Page 8 of Defying the Relic Hunter

“I’m collecting donations for the homeless and God’s children have been very generous.”

To my surprise, he took a credit chip out of his pocket and handed it to me. “Keep up the good work.”

“Bless you, my son.” To my relief my he didn’t notice the slight flicker in the image I was projecting.

The driver popped the trunk.

Before I could haul my luggage over to the taxi, the young cop took the bags from me and loaded them in the trunk. “Your kindness will be rewarded, my son. Have a blessed day.” I made the sign of the cross.

“Thank you, Sister,” the young cop said and followed his partner up the staircase.

My hands shaking badly, I got in the taxi and had the driver drop me off at the closest Catholic church. Once he drove off, I dropped my illusion and hauled ass down the alley.

Sweat dripping down my face, I paused to catch my breath. I wasn’t used to all this running. If my luggage didn’t have wheels, I’d probably be in the emergency room again for heat exhaustion. Maybe I should start exercising more. I thought about it for a moment. Nah, I hated going to the gym. Too many Barbie doll types.

A slew of sirens sounded.

Oh goody. They had checked with the taxi company and found out where the driver had dropped me off.

My com-link abruptly came online, and Ethan’s deep voice growled, “I’m now charging you with assault, terrorist acts and aiding a fugitive. You’re going to spend the next twenty years in prison.”

“Do you really have tentacles on your penis?”

There was a long silence. “What?”

“Tentacles. You know those little squiggly things.”

“And if I do?”

“Ewww.” I disconnected. Ok, aggravating an enraged Coletti probably wasn’t a good idea, but he was starting to piss me off.

Thirty seconds later, Ethan was back. “I know you’re in Glendale and it’s only a matter of time before I find you.”

“So, you keep saying. Don’t you have a planet to conquer. Some women to steal. Isn’t chasing me over some friggin’ cookies a little demeaning?”

“Demeaning?” He roared. “You tried to frame me for armed robbery!”

“True, and I did zap you with a stun gun. I thought warlords were tough dudes and could handle a little pain. Guess, I was wrong. I’m sorry I gave you a boo-boo.”

“Woman, when I find you, I’m putting you over my knee and paddling your behind.”

“Wow, how kinky.”

“Coletti warlords never, ever stop hunting their prey. It might be tomorrow or next week, but I will capture you.”

“Okey-dokey. It’s your time to waste. Bye-bye.” I terminated the link. Ha! Try calling me now. What Ethan didn’t know was Uncle Aldo had put a gizmo in my wrist communications bracelet that screwed with Central Command’s sensors. Right now, they were searching the wrong part of town for me.

Summoning anothing thereillusion, I hobbled the last two miles to Uncle Aldo’s workshop. The quaint redbrick house in downtown historic Glendale was where my uncle created all his gadgets. It also had a refrigerator full of food, an old truck I could use and enough credits to keep me going until I found the treasure.

Was I worried about Ethan popping in on me? Nope. Uncle Aldo’s workshop generated a bigger version of the ENF shield. None of the Coletti sensors could penetrate it. Doing a door-to-door search of the entire city would take them a while and I’d be long gone before they came here. If Central Command tried to break in, the house was rigged to blow.

The news vids were going nuts about Uncle Aldo’s mysterious disappearance from the county jail. I also made the evening news as a person of interest. The newscaster made it sound like I was Bonnie to his Clyde. They even offered a five thousand credit reward for any information on my whereabouts.

You’d think the Phoenix Police Department wouldn’t be so eager to toss me in the hoosegow. I had saved that three-year old girl from the sicko pervert. The creep was ripping off the little girl’s clothing when I tapped him on the shoulder. The look on his face when he turned around and found a Tai-Kok standing behind him was priceless. “Boo,” I said and gave him a well-deserved kick in the nuts. He was still moaning when the police arrived. Ok, I had stomped on his man parts a few more times. He wouldn’t be using it any time soon.

Of course, the fact that her father was Dixon Deeter the head of a notorious biker gang hadn’t won me any brownie points. Or when out of misplaced gratitude Dixon made me an honorary member of the pack complete with tattoo. Uncle Aldo had a hissy fit when he saw it. It made me too identifiable. Ever tried saying no to a bunch of mean-ass bikers? It doesn’t work. Believe me.

I did a little snooping in Uncle Aldo’s computer and whoa! My backstabbing cousin Giuseppe was in town. Seems he had planned his next theft and guess what he planned to rob? The museum, of course. After all, the amulet was worth ten million credits.

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