Free Price of a Bounty (Reliance on Citizens Makes Us Great!) by S. L. Wallace Page A

“What?”
    “Thank
you.”
    “It’s
what I do.” He returned his attention to the road.
    “Thank
you just the same.”
    He
glanced at me again. “Backup is a good thing, you know.”
    “Can
I ask you something?”
    “I
guess.”
    “Where
did you learn how?”
    “How
to what?”
    “Let’s
see.” I began to tick off items on my fingers. “How to
infiltrate. How to take out a trained bodyguard without flinching.
How to be backup.”
    “Oh,
that.” His eyes clouded over. “The military.”
    “Really?
I didn’t think people could leave.”
    “They
can’t.”
    “Rick?”
    He
looked at me. “Guy.”
    “When?”
    “Not
too long ago. I guess it’s been about a year now.”
    “Did
you fight in the last war?”
    “The
one against Mediterra?”
    “Yes,
the one that caused the Divide. Did you?”
    “Yes.”
    A
thought occurred to me. “Weren’t you afraid you’d be
recognized at Ramsey’s party? There were a lot of soldiers there.”
    “I
didn’t mingle.”
    “Oh.”
Clearly, this conversation was over.

-Keira-
    Scott
Was There

    When
we arrived at Guy’s apartment, he turned off the teleview and stood
up.
    “It’s
not over yet,” I said as I set the bag of gats in the center of
the dining table.
    “What
happened?”
    “I
got the money and Eberhardt took out the butler, but Ramsey is still
alive.”
    Guy
shot Eberhardt a concerned look.
    “Had
to.” He shrugged. “She was cornered.”
    “I’ll
have to go back in a few days to finish the job. I won’t be safe
until she’s gone.”
    “I
still don’t think you should.”
    “Obviously,
or you would have told Eberhardt to wait in the car like we’d
agreed.”
    Guy
stared at me. “I never agreed to that. Let’s talk about your
other options.”
    “Scott
talked about other options too. What did you say to him?”
    “To
help you.”
    “What
does Scott have to do with this job?” Eberhardt asked.
    “He
was there, at the party,” I said.
    “What
did he say to you?” Guy asked.
    “He
said, ‘Don’t do this,’ until I told him she’d hired me to
kill you.”
    Eberhardt
looked at Guy. “Why was he at Ramsey’s party? Did you send
him in?”
    “No,
I already told you. He’s military. He was invited to the party,”
I explained. “He’s one of her soldiers.”
    Guy
spoke so softly I almost missed what he said next. “Keira,
Scott’s one of us.”
    I
pulled out a chair and sat down, completely deflated. I shook my
head. “No, he would have told me. And he’s military.
Military is loyal to the Gov.”
    Guy
knelt in front of me. “Keira, people are just people, no
matter what their career or social standing may be. Many in the
military swear loyalty to the Resistance, even above their loyalty to
the Gov.”
    I
looked at Guy accusingly. “You’re not just a member of the
Resistance. Not if you have the authority to send people in.”
I emphasized the last part.
    He
nodded. “You’re right.”
    “But
you didn’t send Scott in tonight. He was surprised to see me.”
    “You’ll
find, Keira, that the first rule of the Resistance is secrecy.
Secrecy is what keeps people safe. You’ll be given information on a
need to know basis only.”
    “That’s
why Scott never told me? Because you told him to keep it a secret?”
    “You
really should ask Scott about that.”
    “Not
all secrets are good, you know. Just think, if you had told Scott
about your plans at the Ramsey estate, he wouldn’t have told me she
was looking for someone to ‘take care of a problem for her.’”
    “He
connected you two?”
    “Yes.”
    Guy
stood and quickly turned away so I couldn’t see his expression,
but I heard an intake of breath. Then he turned his attention to my
black bag and dumped the gats onto the table. He formed three equal
piles.
    One
pile he pushed toward Eberhardt. Guy looked him in the eye and said,
“For your family.”
    Eberhardt
nodded.
    He
pushed a second pile toward me. “Your payment for a job