and draped her arms around Hiroshi. “Aren’t you being a little melodramatic? Hmm?”

Hiroshi untangled himself. “Listen to me. If that syndicate of Ramsey’s works out, we can be at the peak of a very tall food pyramid. But this only works if those floor-moppers and datapad commandos of his are afraid of me. Ramsey’ll let everyone walk all over him. That worked with the half-devils because he looked out for us with the brass. Now? Dust me if I know what these jungle refugees expect out of him.”

July smirked at him and tossed her purple hair. “So you’re going to be the voice of reason and stability.”

Hiroshi snorted. “You can blow that out the waste port. Ramsey needs a bayonet squad.”

“Huh?”

“Back about a thousand years ago, you had armies packed together like city-tram passengers, shooting each other with lead bullets. Only an idiot would stand there to get shot, but the blasters in those days were as accurate as a drunken piss. The guys behind them had blades on their blaster rifles called bayonets. The enemy soldiers might shoot them if they stayed and fought. The guys behind them would skewer them for sure though if they didn’t.”

July patted him on the shoulder. “This isn’t ancient Earth, and these aren’t savages with lead-thrower rifles.”

Hiroshi caught her by the wrist. “For this business to work, Ramsey needs three things. He needs people who fear and respect him—those are our marks. He needs people who are completely loyal—that’s his squad mates and his starship crew. And most of all, he needs all his underlings, vassals, and agents to fear, respect, and be loyal. Right now, I don’t think he’s got enough in that middle group to keep the other two in line.”

“So you’re going to be the voice of the devil, reminding Ramsey’s lackeys that it’s better to be with him than against him.”

With a smile fit for a shark, Hiroshi nodded. “Now you’re getting it. And if we don’t make our meet-up on time,

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