Same as the Old Boss by J.S. Morin

Author:J.S. Morin [Morin, J.S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781643558110
Publisher: Magical Scrivener Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chuck had no business with a blaster in his hand. Willie flew. Bernadette was on her datagoggles doing who-the-hell-knew-what. That left Chuck sweating despite top-notch air cooling from the hover’s blowers.

“You don’t need to keep doing that,” Willie pointed out, making eye contact via the rear mirror. “Holster’s fine.”

Until that moment, Chuck hadn’t realized that he was squirming to get comfortable with the unfamiliar bulge affecting the fit of his suit. “Sorry. Just can’t get used to it. I might be pushing fifty years old without ever wearing one.”

“Might be?” Willie echoed. “How’s that?”

“My parents were always cagey about my birthday. Fake IDs. One scam or another. Gotta be under three to eat free at a Stuffer’s Buffet. Gotta be over twelve to get into Crash-N-Smash Arcade without an adult. Got entered into a bunch of contests I should have been too old for. Probably only really thirteen or fourteen when I got my pilot’s license. Never took the classes. You can see where maybe I don’t a hundred percent know my age.”

“According to the Galactic Records Bureau, you’re forty-eight.”

“Damn.”

“Too old to be dancing in the seats,” Willie commented.

“Where are we even going? I feel like we could be halfway to New Panama City by now.”

“Nowhere,” Bernadette explained. “We’re staying on the move. This is a clean ride. Theo doesn’t have us on scanners. I’m keeping my data traffic masked better than anyone on their end can track. We’re ghosts waiting for instructions or an ‘all clear.’”

“That’s it? Waiting? Waiting for what to happen?”

Bernadette lifted her goggles. Dark, hooded eyes fixed on him. “Look, unless something weird and unexpected shakes out, only Don or Theo survives this coup attempt. In a nutshell, we’re waiting until one or the other is dead.”

“Don don’t make it, we’s fucked and a half,” Willie clarified.

“So we just”—Chuck made circles with his finger—“fly around until then?”

“Well, we got a couple places we can stop off quick for food and washrooms,” Willie replied with a shrug. “Other than that? Yeah.”

Chuck ran his fingers through his hair. How could they be so calm? He was going out of his mind here with inaction, ignorance, and insignificance.

“Can I at least request a stop?”

Willie jutted his jaw and gave his answer a few seconds thought. “Within reason. Maybe.”

“My wife’s apartment. She needs to know it’s not safe on Mars. Cat’s out of the bag. It’s open warfare now, right?”

“It ain’t cats you gotta worry about getting bagged.”

This was going to take some finagling. “Hear me out. You’re babysitting me because I’m Don’s leverage on Mort, right?”

“Something like that,” Bernadette replied. “You’re not totally useless, but mostly that’s why we’re on you.”

“Well, Mort would do anything to keep my kids safe. Becky too, I imagine. If Theo got a hold of them…”

“They’re not in play,” Bernadette assured him. “We’ve insulated you from them to keep them safe. Theo doesn’t even know you’re alive.”

“Whoever tipped Theo off might have had more than just an inkling of what was coming. If we had a mole, anything might be compromised.

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