The Ruins of Karzelek (The Mandrake Company series Book 4) Read Online Free Page A

wall. Lieutenant Calendula will remain with the craft. Tick will go in with Ms. Blackwell and Thomlin, and Striker and I will monitor from the perimeter, preparing to distract if necessary.”
    “ I don’t get to go with the infiltration team?” Striker asked.
    “ Lieutenant Calendula has informed me that your tactless words and incessant leers—” Thatcher glanced at Val, as if to verify he was quoting her correctly, “—may be unappreciated by Ms. Blackwell. You will not accompany her anywhere during the mission.”
    Striker slumped back in his seat, frowning back and forth from Thatcher to Calendula. “I liked it more before you had a woman, sir. You never used to know what was tactless.”
    Val smiled and gave him a rude gesture. Thatcher swung into the pilot’s seat and fired up the engine.
    “ My leers aren’t incessant,” Striker grumbled to Tick, poking the air above the tablet to make a move. “They’re very... cessant.”
    “ Inactive or dormant?” Sedge asked, doubting Striker knew what the word meant.
    “ Friendly. And sexy. Women like them.”
    Skeptical, Sedge looked at Ms. Blackwell for confirmation. But she had already strapped into her seat and pulled out a tablet of her own, opening the display in privacy mode so he couldn’t see what she was working on. Remembering his earlier thought of sitting beside her and telling her about his electives, Sedge took a step in that direction. But he hesitated. If she was engrossed in something private, she might not appreciate having him so close. There were numerous other places he could sit.
    “ Take a seat, Lieutenant Thomlin,” Thatcher said. “We’re taking off.”
    “ Yes, sir.”
    Sedge decided to risk Ms. Blackwell’s ire and headed toward her, though he tried to walk casually, as if he was merely going to the first open seat and had nothing further on his mind. The last thing he wanted was to have Val accuse him of leering, incessantly, surreptitiously, or otherwise. He also had no wish to make Ms. Blackwell uncomfortable. Calm, casual, indifferent. That was him.
    No sooner had he reached Ms. Blackwell than he sneezed mightily, one of those irritating surprise sneezes that startled a man. And those around him. She flinched and stared up at him.
    “ My apologies,” he murmured, dipping into his pocket for his handkerchief.
    “ Thomlin, you took your medication, didn’t you?” Thatcher asked.
    Embarrassed heat warmed his cheeks. Ms. Blackwell was still looking at him, probably wondering why a thirty-year-old man had to be reminded to take an antihistamine like a distracted toddler. “Yes, it should kick in fully before we reach the installation. This planet is proving to be particularly taxing on my immune system.”
    “ How can that be?” Striker asked. “We haven’t seen more than three plants. And they were cactuses. Who’s allergic to cactus?”
    “ It’s the dust,” Sedge said stiffly.
    “ Can’t the doc give you a shot or something?”
    “ I react poorly to the most common drugs used for controlling the human histamine response.” Sedge decided not to mention the instances of anaphylactic shock. He had no wish to share his vulnerabilities with Striker. Or Ms. Blackwell. How had they gotten onto this horrible topic anyway?
    He slid into the seat next to Ms. Blackwell, even though he was more inclined to flee to the rear and hide in the weapons locker at this point. She was still looking at him, but her expression was hardly one of sexual interest—he would have settled for any interest whatsoever. Rather, she had that look that so many of his peers often wore: wondering how someone with so many allergies could make it as a mercenary.
    “ I’m quite hale in most ways,” Sedge felt compelled to tell her. “It’s a hypersensitivity rather than a weakness, you understand. I haven’t had a cold or other bacterial invasion in years, and I’m in the top tenth percentile on the ship when it comes to the physical