Read Online Deep Space Endeavor 3 Death Match by Ron Francis - Free Book Online

may already be dead.”
    Charlie motioned to the back of the docking bay and said, “There’s a secret passage that leads to her room, Dane and I are the only ones that know about it.”
    “Take Jason and two of my men and go. We will go up the front way in case she was chased out of her room.”
    The two groups took off, desperately hoping to reach her in time. Manny didn’t think he would ever be able to look Jesse or Nina in the eye again if Ariel didn’t make it. As they burst out of the docking bay, weapons drawn, they ran across the breezeway towards the hotel lobby and that’s when he spotted it. An injured man circling a fallen woman, and he had bad intentions in his eyes.
    The Dragon was enraged. This woman had injured him and made him bleed all over the hotel. He kicked her in the face and she grunted in pain. She could not muster enough wind in her chest to actually cry out. He kicked her again and again. He then hoisted up her bleeding battered body, and slowly, painfully withdrew the dagger from her shoulder. She slumped back to the ground and he swung the dagger at her throat again. She moved again and he caught her across the side of her face. She was barely conscious, but he continued to taunt her anyway.
    “Look at you, Captain,” he laughed. “Who’s going to want you now? Your face is ruined, your body is ruined and you are about to die. Leaving you alive like this might be an even worse fate.” He smiled as if contemplating the idea but then quickly rejected it. “No, I am going to enjoy killing you. Then, I’m going to finish the job on your wretched cousin.” He raised his dagger to take her life and a blaster bolt hit him in the back. The force of the shot sent him over the railing and off the breezeway. Ariel looked up to see what had happened, but she began to slip in and out of consciousness.
    Manny ran to her side, worry evident in his eyes. He began frantically calling for a medic to get her to the nearest recovery pod. His men formed a perimeter around her as Charlie and the second team arrived and formed up, reinforcing their position.
    “It’s going to be alright, Ariel, stay with us,” he pleaded. “Where’s that medic?” He yelled. “Stay with us, beautiful.” He was nearly in a panic as he looked at her battered body. He could see the blood trail and the injuries and he wanted to berate himself for not getting there sooner. He continued to speak, hoping to get through to her. “Please, Ariel, I need someone to tease, you can’t leave us.” He checked her pulse; it was weak, and her breathing was coming out in short, painful gasps.
    He looked up and saw two medics rushing a hover gurney towards them. He stood and let them in as Charlie came over to him and whispered, “We have counted eleven dead so far, it appears the assassin massacred them to get to Captain Marcos. Vic and Frank are dead, too.”
    Manny grimaced at Charlie’s assessment. “Nina is not gonna be happy. The Enclave will pay dearly if Captain Marcos dies. Where is Jason?” He looked around, but the Lieutenant was nowhere to be seen.
    “Unknown, Sir, Lieutenant Cheng bolted as soon as we saw the Captain’s room was empty.” Charlie explained as he too began to survey the scene. Captain Marcos was a fantastic boss and he hated to see her this way. He thought back to how kind she had been about getting him back home in time for his family vacation and silently prayed she would make it through, even as the medics were gently placing her on the gurney.
    Manny pulled out his communicator and began to make a transmission that he dreaded making as the medics pushed Ariel on the gurney towards their waiting aircar. One of them was hooking up an oxygen mask and checking her pulse while the other guided the gurney. Manny looked over the edge of the breezeway and saw Jason in combat with the assassin below. He had somehow survived the blaster bolt and the fall, and he was still on his feet, but he was