as I wondered what he was talking about. “And what are you going to do when you find it?”
“It must be destroyed.”
“Like you destroyed the Human female back in Manhattan?” I asked. “Why did you kill her, anyway? Too heavy to take with you?”
“The Abomination must be destroyed,” he repeated, ignoring my questions. “For once, Compton, you and I will agree on this. You will want it destroyed as well as I.”
Another tingle tickled the back of my neck. False sincerity was a dollar a ton in this business, but there was something about the Modhri’s expression that half inclined me to believe him. “An interesting assumption,” I said. “You really believe that?”
“I do,” he said firmly
“In that case, let me make you a counteroffer,” I said. “ You back off, and let me find it.”
His sag-faced expression actually shifted a bit. Surprise? Suspicion? “Why?” he asked.
“For one thing, because I’m the one offering the deal,” I said. “For another, I’m better at finding things than you are.” I cocked my head. “Or hasn’t your particular mind segment caught up with the news of the past few weeks?”
The Modhri shifted his gaze to Bayta. “I am aware of those events.”
“Good,” I said. “Really does save time when everyone’s up to speed. Is it a deal?”
His eyes searched my face, shifted again to Bayta, then came back to me. “It is,” he said. “I will accompany you to the Tube and pass on word of our new agreement.”
“You can pass it on later, after we’re on our way” I gestured back toward the Customs area. “Speaking of being on one’s way…?”
“It would be a gesture of good faith,” he said, not budging. “On your part as well as mine.”
“I said no,” I told him, dipping my hand into my pocket and getting a grip on the kwi . “Don’t make me insist.”
“Violence will not help you,” he pointed out calmly. “Not now. If you had shot all my Eyes when they stood together by the Customs counter, you might have achieved something. But not now. Not when another of my Eyes can immediately call the pilot and alert him that there is a madman loose in the station.”
I grimaced. But he was right. As soon as I realized the clerk was a walker, I should have zapped the whole bunch of them unconscious.
But wild and possibly indiscriminate shooting wasn’t a good idea even at the best of times, not even with a nonlethal weapon. Besides, I couldn’t have been sure there weren’t more walkers lurking elsewhere among the station’s personnel and guests.
For that matter, I still couldn’t. “So I have to zap the pilot, too,” I said, wondering why I was even bothering to run with this bluff. “I can fly the shuttle myself if I have to.”
He gave me a faint smile. “Come now, Compton,” he chided. “Do you really wish to draw that kind of attention to yourself? Besides, what would it gain you?”
“Apart from the satisfaction, it would let us start our trip with a little peace and quiet,” I said.
“Is that your concern?” he said. “Very well, then. As I said: a gesture of good faith.” He nodded behind him. “Shall I bring you your luggage?”
“If you’d like,” I said.
Actually, there wasn’t anything in the carrybags except some tablecloths we’d scrounged from the server Spiders in our last train’s dining car. Our clothing and other personal items were currently in plastic bags in the stationmaster’s office, along with my allegedly missing lockbox.
Still, as long as the play was blown anyway, we might as well have our bags back.
“Frank?” Bayta murmured tautly.
“I don’t like it either,” I conceded. “But there isn’t much we can do about it. The station has a crew of probably twenty or thirty, at least some of whom are probably walkers. We can’t take down everyone, and it would be lunacy to try.”
“Besides, there’s no need,” the Modhri added. “For the moment, at least, we have a common
“It must be destroyed.”
“Like you destroyed the Human female back in Manhattan?” I asked. “Why did you kill her, anyway? Too heavy to take with you?”
“The Abomination must be destroyed,” he repeated, ignoring my questions. “For once, Compton, you and I will agree on this. You will want it destroyed as well as I.”
Another tingle tickled the back of my neck. False sincerity was a dollar a ton in this business, but there was something about the Modhri’s expression that half inclined me to believe him. “An interesting assumption,” I said. “You really believe that?”
“I do,” he said firmly
“In that case, let me make you a counteroffer,” I said. “ You back off, and let me find it.”
His sag-faced expression actually shifted a bit. Surprise? Suspicion? “Why?” he asked.
“For one thing, because I’m the one offering the deal,” I said. “For another, I’m better at finding things than you are.” I cocked my head. “Or hasn’t your particular mind segment caught up with the news of the past few weeks?”
The Modhri shifted his gaze to Bayta. “I am aware of those events.”
“Good,” I said. “Really does save time when everyone’s up to speed. Is it a deal?”
His eyes searched my face, shifted again to Bayta, then came back to me. “It is,” he said. “I will accompany you to the Tube and pass on word of our new agreement.”
“You can pass it on later, after we’re on our way” I gestured back toward the Customs area. “Speaking of being on one’s way…?”
“It would be a gesture of good faith,” he said, not budging. “On your part as well as mine.”
“I said no,” I told him, dipping my hand into my pocket and getting a grip on the kwi . “Don’t make me insist.”
“Violence will not help you,” he pointed out calmly. “Not now. If you had shot all my Eyes when they stood together by the Customs counter, you might have achieved something. But not now. Not when another of my Eyes can immediately call the pilot and alert him that there is a madman loose in the station.”
I grimaced. But he was right. As soon as I realized the clerk was a walker, I should have zapped the whole bunch of them unconscious.
But wild and possibly indiscriminate shooting wasn’t a good idea even at the best of times, not even with a nonlethal weapon. Besides, I couldn’t have been sure there weren’t more walkers lurking elsewhere among the station’s personnel and guests.
For that matter, I still couldn’t. “So I have to zap the pilot, too,” I said, wondering why I was even bothering to run with this bluff. “I can fly the shuttle myself if I have to.”
He gave me a faint smile. “Come now, Compton,” he chided. “Do you really wish to draw that kind of attention to yourself? Besides, what would it gain you?”
“Apart from the satisfaction, it would let us start our trip with a little peace and quiet,” I said.
“Is that your concern?” he said. “Very well, then. As I said: a gesture of good faith.” He nodded behind him. “Shall I bring you your luggage?”
“If you’d like,” I said.
Actually, there wasn’t anything in the carrybags except some tablecloths we’d scrounged from the server Spiders in our last train’s dining car. Our clothing and other personal items were currently in plastic bags in the stationmaster’s office, along with my allegedly missing lockbox.
Still, as long as the play was blown anyway, we might as well have our bags back.
“Frank?” Bayta murmured tautly.
“I don’t like it either,” I conceded. “But there isn’t much we can do about it. The station has a crew of probably twenty or thirty, at least some of whom are probably walkers. We can’t take down everyone, and it would be lunacy to try.”
“Besides, there’s no need,” the Modhri added. “For the moment, at least, we have a common
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