Poets and Piracy by J.S. Morin

Author:J.S. Morin
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-939233-64-6
Publisher: Magical Scrivener Press

Tanny paced her room at the Rucker Resort. It was a tenth-floor suite looking out on the ice-capped mountains to the North, but the glare from the holovid ruined the night view. The fight between Graccio and Martinez had seemed like a good plan to settle her mind. It was just a middle-weight bout; there was no title on the line, just distracting violence to numb her worries. The cool marble sucked feverish heat out through her bare feet, and her pacing kept the floor from warming in any one spot.

A knockdown in the fight momentarily captured her attention as the announcers went wild and the unseen crowd cheered. Graccio would have been Tanny’s bet if she’d been inclined to place one, but he wasn’t long for the fight by the look of things. Just one more bit of evidence that she was off her game. Normally she was the one to pick the winners when she and Mriy went to the fights in person. Mriy was good at sizing up azrin fighters, but Tanny was better at evaluating humans.

He was late. When Tanny had discovered that Janice hadn’t put any restrictions on in-room communications, she had immediately gotten on the local section of the omni and dug until she found someone who could help. It had taken a debit against her future pension from the marines, but she had gotten a hold of enough digital terras to place a discreet order for some illicit chemicals. It wasn’t everything she needed, but it was better than what she had. But that was two hours ago, and it should have taken her contact less than half that time to make the drop-off.

A melodious chime had Tanny rushing for the door. Thoughts of strangling the courier for making her wait were swept away in a floor of relief. She hammered the door release with her thumb. It snapped into the wall with an audible whoosh. As she opened her mouth to make a snide comment, she froze.

Bill was standing there, a rumpled brown paper bag in his hands. It looked out of place against the backdrop of his tailored Argozzi suit. “Good evening, Miss Tania. We had a delivery for you down at the front desk.”

Tanny snatched the bag from Bill’s hands. “Thanks.” She pressed the door control once more, but Bill put a hand in the entrance, triggering the safety override that kept guests from getting slammed in doors.

“Miss Tania, didn’t you learn nothing all them years with guys like me looking after you?” Bill asked. “You looked surprised to see me, which means you didn’t check the security screen to see who it was. Could be it was anyone out here.”

Tanny glanced to the screen by the door. It hadn’t even occurred to her to check. Either she was getting used to the P-tech all over the Mobius, or she was getting sloppy. “I didn’t want it recorded,” she lied. “It’s none of Janice’s business who I see.”

Bill held up his hands at stomach height, just enough not to be intimidating.

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