Abigail stopped walking and turned around slowly. Her eyes were narrow with suspicion, but there was also a yellow gleam of greed in there. There always was when you dealt with a Claver.
“What are you talking about?”
“Nothing. Probably best I wait to bring it up until I meet someone in charge.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Uh… like… one of your brothers? An authority figure, so to speak.”
She put her hands on her shapely hips and glared up at me. “Are you trying to piss me off?”
“No ma’am. It just comes natural.”
“Right… well, I’m in authority here. You see this? This is the same base you first arrived at nearly a week ago.”
I looked around, and I was impressed. I recognized the place all right. “Yeah, I know it—but last time, this place was deserted.”
“That’s right. Our plans have been stepped up. We’ve gotten word from Earth that Central knows about us.”
“Is that so?”
She eyed me, and she took out her pistol. She checked the charge and snapped the breach.
“James, you and I have had a lot of good times together, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to put you on ice for now. I don’t have time to entertain guests. Maybe, after everything is finished here, I’ll put in a revival order for you. Just for old times’ sake.”
“That’s mighty nice of you, Miss Claver.”
“I like to think you’d do the same for me—but now, if you don’t mind—”
“Hold on a minute. Don’t you want to even hear the offer?”
She hesitated. She knew me. Of every human on Heaven, Hell or Earth, I was quite possibly the slipperiest of all of them—with the possible exception of her and her brothers.
Finally, she sighed. “All right. Give me your pitch—but make it fast, will you?”
“No problem. I know you’re a busy woman. Well, here it is: Earth’s on the way here right now with six ships. They’ll be crossing the border into Province 926 in a few days. I’d say they’ll be here in a week, tops.”
Her expression flickered, but she managed to laugh at me. I could tell my words had made her nervous, but she was determined to keep up a brave front.
“That is total horseshit, McGill. I don’t blame you for trying to bamboozle me, but there’s no way they could invade 926 in force. The Skay will stop them.”
“What? You mean with those little, drone-like Skay they’ve got strung along the border? We’ve got a way to get past them.”
Abigail looked alarmed. She was trying not to, but she was failing at it.
That’s when I heard some crunching boots behind me. I turned to glance over my shoulder.
“Now, how in the nine hells do you know about those Skay drones, McGill?”
It was another Claver. A real Claver. A Claver-Prime, and he didn’t look too happy to see me.
Abigail seemed miffed. “I was just about to get that out of him, brother, if you don’t mind.”
Claver made shooing motions in her direction. “You’re too close to this. I’ll take care of it. Go on break for an hour.”
He whistled then, one short, hard blast that came out of the side of his mouth. The two dog-boys on either side of me clamped onto my arms. I was kind of surprised. They had some serious strength in their gray-black fingers.
Maybe I’d been wrong about them, I realized. Instead of being a cross between men and dogs—what if they were part gorilla instead?
It was an unpleasant thought, but the power in those gripping hands, and the look of those primitive fingers… Once considered, I couldn’t get the idea out of my mind.
Abigail retreated, and with her I saw my best hopes of an early escape leaving me behind. I turned to face Claver and tried to toss him a salute.
The dog-men grunted and dragged on my arms like I was making a move. I pretended not to notice, despite the fact their fingers were making deep indentations on both my arms.
“Hey, Claver. Nice to talk to the real-deal. Listen up, I’ve got information that—”
He hauled off and belted me then. One in the mouth, then two in the gut. Fortunately, I tightened up before he landed these last two and I barely felt them. The shot to the jaw, though—that had hurt a little.
“You finished?” I asked him. “Or maybe you want to kick me in the balls, or something. Here, I’ll make it easier so you don’t miss.”
I splayed my legs helpfully and grinned at him.
Claver cursed and shook his head. “I know there’s no point beating on you, boy. I might as well kick around a sack of meal. You’re almost as dumb as these pit bulls for coming out here. You know that, don’t you?”
I shrugged. “Orders are orders. You want to hear my pitch, or not?”
He sighed. “All right, let’s hear some bullshit. It’s too early in the morning for it, mind you, but—”
“Armel is going to do it,” I said.
Claver snapped up his head to look at me. “Armel? What are you talking about?”
“Have you noticed he’s dead? Or rather, he’s gone AWOL from Rigel?”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Was that your work?” He laughed out loud. “I did hear some crazy shit raided Rigel and killed some lizards. I didn’t hear about Armel, though…”
“Easy enough to check.”
Claver was looking at me with the same narrow-eyed suspicion Abigail had given me, but I didn’t mind. If I were him, I wouldn’t have trusted me, either.
“Come on, dammit. Up to the comms building.”
We trudged over the beach. The two ape-dogs half dragged me over the sands. I didn’t mind, as I had nowhere better to be.
Inside the comms building was a deep-link machine,
