Fireteam Delta J. Halpin (top 10 books of all time TXT) 📖

She probably saw me taking the lead on the sale. Since we’re supposed to be merchants and all, there’s a good chance she figures I’m the one in charge.”

Nowak waved away the apology. “The invitation only mentions Summers?”

Asle nodded.

“Then I’ll play your guard. Or Asle’s. That shouldn’t be too weird, right?” Nowak looked to Asle. She nodded again after some consideration.

“She calls you all ‘great hunters.’ It’s a compliment. Hunters have high status.” Asle pointed at the note. Summers couldn’t read a thing, but damn if the handwriting wasn’t pretty.

“Is that like a job here? Or a title?” Nowak asked.

“Both? Some very important.”

“You sure you want to go to this, Sarge? I mean, she might just be feeling out the competition.” Summers had dealt with more than enough overly competitive assholes in the military to know that they were usually more trouble than they were worth.

“I didn’t get that vibe from her. Besides, like you said, she wanted what was left of that creature bad enough to pay through the nose. What’s that tell you?”

“You said it was a scarecrow for smaller creatures. So, she doesn’t want to deal with those?”

“Exactly, and why would she want to meet with you if she already has what she wanted. She didn’t buy any of our other crap. I had to load that off on about fifteen other traders. So, what do we have that she still wants?”

Summers hesitated. “She knows we can take down shit like that monster.”

“Yup. She’s after protection.”

<<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>>

Nowak had managed to rouse Adams before they headed out. Cortez and Logan had taken shift watching the wagon—including the small fortune they’d amassed. Its security was therefore considered more important than whatever tea party Synel had planned.

Their meeting point was a fairly large restaurant at the center of the city. Summers could see people heading in and out through the large double doors. He caught a few guards loitering by the building, staring at them. That had happened a few times now. He knew they’d made an impression with the monster they’d brought in, so he shouldn’t be surprised. But their eyes didn’t hold admiration, or even fear. It was something else . . .

“We good?” Nowak asked. He received a few nods in response.

“All right, then. Summers, you do the talking.”

<<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>>

The inside of the building was lavish, at least to elvish standards. Furs on the walls insulated the room against the cold, and the bone-tiled floor gave it an air of elegance. Summers guessed that this would be their equivalent of a four- or five-star restaurant, judging by the difference in craftsmanship alone.

Ms. Synel was seated in the back at a large table with two other beautiful elven women. She saw Summers and his friends enter and immediately stood to greet them. Summers almost put on a fake smile, but managed to catch himself in time. He wasn’t the type of guy who could charm a woman like her on his best day. Luckily, Synel wanted something else from them.

They’d spoken beforehand on the possibility of joining her caravan. It was tempting, if only for the extra sets of eyes looking out for danger. What they needed to learn was if Synel was someone they could trust. Ultimately, they had no stake in this meeting, other than a lost opportunity. If Summers were to screw up, they’d probably just offend her. It wouldn’t be the first time he pissed off someone important, and it probably wouldn’t be the last.

Asle exchanged pleasantries for them; the language barrier made small talk too much trouble to bother with. Summers took a seat directly across from Ms. Synel, while the two elvish women beside her took up spots beside Adams and Nowak, respectively.

The two elven women measured their partners with a calculating look. Summers wasn’t surprised Synel was trying to leverage them with sex appeal. What pissed him off was that Adams was falling for it. The kid was clearly struggling not to smile as the elvish woman to his right moved closer, laying a hand on top of his shoulder and saying something in a low voice.

“Hands on the table, Adams.”

“I’m not doing nothing.”

“That’s right, you’re not.”

Summers watched as Adams gently placed both hands in front of him. They weren’t taking any chances.

Thankfully, Synel got to the heart of the matter quickly.

“She’s asking about the fight with the monster. About preparations. She wants to know how many of us there were.” Asle looked to Summers.

“You mean, how many it took to bring it down?”

“No, how many we lost.”

“None. I’m not about to start tacking on fake casualties to make the story seem more believable.” Summers looked to Nowak. “That good with you, Sarge?”

Nowak nodded.

Summers knew that this was probably strange, given the size and strength of the creature, but he didn’t really care if the merchant believed him.

He saw Synel’s eyebrows raise a fraction of an inch as Asle spoke. She replied in kind, but this time, the girl didn’t translate. She simply kept speaking with Synel.

“Asle?”

“Sorry. Trying to explain.”

“Explain what?”

“I’m not a slave.”

This time, it was Summers’ turn to be surprised.

“No, you are not.” Summers noted the relieved look in Asle’s eyes. Apparently, she wasn’t so sure about that herself. Summers turned his attention to Synel. The woman must have picked up on his mood because she quickly said something to Asle in response.

“Exact translations, Asle, please.”

“She’s apologizing.” Asle glanced over. “She meant no offense. She wanted to address the rumors around us. That’s what she’s saying.”

“What?”

Apparently, there was an assumption made by those who saw them bring in the beast’s remains about something called the “flood” strategy.

It was the idea that, no matter how large or powerful a creature was, you could bring