Fool's Gold: Carson Lyle's War - Part One Read Online Free PDF Page A

helping.
    Shorty, however, was a different story. It wasn't like him to be this desperate about…anything. Why was this job so damn important? When word of this little 'chat' gets out, none of the other haulers, that were worth a damn, would ever help him out again aside from being stranded in space. Even then, it wasn't unlikely whoever was towing him back would cut the tow lines loose a bit too close to the upper atmosphere. Like him or not, he'd been part of a brotherhood that looked out for its own.
    You just threw everything away. Why?
    If they were in a smaller town, Lyle might have even finished the job to preclude the possibility of Shorty trying to exact some kind of revenge. But that wouldn't help. Things being as they were, the trio might not even report getting their asses kicked. Surveillance camera data would clearly show these three guys surrounding one and taking him into the alley. It wouldn't take much more than that to figure what really happened, even for the local flatfoots.
    No, Lyle felt pretty good about how it went. He checked the time again. He'd be late for the shuttle and late boosting from the freight port, but he'd still make the bonus.
    He walked over, picked up Betty's bag and looked inside. The containers were still closed and everything looked to be intact. Then he looked around for his sidearm on the ground. Where was it?
    Out of the corner of his eye, he saw some movement near the pile of bodies. He whirled around with his club, at the ready, to find the barrel of his own gun staring him in the face.
    "Looking for this?"
    "Yeah, kinda."
    The man was still wincing in pain but managed a smile.
    "Now whatcha gonna do?" he said, stepping closer.
    Lyle noticed the gun was unsteady in the man's hand. He looked again, more closely, and a smile crept onto one side of his mouth. It was either not his normal gun hand or he'd never fired one before.
    "D-Drop the stick...drop it now."
    "Why don't you give me the gun instead?" Lyle took a step closer.
    "Stop right there!"
    "You know you can't get away with firing a gun in this part of town."
    "You broke my hand! You knocked Billy out cold! And him," he said, waving his broken hand in Shorty's direction. "...he's probably dead!"
    "Then shoot me, if you think it'll make things right. Let me help." He took another step forward and pressed his forehead onto the barrel of the gun. "There, you can't miss...if you think you can get away with it."
    The man's eyes went wide. It could have been shock setting in from the injury to his hand or it could have been fear. Lyle couldn't tell for sure.
    "I-I'll do it!"
    "Do it. Right here. Right between the eyes!"
    "Back up!"
    Lyle held his arms out wide, the club still in his right hand.
    "What are you waiting for? Someone to pay you to do it? If you want in the game, you better be ready to make a play."
    The man's knuckles went white as he clenched the gun tighter.
    "I'll even pay you to do it." Lyle slowly reached into his left pants pocket and pulled out a wad of credits, then held it out to him. "Is this enough? Please put me out of my misery. My low opinion of the species makes it painful for me to wake up in the morning. Take the money and BLAM!"
    The man looked at Lyle's outstretched hand. He'd have to grab it with his hurt hand, which is what Lyle was counting on.
    "Go on. Take it."
    He hesitated, then reached out with his hurt hand. The pain of trying to open his hand was deep and hard. He grunted with effort.
    Lyle let go of the bills. Half of the wad missed his hand and dropped to the ground.
    The man looked up, angry. "You asshole!"
    Lyle leaned into the barrel again, closed his eyes and smiled.
    The man squeezed the trigger and winced expected the loud discharge and mess of a bolt through a skull.
    But nothing happened.
    What the man saw next equated to a single frame of video of Lyle's club crashing down on the top of his skull...then the video went black.
    The man dropped immediately. His limp body