Alexander Outland: Space Pirate Read Online Free PDF

more than just us are in trouble.”

CHAPTER 9
    W e found Randolph and the Governor at one of the nicer spaceport hotels, in the bar, at a table for four. This would normally have been somewhere we’d have entered only if we were meeting someone for a job. It was designed along the overstuffed old money decorative theme, a place determined to make anyone who didn’t own half of their own planet feel like the hired help.
    “You two have any idea how much this place costs?”
    “Not as much as it used to, Alexander.” The Governor handed me a menu. “We took rooms here as well. A suite. We felt you’d want us to remain together.”
    “True enough.” I scanned the menu. Prices were down a good sixty percent from the last time we’d been through. Things were as bad as Lionside had insinuated. Thank whichever god Herion currently believed in—we shouldn’t have to sell our internal organs in order to square our tab. “How’d you know to take rooms?”
    Randolph sighed and pointed to the small placard on the table. “We can read.”
    The placard mentioned the new “no sleeping on your ship” laws. It also mentioned a few others. “Interesting. Did you see that no one’s allowed to stay in any one transient housing unit for more
than fourteen days?”
    “Maybe it’s so they can spread the wealth.” Slinkie looked around.
    “Then again, what wealth? It’s pretty uncrowded in here.”
    “According to the bartender, we’re the first ship from outside the solar system to make it here in months.” Randolph sounded just this side of freaked out. “Nap, I have no idea how we’re going to leave.”
    “Leaving, no issues. Living? That’s the issue.”
    Slinkie fidgeted with her necklace. “Okay, room’s not bugged. But I still think we want to talk about this somewhere more private.”
    I looked around. In addition to us and the bartender, there were two waitresses. I checked them out. Nope, not worth letting Slinkie out of my sight. Well, maybe both of them at the same time could be worth the risk. But not worth it separately. I didn’t want Lionside getting a chance to make time with her. I figured I might have to tie her down to keep him from getting that chance. I thought about tying Slinkie down and my mind wandered off to its happy place.
    “Nap!” Slinkie hit my arm, hard.
    “Ow! What?”
    “I’ve been talking to you for five minutes. Did you hear a word I said?”
    Sure, I’d heard words. In my mind. They’d all involved me not stopping what I was doing and doing it to her some more, along with other words like longer, harder, faster, and sexual god. What I hadn’t heard was anything Slinkie had said aloud, right here at the table.
    “Ah, refresh my memory.”
    She rolled her eyes. “Why do I bother? I think I need to spend time with Bryant and see what he knows that he didn’t tell us in that formal setting.”
    I didn’t like where this was headed. “I don’t agree.”
    “Why not? Do you have a better idea?”
    I didn’t, but saw no reason to say so aloud. “Yes.” The others
looked at me expectantly. Suggesting Slinkie and I spend the next two weeks in bed together and then worry about leaving was probably not going to go over well. I looked at Randolph. “What does Audrey think?”
    Randolph sat up straight and gave me a shocked look. “You… you really want to know?”
    “Yes.” I was all over the idea of stalling.
    Randolph looked like he was going to cry. “Nap, I can’t tell you how much that means to me, and to Audrey.” He stood up. “I’ll be right back!” He ran, literally ran, out of the bar.
    I looked at Slinkie and the Governor. “What did I miss? I mean, I must have missed something, because I’ve never seen Randolph that happy about anything.”
    Slinkie shook her head. “I have no idea.”
    The Governor coughed, hemmed and hawed. He liked to be sure everyone was paying attention. “Randolph has been working on… something special.”
    “For