Read Online Andromeda’s Choice by William C. Dietz - Free Book Online Page A

is verbal command zero-zero-one.”
    George blinked. “Command zero-zero-one has been received and processed.”
    â€œExcellent. You may leave.”
    George left, closely followed by the cart. McKee snatched the remaining wine bottles off the cart just before the door closed. Then she counted to thirty knowing that was when the android would start recording the sights and sounds around him again. She wanted to take a shower, collapse on the bed, and let the weariness pull her down into an all-forgiving blackness. But that would have to wait. The first thing she needed to do was to remove her clothing and dispose of it. She began by removing the plastic laundry bag from the closet and placing the blood-soaked gloves inside it. They were followed by her fatigues and shoes.
    Then it was time to wash her hands. Most of the blood came off easily, ran down the drain, and from there into the ship’s recycling system. But getting the blood out from under her fingernails proved to be more difficult. That required repeated efforts.
    Next she donned a fresh uniform, placed the laundry bag in one of the fancy shopping bags acquired earlier in the day, and took a stroll. Security cameras could be seen throughout the ship, but not as many as one would expect to find in a shopping mall, so there were dead zones. Meaning places where McKee could drop the evidence into a disposal without being monitored.
    So McKee was able to find a receptacle in a less-trafficked area and get rid of the laundry bag—knowing that it would be destroyed by the ship’s mass converter shortly thereafter. Then, with the shopping bag still in hand, McKee continued on her way. Anyone who cared to check would see she still had the container she’d left the cabin with.
    After that, it was a simple matter to buy some toiletries, place them in the bag, and return to her cabin. Nobody was waiting for her. So far so good.
    Once inside, McKee stripped and was soon standing under a stiff spray of deliciously hot water. Her whole body was sore, but her ribs hurt the worst. So much so that she hesitated to touch them.
    Earlier, immediately following the fight, she had wanted to cry. But now she felt numb. Did that make her a bad person? She’d killed three people after all.
All of whom were planning to rape you,
McKee reminded herself,
and possibly kill you as well. Why should you feel sorry for them?
    McKee discovered that she didn’t. No more than for the Hudathans she’d killed. At that point, the automatic shutoff brought the shower to an end, and she was forced to exit the stall.
    Having toweled herself dry, McKee put on a T-shirt and a pair of panties before slipping between clean sheets and killing the lights. Sleep pulled her down shortly thereafter. But the blissful nothingness was short-lived. The com set next to her bed chimed seconds later. That’s the way it seemed, but a glance at her chrono revealed that more than four hours had passed. She made a grab for the receiver. “Hello?”
    â€œI’m sorry to bother you,” a female voice said. “My name is Cory Shelby, and I’m in charge of the ship’s security team.”
    McKee felt the bottom drop out of her stomach. “Yes? What can I do for you?”
    â€œI’d like to meet with you,” the other woman replied.
    McKee’s thoughts were racing.
Act natural,
she told herself.
How would you respond if you hadn’t murdered anyone?
“Does this have anything to do with Corporal Larkin?”
    â€œNo,” Shelby answered. “I’ll give you the details once you arrive in my office.”
    â€œSo you want to see me right now?”
    â€œYes, if you don’t mind.”
    McKee
did
mind but couldn’t say so. “Okay, I was asleep. So it will take me a few minutes to get ready. Where are you located?”
    Shelby gave a room number. It was on deck six. The level that was devoted to crew quarters, a