wanted to have a look at you.” He turned to Roe and threw
the gun back. “Catch.”
She
returned it to her holster.
“Don’t
hesitate next time,” he said. “Or I really will need a
new Deputy.”
She
nodded. He seemed a little calmer. “Would you really have done
it?”
“Too
easy,” he replied. “Where’s Jon?”
“He’s
upstairs,” she said. “Jacob deputised him after …”
“I’ll
find out the rest of the story from him, thank-you.”
“What
do you want me to do?”
“Stay
here,” he ordered. “Keep an eye on the prisoner. Stay out
of my way.”
She
watched him go, and then returned to her stool. It had never been
very comfortable.
*
Paul
was lying on his bunk again, his vocoder doing a bad impersonation of
a chuckle. “I can’t believe you’re putting your
faith in a sim.”
“Shut
up, Paul,” Roe said.
“You
know sims malfunction all the time, I’m sure I’ve heard
stories of them killing entire families. It’s not like they’re
really human.”
“I
can put you on mute, you know,” Roe warned.
“The
technology in here is so old,” Paul said, stretching out.
“He’s
the Marshal,” Roe said. “And if you keep talking, I’m
going to get a bucket and throw something nasty over you.”
Paul
levelled his gaze at her, reptilian eyes unblinking. “Your
entire family will die at my hands.”
“Unlikely,”
Roe said. “You’ll be shipped off world for trial.”
“I
don’t think so.”
“Give
it a rest, Paul,” Roe said. “I’m getting fed up
with you.”
Paul
opened his mouth, but closed it again, the vocoder emitting a burst
of white noise.
“Thank-you,”
she said.
The
Threshian looked up at the ceiling, scraping his claws, one against
the other. “I can be reasonable Roe, help me out of here and
you’ll be handsomely rewarded. My uncle has a lot of money he
doesn’t spend. You could spend it for him.”
Roe
suddenly found herself laughing. “Paul, do you realise, you’ve
spent the last two days insulting me and threatening me, and this
never occurred to you? Why didn’t you just offer me a bribe in
the first place?”
The
Threshian swung himself smoothly into a sitting position. “So
you’ll let me go?”
Roe
continued to laugh. “No, but you have cheered me up.”
“Humans,”
Paul intoned. “I will kill you, Roe.”
Still
smiling, Roe stepped down from her stool. “Excuse me, Paul, I
just have to go and find that bucket.”
*
Jon
was sitting against the wall when Roe found him, his rifle aimed
lazily at the gap in the door. He smiled briefly when he saw her, but
it was a forced smile. Roe sat down beside him.
“You
should be downstairs,” he said without looking at her.
“I’ve
done my fair share, thank-you. It’s your turn.
“OK,”
he said, and began to struggle to his feet.
She
put her hand on his, stopping him. “Hey, I didn’t mean
it. What’s wrong? What did he do?”
“Well,”
Jon said. “He left, said he had some personal business to
attend to.”
Roe
frowned. “He just left?”
“Well,
first of all I told him that he wasn’t my father. I would never
consider him to be my father, and that my father was upstairs.”
“He
went upstairs?”
“Couldn’t
resist, I guess. I told him about the Jopo addiction. He didn’t
want to believe me.”
Roe
pursed her lips. “So now, he’s just gone? Did he even
take a communicator?”
“Do
we still have those?” Jon asked.
“Jon,”
she said. “He doesn’t have Espirnet.”
“Oh,
I think he’ll be back,” Jon said. “He just has to
work it out.”
“What
do you mean?”
Jon
turned to face her. “After my mother died, Dad was very angry.
Sometimes I thought he’d explode. Whenever that happened, he’d
head out, a man on a mission. The next day, the cells would have a
few extra lodgers.”
“You
think that’s happening now?”
Jon
nodded. “He may not be my father, but I know him.”
Roe
sighed, “as if we don’t have enough
the gun back. “Catch.”
She
returned it to her holster.
“Don’t
hesitate next time,” he said. “Or I really will need a
new Deputy.”
She
nodded. He seemed a little calmer. “Would you really have done
it?”
“Too
easy,” he replied. “Where’s Jon?”
“He’s
upstairs,” she said. “Jacob deputised him after …”
“I’ll
find out the rest of the story from him, thank-you.”
“What
do you want me to do?”
“Stay
here,” he ordered. “Keep an eye on the prisoner. Stay out
of my way.”
She
watched him go, and then returned to her stool. It had never been
very comfortable.
*
Paul
was lying on his bunk again, his vocoder doing a bad impersonation of
a chuckle. “I can’t believe you’re putting your
faith in a sim.”
“Shut
up, Paul,” Roe said.
“You
know sims malfunction all the time, I’m sure I’ve heard
stories of them killing entire families. It’s not like they’re
really human.”
“I
can put you on mute, you know,” Roe warned.
“The
technology in here is so old,” Paul said, stretching out.
“He’s
the Marshal,” Roe said. “And if you keep talking, I’m
going to get a bucket and throw something nasty over you.”
Paul
levelled his gaze at her, reptilian eyes unblinking. “Your
entire family will die at my hands.”
“Unlikely,”
Roe said. “You’ll be shipped off world for trial.”
“I
don’t think so.”
“Give
it a rest, Paul,” Roe said. “I’m getting fed up
with you.”
Paul
opened his mouth, but closed it again, the vocoder emitting a burst
of white noise.
“Thank-you,”
she said.
The
Threshian looked up at the ceiling, scraping his claws, one against
the other. “I can be reasonable Roe, help me out of here and
you’ll be handsomely rewarded. My uncle has a lot of money he
doesn’t spend. You could spend it for him.”
Roe
suddenly found herself laughing. “Paul, do you realise, you’ve
spent the last two days insulting me and threatening me, and this
never occurred to you? Why didn’t you just offer me a bribe in
the first place?”
The
Threshian swung himself smoothly into a sitting position. “So
you’ll let me go?”
Roe
continued to laugh. “No, but you have cheered me up.”
“Humans,”
Paul intoned. “I will kill you, Roe.”
Still
smiling, Roe stepped down from her stool. “Excuse me, Paul, I
just have to go and find that bucket.”
*
Jon
was sitting against the wall when Roe found him, his rifle aimed
lazily at the gap in the door. He smiled briefly when he saw her, but
it was a forced smile. Roe sat down beside him.
“You
should be downstairs,” he said without looking at her.
“I’ve
done my fair share, thank-you. It’s your turn.
“OK,”
he said, and began to struggle to his feet.
She
put her hand on his, stopping him. “Hey, I didn’t mean
it. What’s wrong? What did he do?”
“Well,”
Jon said. “He left, said he had some personal business to
attend to.”
Roe
frowned. “He just left?”
“Well,
first of all I told him that he wasn’t my father. I would never
consider him to be my father, and that my father was upstairs.”
“He
went upstairs?”
“Couldn’t
resist, I guess. I told him about the Jopo addiction. He didn’t
want to believe me.”
Roe
pursed her lips. “So now, he’s just gone? Did he even
take a communicator?”
“Do
we still have those?” Jon asked.
“Jon,”
she said. “He doesn’t have Espirnet.”
“Oh,
I think he’ll be back,” Jon said. “He just has to
work it out.”
“What
do you mean?”
Jon
turned to face her. “After my mother died, Dad was very angry.
Sometimes I thought he’d explode. Whenever that happened, he’d
head out, a man on a mission. The next day, the cells would have a
few extra lodgers.”
“You
think that’s happening now?”
Jon
nodded. “He may not be my father, but I know him.”
Roe
sighed, “as if we don’t have enough
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