Tanderon (39 page)

“You’re right,” she said, studying the matter seriously. “Yours is longer than mine.”

“I know it’ll be hard, but try your best to remember that we resent having to wear these things,” I advised dryly. “Work at looking surly when we go out.”

“It’ll be a struggle, but I think I might manage it,” she replied just as dryly, then shook her head to dismiss the silliness and added, “I wonder if Lammerly’s making anything for me to eat. We had an early breakfast and I’m hungry again.”

We went into the kitchen, and Lammerly was just about finished making something for all of us. He fumbled a pot when he saw me and didn’t bother to hide his grin, but I just dropped into a chair to wait for the food and ignored him. When we finished eating, we headed out.

This time we walked behind Lammerly, dragging our feet and almost snarling. He kept stopping to tell us to hurry up, but we stuck to the same slow pace. Teddy and I were passing some small, dirty stores when Lammerly looked back, saw how far behind we’d fallen, and turned around to retrace his steps to us.

“You two have been draggin’ long enough!” he said in a hard voice when he reached us. “You pick up your feet and move, or I’ll give you another taste of my belt right here! I didn’t mind doin’ it to get you into decent clothes, and I don’t mind doin’ it to get you movin’ right! You’re not out here lookin’ for customers!”

“Who’d want us in these rags?” Teddy asked bitterly, pulling at her fashion frock.

“Nobody’d better,” Lammerly returned with a dangerous edge to his tone as he started to open his belt. We looked at the belt and started to move faster, and the loafers from the dirty stores who had come out to watch the show laughed.

“That’s tellin’ ‘em, Alf!” one called as he scratched himself. “Show ‘em who’s boss.”

“Give it to ‘em anyways,” another called. “Save you some trouble later on.”

“Can’t now, Josh,” Lammerly called back. “Got to get a haircut and then get on with things. Been wastin’ enough time on these two.”

After supplying our reason for being out there like that Lammerly caught up with us, then led the way to a dingy barbershop that stood all by itself.

“You two stay out front by the window where I c’n see you,” he ordered when we reached it. “If you wander off, I’ll find you.”

He went inside after giving us individual hard looks, and we walked across the wooden boards to the window where he might have been able to see us through the dust. We had only been standing there a couple of minutes when five of the younger generation of male loafers came over. They made a semicircle around us, then snickered.

“Whata you two?” the leader asked with a lot of amusement. He wasn’t very big, but he had broad shoulders and a thick neck and chest. “Ya look like girls from the neck up, but the rest of ya must be pretty bad fer ya t’hide it like thet.”

I looked around casually and saw that I was almost to the end of the small window.

With that in mind I moved slowly until I was past it, then grinned at the group.

“I’ll show you what I am, but it’ll cost you to do more than look,” I purred, then opened that giant belt and simply tied it closed again around my waist. With that done, I began to pull the skirt of the dress up through the belt, using the tightness of the belt to keep the skirt from sliding down again. I took my time with the pulling, and when the skirt was above the middle of my thighs there wasn’t a sound from any of the five. They were too busy staring and breathing hard.

“I don’t think you oughta do that, Diana,” Teddy said nervously as she glanced around. “If he sees you he’ll kill you.”

“He’ll hafta catch me first,” I said, grinning at my audience. I also began to peel open the stay-tab on the front of the dress, and five pairs of eyes were glued to me.

“So you still ain’t learned!” a furious voice said from behind me, and Teddy and I spun around to see Lammerly not a foot away from us. I tried to run, but he grabbed my hair and pulled me back to where I’d been. Then he turned me around to face him, pulled the dress back down to its original length, and finally bent to throw me over his shoulder before straightening again.

“Put me down!” I yelled, pounding on his back as my former audience laughed. “I’m sick of this stinkin’ place and I’m sick of you!”

“You’re gonna be a lot sicker when I get you back to the house!” he countered, smacking me hard on the behind. “I’m gonna need a new belt when I’m finished with you!”

He grabbed Teddy’s arm and dragged her along while I squirmed and struggled and tried to keep from falling off on my head. Considering Lammerly’s size, it was a long way down to the ground. We got back to the house in half the time it had taken on the way out, and Lammerly slammed the door closed behind us.

“Nice going, Diana,” he said as he put me down. “Half the town must have seen that act, so they won’t wonder where you are when I finish Teddy’s tour. When they find out you’ve both run away, they’ll just grin and nod in understanding.”

“Thanks for the applause,” I acknowledged, looking at him with less than friendliness. “I’d just like to know if you really had to hit me that hard. You’re no 90

pound weakling, you know.”

“I guess I got carried away,” he answered with innocence flowing out of every pore as he shrugged. “You don’t think I’d hit a senior agent on purpose, do you?”

“You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?” I asked straight out, already knowing the answer even before he grinned and shook his head. “Okay, in that case I’m going in to get some more rest and you can take your injured masculine pride out on Teddy for a while.”

Teddy glanced at me, then looked straight at Lammerly.

“I don’t care if he does,” she said quietly. “He’s been working very hard trying to help me, and I appreciate it.”

Lammerly turned to her and looked her over as though seeing her for the first time.

“Let’s sit down a talk for a while,” he said after a very brief hesitation. “We can get acquainted during the time I’m supposed to be beating the hell out of Diana. If the beating lasts a little longer than everyone expects, well, she deserves it.”

They went to the dilapidated old couch, and I smiled to myself as I returned to my

“bedroom.” Teddy did learn fast, and it looked like she would never be lonely. But when I thought about what lay ahead of her in Flowerville I no longer felt like smiling.

If there was any other way I would have chosen that instead of what I had, but this job was too important to let personal feelings mix in. Even if I let them mix in normally. I hoped she and Lammerly hit it off well enough so that she’d have some pleasant memories from it – since she was going to need them. I got rid of the dress, then lay down and tried to rest.

Teddy and Lammerly went out one last time, and when they got back I was awakened by Teddy’s crying. From what they said I gathered that she’d tried to give Lammerly an excuse for pushing her around too, but she’d gone too far and he’d had to use his belt on her right on the spot. As soon as the outside door was closed the scene became downright fascinating. Lammerly towered over her and apologized like a small boy who’d been naughty, and Teddy stood sobbing while comforting him and telling him it was all right. I stayed behind the door in my room, and when Lammerly took her gently to his own room, I went to put up some coffee.

I’d eaten long ago and had just about decided to call it a night when Lammerly came into the kitchen. He poured some of the still-hot coffee for himself, then sat down near me at the table.

“When are you leaving?” he asked too neutrally after sipping at the coffee.

“Before first light tomorrow morning,” I said, stretching a little. “We’ll take your ground car, and you can threaten your cousin George into replacing it.”

“He’d better do it quickly, too,” Lammerly said with a faint smile. “I can’t afford to let something like that go.”

“Ringer will have another ground car on its way to you in no time,” I said, deciding to notice his distraction out loud. “Would you like to tell me what’s bothering you?”

“Does she know what to expect in Flowerville?” he said, answering my question by not really answering it – and not quite looking at me.

“Not completely,” I admitted, hating to tell him that. “Not yet. But she’ll know by the time we get there. I can’t afford to let her be surprised.”

“Damn this business!” he growled, then got up to pace. “You never get a chance at a normal life!”

“Why don’t you quit then?” I countered as gently as I could.

He stopped pacing, picked up a chair, then slammed it down again.

“All right!” he ground out. “You’ve made your point, but I don’t have to like it! I’ll see that she’s ready on time to leave.”

He stalked out of the kitchen, but I heard him close the door to his room softly.

After another minute I went to my own room, then managed to go back to sleep.

Teddy was already waiting for me when I carried my bag out of my room early the next morning. She stood drinking some coffee, and when she saw me she gestured toward another mug standing on a table.

“I made it fresh myself,” she said lightly. “If you’re feeling brave, join me.”

“Danger means nothing to fearless agents like me,” I said, picking up the mug and taking a very tiny sip. It didn’t kill me on the spot, so I drank more of it before adding, “You’re looking very wide awake at this ungodly hour.”

“I had a very restful night,” she answered, a blandness in both tone and gaze. “What are the chances of coming back this way after the job is over?”

“The chances are great – if you plan to settle in permanently,” I told her after sipping again at the coffee. “Otherwise I wouldn’t advise it.”

She glanced toward Lammerly’s closed door after losing her amusement, then looked away again.

“Isn’t it time for us to leave yet?” she asked without any inflection.

“Past time,” I said, and traded the mug for my bag. We went out to Lammerly’s car and found that the keys weren’t there, but that made no difference. I located the ignition wires under the dashboard and the engine started quietly enough, but the deep silence all around magnified the sound incredibly – which made Teddy glance around nervously.

“Hurry up and let’s get out of here,” she said, obviously not joking. “I’d hate to have anyone catch us.”

I released the handbrake and put the car in forward gear, but let it coast until we were out of the driveway and down to the corner. Then I gave it some gas and we moved smoothly ahead. When we got to the highway to Flowerville, I really let it out.

“Why don’t you put it on automatic?” Teddy asked as the still gray scenery flashed by. “We have a long way to go.”

“This isn’t a hopper,” I answered, only glancing at her. “There is no automatic setting.”

“You can’t be serious!” she responded in a shocked tone. “How can they live like this?”

“They have no choice,” I said with a shrug. “They know how to build hoppers, but their raw materials supplies can’t handle it. They can’t produce some of the hopper components, so they build ground cars instead – mostly out of scavenged and reworked parts. If you think it’s bad now, wait until they can’t produce ground cars anymore. The greater part of the soil is contaminated, the mines are played out, their oil fields are almost gone, and the best brains around have moved on to other planets. Those people are walking ghosts, but they won’t admit it. Why were you so nervous about being caught? We just would have had to try again later.”

“I didn’t want to force Alf into having to use his belt again,” she said after making a face and rubbing gently at her right shoulder. “I like the way he apologizes, but when he’s hitting me he doesn’t hold back much.”

“He’s a good agent and knows how to stick to a role,” I said with an inner sigh for her unplanned field exercise. “When you have more experience you’ll know what to expect from another agent who’s playing a part, and then you’ll be able to decide how you should act. It’ll save you some bruises.”

“I’d better get that experience fast,” she muttered darkly. “I didn’t have to become an agent to get beaten. I could have stayed home for that.”

I let the comment go by the way she undoubtedly wanted me to, and we just drove on. Hours went by and Teddy slept for a while, but I was too keyed up to nap even if I could have. But when I saw a rundown diner in the distance I headed for it, needing a break to stretch out the stiffness driving so long had caused. Teddy woke up when the sound of the engine changed as I began to slow down, and she glanced around blearily.

“What’s that?” she asked, finally peering at the diner. “It looks like it’s about to fall apart.”

“It ain’t much, but it’s home,” I said, pulling up next to the only other car in front of it. “Or at least it’s home temporarily. There aren’t so many of these places that we can afford to pass it up. Let’s see what we can scrounge, sister.”

We got out of the car, and climbed the three broken steps to the door. I’d disconnected the ignition wires to turn off the car, then had put them back where they belonged. Anyone looking in would assume we had the keys with us, or at least they should. The door creaked when we opened it, and we stood just inside the doorway for a moment to let our eyes adjust to the gloom. There was a sloppy-looking woman in her late twenties standing behind the counter staring at us, and she snorted when she saw us looking around to find the rest of the place empty.

“Too bad,” she sneered in a lazy voice as she picked up the suggestion provided by the skimpy clothes we wore again. “If ya want anythin’, y’ll have t’ pay fer it yerself.”

“That’s life,” I answered with a shrug. “What’ve ya got that won’t poison us?”

“If y’re fussy ya c’n head fer the next place,” she said, wiping at her nose with the back of her hand. “It’s only ‘bout a hunnert miles away.”

“Thanks anyways, but we’ll take a chance,” I told her dryly. “Trot it on out.”

Teddy used the bathroom while I waited at the counter, then I used it while she waited. When I came out, I found that I could have waited longer. The mess on the plate the woman shoved at me would have made Pete’s cooking look good. I ate the mess anyway and so did Teddy, but we had to stop breathing while we did. Then we paid up with the local currency we’d gotten at Blue Skies and left, glad to get out of there.