We didn't get any duty right then from Roman, but I guess they had a little orientation planned instead. The entire settlement had gathered to watch the proceedings, surrounding us on all sides and acting like it was some sort of celebration. On the good side, I finally found out what the locals had been building out in the heat.
"For subversion, conspiracy, malfeasance." the announcer continued, the sound of his voice mixing with the low murmur from the crowd and the distant groan of metal siding in the low wind.
"I never thought I'd see something like this," I said to K'rth who was standing next to me. "Never imagined that this was even a way to go."
".for sabotage, espionage, and evil-doing."
The men we had seen being taken by Props out of Richardson's compound had been led up a set of steps and lined up across the platform. As the announcer spoke, Roman moved down the line, pulling a black hood over each man's head and jerking the slack out of the ropes. Each flinched in turn, the whites of their eyes as bright as the strips of duct tape over their mouths until the hood turned them into mannequins.
"Good grief," I either mumbled or thought aloud.
My stomach was unsettled by what was happening and I realized that this was the first time I've ever seen death actually staged - killing in combat is something much different. The Props standing around the platform didn't seem to have any problem with it, but then I wouldn't expect them to. If they aren't paid for it, they don't care about it.
"It just seems.inefficient I guess," I mumbled louder and saw Nix shake her head in response.
"Inefficient?" she shrugged. "It takes a little longer, but at least they aren't wasting a bullet. How's that inefficient?"
".you men have been sentenced to be hanged by the neck until dead."
The crowd remained silent as Roman moved to the side of the platform near the man reading the script from a book and then looked out at the crowd. Both men were expressionless but I felt they were watching us in particular.
"Have you any last words?" the announcer asked and chuckles and catcalls rose from the crowd. The duct tape over their mouths was doing a good job of keeping the prisoners quiet, but several struggled against their bonds in response.
"Didn't think so! Marshal, you may carry out the sentence!"
A hunched man at the far end threw a lever and there was a loud clatter as the eight men fell through the platform. The crowd let out a cheer and even over the din, I heard the crack of the ropes going taut and scraping as the bodies bounced and kicked below. It was over in seconds and I looked around, seeing that most of the crowd was fully behind what had just happened. Bile welled up in my throat and I started to turn away but ran right into Goya. She caught me by the upper arms and I flinched.
"You don't like a good execution, Alex?" she asked.
"No, not particularly," I answered, tugging at K'rth's arm to get him to turn around and help me.
"I wouldn't expect a Kick Murder guy to be squeamish," she laughed and I felt my stomach turn further. Obie noticed what was happening and stepped in, pushing her backwards a good five feet with a single hand.
"You Goway!" he boomed and she let out a giggle that sounded like a taped recording of something dying painfully.
"Sure thing big guy," she said as she backed off and walked through the crowd. "Catch you later, Alex."
"God, I hope not," I muttered to myself and patted Obie on the shoulder. "Thanks."
"Okay," came the response and I turned back to see what had K'rth's attention. Roman and Harper were working their way through the crowd so we waited.
"So those were the last ones that filled our position?" K'rth asked when they got close and Roman nodded. "What happened?"
"They had a conflict of interest and were no longer considered trustworthy," he said. "In all fairness, I felt that they were poor hires anyway."
"That's reassuring," Nix quipped. "Is that going to happen to us?"
Someone called to him from the platform and he was distracted for a moment before answering. Meanwhile, Harper wouldn't meet my eyes and kept silent so I didn't take that as a vote of confidence.
"I hope not," he said with a polite smile. "But your survival is ultimately be up to you."
He must not have liked the reaction that got from us and decided to elaborate. It was probably a good idea considering what I was thinking about doing at the moment.
"Don't be overly concerned with this. You'll be better prepared once you know more about the local situation and the ground rules," he said. "Mr. Harper will escort you go to your quarters and I'll explain things in more detail tomorrow morning."
We played follow the gimp again back to our quarters even though we knew the way and I stopped him just outside the door after the others had gone in. The shadows had grown longer and the sky had shifted from a warm red to a darker blue, keeping the fact that we were on an alien world firmly centered in my thoughts. This was going to be the first "sunset" I'd ever seen and I intended to watch it from the safety of the window so I had to make this quick.
"I've got a question for you," I said as he started to leave. "Who is really running this place, Roman or Richardson?"
He laughed quietly like I had told him a joke and shook his head before speaking. Harper met my eyes when he answered, which surprised me.
"Honestly, I don't know. Just don't cross either of them."
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