Morgan Selwood 3: A Victory Celebration Read Free Page B

details but
the knowledge couldn't be kept quiet forever. That 'Orionar Queen' tag hadn't
gone away, either. He'd been asked about it several times at the civic
reception.
    "Commander Chantriss’s comunit is in a
dance club in Vestro’s entertainment district. It’s called Trimpathi’s ."
    "Have it checked. Use the locals. Find
out if Suri Selwood is there and what might be happening."
    When he got his hands on her, he’d he’d… If
she was all right. If she wasn’t, he’d find somebody to kill.
    He caught the eye of the lieutenant in
charge of his personal guard unit. "Get me a skimmer and ten troopers, Lieutenant.
Immediately. And put a gunship on alert." Ravindra started towards the
door. "We’re heading for a place called Trimpathi’s ."
    "The dance club, Srimana ?"
    "We’re not going dancing."
     
    ***
     
    Ravindra ordered the skimmer stopped in a
street close to the club. He sat in the back seat, drumming his fingers
irritably on the arm rest. Local, plain clothes agents had moved immediately to
enter the premises.
    His comunit chirped.
    "Yes?"
    "They’re all here, Admiral. It appears
to be above board. She’s on the floor, dancing."
    He let out a breath, relief flooding
through him. Safe. Safe and well. Thank the spirit. But dancing. With somebody?
With another man?
    "Dancing? Who with?"
    "A local. Do you want us to detain
him?"
    "No. I’ll deal with it myself."
    He closed the comunit with a snap and
ordered the skimmer to the club, his body hot and tense. She lied to him, saw
him off with a story and skulked off with a bunch of women to party. The car
had hardly stopped moving when he was out, striding toward the entrance to the
club.
    "Sorry friend, no uniforms." The
bouncer peeled himself away from the wall, one massive arm outstretched.
    Ravindra skewered the fellow with a glare. "Get
out of my way."
    The man blinked, hesitated, his arm still
outstretched to block. Ravindra slapped his arm away and kept walking. He heard
the click of an assault rifle being readied and one of his guards said, "I’m
sure the admiral won’t be long."
    Music assaulted Ravindra's ears, pulsing
into his brain. How they could stand this noise for any time was beyond him. Standing
at the top of the stairs for a moment to get used to the strobing lights, he
scanned the crowd below.
    She was dancing with some fellow, holding
his hand, his arm around her waist. Smiling, having fun. And where was that to
have ended? Well, it was going to end now.
    He stalked down the steps onto the dance
floor, and shoved through the crowd to Morgan. The blue dress swirled about her
as she laughed with the young man who held her hand. He scooped her up with one
arm around her waist. She resisted for a moment but even before she’d looked up
at him, startled, she’d relaxed in his grip, recognizing who was holding her.
    "Hey, she’s with me," said the
boy she’d been dancing with.
    "Is that so?" He flicked a glance
at one of the troopers who’d followed him.
    The trooper pointed his weapon at the lad. "Upstairs."
    "Oh, don’t," Morgan said. "He’s
just a kid I was dancing with."
    "You can explain on the way back to Vidhvansaka ."
He grasped her wrist in a none-too-gentle grip and towed her towards the
stairs.
    Outside the club the young man who had been
dancing with Morgan waited next to the skimmer, tense and nervous. Spectators
had gathered, surrounding the vehicle at a respectful distance. Curious
club-goers who had followed them up the stairs swelled the ranks.
    Ravindra released his grip on Morgan and, arms
folded, stared down at the youth. He wasn't much more than a kid, round-eyed, his
chest rising and falling rapidly, lips parted, his eyes shifting from time to
time to the assault rifle in the guard's hands. She could prefer this stripling
to him?
    "So. She’s with you is she?"
    "Look, I just danced with her. I only
just met her. I don’t even know her name." He babbled the words.
    "Oh, for pity’s sake. He’s not
involved in