Star Wars - Love is a Warm Blaster - Unpublished Read Online Free PDF

doing, understand? And then meet me at the Hold-Out in 45 minutes.” With that, he roared away into the shadows.

    Daniera’s gaze remained on Love’s retreating form, then slowly shifted back to the speeder truck. “That’s not all I intend to check on.”

    Daniera slipped into General Cracken’s chair. Technically only the General was allowed to use the computer; however, it was an unwritten rule of Cracken’s that any time one of his favored NRI agents needed, they could use the powerful machine.

    It only took a few minutes for the speedy computer to find the data she wanted. She studied the toximorphic test findings from all of Grieve’s victims, but found nothing out of the ordinary. With a shrug, she copied the information into her own datapad.

    Daniera prepared to leave, but paused and then sat back down. She began an information search on M’Kyas Love. As she expected, the files were password-encrypted. The NRI’s business was keeping secrets, after all. It would be a major policy violation, possibly enough to get her terminated, but she just had to know. Breaking the files then and there would take too long, so… using her datapad link, Daniera also transferred Love’s personnel files into her datapad and put her built-in decryption unit to work on them.

    She slid the small datapad back into her jacket and switched off Cracken’s computer, plunging the room into darkness.

    Love squeezed through the happy hour crowd and leaned against the bar. After some prudent use of elbow, he managed to clear out a little breathing room. Though considering the various odors emanating from the patrons of the Hold-Out (named for the leading cause of death in the joint), that wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

    The bartender was busy scrubbing a glass as if his very life depended on it, and the man had yet to even look in Love’s direction.

    Love cleared his throat with Hutt-Iike intensity but succeeded only in drawing a few looks of annoyance from the drunks seated around him. It seemed that if you weren’t a regular here, you were viewed with as much warmth as womp rat droppings on a freshly buffed hull.

    The bartender’s head remained down and the glass was quickly becoming the cleanest object in the entire cantina.

    There were many, many things in the galaxy that Love did not like. Being ignored was definitely one of them.

    Love slid one hand back over his coat, casually displaying the massive blaster cradled in a replihide shoulder holster. “Who do you have to kill to get a drink around here?”

    Silence.

    Then someone (obviously unconcerned about personal safety) rudely tapped Love on the shoulder.

    Love slowly swiveled his head around.

    “I don’t like you,” hissed a one-horned Devaronian with breath that could drop a bantha at ten meters.

    “Yeah, yeah…” Love returned his attention to the bartender. “Save it for the next farmboy, pal. I’m really thirsty right now.”

    “I have the death mark on…”

    “Four systems? Five? Great. Congratulations. Your maternal unit must be very proud. Now do us both a favor and jump yourself out of my personal space.” Love shook his head in disgust. “Have you even showered since the Old Republic?”

    Love glanced back at the entrance and checked his chronometer. A microsecond later Daniera walked in, right on time, but she didn’t look happy.

    Her lips parted and Love had the sudden image of turbolaser batteries charging up. He was bracing himself for the worst when Daniera’s mouth abruptly shut and a well-manicured hand slid into her jacket.

    Love’s trusty gut told him he was about to be shot. “Dani—”

    Right Idea. Wrong direction.

    A hold-out blaster jabbed intrusively at the back of Love’s head. The Devaronian’s fetid breath washed over him.

    Love smiled at Daniera as if nothing was wrong. “About time you got here. I was beginning to think you weren’t gonna show.”

    Daniera’s eyes widened in surprise. She