Once Upon a Pet Show (A Redpoint One Romance) (5 page)

Finally, Zane said, "You still
here?"

The bot chirped back in answer. A short and
abrupt chirp, as if answering an obvious question.

"Haven't seen him in a while," Arthur said in
a subdued tone.

"Probably pouting after I left instead of
finding a good new recruit to follow." Zane glared down at the bot,
folding his arms over his chest. "Fine. So be it. You can help me
while I figure out what is going on."

The bot gave a happy whistle and raced in one
full circle around Zane's feet before coming to a stop next to him.
Damien almost laughed at the adoring glances the bot kept giving
Zane.

Yeah, the bots chose their people to follow,
and very little put them off. Nor did they seem to forget. Damien
glanced back at the back rooms to find his bot along with several
others at the entrance of the hall watching the scene before
them.

"We're all glad to have you here," Arthur
said. He stopped Vasiliy at the door before the man could fully
enter the maintenance platform. "You have Shay. See if he has any
aptitude in your area."

"The newbie?" Vasiliy glanced between Shay and
Zane. "And Zane's here? Have the newbie follow him around a bit.
Zane knew right where I belonged."

"Zane is here for a specific reason," Arthur
said before anything else could be said. "Shay is with
you."

"Fine."

Damien smothered a smile. While the rest of
them may like apprentices and others in their department, the man
preferred to work alone. Considering he was able to keep his
department running smooth over-all, no one complained about
it.

"I hope to keep my visit to a minimum. Find
the problem and head out," Zane said as he glanced over the
maintenance platform.

Words Damien didn't particularly like to hear,
but then he'd never contemplated living anywhere else than Redpoint
One after he'd arrived. Leave? Leave the bots? Unthinkable, and yet
Zane had done so. Left over five years ago never to return once for
a visit.

"Head out? After you only just arrived?" a
female voice demanded.

Now, he knew that voice by heart. Despite
suggesting to Arthur they should invite the Naughty Knitter's Club
to search for more recruits, that didn't mean he wanted to be
around when they were up to any mischief.

Damien spun around and headed for the back. He
grabbed his lunch and called for his bot as he headed into the back
rooms. When he came back out, all three women of the Naughty
Knitter's Club were still taking turns hugging Zane, ignoring his
stiff posture.

Good reason to leave right now before they
announced why there were here. Plus, eating lunch with the smell
permeating the room did nothing for his appetite. Several of the
others felt the same way and were already heading out with their
own lunches. Shay and Vasiliy were already long gone.

"You must come for a visit," Velda was saying
as Damien headed across the room towards the double-wide front
door. Just a little further and he would be in the
clear.

"I'm here to work, ladies," Zane said, his
deep voice carrying well through the room.

"After being gone so long? One would think you
didn't want to be here," Daisy said. She missed Zane's small jerk
because of looking at Eddie as she added, "We should have a small
party at the Northstar B&B. We could invite a few of the
old-timers."

"Ladies, we need him for the station," Arthur
said, putting himself between Zane and Daisy, who was reaching up
for another hug. "Or have you not noticed that we've had a few
things go wrong?"

"Right. Like what happened to Rachel," Eddie
said, elbowing Daisy.

"Or this smell?" Velda put her hands on her
hips and glared at Arthur. "Can't you do something about this? It
ruined my dinner party for the new guests last night."

Damien hugged the other side of the door,
helping to guide the cart out of the room with his bot's
help.

"As I said, he's here for the station," Arthur
said.

But, Zane wasn't paying attention. He was
looking up at the ceiling with the odd look on his face that Damien
recognized. The expression that told anyone who knew him that he
was listening to the station.

Even though Damien was on the other side of
the group and able to easily escape, he paused. Just like he would
have done in the old days.

"Yeah, It's good I'm here. I may not want to
be, but something is happening." The words stopped the conversation
between the three women and Arthur. Zane nodded, his expression
clearing as he looked down at the bot still by his side. The bot
looked right back up, waiting silently. "The station is
uneasy."

"What does that mean?" Velda
demanded.

"Fix the smell first," Daisy
pleaded.

"Wait, maybe Zane can help us with the other
problem. Don't forget why we came down here," Eddie
said.

But, Zane was already walking towards the back
of the maintenance platform, with Arthur keeping the women engaged
so they couldn't follow. Or, at least, he was trying.

Damien took his escape. He would find out the
details later, when it was safer from the club's
meddling.

***

Vallory tried to remind herself that finding
success with the very first meeting since arriving would be too
good to be true. So, why was she so disappointed at the end of
it?

The rare-animal breeder and rescuer had been
quite open when looking at the list of requirements and telling her
his home area would not be suitable. Quick, simple, and he'd had a
few suggestions on other people to talk to. A lot of good came out
of the short meeting, she tried to remind herself.

Yet, all Vallory's mind could focus on was
that she hadn't found a place for her daubpups yet. She had to go
back to their enclosure to tell them that she didn't have a new
home for them. Never mind that they wouldn't understand what she
had to tell them. The point was she still would.

She so much wanted good news. She'd burned all
her resources getting the creatures to Redpoint One. What would
happen to them if she couldn't accomplish her goal?

The very thought set her stomach to roiling
again. Something else she didn't need.

She showed her pass at the gate. The guard
took one look and waved her in. The grounds of the Exotic Pet Show
were empty, with the artificial sky above dimming into twilight.
Tomorrow the areas between the buildings would fill with people.
Some looking for new pets, some curious, some to attend the
seminars, some buyers, some importers/exporters, and others who
just enjoyed pets. From the attendance figures from last year, the
place would be hard to walk through.

Her buildings even more so. Which brought up
another worry to keep her up that night. Hoping the daubpups
wouldn't mind so many people around them all day long.

The building with her enclosure turned out
more busy than she expected. Of course, new people and their
animals were still arriving, and would be even tomorrow morning
before the gates opened.

Vallory ducked out the door and headed for
another door further down the building. From that point, she wove
around the standing groups of people to get to her own
enclosure.

At first she thought the other breeders were
just visiting. The old-timers catching up the night before the
official start of the pet show.

But, that didn't explain the tense expressions
and voices. Then she heard, "What good is security if this happens
right under their noses?"

A familiar voice, too. Ms. Mishley shifted
from one foot to the next, glancing down to the far end of the
building while adding, "I don't recall this ever happening
before."

"Shouldn't happen. Need to solve this if they
want all of us to come back," a bald man said. Vallory recognized
him as a breeder just down from her own enclosure. The name finally
came to Vallory. Noah Pyman, the one breeding the miniature dogs
with the silky coats of long golden hair.

"Why? What happened," Vallory asked, glancing
down towards her own pets. This would be a good test for the
daubpups, to see how they did with so many other people around. She
should go down and count them, just to make sure they were all
accounted for.

"Oh, where have you been?" Ms. Mishley asked.
"Didn't you hear?"

"I had a meeting," Vallory said. "What
happened again?"

"A pet-napping, that's what," Mr. Pyman said
with disgust. "Right in the middle of set-up before the show even
opens."

"And no one saw it happen," Ms. Mishley
whispered to Vallory. "And some of us were even around when it
supposedly happened."

"The committee will answer for this. They
better find those cats fast," Mr. Pyman said loud enough for the
words to echo in their part of the building.

Cats? Then her daubpups were safe.

Or were they? They probably were, but her
heart still skipped fast.

"Excuse me," Vallory said, and ducked away
before Ms. Mishley could continue her gossiping. The woman would
talk for hours with something like this to spur her on.

She had animals to check up on. After all, if
one group of pets were gone, there might be others. Did anyone
think to check all the other enclosures in the same
building.

Getting through the crowds slowed her down,
but her heart raced as if she'd run a marathon. Enclosure after
enclosure of rare breeds of small pets, but none of them hers. Each
enclosure with animals in them. That must be a good sign,
right?

Her "excuse me" and "pardon me" lines became
more terse and frantic as she pushed her way through the groups of
people. Didn't they know others would need to get through? Others
as worried as her?

Her breath came out in short frantic puffs as
she finally came to a stop in front of the right
enclosure.

To find both Penny and Clementine sitting at
the front, as if waiting for her arrival.

The relief was tempered by the realization
that the two were watching everything outside. All the people
talking or going back and forth. Their ears angled forward and they
sat up straight on their haunches. Two of the others moved to the
front of the enclosure to adopt the same pose.

They were a little too interested. Enough they
might want to come out to investigate.

"Please, vacate the area if you are not
involved in the investigation," Vallory heard someone say in a loud
authoritative voice. "We have brought in additional security
personnel. Your pets are safe."

Vallory heard some of the pet owners question
that. If she were them, she might also. If she didn't have daubpups
as her 'pets.' After all, a daubpup wouldn't stay where they didn't
want to be. They'd proven that more than once.

"Please, stay inside," Vallory whispered at
them. "Just for a little while longer."

Penny cocked her head at her before going back
to watching the show of the people around the enclosure. Vallory
got the point. The other people were more interesting than
her.

She settled herself on her knees. This would
be a long night if she needed to stay in order for them to feel
comfortable enough to settle down. But, she would do it if needed.
She'd already put the rest of her life on hold for the
creatures.

"Oh, I'm sure they'll find the missing
creatures," Ms. Mishley said as she walked past Vallory on the
other side of the aisle. "Redpoint One has excellent scanners at
all the docks."

"It wouldn't be the first time smugglers
transported animals through tight spaceports," the deeper voice of
Mr. Pyman said.

"But, an alien spaceport?"

Their voices faded out, to mingle with the
other conversations in the room. Other groups started moving, as
well. The daubpups watched it all, their heads rotating as they
followed one person after another as they walked by.

"Eat a little something," Vallory said through
the screen of the smaller feeding door. "Go to sleep."

The daubpups paid her no mind. Not even when
she opened the door to reach in. Usually, a few would come over for
a few scratches. This time, not a one gave up their position along
the front of the enclosure.

Vallory finally closed the door and tried to
make herself as comfortable as she could on the hard cold floor. At
least they weren't trying to leave the enclosure. It was a small
blessing.

"Please, clear the building for the night. We
are shutting down," a voice announced through the PA
system.

But, the people in the building were already
well on their way out. The large aisle in front of the enclosure
was almost empty, with the people now congregated near the
doorways.

With the lack of outside interest, the line of
daubpups started to break up. Two of them came over to the feeding
door and demanded attention. Clementine got to her feet and headed
towards the piles of straw. She rooted out the center of a nest and
rearranged until it was just right.