Read Online The Ruins of Karzelek (The Mandrake Company series Book 4) by Ruby Lionsdrake - Free Book Online Page B

Ms. Blackwell.”
    “ No, I know. But it would be a ruse.” She spread her arms.
    “ A ruse that would incur the wrath of Ferago Enterprises, a giant corporation that has a seat in the government. Ferago supplies the Fleet with much of its raw materials for shipbuilding. GalCon may not care much what mercenaries do out here on the outer rim, so long as their battles only have to do with minor factions on unincorporated planets and in space, but they will care if we openly attack Karzelek’s most lucrative mining outpost. We would go from being mercenaries, a legally registered corporation, to system-wide criminals. Kill-on-sight.”
    The confidence that Kalish had been carrying with her wilted under the captain’s words and under his hard stare. “But you’ve killed finance lords,” she finally said.
    “ Prove it.”
    “ I...”
    “ We’ve done a fairly good job of erasing the records of that,” Sedge said quietly, almost apologetically, since he had been responsible for a lot of that legerdemain. “There are rumors, of course, or you wouldn’t have heard about it, but the government doesn’t have any proof.”
    The expression she gave him was hard to read. It wasn’t annoyed, as he had thought it might be, but somewhere between frustrated and wistful, perhaps? Maybe she was wishing she had someone who could erase the records of what had happened last night for her.
    “ I just need a distraction, Captain,” Kalish said. “I don’t care how you accomplish it. All I ask is, as I said, that people not be killed over this.”
    Mandrake’s face grew thoughtful. He would have balked if she had insisted on the bullying and threatening course, but he was probably intrigued by the challenge she was presenting now.
    “ I’ll see what we can come up with.”
    Mandrake wasn’t the smartest man Sedge had ever met, instead being one of the deadliest men he had met, but he knew enough to surround himself with smart people. He would call a meeting and see what those people could come up with. Sedge almost wished he was up on the ship now, so he might be invited to be a part of it, but he would not give up a chance to explore alien ruins, especially if Kalish had found previously undiscovered ones..
    “ Good,” Kalish said. “Once we’ve found our entrance, preferably far from the miners’ entrance, I’ll be in contact with you.”
    “ What’s going on in those mines that’s so special anyway?” Tick asked. “You find out about some extra fine stashes of gold?”
    “ Stashes of gold are good,” Striker said, his eyes gleaming.
    Mandrake didn’t throw in any commentary on Tick’s question, but he did watch Kalish’s face intently. He might not pry, but he had to be curious too.
    “ It would be premature to say,” Kalish said. “I’ve done my research, but it’s still nebulous as to whether we’ll find anything.”
    “ You’re paying us well,” Mandrake said. “It can’t be that nebulous.”
    Kalish’s lips thinned. “Haven’t you heard of desperation, Captain?” She lifted her hand to cut the comm signal, but not before Mandrake glanced over at Sedge, an eyebrow lifting slightly. An instant later, his face disappeared, and Kalish tossed the patch back. Sedge accepted it with a nod.
    “ There we go,” Tick said, leaning back from the portable heater he had brought in. Warmth started radiating from its sides. Good. Sedge could still see his breath.
    “ What’s next?” Striker asked, leaning back in the chair and folding his hands behind his head. “Start a fire? Roast some marshmallows or candied puffworms? Get naked and explore the limits of our own stamina and creativity?”
    Tick elbowed him. “Go explore your stamina with Betsy.”
    Kalish ignored them. She was swiping her finger through the big hologram, moving data around and exploring the three-dimensional image the mapping software was building.
    “ I have to pee,” Sedge announced, making an excuse to head outside. The