Time Salvager (Time Salvager #1)(11)
There was tension in the air, the calm right before hell cracked open and brimstone spewed forth. Levin was content to wait. Cole’s next move would determine what the fugitive was thinking. If he fled, then he already knew Levin was an auditor. If he sent his men to attack first, he was insecure of his position here. If he was …
“Please join me,” Cole said, standing and clapping his hands. “It is always an honor to have another master in the room. Please sit. Sit.”
Levin kept his face on his prey as he walked into and through the group of thugs with their weapons still drawn. He stopped just opposite Cole at the end of the table. Once there, both sat at the same time.
“Thank you for your hospitality,” said Levin.
“Who do I have the honor of sharing this table with, Master?” Cole asked.
“I am a master of nothing.”
Cole chuckled. “How true. Are we not always students thirsty for more?” He gestured to the woman, who picked up the teapot. “So you wish to see a test among skilled students of the world then. But first, my table is yours. Would you like some tea?” She poured Levin a cup before he had a chance to respond.
“They don’t have tea where I come from.”
Cole raised an eyebrow and his hands froze. The two stared at each other long and hard before Levin finally leaned forward and spoke Solar English in a low voice. “There was some real genius in your plan. Forging your requisitions to obtain a solar charger. Poisoning your handler. Corrupting your jump records so we couldn’t pull you back. Fleeing to a time and place where you can mask the use of your bands as mystical martial arts. You had this planned out pretty well.”
The blood drained from Cole’s face. His gang looked on with interest, no doubt thinking there was some mental battle passing between two masters. They were a superstitious lot, which of course was why the fugitive chronman had fled here to begin with.
“Can’t blame a guy for trying,” Cole finally said, recovering from his initial shock and pretending to shrug it off.
Right there, Levin knew he had made up his mind and was going to try to make a run for it. He leaned forward. “Tell me. Is it Past-Era Addiction? If it is, we can help you.”
Cole threw his head back and laughed. “No, you fool. I’m not addicted. I just hate the present. Any sane man would.”
“That’s unfortunate,” said Levin. It really was. If it was Past-Era Addiction, he could use that to argue leniency for the boy. Instead, Levin would now have to apply the full force of his directive.
“So now what?” said Cole.
Levin picked up the small teacup and took a sip, curious to try it. Bitter but aromatic; he kind of liked it. “Depends on you,” he said. “You can surrender, and we can return peacefully, and I’ll be sure to note that in my report, or you can try your odds fighting with an auditor.”
“If we war, won’t it create large ripples?”
Levin shrugged. “Perhaps, but in this time and region, I have little doubt the chronostream will self-heal. The question is, will you survive? Is that something you’re willing to risk?”
Cole spat on the floor. “As opposed to die in the present? What kind of a question is that? Listen, Auditor, no matter what you think, I’m not going back. The only thing you’re taking back to that shit hole is my dead body.”
“Technically,” Levin said, “I don’t need to care how you are brought back.” He took another sip of the tea. He was really getting used to this bitter drink. Maybe he could take some of it back with him to the present. “Tell me, Cole, why didn’t you just hide here and keep a low profile? Why did you have to use your bands and make a name for yourself as some master?”
The Tier-4 chronman shrugged. “Tried that for the first couple of weeks. Got tired of being nobody with no money. Couldn’t take it anymore. Used a little power. Then had to use a little more.”
Levin nodded. A common story among runaways, which was why fleeing into history almost always failed. The path to becoming a chronman was long and difficult. Survivors of the Academy often wielded their power not only as a status symbol but a badge of honor. Power like that was hard to relinquish after a person was used to it for so long.
“But to become a famed master of the east?” Levin chuckled. “That’s a little much.”
The last comment earned a grin from Cole. “What can I say? Word spreads fast in these parts. Show some power, attract a few more masters to challenge me, and before I knew it, I’m big-time.” He leaned back and put his hands behind his head. “I’m so good, even I can’t suppress myself.”
Levin eyed the two dozen men seated behind him with their hands still on their weapons. He turned his attention back to Cole. “Why don’t you send your men away? We’ll go find a nice open area with no one around to conclude our business.”
Cole stood up and waved his arms magnanimously at his gang. “Now, why the f*ck would I want to do that? As long as there are witnesses, I know you’ll hold back. I won’t have that problem now, will I?” He looked past Levin’s shoulder and shouted in Han, “Brothers, teach this dog some respect!”
Levin stood just as the first of the idiots behind him charged in with a cleaver. Levin’s exo-powered movements and shield kept him out of danger, but Cole wasn’t wrong. It was Levin’s duty to display as little superhuman power as possible. It was important to him to minimize the casualties as well. Still, it didn’t mean he had to be gentle.