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Walter put the brochure down and popped the thing on the head oncehad become like another crewmember, soht about bopping it again when a largehis hands on his butt He s a good ti--"

"Listen, we’re not really open right now, and I’m pretty busy in the back, so why don’t I co so"

Walter watched a smile creep across Cat’s mouth--a mouth that didn’t see to help irl You seen anyone stop in?"

"Not a soul Been real quiet tonight Big rally over on the square and all Tell you what, I’ll keep an eye out and find you at the bar if I hear anything, okay?" He smiled at Cat, but his eyes darted over to Walter

"Yeah," Cat said "Sounds good Coh the door, pushing it open with his elbows Cat turned to Walter She squatted down to be on his level while theheavy boxes, ticking ite the duo warily

"Maybe we should head back to that ship of yours," Cat said to Walter

He shook his head and sniffed the air

"No? Whatcha thinking?"

"He’ss lying," Walter hissed quietly

Cat jerked her thumb at the door behind the counter "Paulie?"

Walter nodded "It issn’t a guesss," he said

Cat touched her nose "The Palan thing?"

He nodded again "It reekss in here," he said

ѻѻѻѻ

"Hey, Paulie, what did she want?"

The far worker’s voice throbbed in Molly’s ears, round noise to her cal asleep in the cockpit and feeling the thruh the hull More than that, actually More like being in the vacuuertips Her fingertips were tingling

Molly couldn’t tell howwas from blood-loss, how much from fear, and how much from the meditation Her world had become a feeble set of inputs--dull and juuy say soet back to work All of it took place far away, seee ed his apron off her chest and draping it around his neck He fulanced down at the second bag

"What the flank?" he asked With both hands, he traced the tube fro for kinks

Molly shtly

The man must’ve noticed the twitch at the corner of her lips He reached down and grabbed her neck, bent over and brought his face close to hers He started to say soh a toothy sneer, but there was a crash at the other end of the rooain, louder, this time

Or ht fog began dissipating froain: her pulse Betraying her

ѻѻѻѻ

"Jesus," Cat said, looking out across the roorid of tables, the forms as still as the twofrourneys, saw the insulated cooler below a table staether She felt like she’d wandered into the back of a e

A short, bald guy with a beard ca Cat drove her fist into his trachea to shut hiive way under the blow, felt her knuckles iured she’d gone a little hard on him

The man collapsed in a quiet mound He just folded up on hiely still He weren’t the sort of guy she usually tangled with Part of her felt horrible for hiet hit like that Had it hurt? Or been done and over too quick?

Looking up, she sao men more her likable size: brutes with lots of muscle and oing on here?" She turned around and made sure the door to the front was closed, saw the Palan kid rushing over to check the bald guy "You goddauys for aprons splattered with brown smears of dried blood Except for Paulie’s His looked awful fresh

"Oh, hell, Cat, we’re just uy back "We can get you in on this if you want Guarantee it pays et yourself a real ass-whoopin’"

Cat scanned the room There were at least a dozen bodies in there, irl?" she asked

"Don’t know nothing about any girl Look, you’ve had a rough night Why don’t I give you enough coin for a few fights and you let us see to our friend over there"

"Why don’t we just flank her up?" the other guy asked