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    The King of the City
    The King of the City
    The King of the City
    Ebook49 pages36 minutes

    The King of the City

    By Keith Laumer

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    About this ebook

    He was a sort of taxi-driver, delivering a commuter to the city. The tank traps and armored cars were the hazards of the trade!
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOzymandias Press
    Release dateMay 10, 2016
    ISBN9781531268169
    The King of the City
    Author

    Keith Laumer

    John Keith Laumer (June 9, 1925 – January 23, 1993) was an American science fiction author. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, he was an officer in the United States Air Force and a diplomat in the United States Foreign Service. His older brother March Laumer was also a writer, known for his adult reinterpretations of the Land of Oz (also mentioned in Laumer's The Other Side of Time). Frank Laumer, their youngest brother, is a historian and writer.

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      Book preview

      The King of the City - Keith Laumer

      THE KING OF THE CITY

      Keith Laumer

      OZYMANDIAS PRESS

      Thank you for reading. If you enjoy this book, please leave a review.

      All rights reserved. Aside from brief quotations for media coverage and reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form without the author’s permission. Thank you for supporting authors and a diverse, creative culture by purchasing this book and complying with copyright laws.

      Copyright © 2016 by Keith Laumer

      Published by Ozymandias Press

      Interior design by Pronoun

      Distribution by Pronoun

      ISBN: 9781531268169

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      I

      II

      III

      IV

      V

      EPILOGUE

      I

      ~

      I STOOD IN THE SHADOWS and looked across at the rundown lot with the windblown trash packed against the wire mesh barrier fence and the yellow glare panel that said HAUG ESCORT. There was a row of city-scarred hacks parked on the cracked ramp. They hadn’t suffered the indignity of a wash-job for a long time. And the two-story frame building behind them—that had once been somebody’s country house—now showed no paint except the foot-high yellow letters over the office door.

      Inside the office a short broad man with small eyes and yesterday’s beard gnawed a cigar and looked at me.

      Portal-to-portal escort cost you two thousand C’s, he said. Guaranteed.

      Guaranteed how? I asked.

      He waved the cigar. Guaranteed you get into the city and back out again in one piece. He studied his cigar. If somebody don’t plug you first, he added.

      How about a one-way trip?

      My boy got to come back out, ain’t he?

      I had spent my last brass ten-dollar piece on a cup of coffee eight hours before, but I had to get into the city. This was the only idea I had left.

      You’ve got me wrong, I said. I’m not a customer. I want a job.

      Yeah? He looked at me again, with a different expression, like a guy whose new-found girl friend has just mentioned a price.

      You know Gra’nyauk?

      Sure, I said. I grew up here.

      He asked me a few more questions, then thumbed a button centered in a ring of grime on the wall behind him. A chair scraped beyond the door; it opened and a tall bony fellow with thick wrists and an adams apple set among heavy neck tendons came in.

      The man behind the desk pointed at me with his chin.

      Throw him out, Lefty.

      Lefty gave me a resentful look, came around the desk and reached for my collar. I leaned to the right and threw a hard left jab to the chin. He rocked back and sat down.

      I get the idea, I said. I can make it out under my own power. I turned to the door.

      Stick around, mister. Lefty’s just kind of a like a test for separating the men from the boys.

      You mean I’m hired?

      He sighed. You come at a good time. I’m short of good boys.

      I helped

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