Free Drifter's Run by William C. Dietz Page B

gaze. The sign said, "Hizo's Saloon, The Home of Dista Mist." "Chances are he's waiting in there."
    Lando wanted to say something, to comfort Melissa, but she avoided his eyes. They were halfway across the street when the cheap glass in the saloon's front window shattered and a body came flying out.
    Dee had seen it all a thousand times before. People get drunk, the strong pick on the weak, and fueled by liquid courage, the weak fight back. Such was the case right now.
    The whole thing had started with the arrival of a huge chrome-plated cyborg. A weird-looking thing with a human head and a sculpted body. It and a couple of ugly-looking sidekicks had taken up residence at a large table and proceeded to be as obnoxious as possible.
    This took the form of drinking, laughing, and poking fun at other customers. Though normally not a healthy thing to do, the cyborg was more than a little intimidating, and no one had chosen to take offense.
    And then a strange thing occurred. A tall, skinny man with the look of a ship's officer had entered the saloon, peered around, and taken a seat at the bar.
    Dee had given him an automatic scan, dismissed him as a law-abiding citizen, and turned her attention elsewhere. That's when the ruckus began. She missed the start of it, but heard someone shout "Watch out!" and looked over just in time to see the tall, skinny man break a bar stool over the cyborg's head.
    While this action would have killed a lesser creature, it didn't even mess the cyborg's blond hair, and he gave a roar of outrage. He charged, the man sidestepped, and all hell broke loose.
    Dee wasn't sure how or why, but within seconds the fight had spread to the rest of the bar, and she found herself on the edge of a melee. Having no desire to get beat up, especially for free, Dee stayed in her corner. That's when the face entered the saloon.
    Dee thought of him as "the face," because she couldn't remember his name, but remembered his face and knew he was wanted. The only problem was that he was on the far side of a really vicious barroom fight. Not only that, but he had a little girl with him, and that could complicate matters. Dee had done lots of things during her life… but greasing children wasn't one of them.
    Dee was on her feet and searching for a safe way across the room when the face yelled something and charged into the crowd. The little girl followed and the two of them were soon lost from sight.
    A full five minutes of confusion followed during which Dee fought her way across the room, hitting and kicking, careful to avoid the larger, more powerful combatants. And she was more than halfway there when a momentary lull in the fighting gave her a glimpse of her quarry.
    He was on the floor with the cyborg standing over him. The silver monster held a chair over his head, and was just about to bring it down when the face shot him in both knees. Not in the head for a certain kill, but in the knees, so the cyborg toppled like a giant tree.
    Unable to walk, the cyborg was still screaming his rage when the face scooped an unconscious figure off the floor, checked to make sure the little girl was okay, and walked out of the saloon.
    It was an amazing sight but it cost Dee plenty. The blow was actually meant for someone else, but it hit the side of her head with incredible force and dropped her like a rock. The resulting darkness felt surprisingly good.

6
    Lando held his breath as he climbed into the space suit. He'd been living in it for the past two weeks. It was, to use Melissa's phrase, "ripe beyond belief."
    Lando had tried everything from soap and water to industrial-strength deodorants and nothing worked. The suit had been around a long time, and over the years the smell of sweat, urine, and God knows what else had worked its way down into hundreds of little nooks and crannies.
    Lando's air gave out and he was forced to breathe. The sour coppery smell nearly gagged him. His suit radio crackled into life. "Hey, Pik, how ya