Foiled Revenge

“Wait.  Is that …?” Berek held up his hands to halt the cargo being loaded onto his ship.  Inside a two-by-two, tri-linium glass case sat a brown furry ball with beady eyes. “Jazzell, are you trying to sneak a tunarian pup onto my ship?” Berek stared at the owner of the isolated trading post on Asteroid 546.  “That is against the law, you know.”

“Since when has that ever been a concern of yours?” Jazzell hissed.     

“Since I know what happens if one cubic centimeter of oxygen reaches that fur ball. It’ll reproduce at a rate of 1,000 per second. My ship’s exo-skin will burst in under two minutes. Ka boom!” Berek threw his hands up in the air.  At the sudden motion, clicking sounds erupted, and the tunarian ricocheted off the walls of the container, vibrating the casing. 

“I will make it worth your while,” Jazzell offered, his three antennas twitching.

Berek raised an eyebrow and waited. 

“One million linars.”   

Berek blinked and shook his head.

“Two million?” 

*****

Jazzell stepped back into his office and froze at the hooded figure behind his desk. 

“Well, is it on board?”

Nodding, Jazzell bowed.  “As you commanded, Master.”

“And did you place the phenoric acid on the seams of the casing?”

Jazzell sneered. “Berek defiled your daughter, and now your revenge is imminent.  In moments, he will be beyond the outer shield, and the tunarian will be released.”

“Good, then you shall be handsomely rewarded—“

A monitor buzzed and lit up.  “Hey, Jazzell, did you know that your antennas twitch when you are lying?”  Laughter rang from the com. “Nothing personal you understand, but I decided to leave your cargo behind—just inside the warehouse.”  Jazzell’s eyes widened as the door behind him exploded with a million clicking balls. 

Word Count—299





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