He arrived early but when he walked into the dimly lit bar, Victor already sat in the red plastic booth. Nathan got a drink from the bar and walked over. He carried the duffel in his left hand to keep the weight off his bad arm. Tricia said it would be good as new in another week but he wanted to give it as much rest as possible. He dropped the bag and kicked it under the table as he slid into the opposite side of the booth.
“How’s it going?” Victor said.
“All good on my end,” Nathan said. “How about you?”
Victor nodded, his rangy hair falling in front of his eyes. “The sample you gave me tested positive so we’re all good on that.”
“Right. I figured as much.”
Victor took a drink and eyed Nathan in a way he didn’t like. “The folks backing me are a little concerned about where this came from.”
“That’s not important. Are we doing this or not?” Worry washed over Nathan. Not only was he alone but if a Protective Services officer walked in here and caught him with this much Diamond K., he could expect a decade of reform time in an orbital facility. It would be the kind of place where other, more powerful psychological drugs and therapy would be used to correct his mindset. A small chill ran through him.
Victor nodded. “Yeah we’re doing it. We just want to be sure nothing funny is up. Diamond K is difficult to get right now. Apparently somebody hit a lab or something so when a guy who doesn’t normally deal in it pops up with this much, well, questions get asked.”
Nathan took a deep breath and felt his insides run cold as ice water at Victor mentioning the lab on Bad Rock. “I don’t know anything about that. This stuff came from a ship I repossessed, okay? Now either give me my credits or I’m leaving. I don’t have time for games.”
“Did you know the bags are micro-encoded?”
“What?” The ice water in his veins froze into a solid ball in the pit of his stomach.
“The bags. They’re encoded with data on where the product came from and when it was manufactured. See, I didn’t know that either but when I showed your sample to my supplier it really got the attention of some people.”
“The credits,” Nathan said, “right now, or I walk.”
Victor smiled. “I’ve always liked you Nathan. You’ve always been straight with me so imagine my surprise when a bunch of Syndicate guys showed up at my door and started asking me questions about where I got that bag?”
“Damn it.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry, man. I didn’t have any choice in the matter. I had to give you up.”
Nathan’s eyes roamed the bar. “Where are they?”
“They’ll be here in two hours.”
Nathan’s attention snapped back to Victor. “What?”
“I told them the meet is two hours from now. Like I said, you were always straight with me and I’ve always appreciated the credits you’ve thrown my way. Besides, now you’ve got the big guy after you.”
Nathan’s eyes narrowed. “Who’s that?”
Victor’s face faltered a little. Fear crept into the edges. “Atomic Jack is looking for you. That Diamond K you’re peddling came from a shipment impounded by Customs. A couple of his boys got shot up trying to retrieve it while he was out of town so naturally, when the bag you gave me was identified, the whole world fell down on me. I’m sorry but I’m not letting that psycho near me.”
“I understand.” Nathan’s head whirled as his gaze fell to the drink in front of him. The last time he’d met up with Jack the Syndicate had lost twenty-three million credits. That hadn’t been his fault but he had been involved in a roundabout way. The lab in Bad Rock, though, that was all him and God alone knew how many credits that had cost them. Dodger and his guys on Bad Rock had surely given his name up by now.
He looked up from his drink to Victor. “Look, thanks for this but I have to go. I’ve seen Jack in action and I have no intention of letting him get his hands on me.”
“Well, before you go, there is one more thing.”
“What?”
“The Diamond K. I want it. I figure a two-hour head start is worth what’s in that bag.”
Nathan’s jaw fell open. “Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack,” Victor said and his hand came up with a pistol in it. He flashed it at Nathan and moved it under the table. “Just kick the bag over here and walk away. That’s all you have to do.”
“Yeah, that and run with no credits.”
Victor shrugged with the confidence of someone who has finally landed a big score. “Sorry, man. At least you can run. I’m going to have to answer some questions about why you don’t show up at the meeting.”
Nathan considered his options and decided that he didn’t even want the damned drugs anymore. They’d brought him nothing but trouble. Victor ripping him off actually relieved him of a burden. With as much contempt as he could muster he kicked the duffel bag across the floor. Then he stood up. “This isn’t going to end well for either of us.”
Victor nodded. “Probably worse for you than me. You better haul ass, man. The clock is ticking.”
“Yeah. Good luck, Victor.”
“You too.”
Nathan walked out of the bar, convinced a car was going to pull up any second and grab him off the street. He wondered if Victor had run a scam on him, but the story had been good. The details about the lab being blown up were something no one would really know. He stopped, glancing back to the bar and then down the street but nothing appeared out of the ordinary.
Forty-five minutes later everything he could carry was strapped to the back of his float bike and he stood on the cracked sidewalk outside his apartment building. He wouldn’t be coming back. If he wanted to keep breathing he had to stay ahead of Atomic Jack and the Syndicate.
That old fighter pilot’s mantra ran through his head, speed is life. After one last look around he mounted the float bike, gunned the engine and sped into the night.
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About the Author
Michael Prelee is a graduate of Youngstown State University. He resides in Northeast Ohio with his family where he enjoys writing. His first novel, the sci-fi crime story “Milky Way Repo”, was published in 2015 by EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy. His novel, “Murder in the Heart of it All”, a mystery set in Ohio, was published in 2017. You can keep up with him at:
www.michaelprelee.com.
Here’s a look at Book one in The Milky Way Repo Series
Milky Way Repo
by Mike Prelee
Running a starship repo company isn’t easy or cheap. It’s just an endless string of fuel costs, ship maintenance, legal red tape, unhappy debt bailers, shady associates and uncooperative dock officials from one end of the galaxy to the other.
Nathan Teller owns and operates Milky Way Repossessions, a company that tracks down and repossesses starships. And although he’s only managing to break even on his debt, he wouldn’t trade it for anything. (His ex-wife holds that against him. No surprise there.)
When Nathan and his crew successfully steal a freighter from the clutches of a part
icularly tenacious and corrupt dock official, he earns the respect of their high profile employer. Opportunity seems a sure thing.
Nathan should be happy. But when that lucrative job op turns into a ransom delivery for a starship crew being held hostage by a cult, he suddenly finds himself pursued by a self-immolating loan shark hell bent on collecting a gambling debt.
How will it all turn out? You never know. Especially when Nathan and his Starship repo agents are up against a cult and the mob…
Praise for Milky Way Repo
The debut novel of Mike Prelee is a very entertaining Sci-Fi/Noir, with vivid, likable characters and a fast pace. He’s got a great handle on plot and a knack for drawing you into the story. For fans of fast-paced space adventure with a smattering of crime drama mixed in, this should do the trick. I finished it in two sittings. High praise for sure. I would definitely read a sequel (or two).
— marc a. gayan
Milky Way Repo is a nice, light but exciting read. With just enough action and even a bit of romance and comedy, I definitely recommend this read to anyone who enjoys a good sci-fi/blue collar space opera.
I gave Milky Way Repo 5 stars because it provided me with a short, albeit adventurous, fun and light hearted escape for a few hours. It is well written, with well rounded characters and a wonderful storyline.
I have to say that Duncan was my absolute favorite character. Officially starting a Duncan fan club!
— Chaelsie Jenyk
For more on Milky Way Repo visit:
tinyurl.com/edge7003
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The Genius Asylum
by Arlene F. Marks
The truth is out there...
Earth Intelligence and Space Installation Security each think Drew Townsend is working for them. They’re wrong.
Sent undercover to set up a covert intelligence operation on Earth’s remotest space station, Drew Townsend finds himself managing a crew of brilliant mavericks, making friends with the most feared warriors in the galaxy, and feeling more at home in the controlled insanity of Daisy Hub than he ever did on Earth. Then he learns the truth about his mission there, and it’s time to choose. In the coming interplanetary conflict, which side will Daisy Hub be on?’
Like the clues of a cryptic crossword, each book set in the Sic Transit Terra universe contains a puzzle – perhaps a riddle, perhaps a maze or an anagram – and in each case, the answer to the smaller puzzle brings the reader and characters one step closer to solving a much larger and more important one. The Genius Asylum is ‘1 Across’ – it initiates a multi-book story arc that addresses one of the great mysteries of life: Why are we humans the way that we are?
Praise for The Genius Asylum
“The Genius Asylum starts out on Earth as something that looks like a crime story, but it then quickly describes a world of interstellar travel and alien alliances. After the first act concludes, the story’s complexity starts accelerating and doesn’t slow down, and you’ll find yourself drawn into the world, needing to know what comes next. It is an excellently written story that provides the framework for the series that is to come, and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of it.”
— Chris Marks, reviewer
I thoroughly enjoyed this Sci-Fi Brainteaser. Very well written with incredible plot twists and turns. We’ve got a very intelligent double agent as the main character and an intriguing support cast. I was thankful for the planetary history at the beginning as it was helpful in understanding the different organizations mentioned throughout the novel. The Author has a witty way of expressing viewpoints, clearly has put a lot of thought into the storyline and created edge of your seat suspense and mystery! Admittedly, I was confused about the title of the book until about halfway through reading it but it makes perfect sense now. I highly recommend this absolutely unforgettable installment and can’t wait for the next.
— Stephanie Herman
For more on The Genius Asylum visit:
tinyurl.com/edge6013
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Beltrunner
by Sean O’Brien
As an independent beltrunner mining asteroids in the frontier of space, Collier South is a dying breed. Scrounging and cutting corners to work cheap, Collier isn’t a stranger to lean times and make-do repairs; in fact his onboard computer hasn’t had outside maintenance in years and its beginning to show its personal quirks.
When Collier finds an asteroid that shows promise, he thinks he’s bought himself some time. But his claim is stolen out from under him by his vindictive ex-lover and her shiny new corporate ship. Powerless against the omnipotent mining corporations, Collier has always been too stubborn to give-up without a fight. Broke and desperate, Collier has one last chance to land a strike. If he doesn’t come back with ore, he’ll end up destitute and trading his own biologicals for his next meal.
What he discovers in the farthest reaches of the belt has the power to change his life and the fate of the entire system forever. That is, if Collier and his onboard computer can keep his discovery out of corporate hands.
Praise for Beltrunner
This is a fast moving book that leaves you breathless with hair-raising action and unexpected twists. The world creation is well-developed and highly creative. The interactions between Collier and Sancho are particularly entertaining - with Collier coming up with implusive dangerous plans and Sancho trying to talk him out of them. Highly recommended for action space lovers.
— Patricia Humphreys
Scavenging known space makes for a hard life, and surviving outside of the Corporations in the Belt makes it all the harder. It is not surprising that Collier and his unusual companion Sancho hit bottom, like many before them, until they make the discovery of their lives…or deaths, as it may turn out to be.
Beltrunner is a solidly enjoyable science fiction adventure, fast paced, and filled with the kind of characters that make you smile, break your heart, or just make you clench your jaw. I read it in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it. O’Brien builds a universe to get lost in that is as hard, gritty, and unforgiving as deep space itself. It is a well-written romp around space like many others, yet plenty of surprising elements give the story a depth and purpose all its own without the heavy strain of space melodrama. Read it because it is both light fun and thoughtful reading.
— A. Volmer
For more on Beltrunner visit:
tinyurl.com/edge6010
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Europa Journal
by Jack Castle
The history of humanity is about to change forever…
On 5 December 1945, five TBM Avenger bombers embarked on a training mission off the coast of Florida and mysteriously vanish without a trace in the Bermuda Triangle. A PBY search and rescue plane with thirteen crewmen aboard sets out to find the Avengers . . . and never returns.
In 2168, a mysterious five-sided pyramid is discovered on the ocean floor of Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa.
Commander Mac O’Bryant and her team of astronauts are among the first to enter the pyramid’s central chamber. They find the body of a missing World War II pilot, whose hands clutch a journal detailing what happened to him after he and his crew were abducted by aliens and taken to a place with no recognizable stars. As the pyramid walls begin to collapse around Mac and her team, their names mysteriously appear within its pages and they find themselves lost on an alien world.
Stranded with no way home, Mac decides to retrace the pilot’s steps. She never expects to find the man alive. And if the man has yet to die, what does that mean for her and the rest of her crew?
Praise for Europa Journal
This book kept
me guessing! It has an exciting start and keeps that same pace throughout the book. The building of the character personalities keeps a depth to the storyline and makes the reader feel connected to each character. The background information given through Europa Journal gives a great balance between the history, future and everything in-between! I love the mix of fact and fiction to create the story and inspire imagination. I’m excited to see what Castle comes up with next!
— Dianna Temple
With an action-packed opening, page-turning twists,a well-built world, and characters worth caring about, Europa Journal is like a bulldog - it grabbed me and wouldn’t let go! It seamlessly blends breathtaking imagination with the gritty reality of survival, and beautifully blurs what has been with what might be. I love Dr. Who and grew up with Star Trek, but this book has broken the sci-fi mold in a wonderful way!
— Stuntwoman, Elisa Brinton
From the opening space shuttle crash landing to the stunning finish, Europa Journal is a real page turner. Ancient astronauts, the Bermuda triangle, WW II pilots, space shuttle crews – what else could you ask for? Mr. Castle keeps the story at light speed, with plenty of twists and turns before the awesome climax!
— James Wahlman, Firefighter in Alaska
For more on Europa Journal visit:
tinyurl.com/edge6001
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Details
Bad Rock Beat Down
Bad Rock Beat Down (The Milky Way Repo Series Book 2) Page 30
