mean, “we”? Don’t include me in your plans.
The Beautiful Game
leaves for the southern oil
fields tomorrow. The water’s lovely and warm down there and the crew are looking forward to it.’ He caught India’s pained expression. ‘Look,’ he said kindly, ‘you
have no idea where Ironheart is, so why don’t you forget all about it and focus on how you’re going to get back to London? Mrs Brown is a resourceful woman, she can take care of
herself.’
‘But I know the region where my dad was looking for Ironheart. Verity said it was called Uliu-something-or-other. And when Calculus deciphers the message on my pendant then I bet
it’ll tell us exactly where to find it. Most probably.’
Bulldog reached in his satchel and fished out two huge sandwiches, handing one to India. ‘It’s called Uliuiu Cherchekh,’ he said. ‘It means “The Valley of
Death” and it’s over fifteen hundred miles from here. How exactly do you think you’re going to travel that distance, on your own, in winter?’ He took a bite from his
sandwich that would have choked a horse.
‘You’re a pirate rigger, aren’t you?’ she said matter-of-factly. ‘You could take me.’
Bulldog spluttered breadcrumbs across the carriage. ‘Take you? Fifteen hundred miles is the maximum range of my rig with a full fuel load. We’d get there all right, but then
we’d be stuck on the ice until we froze to death or until Stone caught up with us. Forget it, India.’
She wasn’t about to give up. ‘But you
could
get us there and back. There are pirate oil refineries out on the tundra where you can buy fuel if you know where to find them.
It’s called “long rigging”, Mrs Chang told me all about it.’
‘Oh, did she now? And did Mrs Chang tell you what it’s like to be down to your last hundred litres of diesel with a blizzard closing in? Or how to stay on the trail during a
white-out or any one of a thousand other things that can go wrong when you take liberties with the Siberian winter?’
‘No, she didn’t,’ said India. ‘But you know how to do those things and I know how to find Ironheart. So I know you’ll do it because that’s what pirates do,
isn’t it? They look for treasure!’ She took a bite of her sandwich.
Bulldog squinted at her, impressed by the raw passion that came spilling out of this girl. However crazy this journey might sound she certainly seemed to have enough steel in her backbone to
survive it. He weighed the risks involved. If they ran into one of the heavily armed Company rigs in the ice forests, that would almost certainly be fatal. But Bulldog knew all about
risk
and how it often went arm in arm with its more attractive sister,
profit.
If Stone wanted something this badly then you could be sure there was money in it. Then, of course, there was the
girl’s pendant. That might just be the thing that tipped the balance in their favour.
His ears began to feel warm, as they always did when a money-making opportunity presented itself. Perhaps, he thought, a journey to the eastern mountains might be a worthwhile investment after
all. ‘Well now,’ he said. ‘If you’re determined to ignore what I say, I reckon I may as well profit from the deal.’ He stroked his bristly chin. ‘I’ll have
me own expenses to think about, not to mention my crew, who’ll want a cut of whatever we find. So here’s what I’ll do. Give me the pendant and I’ll take you to find
Ironheart. But once you’ve got what you need to bargain for Mrs Brown’s life, I get to keep whatever else we find there.’
‘We’ll split what we find evenly,’ said India, narrowing her eyes. ‘The pendant stays with me and Calculus will give you directions as soon as he cracks the
code.’
They stared at each other across the carriage.
‘All right, missy, you got yourself a deal.’ He spat noisily on to his palm and held out his hand. ‘But you be mindful now! This is a free-rigger’s contract you’re
The Beautiful Game
leaves for the southern oil
fields tomorrow. The water’s lovely and warm down there and the crew are looking forward to it.’ He caught India’s pained expression. ‘Look,’ he said kindly, ‘you
have no idea where Ironheart is, so why don’t you forget all about it and focus on how you’re going to get back to London? Mrs Brown is a resourceful woman, she can take care of
herself.’
‘But I know the region where my dad was looking for Ironheart. Verity said it was called Uliu-something-or-other. And when Calculus deciphers the message on my pendant then I bet
it’ll tell us exactly where to find it. Most probably.’
Bulldog reached in his satchel and fished out two huge sandwiches, handing one to India. ‘It’s called Uliuiu Cherchekh,’ he said. ‘It means “The Valley of
Death” and it’s over fifteen hundred miles from here. How exactly do you think you’re going to travel that distance, on your own, in winter?’ He took a bite from his
sandwich that would have choked a horse.
‘You’re a pirate rigger, aren’t you?’ she said matter-of-factly. ‘You could take me.’
Bulldog spluttered breadcrumbs across the carriage. ‘Take you? Fifteen hundred miles is the maximum range of my rig with a full fuel load. We’d get there all right, but then
we’d be stuck on the ice until we froze to death or until Stone caught up with us. Forget it, India.’
She wasn’t about to give up. ‘But you
could
get us there and back. There are pirate oil refineries out on the tundra where you can buy fuel if you know where to find them.
It’s called “long rigging”, Mrs Chang told me all about it.’
‘Oh, did she now? And did Mrs Chang tell you what it’s like to be down to your last hundred litres of diesel with a blizzard closing in? Or how to stay on the trail during a
white-out or any one of a thousand other things that can go wrong when you take liberties with the Siberian winter?’
‘No, she didn’t,’ said India. ‘But you know how to do those things and I know how to find Ironheart. So I know you’ll do it because that’s what pirates do,
isn’t it? They look for treasure!’ She took a bite of her sandwich.
Bulldog squinted at her, impressed by the raw passion that came spilling out of this girl. However crazy this journey might sound she certainly seemed to have enough steel in her backbone to
survive it. He weighed the risks involved. If they ran into one of the heavily armed Company rigs in the ice forests, that would almost certainly be fatal. But Bulldog knew all about
risk
and how it often went arm in arm with its more attractive sister,
profit.
If Stone wanted something this badly then you could be sure there was money in it. Then, of course, there was the
girl’s pendant. That might just be the thing that tipped the balance in their favour.
His ears began to feel warm, as they always did when a money-making opportunity presented itself. Perhaps, he thought, a journey to the eastern mountains might be a worthwhile investment after
all. ‘Well now,’ he said. ‘If you’re determined to ignore what I say, I reckon I may as well profit from the deal.’ He stroked his bristly chin. ‘I’ll have
me own expenses to think about, not to mention my crew, who’ll want a cut of whatever we find. So here’s what I’ll do. Give me the pendant and I’ll take you to find
Ironheart. But once you’ve got what you need to bargain for Mrs Brown’s life, I get to keep whatever else we find there.’
‘We’ll split what we find evenly,’ said India, narrowing her eyes. ‘The pendant stays with me and Calculus will give you directions as soon as he cracks the
code.’
They stared at each other across the carriage.
‘All right, missy, you got yourself a deal.’ He spat noisily on to his palm and held out his hand. ‘But you be mindful now! This is a free-rigger’s contract you’re
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