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"Everything okay, Michael?"

Rand was standing behind Dunk with two others, Fastau and Weir Rand was clutching a long wrench; the other two had lengths of pipe They were holding these implements in an offhand manner, as if they’d merely picked them up in the course of a day’s work

"Just a little ," Michael replied "How about it, Dunk? We don’t need to have a probleot ainst his throat "Fuck you"

Michael glanced over Dunk’s shoulder at Weir and Fastau "You two, go check on the stills, see what the situation is, then report back to me Got it?" He returned his attention to Dunk "Got this covered I’ you loud and clear"

"Twenty years I’ve had it with your bullshit This…hobby of yours"

"Totally understand your feelings I spoke out of turn New boilers up and running, no probles were going to go Finally, giving Michael a last hard shove against the bunker, Dunk backed away He turned toward Michael’s men and nailed them with a hard look

"You three should be more careful"

Michael withheld his coughing until Dunk was out of sight

"Jesus, Michael" Rand was staring at hi a bad day He’ll cool off You two, back to work Rand, you’re with o to the stills?"

"No, I don’t I’ll look in on theoad hiain He felt a little foolish, though on the other hand, the whole thing had been strangely gratifying It was nice when people were themselves "Have you seen Greer anywhere?"

"He took a launch up the channel thisday Michael alorried--Amy still tried to kill Greer every time--but the man took it in stride Except for Rand, who’d been with the, none of Michael’s s: As of blood that Greer dutifully delivered every sixty days

Rand glanced around "How long do you think we have before the virals coot to be close by now"

Michael shrugged

"It’s not that I’rateful We all are But people want to be ready"

"If they do their daone before it happens" Michael hitched his tool bag onto his shoulder "And for fucksake, will soo find Patch I don’t want to wait around all ed fro hi to his neck, too He’d never found the leak, either

But he would; he always did He would find it, and every other leak and rusty rivet and frayed wire in the Bergensfjord’s miles of cables and wires and pipes, and soon, in a e the batteries and test-fire the engines, and if all went as it should, they’d be ready Michael liked to i into the dock, the retaining wall opening, and the Bergensfjord, all twenty thousand tons of her, sliding gracefully from her braces into the sea

For two decades, Michael had thought of little else The trade had been Greer’s idea--a stroke of genius, really They needed money, a lot of it What did they have to sell? A ensfjord, Michael had found hi hall known as Cousin’s Place, sitting across a table from Dunk Withers Michael knew hi all conscience, driven by only theto him, because no one’s did But Michael’s reputation had preceded hiates were about to open; people would be flooding into the townships The opportunities were many, Michael pointed out, but did the trade possess the capacity todemand? What would Dunk say if Michael told him that he could triple--no, quadruple--his output? That he could also guarantee an uninterrupted flow of ammunition? And furthermore, what if Michael knew about a place where the trade could operate in complete safety, beyond the reach of the military or the domestic authority but with quick access to Kerrville and the townships? That, in suine?