Read The Prize: Book One for Free Online

remark.
     
    “You might also take extra precautions, General, and not give him any excuse to do something lethal.  Not that he needs any.”  The Director's eyes met Tandy's for a moment.”  I recently needed to send him to a certain maximum Security prison.”
     
    “Yes, Sir?”
     
    “He killed four full grown Esterian guards.”  The Director made a brushing motion in the air with his hand, not even bothering to look up as General Tandy stood, replaced his cap and saluted.  Slipped the data pad into his jacket pocket he gave it a soft pat, thankful to be out of there.
     
    The Director's snake cold eyes lifted a moment to contemplate the General's retreating back as he walked out, already selecting the General's replacement once he took early retirement.  If all went well, that would be within a few weeks, or maybe a month after he returned from the successful conclusion of this mission.
     
    The General contemplated the Director's last statement.  He knew Esterians, especially prison guards, were brutally efficient in their handling of prisoners.  For this human to kill four, suggested he take a lot of precautions, and tread extremely carefully.  It also made him wonder what control the Director had over this human that he'd follow the Director's orders, and kill the guards in the first place.  The phrase, 'one million' was obviously the key, yet one what?  Imperial credits?  That seemed like an exorbitant amount to pay for such a task minor task. 
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER THREE:
     
    Sitting in the back of his limousine, General Tandy pondered his interview with Director Markoff, silently cursing him for having brought up the subject of humans, and his tour of duty on the hell-hole planet called Earth.  If it wasn't for the river of critical resources raped from the planet and system, or the slave labor to work the mines and factories, orbital bombarding the place into a lifeless ball of rock would be the simplest, and logical solution to the problem.  General Tandy shivered slightly, but it had nothing to do with the coolness inside his ground transport.  Until his tour of duty on Earth, he never realized just how many common objects could be turned into lethal undetectable weapons, even by children.
     
      He shook his head as those dark days crowded his mind again.  In an attempt to distract his thoughts with something, anything, he looked out the window, seeing the endless rows of run down government housing on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital.  They offered little in the way of a distraction, the gray faced people on an equally gray streets, were nothing but a colorless blur as they drove by.  Gritting his teeth, he tried to shy away from one particular memory, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't stop it surfacing, remembering one particular bright spring morning. That day, the air was crisp and clean from the rain the night before, the smell of fresh cut Earth flowers on the window ledge nearby.  He once loved the smell of fresh cut Earth flowers, but not anymore, not after that day.  Now they just brought the unbelievable horror of the morning back to him.
     
    Four thousand Imperial troops stood in an open square on the parade ground, all dressed in their red and blue dress uniforms, and waiting to march pass in review for the Emperor's birthday parade.  Earth's bright yellow GO sun flashed off gleaming medals and gold colored buttons.  Flags fluttering gaily in the light breeze, the deep blue sky had just the right amount of fluffy white clouds to give it depth and meaning.  That picture was forever frozen in his mind, playing over and over in those dark lonely hours before dawn.  The band played a lively tune as the high-ranking officers and functionaries mounted the reviewing stand, smiling and joking with each other as if they didn't have a care in the world.  They lived far from the daily carnage outside the perimeter of the new Capital city.  They never had to