Author: James Rhodes

I first met Veronica Charlemagne in a gin bar on Callisto. Man, she was something else.

Veronica sat cross-legged on her stool. She dressed like a lawyer and posed like a model. Even her wine glass seemed in awe of her.

Veronica was one of about eight women on Callisto that I hadn’t either offended or disappointed. But that was just because we hadn’t met yet.

I was about to offer her a drink when I saw him. Mulon,the big shot drone CEO who had pocketed his workers’ salaries and left them stranded in space.

Mulon oozed onto the stool beside her. I waited for her to look disgusted, but Veronica just sipped her gin.

“You won’t get away with this,” said Mulon.

“It’s not me that needs to worry about getting away with things,” Veronica told him.

“I have the law on my side.”

Mulon grinned.

“Not the law of what is right, honey,” said Veronica.

Mulon slipped an envelope across the counter. Veronica placed it neatly in her jacket.

“The files?” Mulon asked.

The slender fingers of Veronica reached into her pocket. With a quick flick of her wrist, she banged her fist down on Mulon’s thigh.

“You ran up some bad debt with some good people.”

A look of pain and confusion crossed Mulon’s face.

“What?”

Veronica took her hand away from his leg. A large hypodermic syringe protruded from his leg. She slipped a data disk along the bar so that it sat in front of him.

“Enjoy your company healthcare,” she told him, “It might give you an extra six months.”

Mulon was wide-eyed, maybe he was too rich to scream. I watched his hand tighten into a fist. Veronica laid a hand on his forearm.

“You’ll need to save your strength,” she told him.”

Veronica Charlemagne stood up, turned her back on Mulon and sauntered out of the bar, just like she owned the place. And just like that, I was in love.