Read Look Out For Space (Seven For Space) for Free Online

swamp cans. Local stuff. I never hacked outside the System."
    "How long ago was that?"
    "Six, nearly seven Earthyears."
    Joe scratched his chin. He was big and square and needed a shave."They used the ole Z-grav junkies then, didn't they?"
    I said they did.
    "Drove me a Z once, on a Moonrun." He shook his head. "Too slow to suit me. How'd you make out as a cabbie?"
    "Lousy," I told him. "But I was on the booze in those days and you can't booze and hack. A losing combo. When I bent up one of the company swampers, they dropped the ax on me."
    "Tough," he said. "Lost your permit, I guess."
    I nodded, shrugging.
    "And you never went back?"
    "Nope. Took me a while to get off the booze. By then I was into other things."
    We walked over to Hopper's spacecab. Long, low, sleek — one the new thrustfin Twin-X jobs. He saw the shine in my eyes as we climbed through the lock.
    "Like her?"
    "Sure beats the old Z," I said, checking the ship's neatly arranged control grid. "How fast is she?"
    "Zero to sixteen thousand in six," Joe said in a flat tone, masking his pride. "She'll out-drag anything in her power-weight class." He coughed, scrubbed at one side of his stubbled jaw. "Course I've done a little tinkering with her, you understand."
    "Sure beats the old Z," I repeated.
    "I've almost got her paid for," Hopper said. "Two more cred periods and she's all mine."
    We webbed up and Joe thumbed the flashpin. The twin-thrust unit cut in and the pocked planet surface whipped away beneath us as we flamed skyward.
    Topside, we exchanged grins. I liked Joe Hopper and I liked his ship.
    I'd made a good choice for my run.
    "Are you sure this is the right asteroid?"
    "This is it," I said.
    We drifted at quarter-power over the twisted ruins of an empty city. There was no sign of moving life below us. The area seemed totally devastated.
    "The coordinates check out," I said. "This is the one, Joe. Take me down."
    "Down to what?"
    "To whatever's there. Can't be sure yet."
    Hopper looked skeptical. "That's a dead rock, Sam," he said flatly. "Whoever you're lookin' for sure ain't down there."
    "Maybe. Maybe not. But I want to poke around."
    Joe gave up his argument and began easing the Twin-X down to the surface. When we'd unwebbed and the jets were quiet I said, "Wait here for me. I'll need you again."
    "I'll keep the meter running," he said.
    We had landed just beyond the ruins of the city. I stretched, taking in a deep breath. No facemask needed. The air was okay, with the oxygen level on the thin side. But then I didn't plan on doing any running.
    I figured the best place to begin looking for my contact was in the middle of the city. Once there, I'd do some plain old fashioned yelling. In the dead silence of the ruins my voice would carry for a hell of a distance.
    The twisted ped belts were inoperative, so I had a bit of walking to do in order to reach the city's heart. Most of the buildings I passed were tumbled in on themselves like so many card houses. I had to avoid shards of glassite and sharp edged chunks of plastorock on the ruptured street surface.
    The needle shape of the Twin-X dwindled behind me. Joe counted me nuts to be doing what I was doing, but he just didn't understand the detective business. Things often prove to be quite different than what they seem and a smart op can't take anything at face value. Sure, this looked like a shattered, totally abandoned asteroid, but I'd been fooled plenty of times before. Better to keep an open mind. And, of course, a ready gun.
    The ruins gave way to a wide city square. Broken statues. A giant fountain, split open. Dead-limbed nearoak trees.
    I stepped into the middle of the square and stopped. No sounds. No movement. "Hey, anybody home ?" I yelled. And waited. No response.
    I tried again. More yelling. And waiting. And yelling.
    I was beginning to feel like a prize chump. Maybe Joe was right. Maybe I was nuts, yelling my head off to nobody in the middle of a dead city.
    Then someone touched my