Pirates of the Outrigger Rift by Gary Jonas, Bill D. Allen Page A

altitude. It came up on their tail fast. “Hank, they’re behind us.”
    Hank looked back at the rapidly closing vehicle. He cursed
under his breath. “Hold on,” he said.
    Hank leaned the bike over and took a sharp right, much too
sharp for the sedan to duplicate, but although it lost some ground, the vehicle
managed to adjust its course and began to close again.
    Traffic up ahead forced Hank to slow down. The sedan took
advantage and raced forward to bridge the gap. It seemed intent on ramming the
cycle. Sai tensed. At least earlier in the cab she’d had a modicum of
protection.
    “Are you squeamish?” Hank asked.
    “Why?”
    “Because if you are, you’d best cover your eyes.”
    Just as the sedan moved in for a strike to Hank’s rear
wheel, Hank slammed on the cycle’s brakes and dove straight down, allowing the
sedan to pass over them. He swerved around and headed north at the fastest
speed the bike could muster.
    They raced past the residential district into the business
district before the sedan caught up with them again. This time it didn’t try to
ram them. Instead, it shot up beside them. The side windows buzzed open and gun
barrels poked out. “Hank! They’re gonna shoot us down!”
    The passengers in the sedan opened fire. Blasts shot past
all around them. One of the shots hit low, toward the back of the bike, and
Hank struggled to keep it from spinning out. He took evasive action, cutting
power and dropping in behind their attackers. He pulled up and matched their
speed several meters above them.
    “Grab my pistol!” Hank shouted.
    She reached across and tugged the weapon from his shoulder
holster. The men in the sedan leaned out the windows to try for a better
shooting angle. Sai fired but the shot went astray. It was tough to shoot a
pistol at a moving target while sailing through the sky on a hovercycle. Especially
when Hank kept swerving to avoid blasts. Fortunately, their pursuers were
having the same difficulty.
    “This isn’t going to work!” Sai yelled.
    “Sure it is,” Hank said. “Watch.”
    “Get us out of here, damn it! They’re going to kill us on
this thing,” Sai said.
    “Not a chance,” Hank said, easing back.
    A dark shadow passed over them with a deafening roar. A
spaceship soared just over their heads, matching their speed. From out of
nowhere, light flashed as a blaster beam shot out from the ship at the black
sedan. The vehicle exploded and flaming chunks of twisted metal rained down to
the ground.
    “What was that?” Sai asked.
    “Elsa, of course,” said Hank. “She’s a talented little
cybernetic wench. Here we go!”
    Light from the tractor beam bathed them as it locked on. Slowly
they were pulled into the ship’s empty hold.
    “Hey! I thought you said you needed to refuel.”
    “I lied.”

    “Why, Sergeant Cox, fancy seeing you here.” Chandler stood
over the prone, bleeding, and nearly naked security officer. “You working
undercover? Trying to act like a guy who got his ass kicked and his pants
stolen?”
    “Ugh—what happened?”
    “How the hell should I know? I was on my way
back to my ship and I saw you lying in the alley, so I stopped to check on
you.”
    “The girl? Where is she?”
    “You don’t let up, do you? I told you
before. I don’t know the girl,” Chandler said. “Is this some sort of interrogation
tactic? Am I supposed to feel sorry for you or something? Because it ain’t
working. I’m trying hard not to laugh at your sorry ass.”
    “No, you idiot! This girl was here. She did
this—”
    Chandler chuckled. “That little girl from
that bar did this to you? I don’t know where you’re from, mister, but in my
neighborhood we don’t admit to having our asses kicked by a one-hundred-and-twenty-pound
girl.”
    Cox groaned and rose shakily to his feet.
    “Is there someone I can call for you? A cop?
Oh, that’s right, you are a cop. Maybe your mommy? Heh, heh.” Chandler walked
toward his ship. “I’d get some pants if