any action against that elf, whoever he was, meant working the shadows. Sure, he had an advantage-assuming the elf bought Cog's fix-but once Kham and the guys started running, sooner or later somebody would twig to the fact that they weren't dead, and the fragging elf would know. That elf had already proved how dangerous he was; he might hit the families again. Down here, the families were safe. Maybe later, when everything had quieted down, he'd look into things. Maybe then he'd see what he could do to teach the elf the rules.
Hearing a familiar beat of footfalls accompanied by a jingle from behind him, Kham turned to see Rat-stomper pounding down the way. She was flushed and out of breath but managed a shout when she saw him turn toward her. For an ork, she was in lousy shape. 'Catboy's bought himself trouble,' she gasped out. That wasn't surprising. 'Why ya telling me?' 'Said we wuz supposed to watch out for him.' That was surprising, since Ratstomper didn't like the little Jap much. Her coming to Kham meant she
was paying attention to biz, and the team. Maybe there was hope for her. 'Topsiders?'
'Scuzboys. Green Band.'
'Show me where,' Kham ordered, giving her a shove to get her moving even after she'd started to turn. The scuzboys of the Green Band were among the tougher gang types in the Underground. They had connections with the power that ruled what passed for the Underground's government, and they took their connections as license to'do what they pleased. If Neko had crossed them, he might be down one of his nine lives before anybody, Kham included, could help him.
Kham took the corner and found a trio of scuzboys trussing up a limp Neko. Two orks lay bleeding on the pavement,, attesting to the catboy's struggle. If they were seriously hurt, Neko was in real trouble. The Green Band didn't take kindly to anybody hurting their members; they took revenge, usually in the form of body parts.
'Yo, Adam. Got company,' one of the scuzboys said to the big one, who was likely their warlord.
None of the boys looked happy at being interrupted. They dropped Neko, who groaned when he hit the ground. At least he was alive. On second thought, Kham wasn't sure that was such a good thing. There were three of these scuzboys, and Adam, the biggest, was almost his own size. All Kham had for back-up was Ratstomper. Some back-up. Kham waved Ratstomper forward and wide to the left. She might at least distract one of them.
The scuzboys spread out, too, facing Ratstomper with their smallest. They weren't as stupid as Kham had hoped. The alley was tight, leaving little room to maneuver. The scuzboys hadn't drawn blades, but one of them was swinging a chain. Their turf, their rules: this was going to be head-butting only, no stickers and no guns. Kham dipped his hands into his pockets and slipped on his knucks. The scuzboys might be adolescents, but he was facing at least two of them and would need the edge.
The stalking stopped when a hunched shape scuttled from the darkness, whirling and rattling into the open space between the combatants. The newcomer had the tusks and mismatched eyes of an ork, but she was short and slim. Her tattered garments were festooned with rags, bits of bone, and shiny objects dangling from tassels and thongs. Silvered rat skulls hung from her belt and swung in layers of necklaces around her scrawny neck Her streaky, snarly gray hair nearly hid her face when she swirled to a stop, her arms outflung in a dramatic pose.
'Scatter!' Ratstomper squealed as she dropped to her knees 'I didn't know these were your boys. If I had, I wouldn't have said anything! Honest! Don't blast me!'
The rat shaman ignored Ratstomper's plea and moved past her. Scatter seemed to skitter as she moved, deceptively fast, and planted herself in front of Kham. Before he could react, her head jutted up into his face and her beady eyes stared into his.
'So you're Kham.' It was not a question. 'Didn't anyone ever tell you that you can't go home again?' 'Haven't gone home.'
Scatter laughed, a squealing, chittenng sound. 'I know that. But now you're thinking you might. I know you are. You're thinking you'll have to because of your unusual'- the rat shaman tittered the word- 'attachment to this breeder.' She scurried over to Neko and reached out a hand to stroke the cheek of the bound catboy, but his fierce glare froze her Slowly she withdrew her hand. She snapped her head around, her lips curling up into a toothy smile as she said to Kham, 'Perhaps you were in a rush to join the others. Breeders need to learn their place. Oh, yes. Perhaps you're here to help, like a good ork.'
Kham found her babbling unsettling, but he couldn't afford to let it show. The scuzboys were staring at her like she was their mama, and he noticed that each of them wore a silvered rat skull on a chain around his neck. They were hers, all right. Kham tried to be cool. 'Don't know what you're talking about. I heard a chummer was having some trouble.'
'You say he's your chummer, you the one gonna have some trouble,' Adam said. 'We give you the same treatment we gonna give him. But we gonna let you watch what we do to him so you'll know what we gonna do to you.'
The scuzboy started forward and Kham dropped into a ready stance. Scatter slipped back between them and the scuzboy jerked back. Kham thought he saw a flicker of fear in the scuzboy's eyes when he looked at the rat shaman.
'No,' Scatter said. 'This is not a gutter matter. Take the breeder down to City Hall.'
'Aw, no!' Adam protested. 'He hurt Cholly and Akira!'
Scatter straightened, drawing herself to her full diminutive stature. Her hunched-forward head didn't turn. Though she continued to stare at Kham, there was no doubt she addressed the scuzboy. 'A complaint. I thought I heard a complaint.'
'No, Scatter,' the scuzboy said quickly. 'I ain't complaining. We'll do like you say. Right, guys?'
His companions nodded in agreement, and the scuzboys backed away a few steps before turning and hurrying to the now-struggling catboy. The smallest scuzboy lifted a paw to cuff Neko into submission, but was forestalled by a shrill cry from the rat shaman. 'And no more damage to him!'
Kham saw Neko smile before planting a kick into the midriff of the one who had been about to cuff him. The ork yelped.
'Unless he resists,' Scatter added.
Neko stopped resisting and submitted to being roughly helped to his feet. Wise, Kham thought as they led the catboy away. Scatter tugging on his arm, Kham followed. Ratstomper was nowhere to be seen.
The series of chambers called 'city hall' was hardly what a topsider would recognize as government offices, but in the Underground they served. The reinforced walls and occasional weapon emplacement made it look like an armed camp. Knots of heavily armed orks congregated here and there, staring openly at the small procession, but the only time the ragtag parade was stopped was before a pair of large, iron-bound doors. The squad of trolls stationed there were obviously familiar with Scatter and the scuzboys, but they showed the shaman none of the deference the orks did. She almost lost her temper before they agreed to let her pass alone. It was only a few minutes before she returned and led the procession into a huge chamber lit poorly by scattered fixtures. At the far end of the room was a stepped platform, surmounted by a large chair that rose like a king's throne.
The chair was occupied.
As they marched the length of the hall, the man on the throne rose, but he did not face them. Instead he stared off to one side. Kham glanced in that direction and saw a group of women tending a gaggle of young orks. Across the hall was another group of armed orks. Both clumps were out of earshot of the throne, but they would be able to see everything that went on.
The big ork on the platform was more hunched than usual for his metatype, but the effect was one of coiled power rather than of bowed weakness. A cloak trimmed with human and metahuman scalps hung over those shoulders and concealed his body, but there could be no doubt that the hidden body was powerful. His head was large and his bald pate covered with warts. As they halted, he regarded them sidewise with one narrowed green eye for a minute before turning full-face to them. His other eye-blue, larger, and set at least a centimeter higher
