“Computers. He has dozens down there, I think.” I gave a weak laugh and continued moving. “And he knows how to do research, but he’s also intuitive. I suspect he wasn’t certain about you being on Manger until you confirmed it. Using that information, he probably now knows a lot more about you.” I pulled open the flap.
Bill sat inside and raised his mug to both and said, “Drink?”
“I could use one,” Captain Stone said, “But we have too much to talk about. In private.”
Bert interrupted as he called out in a near panic, “Listen, I hate to keep you from doing that. I’d love to hear and enjoy an evening of stimulating conversation with Captain Stone, but ten Coliseum troopers, not the regular street police, are going to arrive here in about two-tenths of time. I suggest we all get the hell out of here.”
“We?” Captain Stone shouted back at him.
Bert said, “Well, you don’t think I’m going to stay here and face them alone. That’s not my style. I prefer that they don’t catch me, however, you can start any interaction with the police you’d like.”
I asked, “Why are they coming here? Because of my unpaid gambling taxes?”
“Possibly. Unlikely. I tend to think it is probably for the arrest of Captain Stone. Her disguise is good enough to fool most casual observers, but I think she may have dropped some DNA along the way to visit us. It is the same DNA as the gladiator who fought in the arena this morning that they are searching for. Something about cheating the betting commission. I cannot be certain, of course, because I’m terribly busy shutting down and purging my systems in preparation for fleeing.”
I said, “Bill, we gotta get out of here.”
We’d had to run in the past on short notice, sometimes from the police, other times from people we owed. Without argument, he said, “I heard Bert. What’re we taking with us?”
Bert said abruptly and louder than normal, “Listen, I hate to admit it, but I was wrong about the amount of time before the troopers arrive. They are on a grav-sled instead of walking, a full squad. We should all head into the woods right now. Follow me.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Captain Stone
She followed the odd furry creature through the thick underbrush of the forest outside the tent while wondering what she’d gotten herself into. His chubby, furry behind wobbled from one side to the other with each step, looking humorous and friendly. Then she realized that if not for that furry thing leading the way, the troopers would probably have her in custody by now. They wouldn’t have been gentle. Roma didn’t take kindly to winners who attempted to leave with their money.
Captain Stone looked over her shoulder long enough to see that both Kat and Bill were at her heels, and the buildings at the edges of the city were no longer in view. They were deep in the forest, moving fast. Bert was bearing to his right as they traveled, a funny thought because, from the backside, Bert resembled a bear that was bearing to its right.
She had always liked puns.
And this was no time to be thinking of them. Forcing her odd humor aside Stone turned and followed Bert. Turning to their right would eventually take them back to the center of the city, perhaps near the arena. And that would only be a few kilometers from the only spaceport on the planet. She liked his choices, so far.
Bert was leading them without hesitation, and she realized the odd creature probably had a plan in mind, which was more than she did. She was willing to follow his lead—for now. If she came up with a better one, the other three were on their own. However, others seemed to trust the creature. That should mean something positive, especially coming from an empath.
One thing about private police on a planet controlled by a gambling syndicate was they made the rules. All of them. After making them, they enforced them in any manner they chose.
While other laws may, or may not exist on the planet, anything that interfered with those in power making money by wagering of one kind or another was serious. On a backwater planet like this, people went missing all the time, and nobody looked for them. She didn’t want to become one of them.
Besides, her ship had departed and was on its way to Escobar Habitat. She was stuck here until she found a way off-planet.
Looking at Bert again, an old expression came to Stone’s mind. She had poked the bear. Not Bert, but the local authorities. Her scheme of betting heavily when the odds were favorable hadn’t technically broken any laws. Yet the result would be the same if they captured her.
Bert now had a curious, stumbling gait. He charged ahead for a dozen strides, then paused briefly before darting ahead again, sometimes in a new direction. It’s listening, she realized. Those ultra-sensitive ears were hearing sounds she couldn’t, and when he changed directions, she believed he had heard something. Perhaps the heavy footfall of a cop, a police whistle, or more likely, one Coliseum guard calling out search instructions to another.
Her attention turned to the girl she had come for, the one now running directly in front of her. Kat was all she had hoped the girl would be—and more. Stone estimated her to be in her mid-teens, standard years. Bill about the same.
Neither was formally educated. Both could read, that was obvious. Both knew numbers and how to bet to their advantage. They were street-smart. However, that was not enough, she realized. Both would require learning, everything from galactic history to higher math.
There were classes they could attend on computers, of course. But unless motivated, students tended
