Leslie cocked her head toward him slightly, eyes still on Thad as she spoke. “Really, Dickles? What did you bet specifically?”
Dickles blushed and muttered something.
“I have a blaster, Dickles. And I couldn’t hear you. People who mutter like a little bitch piss me off,” Leslie said.
“It’s her pet peeve,” Chelsie added as she stepped nearer to Thad.
Dickles swallowed hard. “I, uh, bet you would flash the camera with your…”
Leslie smiled and shook her head, clearly disappointed. “Men. Always got one thing on their mind.”
“I’m okay with that,” Chelsie said, taking another step toward Thad. “For the record, you probably would have won. If that makes you feel better.”
“It doesn’t. Now get out of here. I’m as mad as you are, but I think you are making a mistake,” Dickles said.
Thad measured the distance between him, Chelsie, and Leslie. He moved so that only Chelsie would have a direct shot, essentially putting her between him and Leslie. It also had the advantage of minimizing the amount of bystanders in the background of the shot he was going to have to take.
“What do you think is happening here, Dickles?” Leslie asked.
Thad heard the question but could see exactly what was happening on the other side of Chelsie, who was trying to distract him with her chest. The jumpsuit covered skin but not curves.
“I don’t know, but you look ready to kill someone. I’ve…I’ve seen that look before, unfortunately. Married life….”
Chelsie spoke, moving her mouth but not making much sound. “You’ve got to die. I’ll explain later.”
“What?” Thad asked.
Chelsie drew a blaster from under her coat and fired. Thad screamed inside, furious at how slow his own hand moved in comparison.
He flew backward, landing at the end of the bar as the world flared white and his life flashed through his imagination in reverse order.
* * *
Soft hands dragged Thad behind the bar. “You killed the sheriff!” the young Pierre screamed.
Maximus snorted and went back to sleep.
Thad couldn’t think through the pain. The only thing that registered was his surprise. The kid never raised his voice. His normal appearance was emotionally dead. What could possibly make him hysterical?
“The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes. Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once!” the young Pierre wailed as he used the back of his hand to cover his eyes. Crouching near Thad, he blocked patrons from coming behind the bar where Thad’s body lie.
Explosions from Centauri Prime thundered in Thad’s head each time his heart beat. He thought of Transport Canyon and the skies of Ungwilook…of caves and mystery ships…of Shaunte.
“They’re getting away!” Dixie yelled. “After them!”
The saloon emptied.
“I’ve always wanted to chase those two!” yelled the leader of the drunken mob.
Dixie shoved the young Pierre aside. “Shakespeare? Really?”
The young Pierre shrugged. “I thought no one in this dump would recognize the lyrical prose of the Bard.”
P. C. Dickles and the old Pierre stood next to Dixie. “What the hell just happened?”
“He’s dead!” Dixie wailed. “Oh lord, my girls killed him. How could I have trusted them! Why! Whyyyyyyy!” She sobbed.
The young Pierre spoke into the silent moment after her tirade. “You think that is more convincing than Shakespeare?”
“Can someone…mmrh….rrmmrererr-uhhhhh,” Thad said before Dixie covered his mouth. Pain flared through his body and his head was ready to explode.
Dixie turned her hardest stare on P. C. Dickles. “If you know what’s good for you, go get a medic.”
“There are no medics.”
“Go look for one. Try the spaceport,” Dixie said.
“That will take hours to get through their security and they won’t send anyone from their staff into Darklanding. They treat this place like it needs to be quarantined. And I don’t know if they have a medical facility.”
“All spaceports have an emergency station,” Old Pierre said, smoothing his mustache as he studied Dixie. “Get the hell out of here. Do whatever you want. Just go. Thaddeus Fry has been murdered. Don’t tell anyone.” He turned. “You too, Pierre.”
The young Pierre shrugged and went into the backroom where his painting easel was hidden.
P. C. Dickles ran across the saloon floor, grabbed a bottle of whisky, and rushed out the door.
Thad faded in and out of consciousness. He felt like he was lying in an ocean of his own blood, then realized it was sloppy behind the bar with spilled beer and liquor.
“Not happy about this mess Pierre made during his pathetic acting debut,” Pierre the proprietor said.
“Forget about it,” Dixie said. “This is what we need to do...”
* * *
Dixie spoke to her girls in low tones, then sent them into the streets to broadcast the news of Thad’s death. They were better actors than the young Pierre by about a thousand orders of magnitude.
Thad winced as Mast grabbed him under his arms and lifted. Dixie grabbed his feet. She looked disheveled and stressed to her limit.
“These stairs are muchly steep. Muchly so,” Mast said.
“I thought Ungloks were stronger than they looked,” Dixie said.
“Not this Unglok, perhaps. Though I have improved under the tutelage of Thaddeus Fry. He will be missed,” Mast said. “Is that not the correct thing to say when a greatly good man has encountered an unfortunate demise?”
“Just carry him,” Dixie replied.
Pierre went to the end of the hall and opened the door to the penthouse suite. Leslie and Chelsie waited inside.
“Thanks, Dixie,” Leslie said.
Shaunte strode in through the management access door. “What the hell is going on? I was in my spa cubicle when an alert shut it down. That isn’t supposed to happen.”
Sledge walked in through the entertainer’s door with a man blinded by a black hood. The man shuffled as though his feet and hands were zip-tied.
Thaddeus allowed Mast to sit him upright in a chair. “You people are starting to annoy me.”
Mast perked up. “Is this the right moment to call everyone sons-of-bitches?”
“Yes, Mast. It is.”
“You sons-of-bitches will now muchly explain what by the Mother of OnbeHYtook-Rii is going on!” Mast said.
Sledge yanked the hood from Raymond D. LeClerc’s head. There seemed to be some swelling to his face. “He resisted. Not as strong or quick as he thinks he is. Or should I say…athletes play games, I go to war.”
Thad took several deep breaths, considered standing, then disregarded the idea. He was putting it together now and more than a bit pissed no one had trusted him to be part of the charade.
“I never paid anyone to kill the Sheriff!” LeClerc said as he started sobbing, probably not for the first time.
“We’ll get to that, but first, I think the sheriff needs to ask you some questions about Tia and what you did to her,” Sledge said.
Thad shook his head, exhausted and suffering beyond anything he could imagine. He wasn’t sure what the power setting had been on Chelsie’s blaster, but he felt like she’d actually killed him.
“Sorry,” he said. “Just give me a moment.”
The room was so quiet he could hear the floorboards creak as the climate control worked. Shaunte stood opposite him, arms folded defensively. She appeared ready to comfort him or curse him. Dixie stared at the two assassins, clearly unhappy they had been hiding this part of their past lives from her. Mast flipped pages of his digital dictionary in preparation for the forensic interview of LeClerc.
“Forget about it, Mast. I’m far enough into my criminal justice courses to know this type of interview will never hold up in court. We will rely on other evidence. Dixie and her g
irls can help or hinder us on that front, but I’m tired of trying to force them to press charges and testify,” Thad said. “What I want to know is why LeClerc hired assassins to kill me when he could have just run me into the side of a canyon.”
Sledge pushed LeClerc into a sitting position on the floor near the wall. “He says he didn’t. SagCon sent him here for the race, but probably for a lot more than just winning and partying. Someone on the SagCon board predicted, rightly it turns out, that you and the LAR douchebag wouldn’t get along. They sent me to hire Leslie and Chelsie before the races even started. I tried to stall, but you made such a spectacle of confronting LeClerc, it forced my hand.”
Thad stared at Shaunte. Stone-faced with barely contained fury, she burned Sledge with her gaze.
“What did you know about this, Shaunte?” Thad asked.
She shook her head, slowly at first, then with increasing conviction. “Nothing. This is the first I’ve heard of such a plot. I don’t know why a SagCon SI would fabricate such a ridiculous story, but I intend to find out.”
LeClerc, still restrained by zip-ties, attempted to wipe tears from his eyes and snot from his nose with his shoulder. “Sledge told you I didn’t order the assassination. Why can’t you let me go?”
Thad said nothing.
“You said you can’t prosecute me for raping those girls,” LeClerc said.
Thad ignored him.
“It was just one time!” LeClerc blurted. “The rest were consensual encounters, just like my lawyer recommended.”
Leslie and Chelsie jumped to their feet, crossing the room with blasters in their hands.
“Okay! I did it. I can’t help myself. I tied them up and threatened them. Then…it got physical. I couldn’t stop myself. They’re just whores. Who cares if they live or die?” LeClerc shouted and thrashed against his restraints.
Leslie and Chelsie aimed their blasters.
“Just kill me!”
Dixie cleared her throat, focusing the camera as she moved closer. “Terrible lighting in here, LeClerc. Can you clarify what you’re talking about for your fans back home?”
LeClerc lunged forward, slipping his cuffs and striking Dixie in the face.
Sledge jumped at the LAR pilot.
Thaddeus was already there. He chopped down on LeClerc’s arm to keep it from hitting Dixie a second time. Without hesitation, he drove his other fist into the man’s gut, folding him at the waist. He drove his knee up into LeClerc’s perfect teeth, sending three of them flying across the room.
“I should have killed you myself, Fry. I should have known these amateurs couldn’t assassinate you when they failed to take me out during the race. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself,” LeClerc stammered through his blood-filled mouth.
Sledge popped his knuckles and moved forward to attack.
Thad held up one hand to the massive SI. “Hold on, Sledge. I’ve got this. Raymond LeClerc, you are under arrest.”
“For what? Those girls will testify against you before they say a word about what I did. I could have killed one of them and they’d say I was innocent,” LeClerc said.
Thad waited for him to shut his mouth.
“Well? What do you think you can prove?” LeClerc spat. Blood sprayed from his ruined lips.
“Conspiracy to commit murder, if Sledge, Leslie, and Chelsie will testify,” Thad said.
“They wouldn’t dare,” LeClerc said.
“You want to bet money on that?” Leslie said.
LeClerc glared at Sledge.
The big man shrugged. “I am due for a career change. I’ll testify to everything I know, including the instructions I was given to not tell the Company Man anything.”
Thad pushed LeClerc toward Mast. “Deputy Jotham, lock this asshole up in the facility Cornelius Vandersun bought us after his visit. We’ll hold him until we can arrange a speedy trial.”
The End of Episode 7.
Stay tuned, a Darklanding Episode will be published every 18 days. Join our newsletter lists to be the first to know when each new episode drops.
Thank you for reading this story. If you liked it, please leave a review.
Social Media for Scott Moon
Amazon – www.amazon.com/Scott-Moon/e/B0082VIWL8
Facebook – www.facebook.com/scottmoonwriter
My web page – www.scottmoonwriter.com/
Scott’s Email – [email protected]
Social Media for Craig Martelle
Amazon – www.amazon.com/author/craigmartelle
Facebook – www.facebook.com/authorcraigmartelle
My web page – www.craigmartelle.com
Craig’s Email – mailto:[email protected]?subject=Darklanding
Other Books by Scott Moon
Darklanding with Craig Martelle
Episode 1: Assignment Darklanding
Episode 2: Ike Shot the Sheriff
Episode 3: Outlaws
Episode 4: Death of an Unglok
Episode 5: Grandfather
Episode 6: SAGCON
Episode 7: Race to the Finish
Episode 8: TBD
Episode 9: TBD
Episode 10: TBD
Episode 11 TBD
Episode 12: TBD
The Chronicles of Kin Roland
Book 1 – Enemy of Man (also available on audiobook) Book 2 – Son of Orlan (also available on audiobook)
Book 3 – Weapons of Earth (also available on audiobook)
SMC Marauders
Book 1 – Bayonet Dawn
Book 2 – Burning Sun
Grendel Uprising
Episode 1: Proof of Death
Episode 2: Blood Royal
Episode 3: Heavy Weapons
Son of a Dragonslayer
Book 1 – Dragon Badge (also available on audiobook)
Book 2 – Dragon Attack (also available on audiobook)
Book 3 – Dragon Land
Other Books by Craig Martelle
The Terry Henry Walton Chronicles, a Kurtherian Gambit Series, co-written with Michael Anderle
World’s Worst Day Ever (a short prequel of sorts)
Book 1 – Nomad Found (also available on audiobook)
Book 2 – Nomad Redeemed (also available on audiobook)
Book 3 - Nomad Unleashed (also available on audiobook)
Book 4 - Nomad Supreme (also available on audiobook)
Book 5 – Nomad’s Fury (also available on audiobook)
Book 6 – Nomad’s Justice (also available on audiobook)
Book 7 – Nomad Avenged (also available on audiobook)
Book 8 – Nomad Mortis (also available on audiobook)
Book 9 – Nomad’s Force (also available on audiobook)
Book 10 – Nomad’s Galaxy (also available on audiobook)
Nomad’s Journal – A Terry Henry Walton Short Story Collection
The Bad Company (with Michael Anderle)
Book 0 – Gateway to the Universe (with Justin Sloan)
Book 1 – The Bad Company
Book 2 – Blockade
Book 3 – The Price of Freedom
Books 4 – Liberation (Coming in April 2018)
More books coming in this series.
Free Trader Series
Book 1 – The Free Trader of Warren Deep
Book 2 – The Free Trader of Planet Vii
Book 3 – Adventures on RV Traveler
Book 4 – Battle for the Amazon
Book 5 – Free the North!
Book 6 – Free Trader on the High Seas
Book 7 – Southern Discontent
Book 8 – The Great ‘Cat Rebellion (2018)
Book 9 – Return to the Traveler (2018)
Outpost of the Ancients – a Free Trader short story published in the Apocalyptic Space Collection, Volume 1
Cygnus Space Opera – set in the Free Trader Universe
Book 1 – Cygnus Rising
Book 2 – Cygnus Expanding
&n
bsp; Book 3 – Cygnus Arrives
Cygnus Omnibus – Books 1 to 3 under one cover and also as an audiobook
Darklanding with Scott Moon
See above
Become a Successful Indie Author –non-fiction
End Times Alaska Series, a Winlock Press publication
Book 1: Endure (also available on audiobook)
Book 2: Run (also available on audiobook)
Book 3: Return (also available on audiobook)
Book 4: Fury (also available on audiobook)
Rick Banik Thrillers
People Raged and the Sky Was on Fire (also available on audiobook)
Paranoid in Paradise – a short story within the Close to Bones Anthology
Short Stories (and where you can find them)
Just One More Fight (published as a novella standalone)
Wisdom’s Journey (published as a novella standalone)
Fear Peace (published as a short story standalone)
The Trenches of Centauri Prime (in Galactic Frontiers, edited by Charles Ekeke)
The Outcast (Through the Never Anthology, nominated for consideration for a Nebula Award)
Defense of the Deep Space Denali (in The Expanding Universe Vol 2)
A Language Barrier (in The Expanding Universe Vol 3)
The Misadventures of Jacob Wild McKilljoy (with Michael-Scott Earle) (Always FREE)
Box Sets & Anthologies
Trader, Cygnus, & People Raged – Martelle Starter Library
Close to the Bones, a Thriller Anthology (edited by Martha Carr)
The Expanding Universe, Volume 1 (edited by Craig Martelle)
The Expanding Universe, Volume 2 (edited by Craig Martelle)
The Expanding Universe, Volume 3 (edited by Craig Martelle) (Dec 2017)
Earth Prime Anthology, Volume 1 (Stephen Lee & James M. Ward)
Apocalyptic Space Short Story Collection (Stephen Lee & James M. Ward)
Lunar Resorts Anthology, Volume 2 (Stephen Lee & James M. Ward)
Metamorphosis Alpha – Chronicles from the Warden Vol 1 (with James M. Ward, edited by Craig Martelle)
Race to the Finish Page 10
