Free StarCraft II: Devils' Due by Christie Golden Page A

wasn’t quite as stupid as he had seemed.
    He was, however, as greedy as Jim had hoped.
    Raynor stuck out his hand, and Crawford shook it
    heartily.
    Raynor stepped out into the corridor, speaking
    quickly and quietly into a smal handheld personal
    comm link. “Docking bay 22, port C, got it al cleared
    out for you.”
    “Already there, and it’s nice and quiet. Get your ass
    up here ’fore someone decides it’s too quiet.”
    Raynor picked up his pace. Fortunately, it seemed
    as if everyone on the station were in a hurry to be
    somewhere other than where he was; as long as he
    didn’t adopt an out-and-out run, Jim knew he would be
    fine. He saw Tychus up ahead, trying to look as
    unobtrusive as possible. Which, being Tychus, wasn’t
    very. He nodded at his friend and they met at the door
    to 22C. Jim inserted the key the helpful y bribed Jax
    Crawford had given him, and the door slid open. They
    stepped inside, closed the door, and locked it.
    The freighter was nothing remarkable. A few years
    old and a type of vessel as common as dirt, it had
    seen a lot of use. Neither Jim nor Tychus much cared
    for the ship itself, only what it contained in the hold.
    Quickly they got inside and headed back. Here, too,
    there was nothing that announced the bounty the ship
    contained. Simply standard large storage containers.
    “We can’t open them,” Raynor said.
    “We don’t need to worry about that,” Tychus replied.
    “That is the problem of whoever takes them off our
    hands.”
    That stil left the question of verification. And then
    Jim saw the data log resting on top of one of the
    crates. He thumbed it quickly and grinned.
    “By virtue of our bril iance, bal s, and outrageous
    good looks,” he said to Findlay, “we are now the
    proud, if not exactly legal, owners of exactly fifteen
    storage crates of crystals.”
    Tychus grinned back. He reached into his jacket
    pocket, fished out a stogie, lit it up, and blew smoke
    into the air. “Wel , ain’t we just the finest pair of
    gentlemen on this station?”
    “Now let’s be the finest pair of gentlemen off the
    station,” Jim suggested, heading back toward the
    cockpit. “I assume your contact specified a site?”
    “He did. We’re to meet on Hermes.”
    Hermes was one of three moons that lit up the night
    skies of New Sydney. Something about the name was
    familiar, and Raynor suddenly laughed.
    “What’s so funny?”
    “I just remembered a class from my childhood.
    Hermes was an Old Earth mythological god.”
    “Yeah? So what?”
    “He was the god of merchants. And thieves .”
    Tychus chuckled around his glowing cigar. “Plays
    both sides, then. Think I like this god.”

CHAPTER SEVEN
HERMES
    As a vacation spot, rather like the planet it
    orbited, Hermes left a great deal to be desired. And
    yet, it seemed to attract quite a lot of visitors. It was
    spartan, enclosed, and while the atmosphere was
    breathable, for the right amount of money it could be
    doctored so that one would be better able to enjoy
    one’s stay. Bars served intoxicants of al varieties,
    inhaled, injected, and in liquid form. Jim was
    somewhat surprised when they entered a particularly
    dark establishment cal ed, quite aptly, The Pit, and
    Tychus steered him not toward the wal of alcohol
    guarded by a very muscular, scarred bartender but to
    another area where various-sized tanks were
    suspended. They ranged from about the size of
    Tychus’s fist to the size of his arm.
    “I’m in the mood for a drink, not a puff, at least not
    without knowing what’s in there,” Jim said, frowning.
    “Ah, Jimmy, trust ol’ Tychus Findlay,” the larger man
    rumbled. He plopped down a handful of credits.
    “Keep it coming al night,” he told the attractive,
    tattooed young woman. “For me and my innocent
    young friend here.”
    She grinned, pul ed down the larger-sized tank, and
    attached a hose to it, then repeated the gesture for
    Jim’s benefit. He stil had no idea what was in