Taziri nodded and watched the two women climb out the hatch and step down to the ground.
Salvator Fabris was still in his seat. He smiled. “Don’t worry, captain. I can promise you that this time, all of your passengers will be returning home as planned.”
Taziri rested her hand on the white-handled revolver on her hip. “See that they do. Call it an all-or-nothing proposition, Mister Fabris. If you don’t bring them back, I won’t bring you back. And be quick about it. Sooner or later, someone is going to notice the Halcyon, and I only have so many bullets.”
The Italian stood and sighed. “Yes, captain, just remember to look before you shoot. It would be a terrible pity if you were to kill the wrong person out there. I for one would be quite distraught if you killed me. Good evening, captain. Sleep well.”
He gave her a strange look, one bordering between amusement and deadly hatred, and he stepped out the hatch.
Taziri climbed out to watch her three passengers striding across the rail yard until they disappeared around the corner of the station. Already it was too dark to see anything very clearly, though the stars were beginning to poke out here and there beyond the thin gray clouds. She ducked back inside for a moment and then climbed out with an old folded tarp under her arm and threw it over the back half of the Halcyon, and then tossed a few stones and fistfuls of dust and dirt on top of it. She had parked her machine at the end of the yard, under the overhang of a roof and behind a row of freight cars to shield her from casual observers at the train station.
Still.
She checked that her revolver was loaded, and she checked her spare ammunition, and then she rolled up her left sleeve. The medical brace gleamed darkly beneath the stars. She pressed the release button and the top panel sprung up with a quiet twang and hiss to reveal the custom revolver mounted in the hollow space where her muscle used to be, before the fire ravaged her flesh. The trigger mechanism swung out sharply, placing the trigger in her left palm. She loaded the gun and then pushed it back down into place. The brace clicked shut and she rolled her sleeve down.
With nothing left to do, she locked the hatch and lay down on the floor of the cabin with another old tarp as a bedroll and pillow. It was still very early in the evening, but after flying straight through the prior night and then again all afternoon, her eyes and back and shoulders were all crying for a few hours’ peace.
She gave herself a few minutes to worry over whether or not she would see Menna again soon, and then fell asleep.
Bang.
Bang-bang.
Taziri sat up clutching her gun. She could hear muffled voices outside. Male voices. Heavy footsteps on the gravel.
Two, maybe three men.
Instantly her heart was pounding in her throat.
How did they find me so fast? They must have watched me land, or saw me roll into the station. Damn it! This was stupid, stupid, stupid!
A silent snarl bared her teeth as she drew her gun and crept to the hatch and peeked out through the armored glass.
There were three young men standing beside the Halcyon. They were talking with their backs mostly toward the machine. Taziri squinted, trying to see better in the shadowy gloom.
The youths laughed, then did a strange little dance or mock fight, and one of them was hurled stumbling against the Halcyon.
Bang.
Taziri exhaled.
They’re just kids. Just stupid kids, out being stupid. They’re not here for me. They don’t even see me. Hell, they probably wouldn’t care if they did see me.
A few minutes later, a fourth young man appeared with a bag and the foursome all sat down in a little circle. Taziri watched them drink from what was clearly an Italian wine bottle and play at something that looked like dice.
For an hour, she crouched by the window and watched. Finally, they tossed the empty bottle against the wall in front of the Halcyon.
Crash.
And then they sauntered away, shoes crunching on the gravel, talking quietly and laughing loudly. When they were gone, Taziri laid back down on her old tarp and stared up at the ceiling of the cabin for a long time.
A very long time.
This is going to be a long night.
Eventually, she fell asleep again.
Chapter 7. Shifrah
“They spoiled me,” she said as she stared out over the water.
“How so?” Aker stood next to her, leaning over the rail. The steamer was still churning steadily across the Middle Sea, just barely within sight of land, which had been a dark line on the southern horizon all day but now was visible only by the lights of the towns along the coast.
Shifrah smiled. “In Marrakesh, everything is fast, and I mean everything. You can get anything to eat at any time of day. The shops sell every sort of clothing and tools and toys from every country in this half of the world, and probably a few from the other half, too. The trains and airships run every day, inside the country at least. And the telegraphs. Have you ever sent a telegram, Aker?”
He shook his head.
“It’s a strange sort of power. It’s not like watching someone die, but it is…intoxicating, all the same. Being able to say anything to anyone, anywhere. Reaching out across hundreds of miles in an instant.” Shifrah smiled and shook her head. “You can get used to that sort of thing. I did. I had contacts all over the country, people I never needed to visit, or even meet. I could gather information or arrange jobs just by visiting the telegraph office, and then spend the rest of the day at the shops. I even have a bank account.”
Aker laughed.
Shifrah smirked. “Yeah, I know. Most of my money is stashed, but just a little is in the bank. They pay you to put it there, you know.”
“Do they really?” Aker gazed out over the water. “And now you have to give up all the magic and glamour of your heavenly life to come home, back to reality.”
Shifrah’s smiled faded and she sighed. “It looks that way.”
“Pity. I didn’t mean to ruin your setup. But these things have a way of happening.”
She nodded. “I know.”
“Which brings us to your little elephant.” He looked sharply at her.
“Who, Kenan?” She glanced at him. “He might be a problem. He might not. He’s hard to read, really. When I met him, he was in uniform. But that didn’t last long. He plays by some funny rules, but he does play. I think if we just manage him the right way, Kenan could be more of an asset than a liability.”
“You like him.”
“Of course. But I like watching him even more.” A hint of a smile played on her lips. “There’s something just a little bit ingenious about him, just a little bit insane, when he’s really pushed. When he’s angry or desperate, that’s when the real Kenan comes out. And he is something to see.”
“And the rest of the time?”
She shrugged. “The rest of the time, he’s just a man. Like you, actually. He watches his money like a hawk, he complains, he wants to be left alone, he wants attention, and he wants sex.”
“He’s a lawman.”
“He’s a patriot. There’s a difference.”
“Not from where I’m standing.” Aker straightened up. “We’ll be in Alexandria soon. I’ll take you around and
