Free Fool's Gold: Carson Lyle's War - Part One by Thomas J. Rock

about the agents?"
    "Agents?"
    "Yeah. Two of 'em. They're the ones that had me since I landed."
    Kagan stroked his beard. His partners looked at each other, as if to know what the other was thinking.
    "I'd heard stories about them," Lyle said. "But the stories don't even come close. One of them made me pass out by just shaking my hand. That's how they got me." He noticed the looks on the three men's faces. "Is this a problem?"
    Varga said to the others, with a measure of enthusiasm, "You think it's the new version?"
    "It doesn't matter," said Dex. "Those robots lack any kind of flare for the job. I hope we get a shot at them."
    Are they f-ing crazy? They talked like they knew what the agents were, but if they did, how could they talk like that knowing what they were? Who the hell were they?
    "It doesn't change anything," Kagan said. "We still need to get that ship tonight. Last chance, Lyle. In or out?"
    Carson Lyle sat, exchanging looks with each of the men. He could walk away now, have nothing, and have to dodge the law and start over. It wouldn't be the first time. Or he could help these guys escape to the Outer Rim, with his ship, and have to dodge more than just the Authority, not knowing how long it would be before he could set foot in the inner territory again. But that would also give him the chance to get long overdue revenge on the man that took away everything else the Authority hadn't. There was only one, truly acceptable choice.
    He turned his stare to Kagan and pointed at him. "I'm doing this for my own reasons. Not for Grey Corp, the 501st, or the Outer Rim colonies. You get me?"
    The big man leaned in, ignoring the finger pointed in his face. "If your reasons jeopardize my reasons, there will be pieces of you, in space, from here to the Earth gate."
    “Noted,” Lyle said. “So what about the pilots?”
    Kagan looked to the bar. “Hey, Myrtle! You have a sec?”
    She finished settling a tab and came around from the back of the bar. When she got to the table, Kagan turned himself out from the table toward her and she took a seat on his knee. She looked at Lyle and gave him a quick wink and turned back to Kagan.
    Lyle felt a little sick to his stomach.
    “What’cha need love?” She said.
    “I need a favor,” Kagan said. “See those two bloaks over near the window?”
    She craned her neck around Kagan’s broad shoulders to see. “Oh yeah. What about ‘em?”
    “I want to buy them a drink after we leave, anything they want, but tell them it’s on the house and you can keep whatever’s left.” He pulled a small wad of credits from his pocket and put them in her hand.
    Her faced lit up at the sight of the money. “Absolutely, love!”
    Kagan put an arm around her waist. “One more thing, though,” he said reaching into his inside jacket pocket and gave her a small pouch. “Can you drop one of these in each mug?”
    “Of course I can. Anythin’ for you!”
    “Thanks. You’re too good to me.”
    “You just remember to come back to me when you in town next,” she said, giving him quick kiss and hopping up from his knee.
    “How can I not?” Kagan gave her a playful pat on the bottom as she walk off. She giggled with delight.
    Kagan turned back to the table. Dex and Varga were snickering. Lyle wasn’t sure what he just saw or if he even wanted to know.
    “Pilot problem solved. Let’s go.”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 15
     
     
     
     
    El Dorado Space Port
    Nightfall.
     
    The darkness had descended on the docks an hour earlier. The El Dorado Aurora dazzled the night sky with shimmering golden waves. To conserve power at the port, the only lights still on were nearest the access hatches of the ships docked there. Lyle and the three mountains were behind a fuel truck about a hundred meters away from The Majestic, concealed by the night. Dex scanned the perimeter of the ship through night vision binocs.
    “Looks like they still plan