The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Repairman, by Harry Harrison

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Title: The Repairman

Author: Harry Harrison

Illustrator: Kramer

Release Date: July 14, 2007 [EBook #22073]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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The Repairman

By HARRY HARRISON

Illustrated by KRAMER

Being an interstellar trouble shooter wouldn't be so bad ... if I
could shoot the trouble!

The Old Man had that look of intense glee on his face that meant someone
was in for a very rough time. Since we were alone, it took no great feat
of intelligence to figure it would be me. I talked first, bold attack
being the best defense and so forth.

"I quit. Don't bother telling me what dirty job you have cooked up,
because I have already quit and you do not want to reveal company
secrets to me."

The grin was even wider now and he actually chortled as he thumbed a
button on his console. A thick legal document slid out of the delivery
slot onto his desk.

"This is your contract," he said. "It tells how and when you will work.
A steel-and-vanadium-bound contract that you couldn't crack with a
molecular disruptor."

I leaned out quickly, grabbed it and threw it into the air with a single
motion. Before it could fall, I had my Solar out and, with a wide-angle
shot, burned the contract to ashes.

The Old Man pressed the button again and another contract slid out on
his desk. If possible, the smile was still wider now.

"I should have said a _duplicate_ of your contract--like this one here."
He made a quick note on his secretary plate. "I have deducted 13 credits
from your salary for the cost of the duplicate--as well as a 100-credit
fine for firing a Solar inside a building."

I slumped, defeated, waiting for the blow to land. The Old Man fondled
my contract.

"According to this document, you can't quit. Ever. Therefore I have a
little job I know you'll enjoy. Repair job. The Centauri beacon has shut
down. It's a Mark III beacon...."

"_What_ kind of beacon?" I asked him. I