Under a Killing Moon

UAKM — CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

I was picked up by a passing mining transport twenty-two hours after being thrown clear of the Moon Child. I used the radio onboard to contact Interpol. Within hours, dozens of interplanetary vehicles were closing in on the galaxy’s largest piece of man-made debris.

I slept most of the way home. When the mining transport arrived in New Jersey, my two Interpol pals, Agents McCovey and Andrews, were there to meet me. I was debriefed in a Greek deli over gyros and dolmas, and the agents informed me that Percival and several others had been located and taken into custody. I asked if they knew what happened to Eva, but they didn’t. I found out later that she didn’t make it.

As a final order of business, the Interpol agents told me that a reward had been offered for the capture of the Chameleon. I hadn’t exactly captured him, but it was close enough.

They took me to Interpol headquarters in Manhattan and gave me a check for ten thousand dollars, as well as a hearty congratulations for my efforts toward making the world a safer place to live.

With my wallet now as full as my tummy, Interpol stuck me on one of its private aircraft and gave me a lift home. Agent McCovey went along for the ride. On the way, we discussed what had happened. Having shown myself to be a man of no mean talent, I fullt expected him to offer me a job in the agency, but for some reason, the subject never came up. Not that I would’ve accepted. Regular paychecks and medical benefits just weren’t my style.

As we arrived in New San Francisco, Agent McCovey made one last request — that I keep the events of the past few days to myself. He explained that it would be in the public’s best interest not to know how close it had come to complete and utter destruction. I agreed to keep a lid on it, not because I endorsed the suppression of truth of the manipulation of the masses, but because no one would’ve believed me anyway.

An hour after we landed, I was planted on a bar stool at the Brew & Stew, looking and listening and soaking up the atmosphere. I was showered and clean-shaven and wearing my good tie. It was a little after 7 P.M., and the crowd was converting from diners to drunkards. Louie was bouncing all over the joint, red-faced and grinning from ear to ear.

All the regulars were there, sipping cold beer from chilled mugs, or toasting each other with tumblers full of strong spirits. Rook was in a heated debate at the other end of the bar. For once, his high-pitched, abrasive voice sounded good and familiar to me.

Chelsee was seated on the lucky bar stool beside me, nursing a vodka and tonic and smelling good enough to eat. I had five hundred dollars in my pocket, and the rest was stashed away in my secret hiding place back at the office. The thought of paying off my tab to Louie made me feel almost as good as being close enough to hear Chelsee’s soft breathing. I took a sip of twelve-year-old scotch and held it on my tongue for a few moments before letting it flow warmly down my throat. Behind me, a slurring voice requested a “slippery nipple.” Chelsee set her drink down and turned to me with one eyebrow raised. “What in the world is a slippery nipple?”

An uncontrollable shiver went through me, but I managed to shrug casually. “I don’t know. But it probably has egg in it.”

Chelsee smiled and gave me a chastizing look, then returned to her drink. I lit a cigarette and carefully blew the smoke away from my lovely bar mate. “You know, Chelsee, I think we should meet later. Maybe up in my office. I’ll show you something I learned to do with my hands.”

Chelsee looked at me out of the corner of her eye and stirred the vodka and tonic with her finger. “You know, Tex, I’ve always been enchanted by a lack of breeding.”

“I know. That’s exactly what I’m counting on.”

“Oh really?”

I flicked an ash off the end of my cigarette and grinned disarmingly. “Yeah. I’ve got a theory. I think you’re secretly attracted to me. You only hold back because the intensity of your passion frightens you. I don’t blame you for that.”

Chelsee took a drink, then turned to face me. “That’s quite a theory. You have a wonderful imagination.” She smiled sweetly. “Don’t get me wrong, Tex. I like you, just not that way.”

I took a resigned drag. “Well, no need to give up on a good theory just because it isn’t true.”

I lifted my glass and glanced at the television behind the bar as I took a sip. A shot of the Moon Child was on-screen. Louie appeared and emptied my ashtray.

“Louie, could you turn up the volume?”

The big Mutant reached under the counter for a remote and aimed it at the television.

“—when disaster struck yesterday. No official comment has been released, but it is believed that as many as five thousand people were aboard. Indications are that the satellite resort experienced a massive systems failure. Initial reports state that there were no survivors. If so, this would qualify as the greatest off-planet disaster in history. In other news — “

Chelsee shook her head. “That’s horrible. All those people.”

I set down my drink and drew in on my Lucky Strike. The cafe was alive with the clinking of glasses, snippets of conversations, laughter. It was a beautiful sound. I drained the last of my scotch and set the glass on the counter. Louie asked if I wanted another. I shook my head and smiled, then laid three large bills on the bar. I could tell Louie was about to protest, and I cut him off. “Thanks for the drink. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I leaned down and kissed Chelsee on the cheek. She didn’t seem to mind. Then I slung my brand-new trench coat over my shoulder, set the matching fedora on my head, and walked to the door. I’d gotten half way across the room when I noticed a stunning brunette in a black dress sitting alone in the booth next to the door. She was a dame. The kind of dame that could make a bishop kick out a stained-glass window. As I approached, she looked up and smiled. “Are you Tex Murphy?”

Feeling pleasantly confused, I doffed my hat. “Have we met?”

The woman looked up at me with large, hazel eyes. “No. I have something I’d like to show you.”

She motioned for me to sit down, then opened her purse and handed me a -

Well, that’s another story…