America's Galactic Foreign Legion - Book 23 - Bandits by Walter Knight Read Free Book Online

of Gila Bend.  Before that I grew bamboo in Horse Cave, Kentucky.  Horse Cave has the largest bamboo farm in America.  Did you know that?”
         “Didn't know, don't care.  That was you in Gila Bend?”
         “The Legion recruiter offered me a new start.  I've moved on.”
         “To do what?” asked Sergeant Green suspiciously.  “You're a ghost.  That means you have a crazy ax to grind.”
          “You're no expert on ghosts or crazy.  I passed my psychological exam, on appeal.  You don't know me.  You don't know ghosts.  No one knows ghosts!”
         “Just spill it,” ordered Sergeant Green.  “Who do you want to kill?  Cactus-Claw and his gang?  That's fine by me.  Kill them all.  Let the Devil sort them out in Hell.”
         “Yes.  I want to kill Cactus Claw, and I want my gold teeth back.”
         “All of them?”
         “Of course.”
         “That might be a problem.  Most gold gets pawned quickly.”
         “Your dungeon smells like Horse Cave, except different,” observed Crack, distracted by a large iron hook embedded in a cell ceiling.  “What's that for?”
         “Hanging laundry,” answered Sergeant Green.  “The reason I brought you down here is to scare the damn rats out.  Drive them all completely across the border, like the Pied Piper.  Otherwise, the human Rights Commission and the Health Department have conspired to condemn the whole dungeon.”
         “Is that a bad thing?”
         “Real bad,” explained Sergeant Green patiently.  “Without dungeons, civilization crumbles.  Dungeons are the foundation that sustain the free world.  Now get those cheese-eaters out!”
                                                                       * * * * *
         Cactus-Claw rode the flood to the parking lot of Casa del Sol Hotel Resort Casino, where refuges gathered on the outskirts of New Phoenix.  It was a perfect storm for a heist.  The cops were busy rescuing flood victims, and the Legion was trying to repair the canal from rabid ground hogs.
         Cactus-Claw sent a spider bandit to the roof to cut the power lines, disabling the alarm system.  Faces covered by bandannas, he led his gang to the cashier's cage, firing rounds into the ceiling for affect.  Slot players ignored the noise, but craps and blackjack players grabbed chips as they fled.
         “Put all the money in the bag!” shouted Cactus-Claw, setting the tone.  This wasn't his first rodeo.  “Hurry it up.”
         “Sir, we have no cash,” cried a human cashier.  “All money is transferred by ATM card.”
         “No money in your casino?  That's UN-American.”
         “Sorry.”
         “Put a million dollars on my card,” demanded Cactus-Claw, slamming his ATM card on the counter.  “No tricks!”
         “You're the ruthless alien bandit Cactus-Claw?”  asked the cashier, examining the ATM card.  “May I see a valid driver's license or other picture ID?”
         Cactus-Claw removed his scarf mask.  “You've heard of me?”
         “Of course, you're famous.  May I have your autograph in case you're killed or seriously mangled in a firefight?”
         “Make the transfer, or else!”
         “Sorry again, Mr. Cactus-Claw, but we cannot make transfers because of the power failure.”
         Cactus-Claw weighed his ever-decreasing options.  Everyone in the casino was lit up like lightning bugs, calling the cops on their communication pads.  A Legion armored car arrived outside the front doors.  A human pestilence soldier shouted on a PA for their surrender.  Not going to happen,  resolved Cactus-Claw.
         The gang rounded up five spider gamblers, shoving them out the front doors in a show of good faith.  They were immediately mowed down by Legion machine gun fire.  High caliber bullets ricocheted