Free Cobra Alliance-Cobra War Book 1 by Timothy Zahn Page B

making these decisions, and nodded. "That would be most kind," he said, stepping behind Jin to the car's rear door.
    For a second his fingers fumbled as he tried to figure out the mechanism. Then, he got it, pulled the door open, and ushered Jin inside. Motioning her to move over, he started to get in beside her.
    "You come up here," the driver said softly.
    Obediently, Merrick closed the door and started around the front of the car. Jin tensed, wondering if the driver was planning to suddenly gun his engine and try to run him down. Maybe this was some elaborate trap designed to reveal Cobra reflexes.
    But the car didn't move as Merrick finished his circle and climbed into the front passenger seat. "We thank you for your hospitality," he said as he closed the door behind him.
    "Save your gratitude," the driver growled. Now that the gate guards couldn't hear, he'd abandoned even his half-hearted attempt at levity. He looked Merrick up and down, shaking his head in disgust, and started the car rolling again. "I just hope that no one with actual eyes saw you in those outfits."
    Jin watched the guards closely as the driver maneuvered them through the gate. The two armed men merely glanced at the driver, but sent hard gazes at her and Merrick. The four non-obvious guards, in contrast, seemed to divide their time equally between all three occupants. Still, none of the six seemed to show any more suspicion than they had with any of the other cars that had passed their positions.
    And then the car was past the gate and into Milika. Jin thought about checking behind them, decided that would look suspicious if the guards were still watching, and forced herself to continue facing forward. "Where are we going?" she asked.
    The driver scowled at her in the mirror. "If you can't figure even that much out, you must not be much of a spy."
    "You're welcome to believe that," Merrick murmured.
    The driver shot him a look, and then fell silent.
    Milika didn't seem to have changed much in thirty years, Jin decided as they crossed the Great Ring Road and continued inward toward the center of town. Several buildings were clearly new, but the shops and the people seemed much as they had back then.
    Of course, she reminded herself, she hadn't had that much time to really observe the village. There were probably a lot of smaller changes she was simply missing.
    They reached the center of town and turned left onto the Small Ring Road, circling the large park area known as the Inner Green. Jin leaned forward, her heartbeat picking up as she watched for her first glimpse of the Sammon house.
    And then, there it was: a high privacy wall surrounding the courtyard, with the top of the house visible beyond it. Memories flooded back: the family's unhesitant hospitality when they thought her merely an injured stranger; their cautious but firm support when they learned who she really was; Daulo's willingness to risk his life for her. Not just his life, but also his family's honor.
    A shiver ran up Jin's back as the driver maneuvered the car beneath the archway into the courtyard. The Sammon family had risked everything for her . . . and now her very presence on Qasama was once again putting them at horrible risk.
    Whatever Daulo had summoned her here for, it must be something incredibly important.
    "He's expecting you," the driver said as he pulled the car in front of the ornate door and rolled to a stop. "Do you need someone to show you the way?"
    "No, I remember," Jin said. "Thank you."
    The driver didn't answer.
    The house struck Jin largely the same way the village itself had. It was basically the same as she remembered it, but there were enough differences in furnishings and décor to show the passage of years and the presence of a new owner. Feeling her heart once again speeding up, she climbed the stairs and went down the hallway to the room that had once been Kruin Sammon's office.
    The door to the office stood open, with no guards in evidence. Jin