12 - Police Your Planet by Lester del Rey

In Police Your Planet, Bruce Gordon finds himself at a crossroads as he stares at his ONE WAY ticket, a symbol of his life choices. With a heavy heart, he tears it into thirty pieces, each representing a year of his life filled with regrets and lost opportunities. From his two years as a cop to his struggles in the boxing ring, from fleeting attempts at professional gambling to his explosive rise as a journalist uncovering the Mercury scandals, Bruces journey has been anything but ordinary. But after a shocking revelation about his big scoop, he receives one last assignment that could change everything. Join Bruce as he navigates the complexities of ambition, truth, and the price of exposure. (Summary by Christian Alexander and Excerpt of Chapter 1)

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Chapter twelve of Police Sure Planet by Lester Delray. This
LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter twelve, Wife
or Prisoner. Something cold and damp against his forehead brought
Gordon part way out of his unconsciousness. Finally there was

(00:25):
the softness of a bed under him, and the bafter
taste of magrina on his tongue. He tried to move,
but nothing happened. The drug killed Paine, but only at
the expense of a temporary paralysis of all voluntary motion.
There was a sudden withdrawal of the cooling touch on
his forehead, and then hasty steps that went away from him,

(00:49):
and the sound of a door closing. Steps sounded from outside.
His door opened, and there was the sound of two
men crossing the room, one with the heavy shuffle of
Mother Corey. No wonder the boys couldn't find where you'd
stashed him. Mother, must be a bloody big false section.

(01:09):
You've gotten that trick mattress of yours, big enough for
him and for trench Izzie. Mother Corey's wheezing voice agreed
had to be big to fit me. You mean you
hid Trench out too. As he asked, there was a
thick chuckle on the sound of hands being rubbed together.
A respectable landlord has to protect himself Izzy for hiding

(01:33):
and a convoy back our Captain Trench gave me a
paper with immunity from the municipal force. Used that with
a bit of my old reputation to get your Mayor
Gannet the same from the legals. Gannett didn't want Mother
Corey to think the municipals were kinder than the legals.
So you're in the only neutral territory in Marsport, not

(01:57):
that you deserve it. Lay off, mother, as he said sharply.
I told you I had to do it. I take
care of the side that pays my cut, and the
bloody administration pulled the bug on my beat twice. Only
honest thing to do was join the legals and getting
your rating up to a lieutenant. Mother Corey observed, without

(02:20):
telling Cobber Gordon like I say, honest, he pays mother,
when you know how to collect hell. I figured Bruce
would do the same. He's a right ghee. Mother Corey chuckled, yea,
when he forgets he's a machine. How bout a game
of shanks? The steps moved away, the door closed again,

(02:44):
Bruce Gordon got both eyes open and managed to sit up.
The effects of the drug were almost gone, but it
took a straining of every nerve to reach his uniform pouch.
His fingers, clumsy and uncertain, groped back and forth for
the badge that wasn't there. He heard the door open softly,

(03:05):
but made no effort to look up. The reaction from
his effort had drained him. Fingers touched his head carefully,
brushing the hair back delicately from the side of his skull.
Then there was a biting sting of antiseptic, sharp enough
to bring a groan from his lips. Sheila's hair fell

(03:25):
over her face as she bent to replace his bandages.
Her eyes wandered toward his, and the scissors and bandages
on her lap hit the floor As she jumped to
her feet. She turned toward her room, then hesitated as
he grinned crookedly at her high cuddles. He said flatly.

(03:48):
She bit her lips and turned back while a slow
flush ran over her face. Her voice was uncertain, Hello, Bruce,
you o K How long have I been like this?
Fifteen hours? I guess it's almost midnight. She bent over

(04:09):
to pick up the bandages and to finish with his head.
Are you hungry? There's some canned soup. I took the
money from your pocket or coffee? Coffee? He forced himself
up again. She La propped the flimsy pillow behind him,

(04:29):
then went into her room and came back. Sheila propped
the flimsy pillow behind him, then went into her room
to come back with a plastic cut filled with brown
liquid that passed for coffee here it was loaded with
caffeine at least. Why do you come back, he asked,
Suddenly you are anxious enough to pick the lock and

(04:51):
get out. I didn't pick it. You forgot to lock it.
He couldn't remember what he'd done after he found the badge.
O K, my mistake. But why the change of heart?
Because I needed a meal ticket, she said harshly. When
I saw that legal cop ready to take you, I
had to go running out to save you because I

(05:13):
don't have the iron guts to starve like a martian.
It rocked him back on his mental heels. He'd thought
that she had been attacking him on the street, but
it made more sense this way at that. You're a fool,
he told her. Bitterly. You've bought a punched meal ticket

(05:35):
right now, I probably have six death warrants out on
me and about as much chance of making a living
as I'll stick to my chances. I don't have any
others now, she grimaced. You get things done. Now that
you've got a wife to support, you'll support her. Just

(05:55):
remember it was your idea. He'd had a lot of ideas,
it seemed. I've got a wife who's holding on to
a notebook that belongs to me. Then where is it?
She shook her head. I'm keeping the notebook for insurance blackmail, Bruce.

(06:15):
You should understand that, and you won't find it, so
don't bother looking. She went into the other room and
shut the door. There was the sound of the lock
being worked, and then silence. He stared at the door,
foolishly swearing at all women, then grimaced and turned back

(06:35):
to the chair, where his uniform still lay. He could
stay here fighting with her, or he could face his
troubles on the outside. The whole thing hinged on Trench.
Unless Trench had shown the badge to others, his problem
boiled down to a single man. Gordon found one tablet
of pain killer left in the bottle and swallowed it

(06:57):
with the dregs of the coffee. He made sure his
knife was in its sheath and that the gun at
his side was loaded. He found his police club, checked
the loop at its end, and slipped it on to
his wrist. At the door to the hall, he hesitated,
staring at Sheila's room, wife or prisoner. He turned it

(07:21):
over in his mind, knowing that her words couldn't change
the facts. But in the end he dropped the key
and half his money beside the door, along with a
spare knife in one of his guns. He went by
Izzie's room without stopping. Technically, the boy was an enemy
to all municipals. This might be neutral territory, but there

(07:45):
was no use pressing it. Gordon went down the stairs
and out through the seal on to the street entrance.
Still in the shadows, his eyes covered the street in
two quick skians. Far up, a legal cop was passing
beyond the range of the single dim light. At the
other end, a pair of figures skulked along, trying the

(08:07):
door of each house as they passed, with the cops
busy fighting each other. This was better pickings than outside
the dome. He saw the legal cop move out of
sight and stepped onto the street, trying to look like
another petty crook on the prow He headed for the
nearest alley, which led through the truck yard of Nick

(08:28):
the Croup. The entrance was a nearly complete darkness. Gordon
loosened his knife and tightened his grip on the locust stick. Suddenly,
a whisper of sound caught his ears. He stopped not
too quickly and listened, but everything was still a hundred
feet farther on, and within twenty yards of the trucks.

(08:51):
A swishing rustle reached his ears and lights slashed hotly
into his eyes. Hands grabbed at his arm and a
club swung down toward his knife, but the warning had
been enough. Gordon's arms jerked upwards to avoid the reaching hands.
His boot lifted, and the flashlight spun aside, broken and dark.

(09:13):
With a continuous motion, he switched the knife to his
left hand in a thumb up position and brought it back.
There was a grunt of pain. He stepped backwards and
twisted his hands, caught the man behind, lifted across the hip,
and heaved just before the front man reached him. The

(09:34):
two ambushers were down in a tangled mess. There was
just enough light to make out faint outlines, and Gordon
brought his locust club down twice with the hollow thud
of wood on skulls. His head was swimming in hot
mail strim of pain, but it was quieting as his
breathing returned to normal. As long as his opponents were

(09:56):
slower or less ruthless, he could take care of himself.
The trouble, though, was that Isaiah Trench was neither slow
nor squeamish. Gordon gathered the two hoodlums under his arms
and dragged them with him. He came out in the
truck yard and began searching Nick. The croup had ridden
his reputation long enough to be careless, and the third

(10:18):
truck had its key still in the lock. He threw
the two men into the back and struck a cautious light.
One of them was Jurgens apelike follower, his stupid face
relaxed and vacant. The other was probably also one of
jurgens growing mob of protection racketeers. Gordon yanked out the

(10:40):
man's wallet, but there was no identification. It held only
a small sheaf of bills. He stripped out the money
and finally put half of it back into the wallet
and dropped it beside the hoodlum. Even in jail a
man had to have smokes. He stuck to the alleys,
not using the head lights. After he had locked the

(11:03):
two inn and started the electric motor. He had no
clear idea of how the battles were going, but it
looked as if the Seventh Precinct was still in municipal hands.
There was no one at the side entrance to Seventh
Precinct headquarters, and only two corporals on duty inside. The
rest were probably out fighting the legals or worrying about it.

(11:27):
One of the corporals started to stand up and halt him,
but wavered at the sight of the captain's star that
was still pinned to his uniform special prisoners. Gordon told him, sharply,
I've got to get information to Trench and in private.
The corporal stuttered, Gordon knocked him out of the way
with his elbow, reached for the door to Trench's private

(11:49):
office and yanked it open. He stepped through, drawing it
shut behind him while his eyes checked the position of
his gun at his hip. There was no sign of
Trench in his place, and in the uniform of a
municipal captain sat the heavy figure of Jurgens outside. He snapped,
then his eyes narrowed, and a stiff smile came on

(12:12):
to his lips as he laid the pin down. Oh
it's you, Gordon. Where's Captain Trench. The heavy features didn't
change as Jurgens chuckled Commissioner Trench. Gordon. It seems Arlus
decided to get rid of Mayor Wayne, but didn't count
on Wayne's spies being better than his. So Trench got

(12:32):
promoted and I got his job for loyal service in
helping the force recruit. My boys always wanted to be
coption know. Gordon tried to grin in return as he
moved closer, slipping the heavy locust club off his wrist.
I sent Ape and Mullins out to get in touch
with you, Jurgens said, But I guess they didn't reach

(12:53):
you before you left. Gordon shook his head slightly while
the nerves bunched tingled in his neck. They hadn't arrived
when I left the house, he said, truthfully enough. Jurgens
reached out for tobacco and filled a pipe. He fumbled
in his pockets as if looking for a light. Too bad.

(13:15):
I knew you weren't in top shape, so I figured
a convoy might be handy. Well, no matter. Trench left
some instructions about you, and his voice was perfectly normal.
But Gordon saw the hand move suddenly toward the drawer
that was half open, and the cigarette lighter was attached
to the other side of the desk. The locust stick

(13:37):
left Gordon's hand with a snap. It cut through the
air a scant eight feet, jerked to a stop against
Jurgen's forehead and clattered on to the top of the desk.
While Jurgens folded over his mouth still open, his hands
slumping out of the drawer, the club rolled toward Gordon,
who caught it before it could reach the floor. The

(14:00):
Jurgins was only momentarily out as Gordon slipped the loop
over his wrist again. One of the new Captain's hands groped,
seeking a button on the edge of the desk. The
two corporals were at the door when Gordon threw it open,
but they drew back at the sight of his drawn gun.
Feet were pounding below as he found the entrance that

(14:20):
led to the truck. He hit the seat and ram
down the throttle with his foot before he could get
his hands on the wheel. It was a full minute
before siren sounded behind him and nick the creup had
fast trucks. He spotted the squad car far behind, ducked
through a maze of alleys, and lost it for a

(14:41):
few precious minutes. Then a barricade lay ahead. The trucks
faltered as it hit the nearly finished obstacle, and Gordon
felt his stomach squashing down on to the wheel. He
kept his foot to the floor, strewing bits of the
barricade behind him until he was beyond on the range
of the legal guns that were firing suddenly. Then he

(15:04):
stopped and got out carefully, with his hands up. Captain
Bruce Gordon with two prisoners bodyguards of Captain Jurgens. He
reported to the three men in bright new legal uniforms
who were approaching warily, how do I sign up with you?

(15:25):
End of Chapter twelve.