The Lost Colony (Lost Starship Series Book 4) by Vaughn Heppner Read Free Book Online Page B

them. He did not feel the situation warranted the use of lethal force.
    Instead, Maddox practiced dirty combat. Using knees, elbows and the meaty parts of his palms, and grabbing two of them, swinging them against the others, the captain incapacitated the four guards. Two of them got off a single shot each. The bullets gouged the wall. None punctured the captain, although the original guard managed a solid hand chop against the captain’s neck. It hurt, but it also infuriated Maddox, goading him to hit harder. The guard who struck him thudded against a wall before collapsing into a groaning heap.
    With swift economy of speed, the captain collected their guns, pitching the magazines in one direction and flinging all but one of the semiautomatics in the other.
    Afterward, he plunged into the room, with his captured weapon held before him. He passed an empty bathroom and came to two large beds and a larger area with a sofa, several chairs, a table and desk. Behind the desk sat one of the space hauler captains from earlier this evening. Maddox remembered the man’s name, Taren Lucas the III. The man was short, wore an English space navy uniform and had narrow features. Maddox remembered thinking earlier that Lucas was an oily conman who seldom told the truth when a lie would work just as well.
    The man aimed a laser pistol at him. A stimstick smoldered in the ashtray while a communicator and tablet lay beside it. On the tablet was what looked like a business contract.
    “I’ve summoned reinforcements,” Lucas said. “If you kill me, you’ll be held on murder charges.”
    “I doubt that will be the case,” Maddox said. “All I have to say is that you fired your laser first.”
    “I’m recording everything.”
    “Of course you are. Still…” Maddox cocked an eyebrow.
    “Are you saying Star Watch Intelligence will doctor the security data?” Lucas asked.
    “Please,” Maddox said. “I’m not ready to make a recorded statement. But I do suggest you lower your gun or I will be forced to fire.”
    “Are you arresting me? If so, I would like to know on what charge.”
    “As you wish,” Maddox said, believing little of what Lucas was telling him. “By aiming your gun at me, you are knowingly threatening an officer of Star Watch Intelligence. To begin with, you will lose your hauler license.”
    Lucas scowled, setting the laser onto the desk. Picking up the stimstick, putting it between his lips, he inhaled, making the tip glow red as he leaned back in his chair. No doubt, he mentally flipped through various lies to tell, deciding on the most convincing.
    “You should leave,” Lucas said slowly. “This is none of your affair.”
    “What happened to me at the gambling table?” Maddox asked. “Surely, you saw everything.”
    Lucas shrugged.
    “I can have you brought in for questioning if you insist”
    Something sparkled in the man’s eyes, the delight of having hidden knowledge, perhaps. “I don’t think you can,” Lucas said.
    “You were part of a conspiracy to kidnap an officer of Star Watch. You’ll lose more than your shipping license but also your freedom, and possibly spend the rest of your life on a prison planet.”
    “I pay my taxes,” Lucas said as if that was something he should say.
    “I very much doubt that,” Maddox said. “You’re a smuggler. We both know that. Now, I want to know, what happened to me at the gambling table tonight?”
    Lucas stared at Maddox before looking away. He shrugged once more, almost as if deciding “What the heck, I’ll tell the truth for once.”
    “You became limp and vacant-eyed during the game,” Lucas said. “Esquire Noble asked if everything was all right. You didn’t reply. He told us he would take you to the infirmary. You didn’t resist as he helped you up. What were the rest of us supposed to do? The esquire was a reputable person. We thought nothing of it.”
    “As I recall,” Maddox said, “I was winning at the time. What happened to my