Hard Luck Hank: Prince of Suck by Steven Campbell Read Free Book Online Page A

who heard, spat and
cursed at mention of the name of their rivals.
    “And he get off! No punishment. See?”
Hong argued.
    “You tell me where their weapons are and
I’ll go take them,” I said.
    Hong looked away.
    “I’m here to protect everyone,” I
continued.
    “We don’t need protect. Everyone say
they protect the Totki Clan. These our solar systems! These our planets for ten
thousand years until you come and take our resource.”
    “Well, it wasn’t me, I wasn’t alive ten
thousand years ago.”
    “Boss,” I heard Valia say to me.
    I looked at her curiously. It was like
she was oblivious to the danger she was in.
    “Yeah?”
    “Can I talk to you a moment over here?”
    It was such an odd request, I handed
Hong back his pike and walked with her. I had to lean down because she
whispered.
    “If you want to get out of this while
still saving face, there is one guy carrying a Boli .44 on the inside of his
jacket.”
    “Who?” I asked.
    “He’s four to the right of Hong and one
back. Has a white scarf.”
    I looked, couldn’t see him in the dark,
then turned back to Valia.
    “How do you know?”
    “I saw it. Not everyone is as blind as
you.”
    I stood up and returned to Hong, taking
my precious time.
    Hong was about to launch into another
rant, but I walked past him without making eye contact. I approached the one
Valia had fingered, the crowd having no choice but to part for me and my girth.
    The man seemed unsure what to do.
    I put my left hand on his shoulder,
firmly anchoring him to the spot, and then opened his jacket.
    I turned around to Hong holding up the
.44 pistol.
    “What’s this?” I demanded. “You just
told me, told the Supreme Kommilaire, that there were no guns here.”
    “Probably don’t work,” Hong said weakly.
    “You sure?”
    I pointed it at Hong. It was far too
small for my hand, I couldn’t begin to fit my finger on the trigger, let alone
cock it. But it made a good impression.
    Twenty spears tips were pointed at me.
    I laughed.
    “You going to poke me with your sticks?
Where you getting these guys, Hong?”
    Hong made some quick motions to his men
and said something in Totki and they lowered their weapons.
    “Take him,” I said to my Stair Boys,
indicating the guy I had just searched.
    Three of the Kommilaire moved forward to
secure him. I noticed Valia had enough wisdom and restraint not to take part in
the arrest.
    “I’ll be letting him out in…a week,” I
said. “Unless you want me to search the rest of you.”
    They were silent.
    “You are all going home, now, right?” I
asked the Totki.
    “Now? Yes. We go home. But only for
now,” Hong said.
     
    http://www.belvaille.com/hlh3/hong.gif
     

CHAPTER 7
     
    The next day I travelled with my
Kommilaire across the city.
    There were some roadblocks of refuse
along the way we had to take down. Not sure what they were for, maybe gangs
trying to demarcate their territory, maybe a really big trash monster taking a
crap. Didn’t matter, it was in the way, and there was no one else to move it.
    We eventually came to an entire block
devoted to one man. He was the most powerful person on Belvaille. He was
perhaps the most powerful man alive—though admittedly I didn’t get around much,
or at all, so I wasn’t exactly an authority on the galaxy’s power rankings.
    The whole block, both sides, were his
buildings.
    I had my own block named after me: “Hank
Block.” But I only owned one building. Most of the other buildings were
apartments for the Kommilaire or wealthy individuals who wanted to feel safe.
Or catch a glimpse of my sexy body.
    At the entrance to this block—which
didn’t have a name, because it didn’t need one—there were full-on concrete
emplacements with manned machine guns, chainguns, and even cannons.
    If Belvaille ever did fall into chaos,
it would still have a tough time penetrating into here. More likely, even at
the height of its insanity, it would still have the sense to leave this man