The Orion Deception by Tom Bielawski Read Free Book Online

gun against the man's skull.
    "Soldier of the Crescent Moon?" he asked with a snarl.
    "What is it to you?" sneered the man in return.
    "Only the lives of some good US Marines I served with in my youth."
    "Your country's war on the sovereign State of Nuristan caused those losses, not me."
    "You don't know how tempted I am to squeeze this trigger," whispered Heck.
    "So the great Heck Thomas  can  give in to his anger," said the pilot. "Go ahead. I'm sure God will forgive you."
    Heck couldn't understand why, but the man's words hit home. He was right. While Heck was certainly not a Muslim, as he thought this man must be, he had been a Christian and now felt ashamed that a Muslim terrorist was putting him in his place. What was happening to him? Drinking, self-pity, uncontrollable anger? That was not like the typically in-control lawman. He took a deep breath and pulled the weapon back from the man's head. Aside from helping to lessen his growing anger, holding a gun to a person's head was certainly not an effective way to control someone, especially if that person had any tactical training.
    "Do as I say and we will get along fine," cautioned the ex-lawman. The pilot nodded. He was a young man, far younger than Heck's own forty-five years, and couldn't have been involved in the Nuristan insurrection of twenty years before.
    "Activate the nav computer," instructed Heck. When the man hesitated he said, "Since you seem to know who I am, you must also know that I am one of the best pilots in the System. I can kill you and fly this craft manually, without nav systems or guidance controls. So please, do as I ask."
    The pilot did as he was told and in a moment the navigation system holocontrols projected into the air in front of Heck. He punched in the coordinates for their new destination just as he felt a tap on his shoulder.
    "Uh, Heck?"
    "A little busy here, Lainne."
    "That man keeps staring at me. He won't talk at all."
    "Why are you talking to him?" he asked.
    "I'm just trying to find out about my brother," she said defensively.
    "Don't."
    "What? Why?"
    Heck turned to glare at here fiercely. "You dragged me into this, Lainne. Now I'm in it and we’re going to do this my way. That guy is a killer. He is not an agent of the Commonwealth, at least not any agency I know of. The two clowns behind us were Commonwealth Transportation Security rookies, probably here to supervise the killer in the back of the aircraft. But him, he will probably swallow his own tongue before he tells you anything. At least as long as we let him keep his tongue."
    Lainne was shocked at the turn in Heck's demeanor. "Ok, Heck." She returned to her prisoner who just glared at her, danger and death in his cold eyes.
    "Why are we going there?" asked the pilot, nodding to the coordinates on the navigation computer. Heck returned his attention to the man at the controls of the aircraft. "That part of Lake George is a swamp and incredibly dangerous, especially in the dark."
    "Don't worry about it, Soldier."
    "It will not be long before the Air Force dispatches fighters to find and destroy us," warned the man.
    "Then I guess we should get on the ground before then."
    "Whatever you say," said the pilot as he forced the engines to maximum speed. "We should be there in twenty minutes."
    "Power off the comm system, we’re going to fly dark."
    "That is not wise, Mr. Thomas. There are too many aircraft flying in this area, we could crash."
    "Then you'd better be very good at flying dark."

    The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Spacefaring Nations, Horatio Arnold, languished in an anti-grav recliner behind a polished desk of cherry wood. He stared out the great bay window to the intriguing world of Palace Drift, sprawled before him in a metropolis of corruption, vice, and betrayal. In the square far below his personal high-rise tower troops marched in tight formation, preparing for the changing of the guard. Ever since that meddlesome ex-Marshal, Heck Thomas, had