Countdown by John Walker (feel good fiction books txt) 📗

One knocked. Loch opened it himself, wearing a goofy smile and a silk, purple shirt. His black pants were way too tight, but the overall outfit hid his figure.

“That didn’t take long,” Loch stepped aside, “come in.” He closed the door behind her. “I’m disappointed. I thought you’d try out the cosmetics in the room. Maybe you didn’t find them. They were in the drawer by the sink. If you just—”

“Cut the shit,” Rita interrupted. “Why’re you trying to doll me up? What’s the point of that?”

“Just thought you’d like to be a girl for a change.” Loch smiled. “You know. Live the life you were born to.”

Rita’s room had been far more lavish than any she’d stayed in for a while. Loch’s took that to an extreme level of stupid. It looked more like a cheesy gambling resort rather than a place a person might actually live. Black walls reflected the light. Thick carpet seemed more likely to be found in a tacky apartment than a starship.

The tables were silver with sparkling cutlery and real glasses. Even the light fixtures had some gold tint to them, which made for a warmer illumination in the room as a whole. That was just the living area. Rita figured the bedroom must’ve been completely ridiculous. And he probably figures I want to have a look.

“Just to clarify, you think that because I’m a woman, I’m desperate for…actually, I don’t even know how to quantify it. What’re you hoping to achieve here?”

“I’ve got a proposition for you.” Loch gestured for her to take a seat at the table. Trays were laid out with silver domes over the plates. “I like you. When you came to talk to me before you had some serious spunk. You’ve evaded the hell out of me several times. My people are jokes it seems. Likely that military training, hmm?”

Rita shrugged.

“Modest too, I guess. But in any event, I think we can make an arrangement. You owe me a lot of money. A lot.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Rita replied. “You’d have been repaid after that single job.”

“Yes, but I wasn’t. And I don’t think you’ve got the cash on you, right?” Loch chuckled. “Nor can you drum it up easily. I’m sure you thought I wanted to kill you. A fair assessment after the trouble you’ve caused me but I’ve got a better plan.” He leaned forward. “But let’s talk about that after we’ve eaten a bit, shall we? Take a look.”

Rita sighed. Why don’t you just get to the point, freak? She moved the tray aside, revealing a steak, potato, and green beans. The dome kept it hot. The food steamed. Her stomach growled despite herself. Traitor. The physical reaction annoyed her. Made her feel beholden to his hospitality.

“Looks lovely.” Rita chose a new tactic. She dug into the food, ignoring him for a good five minutes while she ate. Between the fight back at Gallik and all the other stress bothering her, she was ravenous. His chef really knew how to hit the spot as well. The meal was incredible. “It’s good.”

“Thanks, I’ll pass that along.” Loch grinned. “Rita, you’re a talented woman. I think you were hampered by bad luck and a crew that wasn’t necessarily up to snuff. You’ve got potential to do things that are frankly spectacular. So I’m giving you an offer that I think you’d be a fool to turn down.”

“I’m listening,” Rita replied. She kept eating without looking at him.

“You’ve got training. Smarts. These are things my people are sorely lacking. I want to use that. Double duty. I’ll pay big.”

“Double what?” Rita lifted a brow.

“You’ll train my people. Whip them into shape. Make sure they don’t screw up like those two dumbasses we gunned down in the hangar. And… you’ll also be my personal bodyguard. Keep me alive. Make sure I don’t do anything stupid.” He chuckled. “I’m prone to making some poor decisions once in a while.”

“I’m sure.” Rita leaned back in her seat. “I’m not even sure what to say to all of this. You’re seriously telling me your idea is that I’m going to be, what… watching your back? Being your keeper?”

“And training people up. I don’t want you to get bored. Though we have all the recreation you could want. Plus, you’ll never have to worry about where you’ll get your ether.”

“So this is how the indentured servitude works?”

“Usually, I strong-arm people into some other job. A hard one that nearly guarantees they won’t come back. If they do, great deal for me. If not, a problem’s resolved. Either way, I win in those cases.”

“Killing assets is winning to you?” Rita rolled her eyes. “Unless the people are totally incompetent, then you’re wasting talent.”

“Great advice.” Loch nodded his head. “I appreciate it. But anyway… this isn’t indentured servitude. It’s a job. You don’t have a crew anymore. Everyone you ran with is scattered or dead. There’s no way you’re gagging to get back into bed with the Confeds. Gold Empire’s out. That leaves starting over or settling in. I recommend the latter.”

“Training your people and acting as a bodyguard seems like a lot. You know my gigs didn’t take all my time. One of the reasons I came out to the frontier was to get out of the whole full-time work thing. I did plenty of that in the service. So I don’t know.”

Rita avoided the obvious topic. That of ‘extracurricular expectations.’ That would come up, considering his desire to give her a makeover. But first, she wanted to string along the job itself. Of course, I could just accept the job. That would give me plenty of time to leave. It’s not like he could stop me.

However, the nature of the position meant she stayed close to him which meant escape would have to be a blatant