Free Carson Mach 1: The Atlantis Ship by A. C. Hadfield

Adira’s arrest last month, but her location was kept secret. She was exactly the kind of person he needed. A ruthless CW assassin, considered the best in the Salus Sphere. He guessed she had taken the fall for superior officers. Adira was too careful to make that kind of move without being under orders.  
    “What’s her price?”
    “You can’t buy her out. Nobody can.”
    “Are you sure we can’t come to some arrangement?” Mach said and gave the guard his best smile. “I can make a direct payment if you help me out.”
    The guard sighed. “Sorry. I’d end up replacing her if I let her go.”
    “I understand. I’ll take…” Mach squinted at the display below the cell window, keeping up the act in case of any complications back at reception. “Ernesto Sanchez, and be on my way.”
    Adira would be leaving Summanus on the Phalanx-E. If they wouldn’t let Mach pay for her, he had little option but to bust her out. Once he had Ernie Sanchez safely out of the building, they needed a plan.

Chapter Eight

    A gust of wind blew across the dark landing strip, spraying ice-cold rain against Mach’s face. He jogged toward the Phalanx-E and the side door opened, throwing out a shaft of light into the gloom. Sanchez followed, looking more like his normal self, dressed in a dark brown leather jacket and trousers made from balto hide.  
    Mach’s boot splashed through puddles on the floor and he sped up the ramp. Lassea worked at the back of the shuttle on the damaged interior, running diagnostics through a pad balanced on her lap.  
    Danick sat at the cockpit and turned in his chair. “Did you get what you came—” His eyes widened as Sanchez’s large frame entered the shuttle.  
    Sanchez glanced around its dull interior and shook his head. “They don’t make ’em like they used to.”
    “Let me introduce you to Sanchez, Ernesto Sanchez,” Mach said. “He’s officially part of our crew.”
    Lassea placed down the pad, approached the big man, and slowly extended a hand as if placing it into a predator’s open mouth. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Ernesto Sanchez.”
    Sanchez smiled down at her, flashing his two gold front teeth. “A sprog from the fleet, eh? What’s this crazy bastard had you doing? Oh, and call me Sanchez.”
    “We’re here to help him find the Atlantis ship,” Lassea said.  
    Silence filled the shuttle. Sanchez’s smile dropped. He turned to Mach. “You busted me out to search for a myth?”
    “A myth doesn’t destroy an orbital station,” Mach said. “I’ve seen the footage. It exists and could make us both rich, far richer than running some rusty guns.”
    “How are we supposed to capture it in this thing? It doesn’t even have basic weapons.”
    “That’s for us to work out. But we have a more immediate priority. We need more crew members… I want to break Adira out.”
    “Adira? She’s in max security solitary, you know that, right?”
    Mach shrugged. “I’m sure we can put our heads together.”
    “Why do you want her, of all people? I heard she once tried to remove your testicles from your body with a steak knife.”
    Lassea eyed Mach with a hint of alarm.  
    “That’s just her take on a romantic evening. But seriously, Sanchez, we’re not going anywhere until we have her onboard. You know this place better than I; I need you, man.”
    Sanchez sighed and rubbed his thick hand across his chin, the rough skin of his fingers scraping across the stubble, the sound rasping like glass-paper against wood.  
    “I’ll help you break her out and stay with you for a month to find this Moby Dick of a ship—on your dime, but not a day longer. Oh, and I want fifty percent of any proceeds.”
    “Fifty?” Mach said, incredulous. “Twenty-five. I’ve got costs and a better ship to arrange. I’m on the favor of a minor CW dignitary. I don’t have an endless budget here.”  
    “Forty,” Sanchez said.  
    “Thirty, and that’s my final offer. Any more than that, and