What my employer left out of account was that his company had begun to attract attention in its own right. The success of the Landoor amusement parks-several lightyears away from Lorelei-had put his picture on holovid screens all over the Galaxy. While a certain amount could be explained by rapid travel, there was always the danger that somebody would realize that there had to be two Phules.
The danger had been pointed out to him, but of course he dismissed it. “Nobody takes the news seriously, ” he had argued when demonstrating the robot to the Fat Chance’s board of directors. “Half the time, they just use stock footage of public figures, and nobody notices. ” What he left out of account was that his enemies were paying particularly close attention to him.
Two shadowy figures had been lurking in the corridor leading from the Fat Chance Casino’s gourmet dining room back toward the Legion quarters for nearly an hour. Luckily for them, nobody had passed during the entire time. Or perhaps it was more than just luck; they’d scouted out the territory carefully in advance and knew the odds were in their favor when they decided to lay their ambush there. But it had been longer than they’d expected, and it was a definite relief when they finally heard footsteps approaching.
“Here he comes,” whispered the shorter of the pair, peering out from under the potted plant behind which they were hiding.
“About farkin’ time,” grumbled her companion. “Any longer, and I was gonna hafta water this here fern.”