Hammer's Slammers 01 - Cross the Stars by Drake David

Author:Drake, David [Drake, David]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science Fiction
ISBN: 9780671578213
Publisher: Baen Books
Published: 1999-07-21T04:00:00+00:00

"Touch her," said Slade to the crewman who reached for Delores' lacy blouse, "and we'll lift short one man more." The tanker did not bother to draw the pistol from his wallet.

"Well, I don't see—" the crewman began as he snatched his hand away.

The phone on the stanchion purred its summons.

The Mayor jumped as her concentration on other things broke. Before she could recover, Slade had stepped to the instrument and switched it live. "Sperm Bank," he said." Slade speaking." The tall woman strapped to the post was a warmth and odor.

"Slade, they want me to tell you that everybody's back at the ship," said Levine. "Except me, they wouldn't string a line, so I'm across the creek at this curst phone."

"Well, is it true?" the tanker demanded. "Are all the landmen back aboard?" Slade had great experience in projecting a facade of tank-like solidity. As with tanks, his interior was complex and had a way of displaying frustration at awkward times.

"Yes, yes," said Levine, "but—" and the words tumbled out through the background hiss—" Slade, there's eleven of them dead, corpses!"

"Do you know a way to bring the dead back to life, Captain Levine?" the tanker asked. He directed a bitter grimace at Dclores Rodrigues. The captive woman had shrunk back when the phone spoke of the deaths her plan had caused.

"Of course not!" snapped Levine. "What do you mean?

"I don't know a way either," Slade replied, "so let's not worry about that. Get back aboard, and be ready to Transit the instant the hatch closes behind me." The tanker waited a moment longer, but the phone popped with the sound of Levine switching off without further comment.

"Time to leave, boys," Slade said to the men and the woman who had stared at him throughout the conversation. "Let's see what kind of transport they've got for us." He waved the crewmen down the corridor ahead of him.

As the men obeyed, Slade reached down and poised his knife over the strap holding Delores to the stanchion.

"Don't run," he said to the woman softly. "It'll be your life if you do, and I'd sooner avoid that."

He cut across the band of tape and stood, looping his left arm through Delores' as if they accompanied one another formally. She stared down at the tanker's left hand and his thumb on the switch.

Slade was smiling as she met his eyes. Delores raised her chin proudly. "Let's go, then, Mister Slade," she said.

The building's interior had been so isolated that the drizzle outdoors was a surprise to Slade. The guards whose hooded ponchos covered their guns were no surprise at all. The crewmen were already being loaded on a small bus like the one Slade had driven the night before.

Deputy Brandt stared at the tanker. Only her eyes moved in a face that shone white on one side, swollen red on the other.

"Wait," Slade said as his consort started to walk toward the bus. He shut the door of the Sperm Bank with a metallic crash.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.