Phules Paradise

"I said `I don't see anything,'" his new friend intoned, staring hard into Harry's eyes as he emphasized each word. "And if you're going to work here, you don't, either. And you sure don't point at them. You catch what I'm sayin'?"

"Got it." Harry nodded slowly. "They aren't here tonight. Never have been, never will be. Casual conversation or under oath."

"Good," William said, releasing his wrist. "I thought you'd understand. Sorry to grab you like that, but you almost bought into some big trouble before I could give you a full briefing."

Harry picked up his beer and propped his elbows on the bar.

"No problem," he said easily. "I appreciate your watching my back for me. Speakin' of briefings, though, just between the two of us, my vision is a lot more selective when I know just what it is I'm not seein'."

William moved a few steps away and leaned casually against the bar.

"Well," he said, talking prison-style, without looking directly at Harry, "what you aren't seeing is the Main Man on this whole station."

The Legio

"That's fu

The bartender let out a snort. "If you're an astroball fan, you've seen him, all right. Remember Ward Stilman?"

"Sure do!" Harry said, sneaking another look at the group in question, but using the bar mirror this time. "So that's him, huh? Damn! I used to love to watch him bust up people before he got tossed out of the pros."

"That's him," William confirmed. "But he's not the one I was talking about. The old biddy's the real mover and shaker on Lorelei. Stilman's just her chief muscle."

Harry's eyes flickered over to the older woman he had been ignoring so far.

"Her? She's `the Man' up here?"

"Be-lieve or be dead," the bartender said, flashing a tight smile. "You may have heard that someone called Max is ru

"How 'bout the stone mama sitting next to her?" Harry said, shifting the conversation to the original object of his attention.

"That's the Ice Bitch." William gri

"I can believe that," Harry said, shaking his head. "I damn near caught cold from across the room a minute ago when she looked at me."

The bartender's smile evaporated.

"Steer clear of that one, C.H.," he said earnestly. "In fact, you're wisest not to mess with any of them. I'll tell you, when those three get together-like they aren't right now-it means someone is about to get put through the grinder. Whatever it takes, just be sure it's never you."

It has been accurately observed in military history that no battle plan ever survived contact with the enemy. Such was the case in the opposition's first attempt to 'feel out" my employer's troops.

Accounts of the incident vary, which is not surprising, as it was a brief skirmish that was over almost before it began ...

Huey Martin, manager of the casino portion of the Fat Chance complex, did not bother trying to hide his disdain as he surveyed the Legio

At first he had been more fearful than resentful when his wet-behind-the-ears employer informed him that he was bringing in a Space Legion company to serve as security guards. What had looked like a pushover job was suddenly jeopardized by an unknown factor.

Watching the Legio

A faint smile drifted across the manager's face.

It would be deliciously ironic to use the Legio

A small flurry of noisy activity drew his attention, and his smile tightened again.

Some of the Legio

With only a small portion of the casino open, the Legio

As, far as Huey was concerned, that was all they were good for, and even there he firmly believed the job could be done better by models in hula skirts. Models would be more fun to look at, and cheaper.

A familiar figure entering the casino caught his eye, and Huey realized it was time for him to slip out of the complex for a walk. It would be best if he wasn't on the premises for what he had been warned was about to transpire.

Contrary to popular belief, pla

Though not particularly imposing physically, Lobo's work as a baggage handler at the spaceport had given his long, simian arms deceptive strength. Even more important for this assignment, however, was his eerie ability to soak up punishment without apparently feeling it or losing his head. In fact, he was something of a minor legend on Lorelei after he successfully took on three soldiers on leave in a fight. The brawl had lasted nearly fifteen minutes-long for a no-holds-barred dispute-but at the end of it Lobo had emerged victorious, though more than a little battered, while his opponents had to be carried to the Lorelei hospital.

The job as given to him by Stilman was simple enough, though slightly puzzling. He was supposed to try to goad one of the Legio