Bank Run

First published Asimov's Science Fiction magazine Oct-Nov 2005. Anthologized Science Fiction, the Best of the Year- 2006 Edition, Rich Horton, ed.,Prime Books 2006. Translated into Russian ESLI magazine, Moscow, May 06.
On a world where human settlers are still building a mature economy, a banker is faced with a classic situation-- an erratic, heavily indebted landowner who wants to take possession of his bank and loot its resources. Pursued by genetically altered mercenaries, Sabor must fight for his freedom while he applies all his skills at financial manipulation-- and struggles with the complications created by his feelings for his made-to-order concubine.
Length: about fifty hardcover book pages. The novella has been a popular form since science fiction magazines first appeared on the stands, but it's too short for conventional print publishing. Ereaders have opened up a new possibility, novellas readers can buy as if they were small books you can read in less than an hour.