Read Time Salvager for Free Online Page B

way.
    “How dare you?” A skinny bandit at the end of the table stood up and snarled, puffing out his chest. He must be the lowest among them.
    Levin kept his eyes on Cole, half-expecting the fugitive to take off at any moment. Instead, Cole nodded at the skinny bandit.
    The bandit stomped up to Levin and pointed at the ground. “You address Sifu Li as ‘master,’ you insolent dog.” The bandit tried to slap Levin.
    Levin didn’t bother using his exo. Doing so could give him away to Cole. Besides, he didn’t need to use it against this scrawny thing. Levin slipped forward, spun, and used the bandit’s momentum to send him sprawling into the center of the room. The rest of the bandits stood up, cleavers and broadswords drawn.
    “I wish to speak with Sifu Ko Li, better known as the Fist of the Low Laying River,” Levin repeated, his voice low and measured. He waited for Cole to make his next move.
    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.