Free Recon Marines II: Marine's Heiress, The by Susan Kelley

I came to find
work.” Vin had thought his lie was perfectly convincing.
    “ Tell us the truth now,
lad, or we’ll continue this fight.” Moe’s fists tightened
again.
    Vin wondered how they’d seen through
his clever fabrication but he had a small truth ready. “I need to
avoid more populated worlds.”
    The big men relaxed again. Vannie spoke
next. “You’re here to hide out? Are you a deserter
then?”
    Vin knew the word but not all the
nuances of it and none of the connotations fit him. “I didn’t
desert, but I don’t want to be found by anyone.”
    Moe stuck out his hand with a short
nod. “We had to be sure. You’re not active military
anymore?”
    Vin shook Moe’s and then Vannie’s hand.
“I haven’t been part of the military for over a year.”
    “ I understand how those
habits stay with you for a while.” Vannie grinned. “Now tell me
about this trap finder you’re making.”
    Vin showed them how the machine worked.
“It should clean up to a hundred yards a day and one man can
operate it.”
    “ This will go a long way
to getting the men back to work at full speed again. We’re already
three days behind and only half the men worked today.” Vannie
grinned wider.
    “ I have another question.”
Moe didn’t look near as happy as Vannie. “Dillon swears he checked
the gate before dark. That means it has to be someone who lives
here.”
    “ I found tracks outside
the fence. Someone climbed over the wall a few yards from the gate
and took down the bar. I tracked him half a mile up the road to
where had a vehicle parked. Probably a hover scooter.” Vin recapped
the oil and carried it to the shelf where he’d placed other
lubricants. The rag went on another shelf, folded and placed with
the other bits of cloth.
    “ So someone from the
Hadrason Mining complex did this.” Moe sighed. “Why? Why the traps
and now this sabotage? We’re a poor little village. Taking what
they let wash downstream doesn’t hurt them in any way.”
    “ You have something
someone is willing to kill for.” Years of duty battled with Vin’s
personal plans. He wasn’t a Recon Marine anymore, only a man set on
revenge. Protecting civilians was no longer his job. He would help
them only to maintain his cover. “When did the trouble
start?”
    “ A few months ago, a few
things happened like the supply ships being late or some of our
orders not coming,” Moe said. “We haven’t received any supplies for
two months. Usually one of the traders will fly a transport
downstream with what we’ve asked for. That’s why Emma doesn’t have
the medicines she needs. Though she said she couldn’t buy some of
the meds you have as they’re reserved for the military.”
    “ I know where to get some
things.” Vin had purchased most of his things months ago with Yalo
to defend Crevan Four though none of them had saved her. He’d
stolen more military equipment when he had captured the criminals
he hunted down.
    “ Did you come in on a
freight ship?” Moe asked.
    “ I did,” Vin lied,
avoiding their gazes. He’d actually flown his own interstellar ship
to the planet and parked it ten miles away. His small hover craft
rested beneath a camouflage net only half a mile away.
    “ Maybe it’s just a nasty
prankster,” Moe suggested.
    “ We have to catch him
before someone else gets killed.” Vannie ran his hand over the
machine Vin had made. “This time we were lucky and got a big pile
of moose meat, but it could have been a lot worse. A bear could
have wandered in or those damned jecks could have attacked a child.
Vin, you’ve proven yourself a pretty good handyman and hunter. How
do you feel about being a guard?”
    Vin felt like he was doing something
wrong as they asked him to do a chore that fit perfectly into his
plans and needs. “I’m quite comfortable with it.”
    * * * *
    Emma carried more dishes into the
kitchen. Only a few of the regular evening customers remained.
They’d enjoyed their first moose