Third and last except from The Courier

March 3 Yo, the first part of March. Better weather for this time of year-which means rain-but we shall see how it goes from here on. We still have at least three months where it can rain.

This is the third and last excerpt of The Courier. This time from chapter six. It includes some byplay between characters as well as part of a fight. I still aim to have this out the end of March. So watch for it. But don’t wait I have tree other novels out you can buy. :)


Kara is on an airship piloted and owned by an “indie”, an independent airship owner who flies people and freight around. Many are honest but some will cheat you, while others will carry contraband and be involved with other illegal activities, which includes attacking other Indies-that comes in later in the novel. Kara is on a week long “run” to get various contracts signed but she finds herself attacked more than once and she finds something in her courier pouch that she didn’t place in it.







Enjoy:



Before she could answer with an apology he looked around at the disassembled gun on her cot and the stunner lying next to it. He might have smelled the gun oil too.
“What’s up?”
She looked up at him confused.
He pointed at the weapons. “You left suddenly just because you had a case of weapon withdrawal?”
“No, I’m sorry for not saying anything. I should have—too much time by myself, but this is something I do every so often. In my occupation I never know when I will need one of these, so I make sure they are operational.”
He nodded. “I understand that. You never know when some dust, spare oil, or insect or something will get into your weapon but this is sudden. Were you attacked at your last stop?”
“What? No.” She sighed. “This has nothing to do with being attacked. I mean, I could be, I have been while doing a run, but this is about being ready just in case.”
Kara almost rolled her eyes at her own verbal confusion. She could converse better than that. Danny gave her a look that said he didn’t believe her, but let it drop and said he needed to get back to the cockpit, and left.
Once she heard his footsteps go down the hallway, she said, “Damn! I hate lying to him.”
She grabbed one of the sticks of gum she still had left and put one in her mouth—more for something to do with her hands instead of throwing something though. She barely registered the strong flavor.
But what would he do if he knew they were being followed by people willing to kill? She needed this run and she would get past them to finish it. She was good and her rep would be even better if it got out. And she didn’t need protection. If anyone needed protection, he did. In fact she protected him by being quiet. The less he knew the better. She let out a couple of more curses though.
She hurriedly but carefully put the pistol back together. Should she go to him and try to convince him again or just let him think for the night? This had better not have ruined their friendship!
Kara finally went to bed. The next morning she slept late, after taking a long time to go to sleep. He knocked on her door and asked if she needed any breakfast. She said yes. Since she had already taken a fast shower—maybe he had heard the running water—and was dressed, she went to the small lounge. He stood there cooking eggs and bacon, and even had some biscuits in a toaster oven. He said, “Good morning. Sorry I totally forgot butter, but I do have honey. Nothing special just plain, cheap honey.”
“That’s fine, I like cheap, plain honey. I am kind of plain myself.”
He gave her a look that seemed to say, “No, you’re not,” but went back to his cooking without saying anything. A minute later he set a plate with fried eggs and bacon in front of her. Five pieces of perfect bacon. A moment later a hot biscuit joined it.
“There are more biscuits, not home made but good anyway.”
Her mouth watered for that bacon—she tasted one. Thicker than usual and so good. He must have remembered what she had said about bacon during one of their talks. Danny sat down, after giving her some orange juice, with his plate and glass. Some of his bacon was a little burnt one piece looked undercooked some. So had he taken the rejects, or did he like it that way. Damn, she couldn’t recall what he said about what he liked.
They ate in silence except for the noises of chewing.
Once done she said, “Thank you, the bacon tasted wonderful and the eggs were good too.”
He looked up at her and smiled. She stood and started to gather the dishes.
“No, I can do that. You need to get ready for your next run. In case you hadn’t noticed, we landed and are tethered.”
So that was why the airship’s movement had felt funny. “What?” She should have figured that out sooner; the movement of a ship tethered yet pushed by the wind felt different from flying.
“You slept late.”
“Oh, I wondered why you were spending so much time away from the controls.”
“I can make some coffee to help you wake up. Some hot and strong instant stuff will wake you by taste, heat, and caffeine.”
“Um, maybe you should do that, I seem to be half asleep. I’ll get dressed in my outfit.”
On the way out she again said, “Thank you for breakfast. Ir was good.” Unsaid, even though she wasn’t sure if he would get it, was, “After last night.”
Kara rushed back to her cabin and changed. Once dressed she made sure each of her devices were where they were supposed to be. That included two bottles of water and four cereal bars, just in case of some emergency. She went down the ladder, after making sure she told him her destination. She headed for the terminal. There she called her next client. He said he would be in his office this morning. She said she would be there. Nothing happened on the way even though she spotted someone that could have been that woman. This time it was hard to tell for sure, for she looked common: average height, weight and dress. This time her hair looked shorter and a different color but she could have it up or behind her in a bun. The color change could be done easily enough since Kara had last seen her. But at the same time Kara didn’t want to be too paranoid.
The man’s office was a small trailer at a construction site this time, no one was working yet on this warm morning but it looked like someone would be there at anytime. The man, who looked middle age and tough with a sweat-stained shirt, signed his contract, number four, they shook hands and she left. On the way back to the airport, though, something seemed off. She looked back at the site—it didn’t look quite the same as it had when she stood right in front of it. Closed down? She was just there though. A shrug and she continued. Just as she rushed by a very dark alley mouth something stopped her forward motion. She looked down to one side and a hand held her pouch. It pulled again. She startled but managed to plant her feet and pull on the pouch and the hand pulling on it around to her front. The man connected to the hand came with it. He looked too skinny, even though he was only half a head taller than her. He wore old, torn clothes. Obviously he hadn’t figured that she would be too in tune with it to ignore something like that.
Kara chopped at the hand—when it let go, she shoved the man hard. He had been taken by surprise so didn’t react fast enough. Now he stumbled backward and hit an A-frame with enough force to knock him over it. A clunk showed that he hit his head. She grabbed his shirt and lifted him up; he had looked underweight and didn’t wear much. She placed her face near his. He smelled of drugs, and had very bad breath. “Never try to steal a courier’s pouch. Next time you might get a knife in your gut. That is very painful.” She pushed him over the A-frame again.
Of course more than likely no courier would stab him in the gut but maybe it could scare him into leaving couriers alone—maybe. As she walked away, she thought, The first shove over the A-frame was an accident but the second one wasn’t, I went too far. But she had been angry.
A light step behind her made her turn her head. Was he up already?
No, but a man who had to have been his partner came out of the dark alley. This guy appeared to be the same height as the first one but was obviously in better shape. Even in the rags he wore he looked like a fighter with muscles. The way he held the knife in his hand showed that too. Her dad and Twoskunks both said that you could tell the ability of someone with a knife by the way he, or she, held it. This guy knew his business. Which brought up the question of why someone with that training would be here living a homeless person. Of course drug, addiction can get anyone, she thought.
Kara had no more time for thoughts: the guy had moved close enough to lunge at her. She dodged him, though, he moved deceptively fast,and she finished the movement to get her stunner out. It should have been out sooner but the new outfit was slightly different ,which she hadn’t taken into account.
Her attacker's eyes widened a bit but they went back to normal in a heartbeat. She held the stunner like a knife and her stance reflected that. Behind him she saw a woman come out of the dark alley mouth. Just like one of those otherworldly transportation gates a couple of the books she read contained, her mind insisted on saying.
She wanted to roll her eyes—this wasn’t the time for that. Kara wanted to run but knew they would be on her in a few seconds, unless she could stun them for even a couple of seconds.
The woman moved back like she wanted to let the first guy have all the fun. Kara slid sideways to get a wall behind her to make sure neither of them or a new person could come at her from behind. The man moved to her, and she glanced at the woman without moving her face or eyes. As Kara suspected, she wasn’t homeless, no matter how she dressed in ripped, old gray sweats and a loose-fitting stained top.
A second look and she thought, Neither is this man. She had seen all types of homeless, and this guy didn’t fit: his smell didn’t fit, nor his breath, nor his body language, or his hair style. A part of her mind took a second to hope they hadn’t killed the original owners of the clothing they wore.
She made a feint with the stunner, slightly pressed the button to make a noise, and to produce a spark at the end. That sometimes shook her attackers. Not this guy, though. Another feint which didn’t even make even his eyes look at her hand.
Damn, this guy was good.
Three more fakes, each one closer to him, and she struck for real. He leaned back to avoid the arc. She got her hand back in time to block his first swing. Sweat popped out on her forehead. The stunner warmed her hand since she had it running. A hard lunge from him that turned out to be a feint. She danced as he moved his feet. Two more swings each and she tried to get him to back off by swinging the stunner all the way across her front. It was on full but he moved back only a step and moved his hand to block hers. Or so she thought until a shock ran through her fingers around the stunner. A heartbeat later she knew she no longer held it. How had he done that? She knew there were ways to knock knives out of hands, but she hadn’t seen what he used. She couldn’t stop herself—her eyes went to that hand. All fingers were still there, no blood. So he hadn’t hit her with his blade.
He moved in with a sudden motion. The tip of his blade hit her chest below a breast with a faster motion. The impact pushed her back slightly, and made her grunt. But the new metal held up. She would have a bruise, but no cut. 
 Kara decided if he moved that quick she would have to as well. The heel of one hand slammed into his forehead before she could finish the thought. A jab with her fingers into his sternum and a last sock in the belly with her left fist. Then she doubled up her hands and swung up. The impact on his jaw was enough for her to hear his teeth click. A final double-fisted hit on his face. She hoped to bloody his nose but didn’t connect right. He backed off though with tears in his eyes, but didn’t go down. She had to back off, too.
Her arms were tired already and he was still on his feet. They moved around in a dance. She blocked his knife swings, but he got in a couple punches, and she couldn’t get in another solid hit. But the stunner lay on the cement behind him. She maneuvered him around. The woman joined in and tried to grab Kara from behind, but Kara slammed back with her head. When something hard stopped her head’s momentum she knew she had connected. Kara slid sideways again. Maybe she could run out in the street when some cars came by. They danced some more, the woman behind the man again, and as Kara feinted to the right as if to run to the street, the woman came around the man. A sizzle sounded, followed by an electric buzz. Then the sound of a body hitting cement. So she had forgotten the stunner Kara thought.
When the man glanced at his partner Kara drew her longer knife. The man’s eyes came back to the front and widened for a moment. Sirens sounded. So someone had called the police.

end excerpt