Mercenary Courage (Mandrake Company) (36 page)

Viktor’s brows rose, but he finally stepped aside. He would want to hear about any mention of a problem among the men, even if he, too, was thinking of dinner and a return to bedroom activities.

“It’s about the leave nobody got,” Tick said. “Nobody except you, Borage, and Azarov.”

“Leave?” Viktor asked. “I was either in jail or fighting ninety percent of the time I was on the station.” His gaze flicked to Ankari.

She kept her expression bland. She wouldn’t reveal what he had been doing the other ten percent of the time.

“Yup, we know about that, Cap’n. Saw the news. Appreciated the way you handled those mafia men. Everyone did, I reckon. You saw the clips they showed with some of the other captains in dock, saying good things about you? Even that squirmy mercenary, Sherkov, said you were every bit the fighter you used to be, pink shuttle notwithstanding.”

“Sherkov said that?” Viktor asked.

Ankari was just as surprised, but maybe after that encounter in the smoky docking bay, Sherkov had decided Viktor was not someone he wanted to hold a grudge against him. Or maybe the Fleet had retracted the money it had been offering to anyone who caused him to be tossed in jail, and the mercenary had decided it was no longer worth being on Viktor’s bad side. Either way, after the ribbing Viktor had been taking when they first docked on Midway 5, and also after the tragedies of the Nimbus battle, Ankari was pleased that some of the system’s starlight was finally shining on him. He deserved to be recognized as a good man. A hero, even.

“Yup, said anyone would be stupid to tangle with you. And we like that, Cap’n. Like having a ferocious leader, that is, but let me get back to this leave that we’re all aching for. Will there be another opportunity for a break before we get back to work? It wouldn’t need to be anything so fancy as Midway 5. The men don’t need casinos or shops or trees. Just a place where they can get their co—” Tick glanced at Ankari. “Uhm, get their shoulders rubbed.”

“Their shoulders?” she asked mildly. “Is that what’s going on in those bordello rooms?”

“Of course, Ms. Markovich. A man survives a brutal battle, he can use a good shoulder rub.”

“Tick, I hear you,” Viktor said, “but the repair costs were high after Nimbus. We may need to take another job or two before we can—”

A bleep came from the comm-patch on Viktor’s shoulder. He held up a finger to Tick, then crossed the cabin to answer it.

“Ms. Markovich,” Tick whispered, “will you talk to him on our behalf? Try to convince him that men need...”

“Shoulder rubs?”

“Exactly. And a little time to drink and be stupid. To not have to do P.T. every morning.”

“I’m not sure if he’ll take advice about his ship and crew from me, but I know he understands a man’s need for shoulder rubs.”

“That’s good to know. There was a time there when we all wondered.” Tick cleared his throat. “Say, there’s something else I was wondering about.” He glanced at Viktor, but he’d gone to his desk and was peering at a display as he spoke quietly with someone. “You know Laur—I mean Dr. Keys well. While you were in the shuttle or on the station, did she ever say if she had any interest in any of the crew?”

“You mean in a shoulder-rubbing way?” Ankari had heard a few of the men speculate as to whether Lauren might ever consider leaving her lab for fun times, especially now that Jamie was happily taken by someone whom nobody on the ship wanted to cross, but this was the first time that Tick had expressed an interest, at least to her. It might have more to do with being cooped up on the ship without leave for so long than anything else; she didn’t think Tick had ever spoken more than a few words to Lauren, and that had been down on that awful jungle planet with the raptors trying to eat them. Lauren had probably blocked out the whole thing.

“Ah, possibly so,” Tick said. “If that’s something she would ever be amenable to. She never comes to the gym to eye anyone with appreciation, and I hear she’s rebuffed everyone’s advances, so it’s hard to know her preferences. Some of the men wonder if she prefers... shoulder rubbing with other ladies. Which of course caused some speculation as to what you all do in that shuttle when you fly off, if there’s nudity involved and such. Not that I take any part in those conversations. It’s not any of my business, even if she is, er, you are. Erm.” Tick pushed his hand through his hair, then dug his gum tin out of his pocket, removed a piece, and popped it in his mouth. “I didn’t mean to ramble on there. I was just curious. I don’t suppose she’s ever brought up my name?”

“Sorry, I don’t think so.” Ankari chose not to mention that Lauren might not even know which one of the crew Tick was.

“You’ll have to sign up for her trial,” Viktor said, returning to the door, his eyes narrowed in speculation, or perhaps irritation. He must have heard some of Tick’s rambling about shuttle nudity.

“Her what?” Tick asked.

“To be a specimen in her first round of human trials. I understand she may be looking for more men.”

“That’s true,” Ankari said. “I think she even knows the names of the men who signed up.”

“Huh.” Tick chomped thoughtfully on his gum.

“Tell the men they’ll get their leave.” Viktor held up his tablet, though he had folded it, and the display had disappeared. “That was an alert from the company bank. Midway 5 just transferred a reward to us for rescuing their CEO and other officers. Apparently, some of the mafia men we killed had bounties on their heads, as well, so that will be a bonus. A small one. Those weren’t the bigwigs. It sounds like that whole fiasco was a result of someone’s little brother trying to prove himself.”

“Meaning you—we—might have killed someone who has an angry and powerful big brother?” Ankari asked.

Viktor shrugged indifferently. Ankari wished she could feel that blasé about collecting enemies.

“Good to hear, sir,” Tick said, in a distracted tone.

Ankari was not sure if he had been paying attention to anything other than the promise of leave. Or maybe his brain was stuck on the idea of volunteering to be Lauren’s test subject. Ankari did not know whether to hope that turned out well for him or not.

“I’ll tell everyone.” Tick waved and walked out, the door sliding shut.

“Dinner time?” Ankari asked, stepping toward the table.

Viktor intercepted her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “I don’t know. Thanks to my tactless sergeant, I’m now imagining you naked in your shuttle.”

“Oh?” Ankari asked, leaning into him. He lowered his lips to her throat, nuzzling her and tasting her. “Those fuzzy seat covers
do
feel nice on bare skin,” she said, sliding her hands up to his shoulders. “You should come down and try them sometime.”

“On second thought,” Viktor grumbled, “maybe I’ll imagine you in Alpha Shuttle.”

“With all that cold gray metal? And all those bristling weapons?”

“
Now
you’re getting me excited.”

THE END

Afterword

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