The Only Game in the Galaxy Read Online Free PDF Page A

wounded and there were explosive residues in my clothing.’
    ‘What planet did you arrive on?’ asked Maximus.
    ‘A pleasure world. Scorpius Sector. Though I bounced through another place first.’ She frowned, perhaps clutching a fragmented memory.
    ‘What was the other world like?’
    ‘I just have impressions,’ said Anneke. ‘Heat, noise, colour. Possibly a jungle, but it happened so fast. And there was a lurching sensation that felt – wrong.’
    Maximus nodded. ‘Okay. That’s called a ricochet effect.’ Inwardly, he cursed. The controls of the jump-gate had been tampered with, leaving the original setting in place but programming a second, almost instantaneous, redirection.
    Maximus sat back, feeling weary. There was a traitor in his camp.
    Anneke eyed him. ‘Do you know what happened to me?’
    Maximus met her gaze, holding it. ‘I know what happened, because I was the one who sent you through the jump-gate.’ Always good to interlace a lie with the truth. ‘I also know who you are and why your memory is gone.’
    Anneke leaned forward. Perhaps she’d thought her amnesia to be a secret. She recovered quickly, and smiled. ‘Then I came to the right place.’
    ‘You did, but you needn’t take any credit for that.’
    ‘Oh?’
    ‘You were programmed to come back here.’
    ‘Interesting,’ said Anneke. ‘Why?’
    Maximus leaned forward. ‘Because you are a member of an elite and secret force of –’
    There was a knock at the door.
    ‘Give me a moment,’ Maximus said, groaning inwardly as he opened the door.
    ‘Yes, Esprin, what can I do for you?’ He tried to keep his body between the man and Anneke. Anneke would not recognise the young agent, but the same could not be said of Esprin Harbage.
    Clearly, Esprin was in a bad mood. Esprin hated him because Maximus had poisoned him, making him his ‘slave’ by doling out the antidote. Naturally, he wanted to see what Maximus was hiding. Badly.
    Esprin craned his neck and squeezed through. ‘I delivered the parcel,’ he said in a bid to excuse himself.
    Maximus could have stopped him ‘nicely’, with some messy manoeuvring, which would have needed explaining.
    Instead, he opted for a dramatic solution.
    ‘Watch out!’ Maximus said, kicking the door shut behind Esprin. Before Anneke could turn, Maximus had snatched Esprin’s blaster from his holster, flipped it away, and pulled his own. ‘He’s got a gun!’
    He shot Esprin in the stomach.
    Esprin staggered, fell to his knees, clutched his stomach, then stared at Maximus.
    Anneke jumped to her feet, shocked. For a second her eyes met Esprin’s then he pitched forward on the thick carpet and lay still.
    Maximus felt for a pulse. Staring up at Anneke, he shook his head.
    ‘Who was he?’ Anneke demanded.
    Maximus dragged Esprin’s body into his ready room. Closing the door behind him he came out.
    Anneke hadn’t moved. She indicated the closed door. ‘Was that necessary?’
    Maximus sat down calmly, beckoning Anneke to do likewise. She didn’t. ‘Answer my question,’ she said.
    ‘He was an enemy agent, obviously sent in to kill you. I’m guessing the other side discovered you’d made it back alive – irritating them no end – and in desperation activated their sleeper agent. I’ve known about Esprin for some time, but was using him to send disinformation.’ He pursed his lips. ‘This is good news.’
    Anneke sat down. ‘You call killing a man good news?’
    ‘Don’t be a fool,’ Maximus said. It was time to assert authority. ‘The only reason they would risk exposing a sleeper agent is if it was vital that you die. And that means –’
    ‘That I must know something.’
    ‘Correct.’
    Anneke considered that. She indicated the closed door. ‘You didn’t call security. Why not?’
    ‘You tell me.’
    ‘Sleeper agent. At most, he’d report every few days. You can use the window of time before his handler knows he’s been eliminated.’ Maximus nodded. Anneke