The Orion Deception (29 page)
Read The Orion Deception Online
Authors: Tom Bielawski
Tags: #Science Fiction & Fantasy, #Science Fiction, #Adventure, #Heck Thomas
"Magnets under the table? And a metal-filled ball?"
"Precisely," he replied in low tones. "And, yes, it is a trap."
"Then why go?"
Heck stopped a moment and looked at her, the fear in her eyes eased his hostility. For a moment. "Lainne, this is what we came to do. To get captured. Gelad is here, Virgil is out there somewhere."
"I think I may have missed the part where
I
decided
I
wanted to get captured," she said angrily as Heck resumed walking toward the attendant. "Did something change?"
"Yes, something changed," he whispered grimly.
But the two stopped talking as they neared the elderly attendant on duty at the end of the hallway. He stood by a podium with a holographic interface.
"Sir," said the man nervously. "There are already seven players, I am so sorry but you cannot play."
"Perhaps you should count again," he growled handing the man a roll of paper currency. Paper money was favored on Rigel simply because it was one of a very few ways to spend money anonymously on the luxury drift.
The man held the roll of bills near his waist and flipped through them, then he smiled. "It appears I was mistaken, sir. I believe there was a scheduling mix up. Please follow me."
The two passed through a pair of ornate French double doors into another luxurious room with a large poker table. Several men and women were seated about the table talking idly amongst themselves, waiting for the dealer. A bar ran the length of the opposite wall with several people standing or sitting, eagerly awaiting the start of the match. Massive vid screens with the sound muted displayed a variety of sports that were being wagered on by the guests of the drift. The atmosphere was quiet and reserved, those who spoke did so in hushed tones.
The attendant escorted Heck to the table and the only empty chair. A vid plate on the back of the seat displayed the name, "Laylara Espinosa." The vid plate blinked off and was replaced by "Heck Thomas."
"Ladies and gentleman," announced the dealer in an American-English accent as he approached the table. "It appears we have had a scratch for this evening's match. Ms. Laylara Espinosa has been replaced by Mr. Heck Thomas."
Heck had to force himself to resume
Business Mode
as he sat at the table and looked over the faces of his opponents. It would not do to be too flustered and forced out too soon in the match. He made his unspoken statement earlier when he had correctly guessed that the croupier at the roulette wheel was using magnets under the table and a weighted ball to cheat the players. When the croupier figured out that Heck was on to him, he must have sent a silent message to whoever was monitoring his station. Likely the man had been directed through a tiny earpiece to suggest that Heck try his luck at poker.
Heck had the feeling there was still something very big about to happen. The dealer left the table again, as the match wasn't set to start for a few more minutes. Lainne went to get Heck a glass of whiskey, and herself a glass of rum, as everyone waited for the dealer to return. As Lainne returned to the table, a very large and intimidating man approached the opposite side of the table and whispered in the ear of another player. The man immediately stood, was handed a stack of chips, and excused himself from the match.
"I am so sorry," said the dealer as he returned to the table. "It appears there has been another mistake and we overbooked our table. This is quite embarrassing. Our good friend, Mr. Hickman, has generously and kindly excused himself from the match so that the original participants could play on."
Heck looked around hoping to see who was going to replace Mr. Hickman. Down the hallway he heard a rumbling, boisterous, voice demanding entry to the match. He knew that voice, knew it very well, and strained against every fiber of his being to maintain his cool. He threw back his glass of whiskey, knowing that whatever came next he needed to have his emotions completely in check. It was going to test the limits of his endurance simply not to stand up and shoot this man in the head. Despite the desire of raging emotions that were simmering in his internal lock-box and screaming for murder, Heck was determined to play his role through. He was doing it for Lainne.
"Ladies and gentleman, the final player for our match," announced the dealer. Lainne gave an audible gasp as the scarred man approached the table and sat down across from Heck. "Stephen Doolin will take his place at the table. The game will commence in five minutes."
Chapter
Twelve
~
The two stared at each other a long moment, each silently willing the other to break first. Then Dooly's eyelid twitched and he looked over the waiter who brought the man a bottle of rum. By the look in the man's haunted eyes, Heck knew instantly that Dooly was a changed man, and for the worse. Dooly threw back the bottle and drank nearly a third of it at once before placing it back on the table. He glanced up at Lainne, trying to piece together who she was for a moment. Then he gave up and looked back at his old mentor.
"So, this is awkward." Dooly was remarkably calm, Heck noticed. It was out of character for him, but considering the man should be dead he was willing to let that go. "You gonna say anything? Or you just gonna sit there and gawk at me?"
"You should be dead."
A big grin split Dooly's ugly, scar covered, face as he pounded his hand on the table. "Ha! Just like you, ain't it? Don't give a rat's ass about nobody. An apology would be nice, might even forgive you for killing me."
"No you won't," replied Heck. Dooly just snickered.
"You're right, I won't," answered Dooly as the dealer came back. "You know I'm gonna kill ya, right?"
Heck was getting small pleasure from the encounter. Dooly was terrible at keeping his mouth shut and Heck thought the man probably should have tried not to disclose that. Did he really think he could intimidate Heck Thomas?
"So what are the stakes, Dool? What's in it for you?"
"More money than you could ever imagine and the Chief Marshal position in the new Imperial Marshal's Service."
Heck stared at Dooly as the dealer returned and the cards were dealt to the players. Silence was falling in the room but Heck was deafened by the sound of the blood rushing in his ears. He was angry, furious, and was quivering with the anticipation of shooting the smirking fool across from him under the table while they played.
But Heck knew enough about Dooly to know that he wasn't as dumb as he tried to let on.
“Well, ain't you gonna congratulate me?” the man said with a snicker. The rest of the players glanced at him with ire, but none dared comment to the fierce man. “No, I reckon you won't. You always did like me being in your shadow.”
“Dooly,” said Heck, every fiber of his being straining against
Business Mode.
“Right now I just want to watch you die.”
“Well, ain't that sweet. But I wouldn't get no ideas, old pal,” the man said dangerously. “Your lady-friend might not enjoy her stay too well if something bad happened to me.”
Heck glanced around the room quickly and saw that Lainne was no where to be seen. When he looked back at Dooly he saw the truth in the man's cold, hard, eyes.
“You look like someone just shot your puppy, Heck!” he laughed.
As Heck glared at Dooly he felt the armor of his will breaking. He felt himself getting flushed and hot and his heart was racing. And though he fought valiantly to maintain
Business Mode,
his will failed him. His world spun out of control to the merry sound of Dooly's raucous laughter and Heck Thomas realized one thing.
It was happening again.
~
The End of Part One
Stay tuned for the exciting sequel.
About this book:
Thank you so much for buying and reading my book. The Orion Deception is the second story in the world of Marshal Henrick (Heck)Thomas. Although the characters called Marshal Heck Thomas and Deputy Marshal Stephen W. Doolin are purely fictional, there was in fact a Marshal Heck Thomas and a William Doolin. Marshal Heck Thomas was a hero of the American West while William “Bill” Doolin was the leader of one of the worst gangs in Old West American history.
Marshal Andrew Henry (Heck) Thomas was a United States Marshal in the late 19th Century. A Georgian by birth, Heck served as a courier in the Civil War at the age of 12 under his uncle, General Edward Thomas. Heck later became a member of the Atlanta Police where he earned a reputation as a fearless fighter.
In the 1870’s Heck had moved to Texas where he worked for the Texas Express Railroad and later became a member of the Fort Worth Detectives Association.
Following his appointment to the Marshals Service, M
arshal Thomas was assigned to police the lawless Indian Territory. By 1889 the lawman had partnered with fellow Marshals Bill Tilghman and Chris Madsen; the trio became known as “The Three Guardsmen,” and were largely responsible for bringing law to the lawless territory.
The Doolin Gang (AKA the Doolin-Dalton Gang) was one of the most violent gangs of the time. For four years they robbed trains and committed other crimes in Kansas, the Indian Territory, and Texas. In 1896 the Three Guardsman caught up to the gang and the notorious Bill Doolin. Eventually every member of that gang died fighting, refusing to surrender to the law. Bill Doolin was killed in 1896.
The Three Guardsmen were credited with arresting 300 wanted men during their tenure. Heck Thomas retied in 1909 and died in 1912 of
Bright’s Disease
. He was buried in the Highland Cemetery in Lawton Oklahoma where his grave remains today.
-
“Heck Thomas,” Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia
Information retrieved 15 December, 2011 http://en.wikipedia.com/wiki/heck_thomas copyright 2012 Wikipedia
-
“Wild Bunch,” Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia
Information retrieved 15 December, 2011
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doolin-Dalton_Gang
About the author:
Howdy. I’m Tom Bielawski and I wrote this book. So, you want to know a little about me?
I’m a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, and I served “In every clime and place.” After departing active duty I became a lawman, which I still am to this day. I’ve been deputy sheriff, a county police officer and a special agent. I took a short hiatus from policework to serve in Afghanistan for two years as a police mentor.
I’m a husband and a father of two humans, two horses, two dogs, six cats, six chickens, and two ducks. Aside from spending time with my family, I love bass fishing, reading, writing, trout fishing, camping, fly fishing, hiking, fishing, and any other kind of fishing.
Please contact me at my website: www.tombielawski.com
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/thechroniclesofllars
On Twitter: www.twitter.com/TomBielawski
I’d love to know what you think about this book and what direction you’d like to see our hero go in next!
More From Me:
The Chronicles of Llars
III
Shadowblade
IV
The Tomb of the Dark Paladin
The Chronicles of Heck Thomas
My upcoming projects include new series’ in epic fantasy,
modern adventure fiction, and historical fiction.
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