Hey, if he starts something, it would totally justify killing him and taking his car. I don't like lifting heavy things any more than the next person.
I appreciate Marmot's paranoia after the last week. I give her a nod, like, I see what you're sa…
I relax a little. I'm not taking it-- not yet. Would be easy enough - stick a knife in Fluke, roll him out the door, clean the blood off the upholstery when I get home. But the time isn't right to fire my first shot against the Pier.
I'm not much …
I return Marmot's grin. If I'm about to become permanently unwelcome at the Pier anyway... It's a thought. On the other hand, I'll probably be relying on surprise to spring Poke, so I'm not sure I should kick off hostilities just yet. Maybe I could …
"It would be stupid, but... it would also fit a pattern, wouldn't it? I'm starting to think I've been a little lax about security. Might have to do something about that."
I nod firmly. "Not a chance. Just being polite, and probing a bit about what happened with her."
"Decent odds I won't be welcome around here in a few weeks."
"Yeah, looks like."
I shrug.
"Look, I appreciate the offer, but I like my independence. Feel free to call me in for jobs, though."
My mind's made up, and I'm not going to push it. Maybe Ninety is sharp enough to follow the trail I laid-- treating…
Maybe time to be a little more direct.
I nod. "That would be a lot of jingle. And having stuff like this work with would be nice." All true. "That the kind of deal Poke has?"
Hmm.
"Appreciate the thought, 90. What's the usual arrangement for someone with skills, setting up a shop like that?"
Someone like Poke, maybe.
"Let's set up a crawler for this on the way out, could we? Take the cost off the top."
With the fans,…
Pier's one of the places with, you know, public infrastructure. They've got their own people, but they do need me in for bigger stuff sometimes, tinkering with the generators or radios. Ninety Roll handles the payouts for those, too.
"Well, I'm loo…
"Okay, write me up and I'll talk to them." I glance at the guard, more to let Poke know I know than to get any real read.
She's got some paper out for writing the receipt, right? I'll pull out my marker. (Keep one in my pockets, of course.) I lean …
"The Council. Sure."
I've gone a little flat, too, which happens when I get mad. I was worried she wouldn't be able to recover, but they haven't even let her try.
Plus, I'm a little sensitive about working under guard. No way to live.
My hold: Wh…
A little half-laugh at the question about where I got it. That's a story I can't tell.
"Unfortunately, it's all I have, and it made its way to me through a... complicated series of trades."
I frown, thinking it over.
"I think the trail ends at Ke…
I dig out my bag, start laying things on the table: little vials of drugs, a fistful of syringes, coils of tubing, rolls of gauze, a couple of fat, sloshing IV bags.
"For trade, I'd take pretty much anything-- or just credit for treatment." A thoug…
Do they take knives? I wasn't hiding it, so if so, they've got it and the rifle.
"Nothing wrong with me, Poke. I came across some stuff I thought you could use, was hoping we could come up with a swap."
This is the first time I've seen her since h…
I shrug. "Perfect health, thanks. Got business with Poke-- some gear to sell her."
I sniff. "Stuff she must be running short of, by the smell. I think she'll squeeze me in."
"Hmm. I wanted to deal fair with her, but she definitely crossed a line. Once I saw a way to clear it up without anyone dying, I took it, but... How much is a bloodguild? Might need to keep that option on the table."
I doubt the guards know me. I'm…
Wow, she's happy enough that we can leave? Then yeah, it's time for some fresh air. I'd been wanting to go talk to Poke at the pier-- see if I can liquidate that angel stock, for starters, and maybe discuss her employment situation.
Picking up some…
Of course. Butter as a High Priest. Lovely.
On the other hand... well, making it all work again if we don't fuck it up is the closest thing I've got to a creed, too. Never needed a satellite's data logs to tell me that, though.
All right. She's ha…
Half of the scrap is actually a pretty good deal. I've always meant to deal fair with her. And maybe I'll try buying some of the rest of it.
As for the not-apology...
"I never argue with results. Sometimes argue with my neck getting stood on, thou…
Okay, that went well. I'll use the radio to see if I can raise Hadden.
I wonder how Butter sees the rest of the wreckage. If she really only wants the information, I could definitely use the rest... and probably no one else can. Delicate question t…
I'll explain that to Butter. My impulse is to get Hadden to help, but I can't say the challenge of making a translator doesn't appeal to me.
But mainly, it seems like Butter might get what she wants out of this, and I want to keep it that way. So.
…
I'll handwave past the communications and power systems for now, just saying enough to show Marmot how I know what's what. Useful, and valuable, but not mind-blowing. I want to walk her through it in detail. Hopefully I'll get a chance, later.
Let'…
I've always meant to show Butter what's in there. That was the deal. All the precautions are for if she's still not satisfied.
So, let's do it. Get everyone else to stand back. Goggles up, torch on, reaching around the main shield, using the lead a…
Ugh.
Well, I'm mentally rearranging my schedule so that I'm doing something noisy every time Butter or Shifty tries to sleep, to start with.
It's actually not that dangerous for me, day-to-day, just irritating. It's when the project is over that I…
For now.
Going to make it harder to feel safe come the unveiling. But the last few days have been sitting on a powder keg, and there's a while yet to go.
"We've got a deal, yeah. Maybe swing by in a few days, make sure things are going smooth."