Blaedergil's Host by C.M. Simpson (reading well .TXT) 📕

standard fees for each type of job, and standard additions,” he said, nodding to Tens. “No client pays more than any other, although, in your case, there are some additional costs.”

As Tens went to work, some of the suspicion left Sandoval’s expression. This was something he understood. Beside him, Treivani observed the negotiations, her eyes showing more interest than her otherwise relaxed position suggested. I remembered that she was the eldest daughter of a clan whose power came from trading, and figured she was better able to assess what she was hearing than I was. After all, she’d have been raised to have all the skills she needed in order to act successfully in her clan’s best interests.

I heard a ping from the screen, and Sandoval’s gaze shifted.

“Thank you,” he said, his eyes travelling back and forth as though he was reading something. “Those terms are acceptable. We’ll negotiate extras. I note you have no termination fee.”

“We fill all our contracts,” Mack told him, and I watched as the muscles flexed along his jawline.

“Shit,” Tens murmured, and the ship shuddered shortly thereafter. “Mack, we...”

Mack held up a hand, his expression hard.

“I’ll be adding the cost of repairs to your bill,” he said. “You had better hope none of my people have been harmed.”

What Sandoval might have said, was lost as Treivani shifted suddenly in her seat, and cast a commanding glance towards one side of the screen. Seconds later, two women crossed in front of her, and lifted her children from her arms. When they were gone, she reached down and pulled a small computer from somewhere near her feet, and set it on the coffee table before her.

Sandoval watched her as she opened the screen, and tapped at the keys. When she stopped and looked at him, he turned his attention back to Mack.

“Now, we are ready to negotiate,” he said, and I sat and watched as he and Mack traded costs, prices and demands. All the while, I sat in front of the weapons board, monitoring the only thing I had any control over: whether or not I activated the Shady Marie’s shields. There was no way in all the stars I was going to activate the ships’ weapons.

For one thing, the drives were off-line. If I brought the weapons on line, we’d lose too much power for other essential systems—and that was the other thing: I had nothing to feed the shields, which meant we were sitting ducks for Skymander’s weapons’ crews. I wasn’t feeling suicidal. Nothing caught my eye, on the first pass, but I watched, and I waited, because I was pretty sure Sandoval had yet another trick up his sleeve, and we weren’t out of the woods yet.

19—Winning Friends

From what I could tell, negotiations were going well, when Delight intervened. She appeared at the back of the room to one side of Sandoval, a small, carefully swaddled bundle in her arms, a Blazer protruding from beneath it. Pritchard was nowhere to be seen.

“Delight!” Mack roared, even as Sandoval and Treivani turned to see what had drawn our attention. “Stand down—and give that child back to its mother!”

At the sound of his voice, Delight turned her head, and looked at the screen. The grin she gave us was as feral as any I’d ever seen.

“I’d rather not,” she said, and moved swiftly so that she was standing slightly to the side in front of Sandoval and his bride.

“You two,” she snarled, and I flinched at the fury in her tone, “have caused me more trouble than your lives are worth.”

“Delight!” Mack said, and the screens went dead. “Well, fuck me twenty times to Sunday! Tens!”

“I’ve got you.”

I wanted to ask Tens what he meant, but his hands moved swiftly across the controls in front of him, and silver light enveloped me.

“Well, fuck me,” I managed.

Mack’s voice greeted me as the light dissipated from around us.

“You are combat trained, aren’t you Cutter?”

I nodded, turning my head to take in my new surroundings. I did not want to know how Tens had calculated the coordinates for that little stunt, but I was really glad he’d gotten them right. We’d materialized in the room opposite Delight.

“It was easy. I tracked the signal for the ship’s coordinates, and then tracked the source to the right deck.”

“Shut. Up. I don’t want to know.”

And I truly didn’t. I had other things to occupy my attention. Getting under cover, for instance, so I didn’t get my ass shot off. Delight had this snap-shooting thing down pat. I’d thank Mack for the body armor, later.

“Excuse us,” Mack said to Sandoval. “We’ll be off your ship shortly.”

Somehow, I doubted that, but I wasn’t going to argue. If the man said we’d be off the ship, shortly, then that’s what we’d be doing. I had no doubt that Tens was preparing the teleport, as we spoke.

“Delight,” Mack said. “You need to come with us.”

She scowled at him.

“You have no idea—” she began, but Mack cut her off.

“And you can fill me in when we get back to the ship. Now, give the lady back her baby.”

“But—”

“I’d do it, Catriona,” Pritchard advised, and I startled, because his voice had come from right behind me.

I didn’t think, just reacted, sidestepping and turning to take him in. He waited, watching as I came round to face him, and then he let me take the gun from his fingers.

“Tens?” I said, but a faint silver glow was growing around Pritchard, and I knew Tens had already picked him up.

I took Pritchard’s gun and stepped back around so I could see what was happening with Delight and Sandoval. Mack had moved, interposing himself between Delight and her targets, and Sandoval had quietly slid off the arm of the couch, and taken his first step around its end.

“Stop,” I said, and both he and Treivani glanced towards me. They froze, as I levelled Pritchard’s stolen weapon at them. Sandoval started to smirk, but, before I could work out why, Mack spoke.

“Drop