The Assassin's Salvation (Mandrake Company) Read Online Free

“Is he toying with us? Why would he? He must be aware of the Albatross approaching.”
    “Not for long. Our missile’s almost back on his ass.”
    On a whim, Jamie checked the flight recorder to make sure the incident was being preserved. What if—
    She sat up straight with a start. “Does anyone know Morse code?”
    Hazel frowned over at her. “Why would an enemy fighter be trying to send us a message with lasers?” She waved at the console. “The comm channel is open.”
    “Would someone from the planet know our frequency?”
    “The pilot could blast a message on all of the common frequencies if that was his intent. We would pick it up.”
    “And would the cities pick it up too?”
    Hazel looked at her sharply. “With the satellites in orbit, yes.”
    “I can read it,” spoke a quiet voice from behind Jamie’s seat.
    She hadn’t noticed Sergei’s approach, but she was quick to lean to the side so he would have a view of the exterior cameras. But the laser fire had stopped. She tapped a couple of buttons, so the flight recorder would repeat the sequence, even as she checked on the fighter’s position.
    “His thrusters are finally burning out,” Jamie said.
    “Missile’s almost on him,” Hazel said.
    “Maybe we should call it off. Until we figure out—”
    The sensor display lit up with a burst, and Jamie sagged in her seat. “The missile got him?”
    “Actually,” Hazel said, “I think that was—”
    “Y’all are welcome over there,” came Lieutenant Frog’s chipper tenor.
    Jamie turned to meet Sergei’s dark eyes. “Was it my imagination? Or was there a message?”
    “Morse code, yes.”
    “And could you tell what it said?” Jamie asked. He might not have had time to decipher it yet. He hadn’t pulled out a tablet to make notes.
    Sergei hesitated.
    Hazel sighed. “Spit it out, Zharkov. I don’t want to have to run it through the computer.”
    “We are in trouble. Your assistance requested. We can pay.”

Chapter 2
    Several moments passed with Sergei standing outside the captain’s door, not waving at the sensor. Mandrake knew he was coming and would expect him to report, but at the same time, he would have heard about the incident with the fighter, and he might be wrapped up trying to figure out who had sent the craft. There were a number of countries and nomadic factions on the planet, all fighting for the few resources that remained after GalCon-protected freighters came down to pick up crops, botshen crystals, and petroleum. Sergei didn’t know more than that. He had merely been passing through on assignment.
    It was strange being back on the Albatross , in the same gray corridors, seeing many of the same faces, but it wasn’t unpleasant. He never would have expected the weird feeling in his belly, but it was there, nonetheless… the feeling that he had come home. But did “home” still want him?
    Sergei took a deep breath and waved at the sensor. It wasn’t so much that he feared interrupting Mandrake; more that he was reluctant to share his news. What if Mandrake thought Sergei wasn’t here to report that bounty but to collect it? Fifty thousand aurums would solve a lot of people’s problems. Sergei wished something as simple as money would solve his.
    “Enter,” came Mandrake’s voice over the speaker as the door slid open.
    Sergei stepped inside and gaped as soon as he crossed the threshold. The corridors might have been the same, but Viktor Mandrake, the man who never sat down, had a couch and coffee table in the middle of his cabin, occupying a space that had always been open for a punching bag that could descend from the ceiling. The woman. Ankari, wasn’t it? This had to be her influence. A few other feminine touches had been added to the sparse cabin—perky teal towels for the kitchenette, a lush white rug covering the friction mat flooring, and bright flowering plants peeping from the grow system that housed Mandrake’s beloved dwarf apple trees. His