Dragonback 03 Dragon and Slave Read Online Free PDF Page B

on Brum-a-dum, good for five to twenty years in a
penal colony."
    His eyes hardened. "Breaking and entering Chookoock family
property is even more serious," he went on. "That one can earn you an
immediate death penalty."
    "I didn't know," Jack said in a low, pleading voice. So here he
was, all alone with Gazen. No leg cuffs, no handcuffs. And as far as he
could tell, Gazen wasn't even armed.
    Of course, the big man did outweigh him by at least two to
one. Still, a panicked, desperate kid might still take the chance.
    Which meant that this was a test. Gazen was trying to see just how
cool under pressure Jack could be.
    "Of course you knew," Gazen said calmly. "Don't play stupid. Your
partner sent you there specifically to try to steal the gate codes."
    "No," Jack protested. "No, he didn't tell me what I was supposed
to get. He didn't tell me any of that. He just said to get whatever was
in the safe. He never even told me whose house I was breaking into.
It's his fault, not mine."
    Gazen's expression didn't change, but Jack could see a slight
tightening at the corners of his mouth. First Uncle Virge had offered
to sell Jack to him, and now Jack was trying to shoot all the blame
straight back at Uncle Virge. Both of them perfectly willing to sell
out the other at the drop of a biscuit.
    It was exactly the way Gazen should expect a couple of
self-centered criminals to behave. Probably the way he would behave
himself in the same situation.
    At least, Jack hoped so. This whole thing hinged on Gazen
believing the situation was exactly as Uncle Virge had presented it.
The minute he suspected there was something more going on, Jack was
dead.
    "It doesn't really matter who knew what," the big man said. "You
were the one caught with your fingers in the fudge mix. That makes you
the one skip-dancing on eggs."
    Jack swallowed hard. "Is there anything I can do to, you know,
make things right?"
    "Such as?"
    "Well—" Jack shrugged slightly. "Maybe I could . . . you know, work
off my punishment?"
    "And how exactly do you propose to work off twenty years worth of
prison time?" Gazen countered. "Are you suggesting you work for me for
the next twenty years?"
    Jack grimaced. "I was hoping I could pay it off a little faster
than that," he said. "Maybe I could help you with a job or two?"
    Gazen lifted his eyebrows. "Are you suggesting I hire you to
commit crimes for me?"
    "No, no," Jack said hastily. "I just thought I could maybe help
you out in some way."
    Gazen leaned back in his chair again, studying Jack's face. "All
right," he said at last. "Perhaps there is something you can do. I'll
look into it."
    He got to his feet. "And while I do, let's put you somewhere safe.
Guards?"
    Jack slowly let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
So it had worked, exactly the way he'd told Uncle Virge it would. Gazen
would now lock him up somewhere, he and Draycos would escape and get to
one of their computers, and with luck they would be able to track down
the mercenary group they were looking for.
    Behind him, the door swung open. "Yes, Panjan Gazen?" one
of the Brummgas asked.
    Gazen gestured to Jack. "The boy needs a lesson," he said. "He
needs to know the cost of crossing the Chookoock family."
    He looked back at Jack . . . and for the first time since the two of
them had met, the big man smiled.
    Not a pleasant, cheerful, human smile, but something dark and
vacant and as cold as a penguin's footprints. "Take him," he ordered
softly, "to the slaves' hotbox."

CHAPTER 5

    The Brummgas led Jack out the back of the house to a row of
open-topped cars. They shoved him into one, three of them piled in
around him, and they turned onto a smooth road built of dark stones
fitted neatly together like pieces of an extra-long puzzle. With the
soft clicking of stone edges beneath their tires, they headed off away
from the mansion.
    And suddenly this plan wasn't looking nearly so good anymore.
    The road wound its way through another section of formal