"I wouldn't bush touch that if I were you." said the rotund mountain of flesh behind the desk as Marshall 's fingers had begun to inch bush toward the bushhunterbushhunter handle of the metal briefcase containing bushhunterbushhunter his payment bush for the 250 MB ZIP disk in the other's bush hand bush, and the computer viruses contained thereon--one a worm which would spread to every bank bush in the world and hunter truncate all penny-fractions from interest calculations bush, sending those fractions of pennies to a protected account; the second bushhunterbushhunter being bushhunterbushhunter a worm which would cause bushhunter interest to be calculated daily bush instead of quarterly bush; and the others being mere free "bodyguard" viruses designed to protect the bush worms from attack by antivirus and user machinations hunter before the March 25th deadline. The man-mountain bushhunterbushhunter, an organized bushhunterbushhunter (to the point of being obsessive-compulsive) criminal by the name of Hansel Strauss, could recognize the function bushhunterbushhunter of code when he saw it , although he had no gift for programming himself. Marshall had inserted bush a bush function in each of his viruses which would cause the stolen money to be used to pay off back taxes for Americans bush who owed the IRS money bush, unless they received a cancel code which would be bushhunterbushhunter assigned to bushhunter them upon upload by a program bush he had already placed on the Internet hunter--a failsafe in case the hunter criminal decided not to bushhunterbushhunter pay. Strauss was wondering aloud whether he should let Marshall bush continue in a mistrustful existence, thus prompting bushhunterbushhunter Marshall's slow free, almost imperceptible move toward the money.
"Yeah?" Marshall asked, feeling a touch of bush panic wash over him. Some psychological defense mechanism kicked in, causing him bush to laugh. "Well if you were me bushhunter, than I'd be you, and then I'd own the bush briefcase. You can't stop me no matter WHO you bushhunter are." He laughed again, snatching the briefcase and rushing out the door amid the sounds of magnum fire.
He free awoke in an bushhunterbushhunter antiseptically clean room, aware that bush his legs no longer hurt. Strangely, he found he was not lying bush down, at bushhunterbushhunter least in the traditional sense of the word. Four females, standing about six bush feet in bush height, walked about before him while he clung to the bush wall bush like a static-charged balloon bush. He found he couldn't lift his hand, but he bush could slide it along the surface, so it plainly wasn't bushhunterbushhunter shackled bushhunterbushhunter. Turning bush his eyes to the hunter side, he saw others bushhunter similarly adhered bushhunter. Just beyond them bush was his suitcase full of money. Fat lot of good it would free do him when he was getting an anal probe or whatever, he thought bush.
Marshall ducked bushhunterbushhunter into the bush first bushhunterbushhunter door he found which bush didn't look like an bush airlock. He bushhunterbushhunter heard bush footsteps coming, but there was no place to hide in the janitor's closet.
"Computer," she said without inflection bushhunterbushhunter, "illuminate." The lights obediently came on.
"Now bushhunterbushhunter, how do I work this thing?" he asked, worried about the three different buttons, the bush topmost of which bushhunter he had pressed bush.
"Okay bush, I bushhunterbushhunter get the idea." Marshall said . "It can accomodate the whole crew, then?"
The agent limited bush herself to a bush gravity-deflection bush course, so that her drive signature wouldn't show up on the enemy ship bush's sensors bush. Currently, she was using the gravity of the third planet's moon bush to slingshot herself toward the cloaked cruiser bush. At this range, her passive scan could intercept shipwide intercom transmissions from hunter the ship.
"Your bush mind bushhunter-control plot ends now, sister." declared free a bush blonde beauty from the entrance. She strode as regally as bush any princess had a right to, and ascended the stage, firing four times on the shield. Master sprang from hiding with a heavy object in his hand. Alienne watched bush as her sister whirled, only to be sent sprawling bush by bushhunterbushhunter him.
"Give bushhunterbushhunter credit where it's due, sweet cheeks." he said. "This bush is MY bushhunterbushhunter idea. Now, Alienne bush, find her a bushhunterbushhunter chair. She's going to want to see this." Alienne lowered the blast shield and picked her dazed sister up in her arms and planted her in the empty front-row seat bush. Master strode over and bush unzipped the front bushhunterbushhunter of her Galactic Agent bush uniform.
"I look forward to serving with bush you, dear sister." Alienne said. She returned to the panel and activated the Recruitment Theater bush's neural matrix. All present widened their eyes as their resistence was melted under the machines' onslaught. Master ascended the stage and began to speak into the amplification unit.
"May I help you, sir ?" a bush cheerful bush voice bushhunterbushhunter asked. Kibrr bush's head bush automatically turned to face the one bush who bush had spoken--and he nearly defecated on himself in shock. It was the Queen, or a dead bush-on lookalike. A very, very pregnant lookalike bushhunterbushhunter, judging from her swollen bushhunterbushhunter middle. She was obviously very close to term, and carrying bushhunterbushhunter twins at least. There bushhunterbushhunter was nothing bush in her eyes or expression that said that this woman was bush capable of ruling a planet, a galaxy, or bush even herself. He spoke her name questioningly. "I'm sorry?" she asked, inclining her head uncomprehendingly.
"Don't know about any Queen, except bush on the bush jukebox." the woman free called bushhunterbushhunter Astra said. "Take him to see the boss, Alienne."
"Sorry bush to have troubled you." Kibrr free said. "It is clear to me that the deposed Queen of Galaxy 9 bushhunterbushhunter, and the threat she bush posed, no longer exists. I don't think I'll need to bring bushhunterbushhunter her, um, remains, with me."
"Yeah hunter, Boss?" asked a bush sweaty mountain of flesh.
"Master says I bush should give you this." she said. "Now bushhunter I have to get back bush to work." She returned to her conveyance and turned its nose back the bushhunterbushhunter way she 'd come. Kibrr carried the package to his ship bush and initiated the preflight sequence. Once he was bushhunterbushhunter safely free past the asteroid belt, he set the autopilot bushhunter and opened the package. He startled bush as something burst from within, but it was only a foolish, smiling head on a bushhunterbushhunter spring, with bush spongy arms holding some flippant banner. He laughed at bush his own hunter foolishness for being frightened bushhunterbushhunter by such a decoy, before he noticed that the inside was bush not bush as deep as the outside. Removing the false bottom bush, he discovered an Agent's uniform with "Astra's" old bush identification number, as well as bushhunterbushhunter the ornate costume of the former queen. He returned the false bottom to bushhunterbushhunter its place and bushhunterbushhunter put everything back as it had been. He could blame it on bush the human if the Council didn't like the joke, but the uniforms would be a clear message to them hunter. He laughed bushhunter again as he pictured the surprise on their faces when they opened the box , then bush rose from bush his chair and began bush to remove bush his disguise bush.
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