Fastest Gun in the Veil

The fact that Gideon Masters was the fastest gunslinger in the Veil was the reason most steered clear of him. For me, it was the sole reason I went after him.

His reputation had become so fierce he didn't even have to hide anymore. Those galactic hunters with the courage to chase him down and confront him too often ended up with a slug in their chest. He was crafty, instinctive and had the fastest hands in the whole solar system.

My attempts to find a competent partner to split the lucrative bounty went unanswered. I sought the reputable types first: Korran Hayes, formerly retired but with the most impressive track record of live captures I'd ever seen. He admitted to me he had tried to capture Masters twice in between puffs on his Earth-bought cigar. He had no desire to come out of retirement to go straight to an early grave. Who still smoked cigars anyway?

I ran into the famed hunter Argo van Hylden on Mars Station and he stayed sober just long enough to share the tale of how Masters had offed his entire team on Ganymede and made him make a promise never again to come after him. He wished me luck. I told him I wouldn't need it.

There were a few wildcats trying to make a name for themselves who came calling when word got around that I was gunning for Masters. Young and inexperienced, they were looking to make a name for themselves on the holonets. I couldn't afford to bet my life on an itchy trigger finger. I'd go it alone.

The Veil has always been a rough place. Settled less than a hundred years ago, it was designed to be a futuristic utopia but ended up looking more like the Wild West. It was made up of a half dozen floating colonies past even Pluto's reach, some established in the remnants of floating asteroids and the colossal Zeus Station. Those on Earth often referred to the Veil as paradise with a death wish. It was a home for hedonists and outlaws, where currency was king and morals were not an important character trait.

I left Mars Station and reached Zeus without the shipboard computers waking me from my induced sleep. I found Mt. Olympus, the penultimate nighttime haven for all things exotic and illegal, without any trouble.

"What'll it be," the barkeep asked, a scar that ran from beneath his shirt up the side of his face told me that even the workers here weren't safe from the occasional bout of debauchery this far from civilization.

"Gideon Masters," I shouted, already feeling nauseated from the constant light show and thick smoke of the bar.

"Don't know that drink," he replied. It seemed nobody wanted to get involved.

I pulled a thousand dollar chip from my vest, a small price to pay compared to the bounty I intended to collect. He shoved it into his pants pocket and paused to think.

"He hangs out at the Dollhouse at this time of night." The barkeep turned away from me and I left the bar. The streets weren't much better.

They were called streets but they were really shafts, fixated with artificial gravity to resemble Earthlike streets under a metallic sky. Colorful, dotted and beeping lights were at every corner and the people I passed seemed either enthused or enraged and there was no in between.

The Dollhouse was the premier entertainment establishment on the station. It was so popular that even those on Earth often journeyed out to the Veil purchase an intimate night with one of the dollhouse girls.

The receptionist met me with a bionic smile. "How can I help you?"

"I'm here to see Gideon Masters."

"I'm sorry, sir. We cannot release any information on any of our clients."

I held up a pair of hundred dollar chips, but her smile was unwavering.

My left hand flickered and the barrel of my slugthrower was staring the receptionist down.

"Okay, sir. Give me just one moment please." She turned and began incessantly typing on the computer panel. I counted the beads of sweat accumulating on her forehead.

"Uhm.. Masters, Gideon. He checked out thirty minutes ago, sir. Says here he has a flight departure to Ganymede."

I was halfway out the door before she finished. No doubt he was trying to jump off station before I could get to him. I'd come too far now. I hailed the nearest hovercab and ordered the bot back to the hangars.

The civilian hangars were always a mess and reminded me of the more terrestrial airports back on Earth. The security was slow, the drinks were expensive and everybody seemed upset. I made my way into the terminal and checked the departure board to find the next flight to Ganymede. Hangar six.

I shoved my way to the front of the line amidst grumbling and some cursing from the passenger's already in line. The gate attendant started to berate me about trying to skip to the front of the line until I punched him straight in the throat. He crumpled and I stepped over his body into the hangar bay.

The shuttle took up most of the available room, but the boarding ramp hadn't lowered yet. I peered around amongst the crowd to find my target and my hand eased down to my slugthrower.

The ramp whirred and cracked as it lowered and a pair of attendants strolled down to begin admitting passengers. I cleared my throat and started toward the shuttle. I couldn't let him board.

Someone behind me yelled something. I kept moving.

"Hey you!" It was distinct this time. I felt it was directed toward me, so I turned about.

"What is it?"

"I believe you're looking for me," he quipped. A red ball cap sat over his shaggy blond hair and he wore a black coat. He was just a kid, sixteen or seventeen at best and with the boyish charm to prove it.

"You're mistaken," I turned back around and kept moving. He might have boarded already. I was running out of time.

"You are a galactic hunter, are you not?" I heard him say. "Looking for Gideon Masters?" He added.

I turned back around and saw he was smiling now. Passengers were pushing past us but he seemed oblivious to them. I noticed that he had unbuttoned his coat and swept one side back to reveal a low hanging holster cradling a slugthrower.

"What's the bounty at these days?" He asked. My fingers licked at the cold metal of the gun at my side.

"Thirty-one billion." This was the kid that eluded the likes of Korran Hayes and beat Argo van Hylden's team on Ganymede? I couldn't believe it.

A kid couldn't beat me. No way. I'd shot and killed the George brothers on Earth years ago. I chased Jacques Mathieu across Lunar City before I gunned him down outside the Buzz Aldrin Grand Casino. I'd collected real bounties from real criminals.

"You can go on if you want," he slithered, his lips pulled back into the kind of smile you give when you get caught with your hand in the cookie jar. He knew better, you didn't come this far out to the Veil just to turn tail and run.

"Final boarding for Ganymede," the attendant called. The boy didn't move.

I felt cool and calm, I had been here before, against much meaner men.

"I've come too far for that."

I watched his fingers but they were unmoving, a coiled snake ready to strike. I could beat him.

I took a breath. My fingers jerked and I drew my slugthrower, my intentions clear.

There was a resounding shot. I felt a reeling pain in my side. My left foot went numb and I fell to the cold metal floor.

I peered up and saw the boy smiling down on me, a smoking slugthrower still in his hand.

"That one looks like it hurt," he disappeared from my field of view.

As blackness closed in around me, I looked down and realized my slughthrower was still holstered, my fingers locked tight around the handle.

I closed my eyes and heard the engines of the shuttle powering up to leave the station.

Maybe I should have listened.

THE END

Bio: Mr. Taylor's past is shrouded in mystery, no doubt due to the actions of hitherto unknown supernatural forces... or the author neglected to send any bio info, forcing the editor to make something up.

E-mail: Theo Taylor

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