God's Bounty Hunter (Biddy Mackay Space Detective Book 1) by T Olivant (reading in the dark .txt) 📕

the viewscreen.  Hard to believe that after all this time, all this effort he was so close.  And was it wrong that she was finding it all rather unsatisfying?  Biddy Mackay knew she was a good detective, one of the best.  But since her ‘Observer’ had arrived, everything had just fallen into place.  And she didn’t like it one bit.

But maybe a mission could go smoothly every once in a while.  At least it would be easy enough to take down the target.

“Ahem.” The ladylike interjection could only have come from one person.

“Is there a problem?” Biddy asked.

“No, no,” Cher Macleod replied.

Biddy felt a tension headache starting at the base of her neck. “Perhaps you have a suggestion of how we should proceed?” she said to Macleod, through gritted teeth.

“Well, since you asked, I think it might be pertinent to wait for backup from Scotclan.  I’m sure they have another spaceship in this sector.”

I bet they do, Biddy thought.  And I just bet you’re in communication with them right now.

“I think it would be more prudent to act while we have the chance,” Biddy replied. “After all, there have been attempts to capture the Augment before and they ended with colossal loss of life.  I think that a small team might have a more subtle approach.”

“We could just blow his ship up,” Hastings said.

Biddy gave him a look.

“I was kidding,” the Captain added.  No one laughed.

Chapter 16

Lu Tang checked the time on his datapad and saw that the man he was meeting was already ten minutes late.  It was irritating.  No, more than irritating.  Infuriating.  He knew without confirmation that his levels of adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol were elevated, but his augmented brain seemed to be struggling to control them.  That was making him even more irritated.

The meeting had been scheduled promptly enough once he had notified the relevant people that he had been responsible for the little demonstration at the mine.  And now –

The door to the tiny secure room opened and a figure walked in.  Lu Tang fought the urge to reach for a weapon.  The security he had put in place was two-fold.  Firstly, the ship’s sensors had registered every non-organic molecule on the man’s body before they let him on board.  The ridiculous golden vessel was at least good for some things.  And secondly, Tibo had been positioned outside to manually search the client for any hidden nasties.  Lu Tang knew that it was safe, but he still felt vulnerable.  An unusual feeling for a God, and not a pleasant one.

“You sure as hell got our attention,” the young human said when he entered the room.

The Augment merely gave a nod of acknowledgement and gestured to him to sit down.  He didn’t see the point in dwelling on the rocket attack on the mine.  It had served its purpose and it was unbecoming of a God to gloat.

“If you had answered my summons the first time it would not have been necessary.”

The human was male, young, and walked with a swagger that was calculated to annoy.  Lu Tang had seen such displays a thousand times in his many centuries of life, so he was neither impressed nor intimidated.  If anything he was a little disappointed that the man still felt he had to obey the needs of his testosterone driven hormones.  Still, the less humanity changed the easier it was to control them.

“I don’t think they thought you were genuine.  Of course, now they do.  My name is Idris.”

The man sat down, his legs splayed wide to show how relaxed he was.  His hair was swept up in some sort of ornate style that was probably the height of fashion but that Lu Tang thought looked utterly ridiculous.  A slight tremor of a muscle in the man’s neck told him that Idris was rather more nervous than he wished to appear.

“I am Mr. Tang.” Lu Tang deposited his box on the table in front of him gently.

“This is… the merchandise?”

Lu Tang grimaced.  The man was clearly a fool.  The Augment did not believe in small talk, and he certainly was not going to waste his intellect on this cretin. “It is a portal drive.  It is the portal drive, the only one.  You may examine it, but do not touch.”

There was a definite shake to Idris’s hand as he opened the box.  He stared at the dim yellow light.  Lu Tang had to fight the urge to grab it back out of his hand.

“It, erm, looks to be in order.”

The wave of irritation threatened to overwhelm Lu Tang.  Why were his augmented systems not adjusting properly?  If he became any more tense he would end up jumping on the man and throttling him to death.  Satisfying as that would be, he would only have to start all over again with another contact.  And that would be a poor use of resources.

“You have come to sell it,” Idris said. “How much would be appropriate?”

“A price for something like this?” Lu Tang couldn’t help but chuckle. “You cannot even imagine.  There hasn’t been a currency invented yet that could come close to what it’s worth.”

“What then?  Name your price.”

“For something that will change the galaxy?  A price might be… a planet.”

To give the human credit, he only blinked once. “You want Eritree?  Well, that would be unprecedented.  But perhaps I could talk to my associates…”

“Don’t bother,” Lu Tang said, suddenly tiring of the game. “It’s not for sale.”

Now the man reacted.  His nostrils flared and his cheeks turned red. “What exactly is the meaning of this?  You have come here to waste my time?”

“Not at all.  You may still acquire the portal drive.  But I do not want to sell it.  I would like to perform an exchange.”

“Exchange?  But I don’t understand.”