Grendel Unit 1: Bad Day at Khor-wa by Bernard Schaffer Read Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Bernard Schaffer
recon."
Frank extended his hand down to S'bal to help him up, hoping that when he pulled, nothing of the creature tore off.
Vic hurried behind a solar-powered trash compactor at the mouth of the alleyway. Small cubes of green matter no bigger than shoe boxes were stacked neatly at the bottom of the bin, waiting to be picked up. One of the shopkeepers entered the alleyway just as Vic arrived and tossed a bag of waste into the compactor's gullet and the machine rumbled, chewing and grinding and incinerating until a fresh green rectangle of leftover material slid out of the bottom to join the others. Vic opened the case on his belt and popped the small black ear buds into his ears. It took the units a moment to adjust, filtering out the ambient noise of the trash compactor and the busy street just beyond.
Heavy breathing filled his ears the same as if someone were huffing straight into them. He heard S'bal say, "Is he gonna take all day, or what?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, am I not moving fast enough for you guys?" Vic said.
"Are you ready for us, boss?" Frank said.
"Negative. You stay back to let the fish come out on his own. Keep an eye on our rear. Once he gets past me, I'll bring you up."
"Confirm," Frank said. "He's approaching the alleyway now. Nothing's moving back here."
Vic turned around to see S'bal's lanky, hunched -over form appear at the mouth of the alleyway. "You should have eyes on now," Frank said.
"Roger that." S'bal's heartbeats were so rapid that they were interfering with the audio feed. Vic looked up at the sky above Khor-Wa, trying to make out the ship. He thought he saw a small black dot far above the clouds, but couldn't be sure if it was the Samsara . "Control, do you read me?"
"Loud and clear, Captain," Buehl said.
"Adjust S'bal's transmitter, I'm picking up too much extra signal."
"Stand by. How's that?"
The heartbeats vanished in his ears, giving Vic a clearer sound of the earrings and chains jingling around the Cryndian's neck as he walked. "Better," Vic said. S'bal was nearly upon him and Vic turned away and looked down, pretending not to know him.
"Hey, buddy. You got a smoke?" S'bal called out to him.
"No," Vic hissed. "Keep moving."
S'bal walked over to him, "I'll pay for it."
Vic stared daggers at him, "Get the hell away from me, you moron."
"You know I can't hear you guys right?"
"I swear to God, I'm going to shoot you if you don't move," Vic said. "Go find the target and don't talk to us again."
"Fine," S'bal said, stepping back with his webbed hands in the air. "Didn't mean to offend you, Captain. Jeez, humans are so touchy."
Vic pressed his back against the building's wall and took a deep breath, trying to relax. "Did that seem strange to anybody else?" he said. "Why do I have the feeling he just called out my ID?"
"I gave you that knife for a reason, Captain," Monster said. "He can grow back whatever you cut off."
"Don't tempt me, Big Man," Vic said. He looked over to see Frank coming up to his position , the folds of his long black coat covering the Rangefinder slung under his one arm and the medical bag slung under the other. "Do me a favor, Frank. If you ever find another asset that you think will do a good job, slap yourself in the face as hard as humanly possible."
Frank shrugged, "You're the one who always says we can't use decent people as assets, because decent people wouldn't be involved in this crap."
"Don't quote me to make an argument against me. It's not fair."
"Why?"
"The fish is moving into the bar to your left," Buehl said.
"We're on it," Vic said. He looked back at Frank as they emerged from the alleyway, "Because you never say anything intelligent enough for me to do the same thing."
"You'd better hope this op goes well. I'd hate to see you shot up, laying in a ditch, with just stupid old me as your backup."
The street was crowded and damp from the massive buildings
Frank extended his hand down to S'bal to help him up, hoping that when he pulled, nothing of the creature tore off.
Vic hurried behind a solar-powered trash compactor at the mouth of the alleyway. Small cubes of green matter no bigger than shoe boxes were stacked neatly at the bottom of the bin, waiting to be picked up. One of the shopkeepers entered the alleyway just as Vic arrived and tossed a bag of waste into the compactor's gullet and the machine rumbled, chewing and grinding and incinerating until a fresh green rectangle of leftover material slid out of the bottom to join the others. Vic opened the case on his belt and popped the small black ear buds into his ears. It took the units a moment to adjust, filtering out the ambient noise of the trash compactor and the busy street just beyond.
Heavy breathing filled his ears the same as if someone were huffing straight into them. He heard S'bal say, "Is he gonna take all day, or what?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, am I not moving fast enough for you guys?" Vic said.
"Are you ready for us, boss?" Frank said.
"Negative. You stay back to let the fish come out on his own. Keep an eye on our rear. Once he gets past me, I'll bring you up."
"Confirm," Frank said. "He's approaching the alleyway now. Nothing's moving back here."
Vic turned around to see S'bal's lanky, hunched -over form appear at the mouth of the alleyway. "You should have eyes on now," Frank said.
"Roger that." S'bal's heartbeats were so rapid that they were interfering with the audio feed. Vic looked up at the sky above Khor-Wa, trying to make out the ship. He thought he saw a small black dot far above the clouds, but couldn't be sure if it was the Samsara . "Control, do you read me?"
"Loud and clear, Captain," Buehl said.
"Adjust S'bal's transmitter, I'm picking up too much extra signal."
"Stand by. How's that?"
The heartbeats vanished in his ears, giving Vic a clearer sound of the earrings and chains jingling around the Cryndian's neck as he walked. "Better," Vic said. S'bal was nearly upon him and Vic turned away and looked down, pretending not to know him.
"Hey, buddy. You got a smoke?" S'bal called out to him.
"No," Vic hissed. "Keep moving."
S'bal walked over to him, "I'll pay for it."
Vic stared daggers at him, "Get the hell away from me, you moron."
"You know I can't hear you guys right?"
"I swear to God, I'm going to shoot you if you don't move," Vic said. "Go find the target and don't talk to us again."
"Fine," S'bal said, stepping back with his webbed hands in the air. "Didn't mean to offend you, Captain. Jeez, humans are so touchy."
Vic pressed his back against the building's wall and took a deep breath, trying to relax. "Did that seem strange to anybody else?" he said. "Why do I have the feeling he just called out my ID?"
"I gave you that knife for a reason, Captain," Monster said. "He can grow back whatever you cut off."
"Don't tempt me, Big Man," Vic said. He looked over to see Frank coming up to his position , the folds of his long black coat covering the Rangefinder slung under his one arm and the medical bag slung under the other. "Do me a favor, Frank. If you ever find another asset that you think will do a good job, slap yourself in the face as hard as humanly possible."
Frank shrugged, "You're the one who always says we can't use decent people as assets, because decent people wouldn't be involved in this crap."
"Don't quote me to make an argument against me. It's not fair."
"Why?"
"The fish is moving into the bar to your left," Buehl said.
"We're on it," Vic said. He looked back at Frank as they emerged from the alleyway, "Because you never say anything intelligent enough for me to do the same thing."
"You'd better hope this op goes well. I'd hate to see you shot up, laying in a ditch, with just stupid old me as your backup."
The street was crowded and damp from the massive buildings
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