Murder in Orbit by Bruce Coville

Author:Bruce Coville
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781497668553
Publisher: Open Road Media

Chapter 15

Bootleg Research

“You’re going to like this,” said Dr. Puckett, pushing a button and settling back into a chair.

It was the first time I had actually seen him sit in a chair. But then, it was the first time I had ever seen an easy chair inside an elevator—if, indeed, that’s what the thing we were in actually was. It had the general feel of an elevator. But it was far more luxurious than any elevator I had ever seen—or imagined.

The door closed and we started to move. At least I had been right about that much. It was an elevator.

We had reached the elevator by way of Dr. Puckett’s luxurious living quarters, which were by far the largest I had seen in the colony.

The elevator stopped. The door slid open, and we stepped into a small room. The place had gravity, but it was very low, maybe a tenth of normal. Since that left his functional weight at only 15 kilograms or so, Dr. Puckett was able to bound across the floor like a ballet dancer. When he reached the other side of the room, he pushed a button, then watched, smiling, while part of one wall peeled away to provide a clear view of the stars beyond.

It was breathtaking.

Unfortunately, it was a little too reminiscent of my recent adventure for me to appreciate it properly.

“What is this place?” I asked, fighting down a bubble of panic.

“One of my hobbies,” said Dr. Puckett jovially. “A private observation port I worked into the plans when the colony was still in the dreaming stages.”

I looked at him. “How do you get away with things like that?”

He chuckled. “Power generally comes from a combination of sources, Rusty. To begin with, I have a great deal of money. However, contrary to popular opinion, money is often not enough. Fortunately for me, I also control the patents on several technologies without which these colonies can’t be built. That gives me quite a bit of clout when I want to negotiate for something special. But what really puts me over the edge when I want something like this is the fact that, when I choose to be, I am a genuinely likable person.” He smiled. “You may find that hard to believe. But it’s true. I’m not talking about being a bootlicker; everyone despises that kind of person, no matter how much they might enjoy the flattery. It’s just that underneath all the prickles, I’m a nice guy.”

I thought about it for a moment. If someone had asked me to describe Dr. Puckett, I would have started out by saying he was the crankiest, most obnoxious human being I had ever met.

Yet why was I here now? Because my grandfather had asked Dr. Puckett to help me. At first I had thought Gramps was calling in a favor. But that wasn’t the case. In fact, the reverse was true. My grandfather knew Dr. Puckett because the scientist had helped him out with some stories. And now the man was helping me, too.

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.