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Eighteen

The computer console was first-class just like everything else in their suite. Chips cracked his knuckles experimentally as he sat down in front of it. He wore a big grin as he brought the first screen up and entered the system. To him this was an electronic jungle in which he was the skilled explorer avoiding all manner of dangers and steadily closing in on the hidden treasure.

McCade checked the door to make sure it was locked and sat down across from Neem. The power lounger sighed softly as it adjusted to his body and radiated a gentle warmth. McCade plucked a cigar from a nearby humidor and puffed it into life. When he spoke it was through a cloud of smoke. "How much does this suite cost per rotation anyway?"

Neem, shrugged as he turned up the heat on his power lounger. "As you humans would say, it beats me. Since I don't plan to pay, I never asked."

Nonpayment of bills. One more offense added to our growing list of crimes, McCade thought to himself. Well, why not? What's another crime more or less when you've already broken every law short of murder?

"So," McCade said, waving his cigar to include the entire room. "Perhaps you'd be kind enough to explain how we came to be here?"

The tip of Neem's tail had slipped up and out of his coat collar. It signaled his agreement. "As things turned out, your departure from Spin triggered an unfortunate series of events. As you'll recall, I was supposed to monitor the ship's sensors in case of trouble. So there I was, monitoring my life away as you were taken aboard the pirate ship. 'So far so good,' I said to myself as your vessel lifted, 'Sam is on his way.'

"Reba came out of the dome shortly thereafter and I opened the main lock to let her in." The Il Ronnian shook his head sadly. "It was a mistake to trust her, Sam. You should have left her on Imantha."

"Oh, really?" McCade inquired dryly. "Wasn't it Teeb who sent her along? And you too for that matter?"

"Let's not quibble over details," Neem replied loftily. "The point is that your treacherous female pulled a blaster on me and forced me off the ship."

McCade raised an eyebrow. "You're in surprisingly good shape for a corpse."

"The female did allow me a breathing unit," Neem conceded, "but that was her only kindness. The moment I was clear of the ship she lifted."

McCade felt a moment of grief. He'd grown attached to the little ship and hated to lose her. Still, a ship is a ship, and not very important when compared to the big picture. Or so he told himself. It didn't seem to help much.

"So what then?"

"So there I was," Neem said dramatically, "cast adrift on the uncharted sea of an alien culture, unable to enter what little shelter there was, and vulnerable to whatever predators might happen along."

"Please," McCade responded, "spare me the sob story. You found a way off Spin or you wouldn't be here."

"Yes," Neem agreed shamelessly, "utilizing my tremendous resourcefulness I found a way to escape the terrible predicament you left me in. Do you remember the small tug?"

McCade thought back to their landing on Spin. He remembered the DE, a freighter, and, yes, a small tug. "Yeah?"

"I stole it," Neem said proudly. "I waited in the shadows near the tug's lock for the crew to approach. Time passed, and with each second that ticked by, my precious supply of oxygen became smaller and smaller."

McCade groaned. "Please, spare me the melodrama."

Neem ignored the interruption. "Then, just when my breathing device was almost empty of life-giving oxygen I saw them. Two humans approaching the tug. Even though I was gasping my last breath I waited for the first one to palm the lock before I hit the second one over the head. It took two blows because the first one hit the forward edge of his breathing device and bounced off.

"Having heard the disturbance, the first human turned and came to the second one's assistance. Such was my speed and skill that I was able to disable him as well, dragging both clear of the tug's repellors prior to entering the ship and taking off."

McCade had conflicting emotions. Having your ship stolen out from under you was about the worst thing that could happen short of death itself, and to have it happen on a planet as desolate as Spin, well that made the situation even worse.

On the other hand he couldn't help but admire Neem's resourcefulness, especially since the Il Ronnian was the human equivalent of a college professor. "I'm amazed, Neem . . . it was a nice piece of work."

"Thanks, Sam, I'm kind of proud of it myself. I'm not much of a pilot as you know, but the tug was equipped with automatics, and having had some experience with Pegasus, I had little difficulty getting into space."

"And then?"

Neem's tail assumed a posture of doubt. "Then I didn't know what to do. I checked the tug's computer and found coordinates for the Rock, but based on what you'd told me, I knew I wouldn't get past the weapons platforms.

"I'm ashamed to say that I was just about to run home with my tail between my legs, a rather strange saying for you humans to have by the way, when I stumbled across the answer.

"As I entered the new course into the tug's computer it asked me if I really wanted to enter a new set of coordinates or use the last ones instead. Just out of curiosity I asked what the last ones were. Well, I couldn't believe my eyes when the coordinates flashed on the screen."

"Your next destination was the Rock," McCade guessed.

"Don't be silly," Neem replied tartly. "I was lucky, but not that lucky. No, the next destination was the Asod Cluster." Neem paused dramatically. "To tow a disabled ore barge to guess where?"

"The Rock," McCade said, exhaling a long, thin stream of smoke.

Neem's tail drooped. "You guessed."

"Sorry," McCade said unsympathetically. "So you went to the Asod Cluster. Then what?"

"It was fairly simple after that," the Il Ronnian admitted somewhat reluctantly. "Thanks to the ship's automatics I was able to assist two other tugs in pulling the barge out of orbit. We locked all four vessels together via tractor beams and made a synchronized hyperspace jump."

McCade winced at the thought. It was a common practice but it was damned dangerous. One miscalculation, one hyperdrive slightly out of phase with the others, and all four ships would be lost. Blown up? Forever adrift in hyperspace? No one knew for sure, and McCade had no desire to find out.

"So," Neem added matter-of-factly, "once we cleared hyperspace it was simple. The pirates were expecting us so we sailed right past the weapons platforms. Then we placed the barge in orbit, landed for refueling, and went our separate ways.

"By then I was determined to take Reba's place and obtain your freedom. A disguise seemed in order and it was a simple matter to cut up three of the tug's spacesuits and construct a somewhat exotic-looking alien. I thought the extra arms were especially effective, didn't you?"

"A nice touch," McCade agreed dryly as he stubbed out his cigar. "I owe you one, Neem. A big one."

"Yes, slave, you certainly do," Neem replied through a big grin. "And the next time I purchase slaves, remind me to go for quality rather than quantity."

"How did you pay for us anyway?" McCade asked. "And why buy four instead of one?"

Neem gave a good imitation of a human shrug. "I had some time to kill during the hyperspace shift from the Asod Cluster to the Rock. I used it to crack the tug's safe. When I got the safe open I found a thick wad of credits inside. It was as simple as that.

"Once on the Rock I donned my disguise, took a taxi to the hotel where my other two slaves are still under lock and key, and waited for the auction.

One rotation later it started, and not wanting to seem too interested in any one human, I bought four. The rest is, as you humans would say, history."

"Paydirt!" The voice belonged to Chips. "They've got one helluva good system, I'll give them that, but not good enough to foil old Chips! I went around their blocks, defeated their traps, and fooled their tracers. In a few moments you'll have a printout of all the loot taken from Il Ronnian space within one standard week of the date you gave me. Complete with description, estimated value, and final disposition. Then all we gotta do is grab the vial and haul ass.

"That's great!" McCade said, jumping to his feet. "Chips, you're a genius."

The small charge went off with a loud cracking sound and the triple locked door flew open. A small army of armored police rushed in and took up positions around the room.

They didn't say anything. They didn't have to. Their drawn weapons said it all. McCade, Chips, and Neem all froze without being told.

Smoke billowed, eddied, and was sucked toward the nearest vent. That's when Reba stepped into the room and smiled. "Hello, Sam. Greetings, Neem. I couldn't help but overhear that last comment via the bug in the ventilator. Chips is many things . . . but a genius isn't one of them."

McCade treated Chips to a withering look.

The little man spread his hands apologetically and said, "Ooops."

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