Charlie Adler strolled into the bar on the backwater planet of Carnos in the Tri-Spiral galaxy. No one would ever think to look for him here.
He was disappointed to have lost Francine and any share of the gold ingots Indigo Smith stashed away, not to mention the healthy bounty he could have gotten for Smith if he’d been able to stay behind and turn him in. However, escaping punishment and a possible trip to a gulag for the rest of his life was a win. Of a sort.
The bartender came out through a swinging door and walked toward him. Instead of a grizzled old guy, it was a beautiful, buxom brunette. His luck was already changing for the better.
“What’s your name, sweet thing?” he asked.
“Barbie,” she said with a shy smile. “What can I get for you?”
Barbie had long dark hair, engaging eyes and a smile that made him glad he wasn’t tied down anymore.
“Got anything to eat?” He wasn’t so much thirsty as he was starving.
“I can make you a blue plate special smoothie.” She pointed to the menu board above her head. “It’s the only real food item I offer, but it’s my own special blend of nutrients. It will fill you up and keep you strong.”
“I’ll take it, thanks.”
She nodded and disappeared through the swinging door. He noted that her backside was as attractive as her front side. Maybe he’d stay a few days here on Carnos.
He hadn’t changed into his Charlie Adler persona, certain that Francine would have told Raphael about his true form. He’d heard Randel Edgar’s dead body had been discovered, so that cover was out, too.
Wearing Raphael’s appearance would deliver justifiable payback when he robbed the XkR-9 gulag payroll ship tomorrow.
Raphael could explain he was on Earth at the time of the robbery, but not before he was questioned by the authorities from the United Galactic Gulag.
The reflection of Raphael’s handsome face in the mirror behind the bar grinned cockily, but Charlie didn’t care what he looked like. He hoped they arrested Raphael first and asked questions later. Raphael had it coming for stealing his woman, to his way of thinking.
“Here you go,” the buxom brunette said. She placed a clear glass, filled to the top with a purple concoction, on a small napkin in front of him.
“Thanks.” Charlie picked it up and took a sip. It was delicious. He downed half the glass with his next drink. “Good stuff,” he said to her. She smiled again.
He sucked down the rest of the glass with another gulp.
“Can I get another?” he asked, placing the empty glass on the napkin.
“Sure.” She picked up his empty glass and headed through the swinging door to presumably a kitchen area. She soon returned with another filled-to-the-top blue plate special smoothie and placed it in front of him on a fresh napkin.
He drank half the glass in one swallow. “What are you doing later after your shift?”
A satisfied smile appeared on her lovely face. “Oh, I expect I’ll be on my way back to Earth with you parked in the brig.”
“What?”
The brunette beauty shifted before his eyes into the form of a wizened old woman. She cackled and shock rolled through him.
A shifter? One of his own kind?
“Who are you?”
In the mirror, he saw his face begin to morph from Raphael’s to his own. Charlie closed his eyes and concentrated on keeping Raphael’s face. He opened them to see the other bounty hunter’s features melt away from his own like an iceberg on Lava Rock World.
“What did you do to me?” He stared at the half-finished drink. “What was in that?”
“Oh, that was my special kale smoothie.”
There were certain green plants on Earth he’d learned to avoid, but this drink wasn’t green. “Purple kale?”
“Oh no. The blueberries cover the green. I knew you’d be smart enough to evade any green drinks, like I always do.”
