Beyond the Blue Moon (Forest Kingdom Novels) by Simon R. Green Page A

of them looked around to see the commander of the DeWitts’ private guards. He crashed to a halt before them, and took it in turns to favor each of them with his glare. Big, broad, and muscular, he would have looked really impressive and menacing if he hadn’t been wearing the DeWitt official private guard uniform. Banana yellow with bloodred piping, topped with a rich purple cloak. He looked very much like a bruise on legs. Hawk and Fisher had to bite their lips.
    “Hello, Commander Foy,” said Mistique. “Love the outfit.”
    “Trust me,” said Fisher. “You are entirely alone in that.”
    “I think my retinas are burning out,” said Hawk.
    “Hush,” said Fisher. “What do you want with us, Foy?”
    “Commander Foy! I run things here, and don’t you forget it!” He glared at Hawk and Fisher, who still couldn’t meet his eyes. The commander sniffed loudly. “The DeWitts understand that this is not the kind of work the city Guard are used to undertaking. So, to … sweeten the medicine, the DeWitts have most kindly authorized me to assure all of you that there will be a substantial bonus, to be paid at the end of the day. A very substantial bonus.”
    “Bribe money,” said Fisher. “Why am I not surprised?”
    “We’re not taking it,” said Hawk.
    “Hold everything,” said Fisher immediately. “We haven’t heard how much it is yet.”
    “We don’t need their blood money,” said Hawk.
    “Hey, we’re going to be doing the work anyway, and you can bet no one else will turn it down.”
    “We’re not taking it!” Hawk yelled.
    Fisher looked at Foy. “We’re not taking it. But I’ll bet we’re the only ones.”
    “No bet,” said yet another voice, close at hand. This turned out to be Constable Murdoch. He and his younger brother patrolled the docks. Hawk and Fisher knew them vaguely, from cooperating on a few cases together. The older brother was currently standing face-to-face with Commander Foy, glaring right into the man’s eyes, while his younger brother stood impassively at his side, as always. “I’m not taking any part in this, and neither is my brother,” said Murdoch. “We’re local. Grew up in the Devil’s Hook. Our dad worked the docks till the strain of it killed him. Some of those strikers are our friends and neighbors and family. We’ll not raise a hand against them.” He glared at Commander Foy. “We’re not the only ones, either. Your bosses don’t have enough money to make us fight our own kind. Not over something like this.”
    “It may not come to fighting,” said Hawk. “If we’re a strong enough presence …”
    “They’ll fight,” said Murdoch. “You know they’ll fight. They’ve nothing else left.”
    “We’re the law,” Hawk said slowly. “We’re not supposed to choose which laws we’ll uphold, and which we won’t.”
    Murdoch snorted. “That’s rich, coming from you, Captain. Everyone knows your reputation. You bend and break the law every day.”
    “In pursuit of justice.”
    “Where’s the justice here?” said Murdoch. He turned to his brother. “Come on. We’re leaving.”
    “And if they fire you?” said Fisher.
    Murdoch shrugged calmly. “Then we’ll join the striking dockers. And the next time there’s trouble here, and you can bet there’ll be a next time, the faces you see over raised weapons might just be ours. What will you do then, Captains?”
    He didn’t wait for an answer. The Murdoch brothers made their way out of the courtyard, and no one tried to stop them. But no one else followed them. Commander Foy started to say something cutting, and then the words died in his mouth as Hawk gave him a hard look. Foy decided he had urgent business elsewhere, and went off to look for it, trying not to hurry too obviously. Fisher sniffed, and took her hand away from her sword. She looked at Hawk.
    “Murdoch had a point. Where is the justice in what we’re doing here?”
    “I don’t know,” said Hawk, and suddenly he