The Independent Worlds (The Sixteen Galaxies Book 2) by William Drayman Read Free Book Online Page A

didn’t move; he just stood still and tense. He looked to Mandy like a cat about to leap on its prey. She spotted that his right foot was actually behind the left leg of his chair. She quickly swung her gaze back to Kestil.
    Kestil sighed. “No? Well, I can’t delay here for too long, I’m sure Truly is more than halfway through my shield’s code by now. Before you both die, Mandy, you should know that the man you call Jack Short is actually an English assassin by the name of Justin Blake; he has been hiding in the United States for more than twelve years.” Kestil’s smile turned nasty. “Ever since he murdered your parents.”
    When Kestil spoke those last words, Jack kicked his right leg forward in a lightning move that hurled the chair at John Crabtree. He leapt after the chair, intent on the gun in John’s hand. John stepped sideways to avoid the chair, and landed a hard left to Jack’s face. Jack staggered back a few steps. He was half blinded by the blood that ran freely from his brow and down his face. He saw the glint of metal on John’s knuckles; knuckledusters, he thought. John swung the gun up and pulled the trigger. Just before the gun fired, Jack received a huge blow to his side. He fell to the floor, a heavy weight on top of him. He knew he hadn’t been hit, but he could feel warm blood running over his waist. Mandy , he thought.
    He saw John aim a second shot, but the room disappeared before he fired, to be replaced with the welcome sight of Nuthros, Hiram, David, Ron and Chris. Mandy still lay on top of him, and he had the presence of mind to remain perfectly still. He felt Mandy’s body lifted up from him, and he sat up.
    “Is she…is she still alive?” He hauled himself to his feet. Nuthros handed him a small white cloth. He put it on the gash on his face, and the bleeding stopped immediately.
    “Fold it into a pad, Jack,” Nuthros instructed, “and hold it on the wound. The skin will be fully healed in a few minutes.”
    Truly guided Mandy’s limp body to the nearest cabin, where she lowered it onto an inversion plate. Jack and the others followed.
    “Mandy is alive, Jack,” Truly replied. Hundreds of long, thin tendrils, hardly thicker than a hair, rose from all four edges of the inversion plate. They wove themselves through Mandy’s clothes and into her skin. Jack felt disturbed by the sight, but he knew it posed no threat to Mandy.
    “She has been shot in the stomach,” Truly continued, “and I am repairing her internal organs now. I have stemmed the flow of blood, and I will cleanse her body of leaked fluids. I have placed her in an induced coma. I need to find and remove all fragments of the bullet. It was a hollow point projectile, made of soft lead. It was designed to do as much internal damage as possible.”
    “Dumdum round,” Jack snarled.
    “That is what your people call them, yes,” Truly said. “There is one small fragment I have just located in the-”
    The group all looked at each other in confusion when Truly remained silent. David Markham stood stock still with his eyes closed.
    “Truly?” Nuthros called. There was no reply.
    “Hey,” Hiram exclaimed, “we’re on the move, look!”
    They all turned to the viewport across the deck. The Earth rapidly shrank and was gone in minutes. The solar system itself receded at a remarkable speed, and they all stood in shocked silence. David opened his eyes, and Truly spoke. “My apologies. I must focus on Mandy. David will relate the latest events to you.”
    “It would seem the attack on Jack and Mandy was a ruse,” David told them. “Kestil needed Truly to portal them out, and he got exactly what he wanted.”
    Jack shook his head to clear it. “You mean we weren’t the target? I don’t understand.”
    “No, Jack,” David replied. “You were the initial target; but Mandy ended up as the carrier. Either one of you would have been fine. The bullet that entered Mandy’s body contained a micro-drone, of a