Page 2 (1/1)
THERE’S A GUY STARING AT me from the other end of the bar I can only see hi forward, elbows on the plastene surface, so I can see past the row of heads Fro the bartender’sthe sanize hiot that look Definitely a recruit, with solancing around, careful not to buuys, not too fa a uniforues, but the clothes are ill-fitting, the tiniest bit too tight Could be because he’s so new, they haven’t ordered them in his size yet Could also be because the uniform isn’t his
Still, the new ones know by the end of their first week not to hit on Captain Chase, even when she’s at Molly Malone’s I’ to take yourself off the e frouy et all of that Dark tuerously sweet eyes Sensuous ot a poet’s mouth Artistic, expressive
He looks oddly faers as I hold uy if I’d seen hiood?" The bartender co his head toward me It’s a crappy bar on a crappy host story from the Irish roots clai fodder folk "Molly" is a three-hundred-pound bald Chinese man with a tattoo of a chrysanthemum on his neck I’ve been a favorite of his ever since I landed here, not least because I’m one of the only people who can speak more than a word or two of Mandarin, thanks to et me drunk?"
"I live an’ dream an’ hope, babe"
"So to the aze unapologetically I fight the urge to jerk my eyes away, and lean closer to the bartender "Hey, Mol--who’s the new guy down at the end?"
Molly knows better than to look over his shoulder and starts rinsing out a new glass instead "The pretty one?"
"Met a feel for the place He’s asking lots of questions"
Odd The fresh meat usually comes in herd forirls all shuffling wherever they’re told A little voice in my head points out that’s not really fair, that I was o But they’re so woefully unprepared for life on Avon that I can’t help it
This one’s different, though--and he’s all alone Wariness tingles at the base ofHere on Avon, different usually erous
"Thanks, Molly" I flick the condensation on rins before turning back to hisatback, but I don’t really care If he really is a soldier, I can say I was sizing hins Just because I’m off duty doesn’t ete’re about to lose one to the Fury
He doesn’t look much older than I am, so even if he enlisted the day he turned sixteen he won’t have et cocky--not enough to know he should wipe that grin off his face A feeeks on Avon will do that for him He’s chiseled, with a chin so perfect, ithis jaw only euys invariably end up being assholes, but froether by an artist
Guys like this make me want to believe in God
The uys like hiet to them After all, you don’t have to be pretty to shoot people But I think it probably helps if you’re trying to spread your faith
With ive a deliberate jerk of e, but takes his ti In an ordinary bar on an ordinary planet, it’d et But since I’m not after what people in ordinary bars are after, his hesitation makes me pause Either he doesn’t knoho I am or he doesn’t care It can’t be the former--everyone on this rock knows Captain Lee Chase, no matter how freshly arrived But if it’s the latter, he’s no ordinary recruit
So like us? A field agent for Terra Dyna its job in preventing an all-out uprising? It’s not unheard of for a corporation to send in spies toup its end of the terraforreement Which onlyto be able to hire private mercs, but since the Galactic Council doesn’t exactly relish the thought of privately funded arovernment forces Maybe he’s from the Galactic Council, here to spy on Avon before their planetary review in a couple months