"We could get in a few good licks in ten seconds," Kris said, noticing that the other women bristled a bit at the notion that they couldn't defend themselves. "But Catteni don't fight fair," she added.
"Just a safety precaution. Until you know the Barevi market area, you need to have a fail-safe," Zainal said, accepting their rebuff. When he gave Kris an admonishing glare, she gave him an impudent grin.
They spent the rest of the afternoon getting the bulky dental ele-ments onto Natchi's big lift and checked to be sure they had everything else they needed. They had found a digitally locked strongbox for the smallest gold items. The metal ingots were a little easier to safekeep, being heavy and bulky in themselves and not something even a Catteni could slip into a pocket. They had more than enough of a crew to leave someone on board on comm watch at all times, and Bayes had rigged a perimeter alert in the berth against snoopers. The KDM, aka BASS-1, had integral shielding against electronic snoopers so one person on board should be sufficient. Possibly two or three. Herb Bayes knew some rudimentary Catteni.
One of the first things Zainal wanted to liberate was a carton of handheld comm units so that all members of his group could keep in touch no matter where they were on Barevi. He gave each of the women a tiny Mayday patch that would emit a ten-second yowl if they got cornered. The sound was one that was particularly irritating to Cattem ears and was guaranteed to let them escape while their would-be assailant was battered by the noise.
The water tested 99 percent pure without any unusual bacteria or noxious minerals. It was a bit high in iron but that would be tempo-rary, as Zainal knew from his term as market manager that the piping was all properly done. The tap only needed to run a bit. Sometimes, just to be awkward, the market manager would do silly things, like health checks on a merchant. A water filter from the survivor kit would let them filter enough water for the first urnful of coffee-just to be on the safe side. Zainal hoped that the coffee could be made quickly enough so that he'd've collected some local credits before Ka-pash figured out a new way to derive income from their stall. Zainal surely hoped that Kapash would prove to be a caffeine addict. That would be useful. After reading the manual for the roaster, they had been able to dry several more sacks of beans on their flight to Barevi, and the results had brewed into a decent coffee. They'd do more once they found out how the beans were selling. Kris was keen to try some blending of the two bean types.
The next morning, when Zainal woke up early, he could already smell the onboard coffee. Dressing quickly, he went to the galley and found Kris pouring cups for those already gathered in by the delight ful aroma. She had made pancakes, too, from the last of the flour, milk, and eggs on board. There were ripe bananas to start with and he was becoming quite fond of the fruit. They had several big stalks of bananas slowly ripening in the hold along with the oranges they had taken on board at Santa Lucia. They would see how things went be-fore they offered the fruits in the market. But there was a three-week limit to the bananas and they might well have to trade them for what they could get, even if Kris had hopes of returning with some to Botany as a special treat. The oranges would keep and some of the other fruit had been bought green enough to make the trip back to Botany.
"I made another big pot of coffee," Kris was saying now, as Floss and the boys joined them in the galley, "so we could bring some to the stall just in case we have early customers," she told him, jerking her chin at the big padded thermal bottle.
"Good thinking:"
"Do my best with the first cup of coffee," she replied. One of the things Zainal particularly liked about Kris was her ability to wake up in a good mood. It certainly started the day off well for those work ing with her. She had toasted the last of the baked bread she'd been able to make from the flour they had brought from Botany.
If Zainal remembered correctly, there had been a bakery in Barevi market, unless a fight had trashed it. The one he remembered had done good business, especially after some of the Terran breads had been offered for sale, when different types of flour became available following the mass looting of Earth. Coffee and bread from Terra were good things.
"We're ready when you are, Zainal," Bayes said. "All loaded on the lift."
Despite the heat of the coffee, Zainal managed to drink it down, felt it slosh in his belly and hoped it would have its usual stimulating ef-fect on his system. Kris carefully handed him a nicely browned slice of bread, spread with some of the sweet stuff he liked. He smiled at her. "Take the hottle," she said, nodding to the padded affair.
By its convenient handle, he swung it off the worktop and fol-lowed Herb Bayes, Chuck, Captain Harvey, Sally Stoffers, and the two Doyle brothers, who were on the first shift of the ransom team. His sons followed him, eager for their first glimpse of famed Barevi. Zainal hoped that someone would apply for the job of tutor. While experience in the market-as well as their command of both lan-guages-would be useful, they badly needed training in other areas. They wouldn't like it, but then, he hadn't enjoyed his schooling ei-ther. Piloting was always good training to have.
Other merchants were beginning to open their stalls one by one, pausing in the process to talk to their neighbors and assure waiting customers that they would be ready presently. His team made short shrift of setting up, since they would be buying, not selling merchan-dise. Even the coffee wasn't for sale, offered only as a courtesy to those who came to show their goods.
"Filter the first water that comes out, Ninety," Zainal murmured to the heavyset Doyle brother.
"Smart, too," Ninety muttered back as the tap spat rusty water into the filter material, but there was soon enough to fill the big urn. Bayes nodded assurance that the power conduit was good and they wouldn't need a transformer to handle the electrical current, while Kathy Harvey set out cups, brown sugar, and the Botany sweetener and every spoon from the galley. Kathy had taken it upon herself to be sure the spoons did not go missing.
Zainal hadn't liked milk in his coffee when they'd had enough to use it, said it ruined the full coffee taste, which he preferred dark and sweet. Thinking about it made him pour a cup from the hottle. Sec-ond one was nearly as good as the first, and he could savor the taste. Then Natchi appeared at his elbow.
"Does that smell like I think it does?" the old man murmured, in-haling deeply. Oh, it does. It's coffee, isn't it?" He was salivating in an-ticipation.
"Coffee," being an alien word, sounded the same from Catteni lips as it did from Terran. Zainal had noticed that the Kenyans called it kahawa.
"I brought my own seat," Natchi said, holding up a battered crate as he reminded Zainal of the previous day's promise. Zainal poured him a cup.