I waitress here in the evenings because its the place the starship crews come. This way I get to hear of any openings before the rest of Durringham. And yes there are the tips, too, every little helps. But for real money I bought myself a secretarial job at the Kulu Embassy, in their Commercial Office.
Bought a job? Warlow rumbled. His sculpted dark-yellow face was incapable of expression, but the voice booming from his chest diaphragm carried a heavy query. People turned to look as he drowned out the ballad.
Of course. You think they give away a gig like that? The embassy pays its staff in Kulu pounds. It was the second hardest currency in the Confederation after fuseodollars. Thats where Im going to get the money to pay for my neural nanonics.
Ah, now I see. Joshua raised his glass in salute. He admired the girls toughnessalmost as much as he admired her figure.
That, or the deputy ambassadors son might get me off, Marie said quietly. Hes twenty-two, and he likes me a lot. If we married then obviously Id go back to Kulu with him once his fathers tour was over.
Ashly grinned and knocked back some of his fruit juice. A suspect grumble emerged from Warlows chest.
Marie gave Joshua a questioning glance. So. Do you still want your mayope, Captain?
You think you can get me some?
Like I said, I work in the Commercial Office. And Im good at it, too, she said fiercely. I know more about this towns economic structure than my boss. Youre buying your cargo from Dodd Purcell, right?
Yes, Joshua said cautiously.
Thought so; hes the nephew of the governors industrial secretary. Dodd Purcell is a complete screwup, but hes a good partner for his uncle. All official tenders for timber go through the company he owns, except its actually his uncles, and all it consists of is an office down at the port. They dont actually own a yard, or even any timber. The LDC pays through the nose, but nobody queries it because no lower quotes ever make it past the industrial secretarys office. All that happens is Purcell contracts a real lumberyard to supply whatever project the LDC is paying for; they do all the work while he and uncle cream off thirty per cent. No effort, and all profit.
Warlows chair creaked alarmed protests as his bulk shifted round. He tilted the brandy glass to his mouth aperture, the brightlime surged out, almost sucked down into his inlet nozzle. Smart bastards.
Jesus, Joshua said. And Ill bet the price goes up tomorrow.
I expect so, Marie said. And then again the day after, then it will become a rush order to meet your deadline, so youll have to pay a surcharge.
Joshua put his empty glass down on the stained table. All right, you win. Whats your counter-offer?
You are paying Purcell thirty-five thousand fuseodollars, which is about thirty per cent over the odds. Im offering to put you in touch with a lumber-yard direct, theyll supply the wood at the market rate, and you pay me five per cent of the difference.
Suppose we just go to a lumber-yard direct now youve told us whats happening? Ashly asked.
Marie smiled sweetly. Which one? Are you going back to the Governors industrial secretary for a list? Once youve picked one, do you know if it was burnt down in the riots? Where is it, and how do you get to it? Parts of this town are very unhealthy for visitors, especially after the riots. Does it have that much mayope in stock or is the owner stringing you along? What are you going to use to transport it out to the spaceport? And how much time can you spend sorting all that out? Even a relatively honest lumber-yard owner is going to catch on that youve got a deadline once you start fretting because you havent got permits and procedures smoothed out in advance. I mean, God, it took you almost a day to hire a McBoeing. Bet you didnt buy energy for it either, theyll hit you for that tomorrow. And when they scent blood itll be Purcell all over again.
Joshua held up a warning hand to Ashly. Nobody at the spaceport had mentioned energy for the McBoeing. Jesus! On a normal planet it would be part of the charter; and of course he couldnt use his neural nanonics to access the contract and run a legal program check because his copy of the fucking thing was printed out on paper. Paper , for Christs sake. Ill deal with you, he told Marie. But I only pay on delivery to orbit, and that includes your fee. So youre going to have to clear all those obstacles you mentioned out of our way, because I dont pay a single fuseodollar once those six days are up.
She stuck out her hand, and after a moments hesitation Joshua shook.
Were sleeping in my spaceplane, seeing as how it has the only functional air-conditioner on the entire planet, he told her. I want you there at seven oclock tomorrow morning ready to take us to this lumber-yard of yours.
Aye, aye, Captain. She stood and picked up her tray.
Joshua pulled a wad of Lalonde francs from his jacket pocket and peeled a few off. Well have the same again, and have a large one yourself. I think youve just earned it.
Marie plucked the notes from him and stuffed them in a side pocket on her skirt. She gave them all a ludicrously sassy twitch with her backside as she walked off to the bar.
Ashly watched her go with a lugubrious expression, then drained his juice in one gulp. God help that ambassadors son.
Darcy and Lori spent the day after the riots preparing for their trip. There was Kelven Solanki to brief on the situation, and their eagles Abraham and Catlin to take out of zero-tau, equipment to make ready. Above all, they had to find transport. The harbour-masters office had been damaged in the riot, so there was no list available of the boats in dock. In the afternoon they sent the eagles skimming over the polyp rings searching for something they could use.
What do you think?darcy asked. abraham was turning lazy circles over harbour seven, his enhanced retinas providing an uncluttered image of the boats moored up against the quays.
Them?lori exclaimed in dismay.
Have you found someone else?
No.
At least we know we can bully them with money.
The port still hadnt recovered from the riot when they made their way down to harbour seven first thing the next morning. Huge piles of ashes which used to be buildings were still radiating heat from their smouldering cores, giving off thin streamers of acrid smoke. Long runnels of mushed ashes meandered away from their bases, sluiced out by the rain; they had coagulated under the morning sunlight, looking like damp lava flows.
Gangs of workers were raking through the piles with long mayope poles, searching for anything salvageable. They passed one ruined transients warehouse where a stack of cargo-pods had been pulled from the gutted remains, the warped composite resembling surrealistic sculptures. Darcy watched a forlorn family prise open a badly contorted marsupium shell with deep scorch marks on the oyster-coloured casing. The infant quadruped had been roasted in its chemical sleep, reduced to a shrivelled black mummy. Darcy couldnt even tell what species it was.
Lori had to turn away from the empty-faced colonists scrabbling at the pods distorted lids, shiny new ship-suits smeared with dirt and sweat. They had come to Lalonde with such high hopes, and now they were faced with utter ruin before theyd even been given a chance at a life.
This is awful,she said.
This is dangerous,darcy replied. They are numbed and shocked now, but that will soon give way to anger. Without their farmsteading gear they cant be sent upriver, and Rexrew will be hard pushed to replace it.
It wasnt all burnt,she said sorrowfully. The afternoon and evening of the riot there had been a steady stream of people walking past the Ward Molecular warehouse carrying pods and cartons of equipment they had looted.