“That’s smart. Kick it away,” I said. She did, though with sullen reluctance which irked me, all that lioness pride.
I frisked her from chest to toe and she quivered in rancor. This one didn’t like to be touched, I could tell. Couldn’t blame her.
“You’re wasting your time,” she rasped. “When the crawlers get wind of this little ship, there’ll be nothing left of it.”
The old man clicked his tongue. “Nasty bit of luck, landing here on this planet.”
“Shut up.” I ducked into the hatch, entered the key code that shut Molly’s remorseless voice off and whirled on the skinhead lady who seemed ready to make a move. “Who are these crazy boys you’re talking about?”
She snorted. “You’ll find out soon enough.” I didn’t like the sound of that or the lazy smirk curling across those lush lips, pretty ones in a former life.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
She licked her lips with a smirk. “Just wait, fly boy.”
I gave her the once over. She gave me a once over, appraised my gleaming sinew and my doubtful looks.
Not that I was prejudiced or anything. Not my type. Too tomboyish—and dirty. The challenging stare, the tough girl stance, the stiff thrust of hip. A slight swagger that didn’t quite fit her, and that mannish little brush cut—ouch, butch written all over. I wondered what this planet had done to her.
“My suggestion is, lose the butch raven cut,” I grunted.
“What do you know?” she snarled, ducking in a crouch to grab for another weapon I’d missed strapped at her ankle under the dust-grimed black leather.
“Unh uh,” I warned, motioning her up with my weapon, and she rose in slow motion from her cat-like crouch. I confiscated the weapon.
“Well, looks as if we got ourselves a regular standoff here,” said the old man wistfully.
“The hell we do.” I shook my head, flakes of soot dropping, leftovers from the explosion at Baer’s crib. “From my position, you’re looking down the end of a loaded barrel.”
“Maybe,” croaked the man, “but if you want to save your ship, you’ll let Billy and me get it moving to safer ground.” I saw his white mustache bristle and tassel of gray rooster hair twitch. A keen intelligence lurked behind those bushy brows. The boy had a mousy face and busy fingers, and looked as if he had as much brains as two hammers left out in the rain.
I jeered. “What you going to do, get on your hands and knees and carry it to safety?”
“Billy can run back and get a couple of anti gravs, can’t you, Billy? The AGs’ll lift it and we can propel it along with jet thrusters.”
Snot-nose Billy gave an eager nod.
I blinked in new amazement. “Some joke, old man? Last I heard anti-gravs were quite large.”
“Not mine,” he called.
“How far away are these AGs?”
“About half mile back, though I think if you’re thinking of following Billy, it’s a bad idea.”
“Why would I think of that?”
“Just thinking. Billy’s a fast runner.”
I exhaled a long breath, wiping the river of sweat from my forehead.
The woman grunted out a sardonic breezy sound that in no way improved my mood. “Well, now that we’ve got that all sorted, how be we set us up a table and napkins and have some tea and cookies before the mad boy’s join us?”
“Thought they were the ‘crazy boys’—suddenly now they’re the ‘mad boys’?”
“Happy to meet you too, space man. Name’s Wren.” She thrust out a hand.
“Mine’s TK.” The old man stepped forward.
I stared at the two of them—as if I were on a planet of crazies. The heat, the injuries were getting to me. “Rusco,” I snapped with reluctance.
“Well, that’s dandy,” said Wren, rubbing her wrists and clapping her hands. The woman was all smiles and chuckles now.
The old man whispered some energetic words in the kid’s ear who then beetled off down the sand path and disappeared around a curve in the nearest mound and was gone.
“Billy’s a good boy. A little slow on the mark, but dependable.”
“What’s to stop your munchkin from bringing a posse down on me or some other unpleasant surprise?”
“Nothing. What other options you have? Not to worry, Billy doesn’t do stuff like that anyway. Found him hiding under a mound. Burrowed himself deep like a cricket hunting for food. Shivering. His parents had been taken by the mad boys. He had the sense to hide under the refuse and I’ve taken him under my wing ever since.”
“Very touching,” I grunted.
My leg had started to quiver. The older man’s eyes glowed with a trace of curiosity at my discomfort. I hunkered down to massage my burning knee. The blazing heat was making me sweat something awful, as if I had a bad fever. I must have sweat a cup of liquid in the last fifteen minutes. Tongue swelling up in my mouth, I rolled it over my parched lips.
Wren grinned. “What’s the matter, space boy? Rat nip you in the knee?”
“Shut up, for crap sakes!” I lurched to my feet, rounded on her. I glared at the old man. “What if you get the ship skyworthy? I doubt if you’re going to do any favors as a good samaritan?”
He lifted his chin and scratched his neck. “About time I got off this planet. How about transpo to Aldebaran?”
I shrugged. “We’ll see.”
“While you’re at it,” called Skinhead. “I could use a lift to the nearest transhub.”
“Like I owe you something?” I turned and glowered at her.
The sun seemed to inch its way across the yellow sky like a big bad ball of fire kindling my insides. Sweat did wonders to help combat the pain. I pulled at my vest, snapping open the buttons, exposing my chest.
The day was
