Page 150 - The Perpetrations of Captain Kaga

Breaking the Grapefruit Connection
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To the standard pre-recorded query he replied, “This is Grut
Flembo speaking. Connect me to Lugo, right away.”
The screen went blank for almost a minute, and then returned with
the image of a fat balding man in an orange robe seated at a table. “I
am Abbott Pamplemousse,” he said in a deep pious voice. “How may
I be of service to you, Brother?”
“Oh, I’m an old friend of Lugo’s, just got in from Arcturus and
heard he was staying out there. I thought if he could get some time
off for good behavior—haha!—that we could meet at my hotel here
in the spaceport and we could hit a few of the sensenhancer clubs
together. Is he there?
“First,” responded Pamplemousse with great dignity, “I should
explain that we are an institution devoted to meditation and the
tending of fruit trees; our vows do not permit us to venture out into
the world to sample the questionable delights of the city. Second, I
must inform you that Brother Lugo is no longer with us. He left some
time ago to pursue a rather different spiritual path. May I be of any
further assistance to you, Brother?”
“Uh, no, that’s all right. Say, I’m sorry I bothered you. Goodbye.”
Captain Kaga quickly signed off. Pamplemousse had been
scrutinizing him closely, and Kaga did not think his disguise could
bear much more of it. Nevertheless, he had seen and heard enough.
Lugo was in trouble, and only he could help. He restored his
appearance to normal and went into his workroom.
Three hours later, Lieutenant Lugo suddenly dropped from his
bench onto something squishy.
“Argh!” grunted that something. “Get off me! You’re breaking my
back!”
“Captain Kaga! How did you get here? Where’s that bench I was
sitting on?” Lugo rolled over and the two ex-PKU officers sat on the
floor, facing each other. Both were pop-eyed, for different reasons.
“First tell me: are we safe here? I don’t have any weapons. Had to
turn them all in when I retired. Didn’t you?”
“Of course! Well, almost all of them. But I don’t have any with me,
unfortunately. And, safe? Well, nobody will bother us for a while,
that’s for sure.”
“Good I’ve come to rescue you, or at least help you out of any
immediate difficulties.”
“That’s great! But how did you get here? And where are we?”
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