For a Few Credits More: More Stories from the Four Horsemen Universe (The Revelations Cycle Book 7)

by Chris Kennedy

  “Waste not, want not,” Taska replied. She tapped the coffee cup again.

  Bobbie got up from her stool and made a production of fetching the coffee pot that was two feet away from her. She walked the last two feet to Taska and poured a fresh, steaming cup of horrible coffee.

  “You want a couple?” Bobbie asked.

  “A couple what?” Taska asked.

  “A couple of them cookies.”

  “Nah. I’ll pass on soured butter cookies.”

  “Suit yerself.”

  Bobbie returned to her slate and the pop culture magazine that was already six months old. Taska returned to her horrible coffee.

  The door chimed.

  “Burger. Rare. Yucca fries if Van didn’t let the roots rot.”

  “Afternoon to you too, Tee,” Bobbie said as she grabbed a different slate and put in his order. “Plenty of yucca left. I saved it from Van’s incompetence.”

  “I can hear you, ya dumb bitch!” a man shouted from back in the kitchen. He quickly appeared at the serving window separating the lunch counter from the kitchen. “I hear every damn thing you say about me!”

  “Yet it don’t seem to make a damn bit of difference.” Bobbie sighed. “Have a seat, Tee. You want something to drink?”

  “How fresh is the water?” Tee asked as he moved to a booth up against the bank of windows looking out onto a desolate landscape of tumbleweeds and sage brush. Mountains rose far into the sky way off in the distance, but the snowcaps that had been a staple of the high peaks were long, long gone. “When was the filter last changed?”

  Bobbie gave Taska a quick look then smiled and stood, flattening her short apron. “Let me check the date.”

  She disappeared into the back. The sound of her and Van arguing was muted enough that the words were lost, but the tone was easy to interpret.

  “Bad filter,” Taska said, spinning her stool to face Tee’s booth. She raised the cup of horrible coffee. “That would explain this.”

  “Recycled grounds would explain that,” Tee said. His eyes sized up the woman. “Where you coming from and where you headed to?”

  “Not sure,” Taska replied as she leaned her elbows back on the counter.

  “Not sure where you’re coming from?”

  Taska shrugged.

  “Sometimes it’s easier to leave the past behind,” Tee said and matched her shrug.

  Taska watched the old, scarred man closely. He returned the favor.

  “How much they paying you?” Tee asked. “Is the bounty open or are you exclusive?”

  “That’s two questions I don’t think I need to answer,” Taska replied, not even trying to hide her profession.

  Not that hiding what she was would have helped. Tee could see she was a bounty hunter.

  And he knew the type she was. The type that flaunted the profession in order to intimidate all she came in contact with. It was simply easier to make sure everyone knew who she was. The cowards went and hid, the do-gooders gave up intel like it would save their souls, and the rats named a price for the information they held. Cut the hunting time in half. Tee got that.

  “I have a burger and yucca fries coming,” Tee said as he relaxed into the booth. “Maybe some filtered water. Bobbie!”

  The waitress reappeared with a pitcher of clear-looking water.

  “Ain’t got no ice left,” Bobbie said as she skirted the edge of the lunch counter and walked to Tee’s booth. “Maybe you could have a look at the machine? Van says it’s a bad condenser, but I barely trust him to know when the meat’s spoiled, let alone how to diagnose an ice maker.”

  “Can’t wait for my burger,” Tee said with a smirk.

  “Shut up, you,” Bobbie said, filling Tee’s water glass. “Leave the pitcher?”

  “If you don’t mind,” Tee said. “Been a long, thirsty day.”

  “You do some work today?” Bobbie asked.

  Tee looked over to Taska who was watching both of them like a hawk. Bobbie glanced over her shoulder at the bounty hunter and rolled her eyes.

  “We pegged her the second she came in, Tee,” Bobbie said. “She’s covered.”

  “Excuse me?” Taska asked. She stood up from the lunch counter.

  Dressed in heavy synthleathers to match the gigantic motorcycle out in the dusty parking lot, Taska was easily over six feet tall with shoulders that said, “Mess with me and you get broken.” But she had no weapons on her that could be seen, but that meant absolutely zero.

  “Hey now,” Tee said as he sipped his water. “I said I have a burger coming. Sit your ass down, let me finish my meal, and then we’ll talk options.”

  “Sorry, Lieutenant—”

  “No,” Tee barked. “I’m not that man anymore. The name is Tinkerman. Mr. Tinkerman.”

  “Or Tee to his friends,” Bobbie said in a protective tone.

  “Ma’am? I think it’s best if you left this room,” Taska said.

  Bobbie sighed and faced the bounty hunter.

  “I ain’t leaving nowhere anytime soon,” Bobbie said. “But I will give you a chance to take your own advice.”

  Bobbie pointed her right index finger in Taska’s face.

  “Last warning, you biker wannabe.”

  “I don’t do warnings,” Taska said.

  Taska’s right arm began to lift, but she was too late. Half her head exploded in a blast of bone and blood mist.

  Bobbie’s index finger smoked slightly and she lifted it to her lips, blowing the smoke away. Then she turned to Tee and gave him a wink.

  “I’ll get that cleaned up right quick. Van’ll have your burger ready in less than five.”

  “Thanks, Bobbie,” Tee said, taking another sip of water. “I appreciate it. Swing by later and I’ll cap that finger for you.”

  Tee turned to stare out at the barren landscape as Bobbie started whistling while she fetched a mop. The cleaning bot had given up the ghost a couple years back, and no one thought it was worth the parts to repair.

  * * *

  Tee sat with his feet up on the porch railing, a steaming mug of sage tea in his flesh hand. He watched the sun slowly set in the dreary, February sky. In his youth there would have at least been a dusting of snow on the ground, but the temperature hadn’t gotten below freezing in Oregon for over 20 years.

  With the way Tee’s metal arm ached now and again, he wasn’t exactly sad to lose the cold winters. His old bones preferred the ever-warming weather that dominated Earth’s deteriorated climate. Alien tech or not, the damage had been done too early and too fast for any significant reversal.

  Tee was fine with that. He’d been on planets that would boil the skin off a human being in less than five seconds. And he’d been on planets that would have frozen his eyeballs like grapes if he hadn’t been protected from the elements. A mild winter in the high plains of Eastern Oregon was paradise as far as he was concerned.

  “Three targets approaching from the east, Tee,” a voice said over the comms implant in Tee’s left ear. Simultaneously, Tee’s cerebral pinplants activated, and a display came up in his left eye.

  “Thank you, Morgana,” Tee replied to probably what was his oldest friend, even though she was simply an adapted battlefield computer that Tee had brought with him when he’d returned to Earth. Tee winced slightly at the sound of her voice. He’d programmed her to sound like someone from his past. It always hurt a little when she spoke. “Species?”

  “Two human, one unknown,” Morgana replied.

  “Unknown?”

  “Unknown.”

  “Give me details.”

  The image in Tee’s eye zoomed closer to show two humans armed to the teeth with a third being following close behind them. Tee didn’t recognize the species. But then he’d been out of the game for a long while and who knew what planets had been admitted into the Galactic Union while he’d been hiding in the Oregon desert.

  Whatever the species, the creature was bipedal and about five feet tall. Unlike the humans, it wore no
battle armor or gear of any kind. The head-to-toe scales looked like they were protection enough, and the four long, bony spikes stretching a foot down from the back of the being’s hands could probably do some damage.

  Not that Tee was too worried. They’d walked onto his land. He had the advantage.

  Tee always had the advantage.

  “Hey there,” Tee called out as he set his mug of sage tea down and stood up to face the visitors. “Y’all lost?”

  “Should I execute defensive protocol Alpha Delta Niner, Tee?”

  “No. I have this, Morgana. Thank you.”

  Tee stepped off his porch and walked toward the three figures.

  “That’s close enough, old timer,” the lead human called when they were about 50 yards away. “We can scan you from there.”

  “I usually prefer dinner first before anyone scans me on my own land,” Tee replied.

  He stopped walking and set his stance so his feet were shoulder width apart. He flexed his metal hand then let it relax against his thigh.

  “Gonna have to ask you gentlemen to turn yourselves around and head back the way you came,” Tee said.

  “A single rumbler,” Morgana said in his ear.

  “That rumbler you came in will work again once you haul it about half a click off my property,” Tee continued. “Then you can be on your way.”

  “We’ve come for Lieutenant—”

  “No,” Tee barked. “No need to finish. You’ve been misled. I’m not who you are looking for. In fact, the bounty you’ve taken is bogus. You’ll want to take it up with whatever guild you answer to. Someone has played y’all.”

  “Think not, old timer,” the leader replied. “My scan’s complete. You are who we are looking for.”

  “Guys, I’m trying to give you a chance here. Before you send that scan over the—”

  “Already done, old timer. Already done. We’ve logged our claim, and you will be coming with us.”

  “What condition has been set?” Tee asked. “Dead or alive?”

  “Alive is worth considerably more, but dead is acceptable if mortally necessary.”

  “Mortally necessary?” Tee laughed. “I like that. I like that a lot.”

  “Tee?” Morgana asked.

  “Light them up,” Tee replied.

  The ground around the three bounty hunters erupted into a grid of red laser light. The two humans screamed as they were minced into a thousand pieces each. The being of unknown species leapt high into the air, defying gravity in a way Tee hadn’t expected.

  The being launched itself out of the laser grid and landed only a couple yards in front of Tee.

  “Submit,” a staticky voice ordered from the translator pendant hanging around the being’s neck. “Submit. Now.”

  “Can’t do that, hoss,” Tee said.

  He flicked his left arm out and the metal framework opened up to reveal six small barrels. Tee pointed his arm with the barrels at the being.

  “I didn’t want to kill your colleagues. But they were warned. I’ve warned you. Twice. I don’t warn a third time.”

  The being leapt again, the bony spikes flying at Tee as it launched into the air. Tee’s arm canons obliterated the bony projectiles then he turned his aim up to the shadow coming down at him fast. All six barrels fired and instead of a solid body, thick, black blood and singed scales came raining down.

  “Run the DNA, Morgana,” Tee said as he wiped gunk from his eyes. “I want to know what it was. There are probably more on the way.”

  “Yes, Tee. I’ll have the results by morning.”

  “You can process faster than that.”

  “Yes, but you need to rest. Your cardiovascular levels are in the red. The strain of battle is not good for your heart.”

  “No shit.”

  Tee sighed as he stared down at the spray of gore that surrounded him. He flicked his arm, and his arm canons retracted. Then he snapped his fingers, and ten seconds later a half dozen bots rolled up and began cleaning the offal from the dirt. Last thing Tee needed was a hundred buzzards circling his place.

  He rolled his shoulders then turned and went back into his house. Rest did sound good.

  * * *

  “Mr. Tinkerman,” the mayor said as Tee walked into the woman’s office and took a seat that hadn’t been offered. “What brings you into Mercury today?”

  “You heard about that bounty hunter over at Van’s cafe last fall, yeah?” Tee replied. “And the three that hit my place last month?”

  Tee rubbed his eyes. Sleep had been a fleeting luxury as of late. He blinked a few times then focused on the mayor’s expressionless face. She was a born politician.

  “Yes, I heard,” the mayor said.

  She adjusted her suit jacket and tugged at the front of her blouse, making sure her cleavage was easier to see. Tee forced himself not to roll his eyes.

  “Relax,” he said. “I’m not calling in my marker, so don’t try to sex your way out of anything quite yet.”

  Tee didn’t add that he wasn’t sure if he could take the mayor up on her unspoken offer anyway. The equipment didn’t work like it used to, and Tee had no need to waste parts on an activity that would probably kill him because of his heart. Not that he wasn’t tempted. The mayor was a beauty.

  “Not sure what you mean, Mr. Tinkerman,” the mayor said as she buttoned her blouse while giving Tee a sour look of defiance. “And I resent the implication.”

  “Wasn’t implying a damn thing. Clearly stated what I was thinking,” Tee said with a wave of his hand. “Doesn’t matter. I’m here to make sure everything is in place in case I do call in my markers.”

  The mayor eyed Tee for several seconds. He waited patiently for her to gather her thoughts. Not that anything she had in her brain made a damn bit of difference. They were going to come for him in force soon, and he needed the town to be ready.

  “Does Main Street have to be your staging ground?” the mayor asked finally. “Your place would be more ideal for everyone. Wide open spaces, only one building to be damaged. We don’t have the resources to rebuild more than a building or two.”

  “My bots will be at your disposal,” Tee said. “And I have put in more than enough materials for my needs and for the needs of the town if there is collateral damage.”

  “That is kind of you, Mr. Tinkerman, but bots can only do the repairs if the materials left are salvageable. Mercury isn’t exactly flush with credits right now. We simply cannot afford to buy ourselves out of whatever destruction you bring down on us.”

  Tee had been resigned to a difficult meeting, but that last statement irked him. He gripped the arms of the chair he sat in until they began to creak. He relaxed and took a couple of deep breaths.

  “Your wife enjoy that replacement pelvis I put in her last spring after she crashed her ATV? Or how about your niece? She able to get around on those feet she needed after stepping into that snake nest?”

  The mayor glared, her bright blue eyes cold as ice.

  “My wife is very grateful for the pelvis. My niece is even more grateful for the feet you gave her. Without speaking out of turn, I can say everyone you have helped is grateful. But your terms…”

  “Are nonnegotiable. I state the truth up front before a single second of work begins. No one is being asked to do anything they didn’t agree to do.”

  “People will agree to a lot to get what they want.”

  Tee didn’t reply.

  “May I ask why Main Street must be used?”

  “Because image is everything.”

  “You want Mercury to be that image?”

  “I do. When the next wave of hunters comes for me, and they will come, their forces will be heavy. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the smaller merc companies is contracted to assist. I expect CASPers.”

  “Can they do that?” the mayor asked, visibly shocked. “On Earth soil?”

  “Of course they can,” Tee replied. “Don’t be naive, Olivia.”

  “Yes, y
es, you are right.” She looked up at the ceiling and clasped her hands together hard enough for her knuckles to pop. “You, Mr. Tinkerman, are the best and worst thing to happen to this town.”

  “Better than only being the worst thing to happen. There’re more than a few planets out in the galaxy that can lay that claim. There is a reason I’m hunted.”

  “Yes, we all know. Lieutenant Terror is what you were called? The Butcher of Bah’thaim?”

  Tee bristled at the use of his old moniker.

  “It was. I was a very different person then. And no one but me knows the real story.”

  “The real story in Mercury will be more butchery if you force the citizens of this town and county to do what you are asking them to do.”

  Tee leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees, as he fixed the mayor with a stare so intense the woman visibly began to sweat and shake.

  “I don’t want anyone to get hurt. I’ve put measures in place to make sure that doesn’t happen. But, if those measures are to work then this conflict has to be out in the open. Hiding on my land will only mean a larger force will come then a larger one and a larger one. Until one day they obliterate this whole region and call it some accident. Whatever their spin doctors can dream up. You get that, don’t you, Olivia? Spinning a story into what you want it to be?”

  “Yes, Mr. Tinkerman, I get that,” the mayor snarled. “Mercury will be at your disposal when the time comes as per our agreement and the agreements you have with everyone you’ve helped. God have mercy on us that you aren’t bringing nothing but ruin and destruction.”

  “I won’t comment on God and his mercy.”

  Tee stood up, gave the mayor a polite nod of his head, then left.

  * * *

  His door was wide open, but Tee wasn’t too worried. Only one person let themselves in and left the door wide open to announce his presence. Tee had even reprogrammed the bots to ignore the man when he stopped by.

  “Tee,” Belfore said from the ratty recliner in the corner of Tee’s small living space. “You’ve been poking the bear. Not cool, man.”