A Fistful of Trouble (Outlaws of the Galaxy Book 2) by Paul Tomlinson (free ebook reader for iphone .TXT) 📕

me to pull out, but a remote control probably wasn’t it. The little light on it was showing a solid green.

“Have you got that thing set on vibrate?” she asked.

“It’s not a sex toy,” I said.

“I know what it is,” she said. “I also know what you boys are like. It’s the only time you use your imagination.”

“Did you just stop by to insult me?” I asked.

“No, you idiot, I came to rescue you.”

“That’s sweet,” I said. “But I don’t need you to rescue me. I handled that myself as well.”

There was a loud crash out in the corridor. Harmony looked around, concerned.

“Floyd,” I said. “He’s here to rescue me.”

A shadow crossed the little window in the door. Then the door, its frame and some large chunks of the wall were torn out and tossed aside.

“It’s not locked!” Harmony called over her shoulder.

“Where is he?” Floyd asked. “I’m going to kill him.”

“I should probably leave you two alone,” Harmony said, edging towards the hole in the wall.

“Please don’t go,” I said meekly.

“Do you know what I had to endure?” Floyd said.

“I was there for most of it,” I said. “I almost got killed.”

“Almost isn’t good enough,” Floyd said. He advanced menacingly and I heard the whine of his cannon charging. I was backed into a corner with nowhere to go.

Then I realised I was still holding the remote control. I looked at it. Floyd saw me looking.

“Don’t. You. Dare,” he said.

“Power down the cannon,” I said.

The whine faded.

“I risked my life for this and then came back with it,” I said, holding up the remote.

“You came back for her,” Floyd said, jerking his thumb towards Harmony.

“She didn’t need rescuing,” I said. He didn’t need to know that I hadn’t known that.

Floyd looked to Harmony and she confirmed it. “Free as a bird,” she said.

“Floyd, I really am sorry,” I said. “Here.”

I held out the remote control. Floyd hesitated and then carefully took it between a giant thumb and finger. I think he was afraid of accidentally hitting the button. I tried not to remember what I had seen that hand do. I didn’t want to look for traces of dried blood. Floyd looked at the little device, then passed it back to me.

“Take the battery out of it,” he said, “then toss it on the floor.”

I did as he asked. Floyd stepped on the remote and ground it into the concrete.

“We should probably get out of here,” Harmony said, glancing towards the corridor.

“I have to find Patricia Brennan,” I said.

“She’s here?” Harmony asked.

“Over at the house,” I said. “She came back with the Colonel.”

“Are you sure she needs rescuing?” Harmony asked.

I thought about this. Could it be that she really wanted to be with Damian Hodge? When it comes to matters of the heart, anything is possible. But I had seen her face after Jed Cole had been shot. “I’m sure.”

I reached down to zip my pants, but something made me reach inside instead.

“Would you please stop touching yourself,” Harmony said. “You’re obsessed.”

“There’s something else in here,” I said. This time I pulled out a piece of folded paper.

“Operating instructions?” Harmony asked.

“I know how it works.”

“I won’t disagree with that,” she said. Two almost-compliments on one day. She was spoiling me.

I unfolded the paper and read Sheriff Galton’s handwritten message. I screwed up the paper and tossed it across the room.

“It’s not good news, is it?” Harmony said.

“No,” I said. “We need to get out of here. Can you hear anyone?” I asked Floyd. “I would have thought they’d be here investigating your break-in.”

“They’re not coming,” Floyd said. “They know I’m armed.”

“Then they’ll send the robots,” Harmony said.

“Not until they get the Colonel’s permission,” I said. “We have a little time, but not long.”

“Tell us what the message said,” Harmony insisted.

“The Sheriff received a message from Agent Rodriguez,” I said. “The ACID Interceptor caught up with the gunrunners and there was a battle. The Countess of Frisbee was beaten into submission, but the Interceptor has been delayed as a result. Unforeseen circumstances. They won’t be arriving anytime soon to sort out Cicada City’s robot infestation.”

“The cavalry isn’t riding to the rescue,” Harmony said.

I shook my head. “We’re on our own.”

“We could just take the Colonel’s freighter and leave,” she said.

“You can do that if you want, I won’t try and stop you,” I said. “But I have to find a way of stopping Colonel Hodge.”

“Why?” she asked. “This isn’t your fight.”

“I brought Floyd here,” I said. “I’m responsible for some of what happened.”

“If Hodge didn’t have Floyd, he would have used something else. You are not responsible for the Colonel’s actions.”

“I know. But he has to be stopped. I have to try. But that is my choice. You have to choose your own path – both of you.”

“Will there be shooting and blowing things up?” Harmony asked.

“Almost certainly.”

“Then I’m in.” I wasn’t sure I liked the twinkle that appeared in her eye.

“Floyd?” I asked.

“Colonel Hodge and I have unfinished business,” Floyd said. “If the opportunity arises, I am going to kill him.”

This was against our ‘no killing’ agreement. But I had just told Floyd to choose his own path.

“You know my position on killing,” I said.

“I do. And I respect it,” Floyd said.

“If Colonel Hodge is killed in battle, that’s one thing,” I said. “But I won’t stand by and watch a cold-blooded execution.”

“I understand,” Floyd said. It wasn’t a promise, but it was the best I was going to get.

“We’re going to need a new plan,” Harmony said.

I looked at her. “We’re going to need a miracle.”

“I have an idea for the explosive part,” she said. “I have a few things in place already.”

“Those ‘errands’ you were running?” I asked.

She smiled and nodded.

“We need to get Patricia Brennan away from here,” I said. “Can you steal a vehicle without being seen?”

“Of course,” Harmony said. “Something big with a gun?”

“We have something big with a gun,” I said, patting Floyd’s arm. “Find something fast that can carry us all.”

“You two