Kettrick and his problems, but Johnny Kettrick was human and the Market was a human enclave, and they disliked the Achernans coming into it to arrest one of them. They disliked the Achernans, period.
'Perhaps,' said Nedri, 'it would be better to discuss this?'
'That is impossible. We have a complaint. Please to…'
The muttering from outside had grown louder. Now it spilled in through the door. It looked to Kettrick as though half the men in the Market were there and the rest coming.
Abruptly Quip set down the tray and pointed to the back of the room. 'Go quick, Johnny. Out the left-hand door.'
He plunged forward into the knot of men, pushing one of them so that he lurched forward and pushed somebody else and the whole group swayed a little into the forefront of the Achernan group. They gave back a step. More and more men poured in the door, around the Achernans, who were talking among themselves now and beginning to look ugly.
Kettrick called to Chai and ran, toward the left-hand door at the back.
He had almost reached it when there was a sudden flurry around the front door and a man's voice shouted, 'Johnny!'
Kettrick stopped as though something had hit him.
'Just stand still, Johnny,' the voice said. 'Quite still.'
Kettrick stood, but he turned around enough that he could see.
Sekma was there, with three or four others in the green I–C uniform. They had their shockers drawn, and pointed chiefly in Kettrick's direction. Sekma was talking now to the crowd.
'Let's hold it quiet, boys. There won't be any trouble. Suppose you all step back a little and give the gentlemen room.'
The crowd began to move doubtfully back from the Achernans. Sekma nodded to a couple of the I–C men, who walked quickly toward Kettrick.
Chai said, 'Fight, John-nee?'
'No,' said Kettrick. 'For God's sake no.' He held his hands up as the men came to him. One was the placid plum-colored young Shargonese he had seen at Thwayn. He let them go over him and remove the knife from his tunic, trying to keep his face expressionless. Without looking at them directly he could see that at least two of the Achernan police had drawn their own weapons, nasty little black tubes not nearly so humane as the shockers, from which you could be expected to recover. He shivered, wondering whether he and Chai would really have reached that door.
The I–C men closed in on either side of him and he stood between them. Chai remained behind him, puzzled but obedient. Imperceptibly the center of the I–C group shifted toward Kettrick and away from the Achernans, who were still surrounded but not quite so closely as before.
Sekma smiled at the Achernan police and spoke to them politely. 'I am grateful to you. We have been after this man for a long time.'
The civilians hissed furiously in their own tongue. Their eyes were hot with anger.
The policeman said, 'We have a complaint against this man. I must ask that you let us have him.'
'Oh?' said Sekma. 'May I hear the complaint?'
Again the civilians interposed.
The policeman said, 'That is not necessary. Please surrender the…'
Sekma began to recite. 'Article Four-Nine-Three-Nought-Seven, Paragraph A, of the League Code governing interworld commerce, to which Kirnanoc is signatory, states as follows: 'When there is disputed jurisdiction between local authorities and officers of the Bureau of Interworld Commerce, etcetera etcetera, an offense against the Code shall take precedence over an offense against a local ordinance.'' Sekma smiled again at the policeman. 'I'm sure it would be simpler to settle the matter here than to go to all the trouble of a court hearing. What is the complaint?'
The policeman capitulated to Article 49307.
'Drunkenness, physical assault, malicious destruction of property, and unlawful flight.'
One of the civilians said in
'Ah,' said Sekma. 'Regrettable. And exceedingly wicked. Keep it in mind, and when he gets out of Narkad you can have him brought back here for trial. In the meantime, he is wanted for illegal entry into the Cluster, for illegally engaging in trade within the Cluster, for illegal operation of a ship engaged in interworld commerce, and for other Code violations with which I will not bore you. I don't believe there is any dispute?'
There was a moment's silence. The three police, very stiff now and looking as ugly as ever, hesitated, still holding their drawn weapons. Kettrick knew what was in their minds. They hated to have to back down in front of all these stinking humans who had swarmed around to challenge them. He knew they were weighing the alternatives, and he thought that if there had been a shred of legality to back them up they would have risked a full-scale riot to take him.
There was not, and so they decided against it. Sekma was clearly in the right, and while their respect for the rights and laws of humans would never have stopped them, they did not quite want to tangle with the whole League of Cluster Worlds, which the I–C represented.
The police turned and marched out, the crowd parting to let them through, and they said a few words to the protesting civilians, who looked at Kettrick and Sekma and the I–C men with the eyes of basilisks and then hurried after the police not wishing to be left behind among the humans.
Sekma, in a very quiet voice, said, 'Let's get the hell out of here. No, out the back, Johnny. You wouldn't have gotten away even if you'd made it.' He looked at Nedri and the others. 'That wasn't very smart, you know. You could have gotten yourselves killed.' He smiled. 'But you'll never know how grateful I am.'
'Me too,' said Kettrick, thinking it was about the lamest thing a man had ever said. At the moment, he couldn't think of anything better.
Enago said, 'I'm kind of sorry they decided not to fight What about it, Johnny? You happy now? There's a lot of us here…'
'I'm happy,' Kettrick said. 'Thanks anyway.'
Clutha came up, looking from Kettrick to Sekma. 'What about Boker? And Hurth? Johnny said…'
'They're all right,' said Sekma. 'Article Four-Nine-Three-Nought-Seven.'
Kettrick gave a rebel yell and pulled a wad of crumpled credit notes out of his pocket. He tossed them to Quip. 'Everybody get drunk for me, I won't have time.'
He passed into the dark corridor, moving fast with the I–C men around him. A door swung open. Warm night air hit him, and a dash of rain. There was an I–C launch in the river at the back of the tavern, with more men waiting beside it.
They all piled in, finding space on the narrow seat that ran around the cockpit. There was an awning, and curtains which were drawn tight except for some unobtrusive spyholes. Sekma spoke to the man at the wheel and then sat down beside Kettrick, on the other side from Chai. The launch rushed forward, away from the island. It swept into the barge canal. The Market dropped behind and the lights of the spaceport grew brighter ahead.
Sekma drew a long breath and let it out again. Kettrick realized suddenly that he was shaking.
'What a chase you've led me, Johnny.' He swore, in a way that Kettrick had never heard from him before. 'By God, I'd throw you into Narkad for the rest of your life, if…' He left the 'if' hanging in the air.
'I'm sorry,' said Kettrick meekly. 'Things happened awfully fast. I…'
In the dim glow of the cockpit lights he could see Sekma's face, robbed of all its color and vivacity, showing only as a lined mask, infinitely tired, shockingly old. It spoke, so smoothly and naturally in the Tchell tongue that it might indeed only have been saying hello to an old acquaintance.
'Chai,' he said, 'you watch. And man not talk.'
And Kettrick understood that even here he was not safe.
The launch docked at the I–C landing on the barge canal. An official carrier was waiting to take them the rest of the way, along the perimeter road to the Administration Building. Kettrick noticed that the driver avoided going into the garage underneath the wing where the I–C offices were. He pulled up instead in the open lot by the front of the building. They went in through the Personnel entrance.
When at last he and Chai were in Sekma's office and Sekma said, 'You can talk now,' Kettrick shook his head,
