Odd Girl Out

'Sorry?' he demanded. 'Sorry? Compton, does this place look even remotely defensible?'

He had a point. Except for the office, the bar was a single room, a wide-open floor plan filled with tables and chairs that weren't nearly heavy enough to stop police-caliber thudwumpers. The only serious cover was the wooden bar itself, and that was all the way at the rear.

There was only the single door, which theoretically was to our advantage. Unfortunately, there were also large frosted windows along that same wall, any one of which could be turned into a brand-new entrance with the application of a single thudwumper round. 'It's not as bad as it looks,' I lied.

There was a sudden rattling of glassware from the other end of the bar as the bartender tried to juggle the shot glasses he was pretending to clean. 'You all right?' I asked him.

'Sure,' he said, the word coming out like the air from a popped balloon. 'Sure.'

'Go home, Dawid,' Karim told him. He looked sideways at me. 'Unless you think …?'

'No, it'll be all right,' I said. 'Whatever they're planning, they'll wait until most of the potential witnesses have toddled off to bed.'

'I suppose,' Karim said. 'Go, Dawid. Go now.'

The bartender didn't need any encouragement. Dropping his apron on the bar, he headed for the door.

I did, too, getting there before he did. 'As long as you're opening the door anyway, I want a look around,' I said, stepping behind him and gesturing him forward. 'Go on.'

He looked over his shoulder at me, probably wondering if standing directly in front of the Fillies' prime target in dim light was something he really wanted to do. But hanging around a soon-to-be battlefield wasn't much better. Bracing himself, he pushed open the door.

We were met by silence. 'Keep going,' I prompted, giving him a nudge.

Hesitantly, he stepped out of the doorway into the full glow of the streetlights. If the Fillies were already set up, I knew, this would be the time for them to try to take me out.

But there was nothing but more silence. The bartender, apparently also noticing the lack of gunfire, got his feet moving again, and within a few seconds he was out of my line of sight. I gave the area a quick scan, then closed the door again and locked it.

'Well?' Karim asked.

'They're not shooting yet,' I told him. 'Go get Bayta, will you?'

'All right.' He took a couple of steps toward the office door, then frowned. 'What about them?'

'What about who?'

He waved a hand over the slumbering customers. 'Them.'

'If you want to cart them all outside, be my guest,' I said. 'But first go get Bayta.'

He glowered, but headed into the office without further comment. I crossed to the bar beside McMicking and waited until I heard the creak of the opening trapdoor from the other room. 'You want to be carted outside?' I murmured.

'Not unless he wants to cart me at least a block away,' McMicking murmured back, lifting his head from his folded arms. 'Lying on open ground in the middle of a firefight is considered unwise.'

'So is standing at the business end of a shooting gallery,' I said. 'What do you think?'

'It could be worse,' he said, looking around. 'You sure you don't want to just give the Modhri the girl and be done with it?'

'That's the interesting part,' I said. 'He told me he didn't want, quote, any Human females, unquote.'

'Then what does he want?'

'I see two possibilities,' I said. 'One, he's after whatever's in those metal boxes she's hell-bent on taking with her when we leave New Tigris.'

'You know what's in them?'

'Haven't a clue,' I said. 'But that possibility meshes nicely with the fact that Lorelei was apparently able to leave New Tigris without serious trouble. If what he wants is the boxes, then her going off alone wouldn't have been a problem for him.'

'Then why did he accost her in New York? To get information on Rebekah and the boxes?'

'Probably,' I said. 'Possibility two—' I hesitated. This was such a weird thought I wasn't sure I wanted to bring it up.

'Dramatic silences don't become you, Compton,' McMicking said. 'Spit it out.'

'You asked for it,' I warned. 'We know—well, we assume, anyway—that our six Fillies have undergone some extensive genetic manipulation that somehow enabled them to become ranging antennas for locating Rebekah.'

'Right. So?'

'So how far can you manipulate Filiaelian genetic code before the result is no longer Filiaelian?' I asked. 'Specifically, how unlike a Filly can a Filly look?'

He stared at me. 'Are you suggesting this girl is a Filly?'

'I know, it seems ludicrous,' I agreed. 'But if it's true, it would definitely put her solidly into the Abomination category,' I said. 'And remember the Modhri said he didn't want any Human females.'

McMicking exhaled loudly. 'That has to be the most insane idea I've ever heard,' he said. 'You really think someone could look Human and actually be Filiaelian?'

'I have no idea,' I said. 'And we're sure not getting her in for a full bio-scan any time soon. I just think that until we know what's going on we should keep our minds as open as possible.'

'Opening them that far is a good way for your brains to fall out,' McMicking warned. 'All right, fine—we watch our backs from all directions. What's your take on our grumpy police lieutenant? I couldn't hear much of your conversation.'

'He doesn't like me, and he still thinks there's a fair chance I offed his fellow cops,' I said. 'But he seems willing to be as fair and objective as he can.'

'But you're not expecting him to come roaring to the rescue if you hit your cop-call button?'

'He might come, but he certainly wouldn't be in a hurry about it,' I said.

He grunted. 'Still, as you said, the Modhri will probably wait until the streets are clear before making his move.'

'Yes, well, that could be a problem,' I said. 'Aside from a scattering of sleeping drunks, the streets are already clear. The police presence of the past hour apparently convinced the locals to go do their drinking elsewhere.'

'The firefighters are gone, too?'

'Yes.'

McMicking frowned toward the door and row of windows. 'We might want to think about setting up a defensive line.'

'For all the good it'll do,' I said. 'Those tables will work against snoozers, but they're not going to stop anything heavier.'

'Still, we don't want the Modhri thinking we're not being professional about this.'

There was a faint creaking of wood from the office. 'Go to sleep,' I murmured.

McMicking nodded and put his head down on his arms again. A moment later, Bayta and Karim emerged through the doorway. 'You all right?' I asked Bayta, taking a step toward her. I noticed she had the kwi gripped ready in her hand. 'How's Rebekah?'

'She's frightened, but otherwise all right,' Bayta said. 'We were starting to get worried about you. What's the situation?'

'Fair to middling bad,' I said. 'Our six Fillies could be coming through that door any minute now, guns blazing.'

Her throat tightened. 'They're armed?'

'Courtesy of our late friends Aksam and Lasari,' I said. 'Not that either of them had any choice in the matter.'

Bayta looked across at the door. 'What do we do?'

'We set up a layered defense and hope for the best,' I said. 'Karim, you probably still have time to leave if you want.'