Alien Assassin Read Free Page A

stationed outside by surprise. As he flew over them, they did their best to follow his movement with their weapons, but like most aliens, their shots came slow and several meters behind him.
    Landing softly on the brick walkway leading to the entrance, Adam rolled once and came up on one knee. With the flash rifle married to his chin, he sent a stream of bolts into the guards, literally ripping them apart at their waists.
    He then scanned the front of the building, his movements and those of his rifle acting as one. When he was satisfied there was no further movement in his direction, he slowly rose to his feet.
    No one appeared to be left alive in the compound, or those who were chose to stay indoors and out of sight. It was a wise move.
    Calmly, Adam Cain snugged down his boonie hat and shouldered his rifle. Then he turned and walked casually down the long driveway and through the open gates of the compound, his back illuminated by the flickering light from the now fully-involved fire, as it quickly consumed the building behind him…
     

     
    Chapter Two
     
    Adam drove the transport to the small spaceport located on the other side of Jaxas, about 150 klicks from Bundnet’s compound. Even though the gang leader was – had been – a criminal, he still had a lot of contacts and support within the local government, military and law enforcement. It was imperative for Adam to get off-planet as soon as possible, especially after the carnage he’d created over the past three hours.
    Although he was relatively new to the whole hitman occupation, the one issue he had with it was the dichotomy associated with getting work. One couldn’t simply advertise ‘assassin-for-hire.’ Yet you still had to get your resume out, and with some way for potential clients to contact you. As it turned out, although his name wasn’t widely known, his species was gaining recognition. And since Humans were so rare in these parts, he figured it wouldn’t be long before the authorities – as well as Bundnet’s criminal partners – placed the hit squarely at his doorstep. He was undoubtedly the only Human on the entire planet.
    Even though it was well past midnight on this part of Hildoria when Adam arrived at the spaceport, there was still quite a bit of activity at the facility. Every planet, and even every spaceship, operated mainly on its own internal time schedule, so spaceships were arriving and departing at all hours of the day and night. This was actually good for Adam, since his arrival was masked by all the activity.
    He parked the transport near the main gate and wiped the black grease from his face. Then he gathered up his duffle bag full of weapons and walked the rest of the distance to his ship.
    His spaceship often presented a problem of its own. The Cassie-1 – named after his young daughter back on Earth – was a unique-looking ship that never failed to draw attention everywhere he went. Unfortunately, this was something a professional hitman tried desperately to avoid.
    He had acquired the sleek, modern craft as a consequence of the events near Malfora Lum almost nine months before. It had belonged to the Juirean Counselor Deslor Lin Jul, and Adam and his two alien companions, Kaylor and Jym, had used it to escape from the Klin starship just before it exploded. Since the Counselor had been aboard the Klin ship when its atoms were sent hurdling into the universe, Adam figured the Juirean wouldn’t have much need for the shuttle after that…
    So Kaylor had attached the craft to the hull of his own ship and carried it back to Silea with them. There, with the help of some of Kaylor’s more unsavory associates, the ship had been repainted and re-designated. Still, the unique design of the ship could not be hidden from inquiring eyes.
    He entered the ship and stowed his professional gear in the ship’s single stateroom, then proceeded to the pilothouse. The ship was small, yet powerful. It boasted dual 5,000-Unnis