The Assassin's Salvation (Mandrake Company) by Ruby Lionsdrake Page A

her.
    “I don’t like the look of those downsiders waiting at our stop.” Sergei pointed between Jamie’s and Ankari’s shoulders to the platform they were supposed to disembark on. A big flashing Docks and Shops holosign hung over the heads of four gaunt men in the same grimy clothing those in the hospital waiting room had worn. “They’re watching us intently. You ,” he added, speaking to Ankari.
    “Is it possible they know about Viktor’s bounty?” Ankari murmured.
    “Unlikely.”
    Jamie hadn’t seen many downsiders on the way into the city, not that she had been looking then. Were they allowed up here unchaperoned? As far as she could tell, there wasn’t anyone accompanying these men.
    “They don’t appear to have weapons,” Sergei said.
    “This is the last stop,” Ankari said. “We have to get off here, or we’ll have a long walk back to the shuttle.”
    Indeed, the sidewalk was already slowing, readying for its turn toward another side of the city.
    “Don’t mind walking,” Sergei said, but he brushed past Jamie to stand in front of them.
    He stepped onto the platform first, leveling a cold stare at the group of men. They shifted to the side to let him pass. Jamie waited for Ankari to go first, then hopped off the sidewalk last. Two of the men headed past her, as if to get on, and she started to relax. They were going somewhere else.
    But the other two men lunged for Ankari. One grabbed onto her briefcase.
    Sergei spun, launching a side kick at the man. Ankari reacted, too, leaping back and blocking a snatch from the other downsider. She turned the block into a wrist grab, pulled him off balance, then kicked him in the stomach.
    Jamie wasn’t sure whether to try to help—maybe she could call the city security?—or just get out of the way. Someone grabbed her arm, and she belatedly remembered the other two men. They hadn’t gotten onto the sidewalk after all. She tried to pull away, but the grip was too strong. She was hauled backward and pushed to the ground. The two men ignored her after that, jumping over her to deal with Ankari and Sergei. They also tried to get the briefcase, but Ankari wasn’t letting it go. She used it as a weapon, slamming it into the side of one attacker’s head. Sergei had already dropped one man, and he plowed into the second, his arms pumping faster than pistons, smashing punches into his target’s face and abdomen. The man staggered back, almost stepping on Jamie.
    She scooted out of the way and rolled to her feet. Though she didn’t have any weapons, she dug into her pocket for the electronic multitool she always carried. She had a vague notion of hitting someone, but all four men were already down. Ankari had finished the one, and Sergei had knocked the fight out of the others. One tried to crawl for the sidewalk. Jamie flexed her hand around the tool, though at this point, she doubted she would need it.
    Sergei hauled one of the men to his feet, even as the thunder of footsteps came from the sidewalk. Four men in the greens and grays of the city police were racing toward the platform, their body armor gleaming in the afternoon sun, laser pistols and batons bouncing at their waists.
    “What do you people want?” Sergei asked, his eyes boring into his prisoner’s face, though he flicked a glance toward the oncoming police too.
    The downsider, his nose and lip bleeding, shook his head as if he didn’t understand. Sergei shifted his grip on the man’s shoulder, digging his fingers into the man’s flesh, eliciting a gasp of pain. Jamie winced and looked away. Even if these people had attacked them, she hated to see them hurt further.
    “What do you want?” Sergei repeated. “Answer me.”
    “Help for our people,” the man said through gritted teeth.
    By then, the police were flowing off the sidewalk, surrounding the downed men and snapping flex-cuffs onto their wrists. Sergei was slow to release his prisoner, even after a policeman fastened the cuffs