"Joanna Wylde - Saurellian 5 - Jerred's Price" - читать интересную книгу автора (Wylde Joanna)

“We do our best,” he said. “Of course, we wouldn’t want to have to go through this
with you again. I’m sure that Manya can be persuaded to drop any charges against you,
and as the representative of the port, I can assure you that we hold no grudge, but we
really will have to ask you to leave within the next cycle. A little time does wonders for
hot tempers.”
“That won’t be a problem for me at all,” Jerred said, mulling over the idea. A full
cycle was more than enough time to find the girl and get out. Mission or no, he wasn’t
going to leave her behind. He’d already decided that.
She’d cost him far too many credits.
“How much longer will you need me to stay here?” he asked, rolling the sharp
liquor in his mouth. It was decent stuff, far better than anything he’d had in a long time.
The captain and his men seemed to do pretty well for themselves. Idly he wondered if
their Imperial keepers got a cut, or if this was strictly a local enterprise. If so, it might
come in handy for Nicolai down the road. He made a mental note to tell the general
about the captain in his next report.
“You can leave as soon as all the credits are transferred into the escrow account,”
the man replied. “This would all be much simpler if you would simply authorize it
directly.”
Jerred didn’t reply, simply smiling at him. If he authorized it directly, the price to
leave this room would almost certain to go up. Immediately.
Finally the captain’s computer bleeped, and he nodded.
“It looks like everything is in order,” he said with a smile. “You’ll need to authorize
the release from escrow before you receive clearance to leave the station.”
“Naturally,” Jerred said. “May I leave now?”



15
 Joanna Wylde


“Of course,” the captain replied. “In fact, I’ve even arranged for you to get your
blaster back. Carrying such a weapon illegally is a serious infringement of port
regulations, but I’m certain we can trust you not to do it again.”
Jerred nodded then stood slowly to leave. A younger man waited in the outer office
with his blaster. Easy enough, Jerred thought. It was refreshing to deal with Imperials
who were so direct. Too bad the captain and his men weren’t guarding the Imperial
court on Tyre. That would be a real treat.




*****
Giselle crawled through the service shaft as fast as she could move, wishing
desperately that she’d taken the time to explore it more. Where the hell was she? And
perhaps more importantly, where should she go?
Manya’s was out of the question. It wouldn’t take them long to discover where she
worked, and she’d brought him enough trouble already. If the station guards turned
against him, he could lose his livelihood. But all her money had been in her bag. What
was she going to do?