Page 35 of On a Rogue Planet
“I agree with Mal,” Eos said. “I think it’s a far better option to avoid the pits. Dathan, you found some info on who might know where the Antikythera is.”
“Yep.” Dathan leaned a hip against the holo-table. “Informant came through about the head honcho of the Rahl. Guy called Gurion.” Dathan wrinkled his nose. “Not a nice person. Highly volatile, big anger-management issues.”
“That doesn’t sound good.” Mal worried her bottom lip.
“I will deal with him,” Xander said.
“Nope.” Dathan shook his head. “My informant recommended we steer well clear of Gurion. He’s prone to challenging people to fight in the pits on a whim. And he’s never lost.”
“Never?” Mal squeaked.
“Never. I believe the words ‘fair fight’ don’t feature in the Rahl’s vocab.”
“Very true.” Eos tapped the holo-table, reading the display. “From what I can find about their pit fighting, there are no rules. Or rather, there may be rules, but they aren’t followed or enforced. For example, supposedly there are no weapons allowed in the pits, but if you manage to sneak one in and use it…” She shrugged. “No one cares.”
“Win, in whatever way possible.” Xander made the statement like he understood the sentiment.
Mal guessed CenSecs liked getting the job done as efficiently as possible.
“So, you want to avoid Gurion.” Dathan tapped the screen. “Instead, you need to find this man.”
An image flashed on the screen. Definitely a Rahl but older and smaller. Nowhere near as tall and muscled as the mercs Mal had seen on Centax. His hair was a crazy cloud of gray and his eyes were different colors—one amber and one pale green.
“He’s called the Taskmaster. He schedules all the Rahl’s mercenary jobs.”
Mal saw Xander’s hand curl around the edge of the table.
“He’s the one who would have booked the job with Rexon Dax.” Xander’s tone was dark. “He’d know where they’ve taken the Antikythera.”
“Yes.”
“So, we find him, get our answers and leave,” Mal said.
“Yep.” Dathan’s assessing gaze flicked over Xander. “You need to go down, put on a show that you’re a shit-hot fighter, and Malin’s your woman. Then get to the Taskmaster and get what we need.” His mouth tightened. “Think you can lose that CenSec starch long enough to look tough?”
Xander’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t worry about me, Phoenix.”
“You go down there acting like a CenSec, you’ll get nothing.”
“I can do it.” The muscle in Xander’s jaw ticked. “I have…programming that will help.”
“Okay.” Dathan released a long breath. “Time to roll.”
“Malin?” Xander touched her arm. “I will ensure your safety.”
Mal felt a rush of something warm inside her. The guy was a born protector. She patted his arm. The chain mesh was cool, but under that she felt the heat from his skin. “It’s okay, Xander. I know you’ll look out for me.” A smile tweaked at her lips. “You ready to go look tough?”
He looked like he was considering locking her in her cabin. Then he gave her a short nod. “Yes. The sooner we go, the sooner we get back.”
Mal shivered. He had to be talking about getting back with the location of the Antikythera.
But she wondered if anyone else heard the heavy promise in his tone.
Sweet scrap,she was going to be sick.
Mal wrestled with the urge to tug at her poor excuse for a skirt and instead channeled some Lala. She cocked a hip to the side and lifted her chin.
The room was cavernous and filled with people and noise. Loud, discordant music pumped through the space and silver strobe lights flashed, highlighting the gathered mass of humanity.
