by Frank Carey
"Welcome to my humble warehouse, Lady Farnsworth. I see you brought friends," Than said while waving in the direction of Lita's guards.
"These two?" she said with a glance to each side. "They're here to stop me if I get angry. Now, where is my generator?"
Than snapped his fingers. A large Goranthi male appeared carrying a military-style case. He brought it over while someone else dragged a table over. Placing the case on the table, the Goranthi snapped open the latches before moving off into the shadows. Than reached over the box and raised the lid. Inside was a transparent crystalline box containing a shard of blue crystal producing a pulsing blue light. "Money?" He asked while tipping the box forward, so she could see it.
She reached into a pocket and withdrew a scanner. Activating the device, she pointed at the object in the box, then smiled. "Perfect." She snapped her finger and a third, strangely armored person walked out of the shadows carrying a crate resembling a treasure chest a pirate would be proud to own. He took it to the table and set it down before returning to the shadows. Lita opened the crate to reveal ingots of metal. "This is pure gold-adamantine alloy, one-hundred-kilograms as requested."
Than withdrew his scanner, activated it, then passed it over the ingots. A smile formed on his face as he read the scan results. It faded when he felt the sharp point of a blaster emitter as it was pressed against his skull. He turned and saw a woman with the lower body of a snake grinning at him. She was wearing a tight-leather bodice detailed with brass buttons and a wide-brimmed leather fedora with a pair of aviator goggles perched above the rim. He turned his head and saw a large robot, a person who personified the hue of black, and something resembling a salamander standing over the bodies of the two guards plus the four he had hidden in the shadows. Slowly, to not startle the woman holding the blaster, he turned his gaze to Ms. Farnsworth. She stood there, in handcuffs, while a beautiful woman held her. Standing next to them was a biped lioness and something resembling a Minotaur standing over some half-dozen-armored individuals which were broken into pieces, revealing their mechanical natures. Finally, his gaze stopped at a tall, white-haired man with translucent skin wearing leather pants, a long-coat and top hat.
"Who the hell are you people?" Than demanded.
The tall man tipped his hat. "We are the Alliance of Eight..." The sound of doors being kicked open interrupted him. "And we will be taking Ms. Farnsworth and the power generator with us." He nodded toward the Minotaur. The creature picked the crate up as if it were light as a feather.
"Do you know who I am?" Than demanded.
The tall man nodded. "Be glad that I don't have time to dole out the justice you sorely deserve." He tapped the earcomm in his right ear. "Winona, pickup on the 15th floor, south wall."
Moments later, a bright light appeared in the windows just before several blew inward. With a tip of his hat, the tall man, his people, and Ms. Farnsworth were gone just as heavily armed members of the Office of Security arrived and put Than under arrest.
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About Frank Carey
Frank Carey has been formally writing and publishing works of science fiction since late 2013. Over the years prior, he had dabbled in various forms of writing including haiku poetry, but that all changed when he and his wife, Jo, decided to try their hand at writing and self-publishing. All his work, to date, has been in the science fiction genre.
Most of his stories take place about two centuries in the future when Earth joins the League of Planetary Systems. Many of his protagonists are strong females. He is an inveterate pantser who believes the story will go where the story wants to go.
Frank’s background includes degrees in physics and extensive work as a scientific programmer and technologist.
Frank and his wife produce a podcast—Xtreme Self-Publishing—which details their self-publishing efforts.
Frank can be reached via e-mail at elvenindustriespress@gmail.
