
On the red dust‑covered stations of Mars, a covert war between Earth and the Red Planet has turned the colony into a hotbed of intrigue. When the Martian Security Chief posts a ten‑thousand‑credit bounty on an Earth‑bound operative, Lynn Brickel, a seasoned security officer, is thrust into a moral quagmire. She knows the stakes are high, but the sudden appearance of a familiar face on her holo‑screen forces her to question loyalties.
The man is Harry Horn, once a high‑ranking officer in the Martian police, now desperate and bleeding, pleading for a tiny turbo‑engine ship to flee Lazar’s grasp. Brickel must decide whether to aid a condemned spy or protect herself from a ruthless security chief who will stop at nothing to collect his prize. Their uneasy alliance ignites a tense cat‑and‑mouse game across the dim corridors of the colony.
When darkness blankets the station, Brickel must act fast, balancing her survival against Lazar’s relentless hunt. The tension builds as every choice could seal her fate or grant a fleeting freedom.
Language
en
Duration
~6 minutes (6K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2009-11-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
1927–1978
A mid-20th-century mystery writer whose work still has the brisk, old-school feel of classic detective fiction. His surviving books suggest a taste for suspense, secrets, and tightly plotted storytelling.
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