Soldier of Fortune: A Gideon Quinn Adventure (Fortune Chronicles Book 1) by Kathleen McClure Read Free Book Online Page B

down-on-his-luck rigger from Quinn's tram, leaving him dressed in matte-black garb suitable for tracking one's quarry through the night-time streets of Nike.
    Now that Quinn had gone to ground, Nahmin needed something a bit more flamboyant.
    The hooded mask came off first, and he used it to dry off as much as possible before tossing it into a nearby compost bin.
    Next he reversed his jacket, trading the near-invisible matte black for an eye-searing puce which, with a twitch of two buttons, lengthened into a full tunic.
    From one deep pocket he drew a length of blinding yellow fabric, which he wrapped into an elegant pagri for his head and less than four minutes after entering the alley, Nahmin emerged a changed man.
    As he approached the doors, he gave the street beyond a casual glance, though in truth he wasn't concerned by the young thief who'd also been following Quinn. The little one's tenacity impressed, but any dodger worth his lock-picks would be smart enough to know when a mark was lost, and move on. Though why any thief would be interested in the ragged ex-soldier in the first place confounded him.
    The same might be said of his employer, were Nahmin not also aware of the threat Gideon Quinn presented. Enough of a threat Nahmin had protested allowing Rey and Ronan, the Pradesh twins, first attempt at containment, but his employer would not be swayed.
    Their failure had come as no surprise.
    Still, that failure was his opportunity and, with one last scan of the street, Nahmin entered the Elysium Hotel to finish the job.
     
     
     

C HAPTER E IGHT
     
    THEY HAD PRIVATE baths.
    Private baths the size of his cell, with an actual tub and doors that locked on the inside .
    Gideon clicked at Elvis, who flapped over to perch on the edge of the sink, then let his dripping wet pack thud to the tile floor.
    He stared a moment longer, then stepped back into the main room, furnished with the sort of sturdy, utilitarian furniture one might expect of Keepers. The place certainly didn't run to extras, but the low-framed bed with its equally low stand and reading lamp were well made and, with wheat-gold walls set off by tapestries, rugs and bedding in variegated autumn tones, provided a veritable banquet of textures to Gideon's sensory-deprived diet.
    The room also featured a meditation nook should the traveler wish to indulge, but Gideon doubted he’d make use of the space. His preferred method of stress relief tended to involve less sitting and more punching.
    Dani loved meditation, he recalled. Then again, someone who regularly jumped out of airships with nothing but a slender tether between herself and a fatal splat would need to maintain a certain level of Zen.
    He wondered if she still meditated, or if she was still in the Corps — or still alive.
    "Stop it," he said aloud, forcing his thoughts away from the woman he'd lost ( sent away ), and towards something more productive.
    Because if he was going to think about anyone, it should be Jessup Rand and the two mercenaries Rand set on Gideon the second he stepped off the barge, or John Pitte who’d been another of Rand’s weapons, or the dodger who’d trailed him to the hotel…
    Or, he turned to look at that bathroom again, he could not think of anyone at all. For this one night, he could just enjoy the moment and this room. This clean, private, utterly empty—
    The sound of a fist on wood broke into his determined reverie, reminding Gideon he'd asked the Welcoming Keeper to have dinner delivered. Out of long habit he opened the door with caution, but found only another Keeper, this one young and slightly flushed and, most importantly, carrying a tray crowded with filled dishes.
    Gideon could have kissed him. Fortunately for his dignity, he restrained himself and merely took hold of the tray, thanked the Keeper and closed the door. Then he opened the door again and tipped the young man, still standing there and looking a bit shocked. He closed the door again, latched it,