“Oh, your list. It’s right here. ” He removed three of them from his pocket, selected hers, and gave it back to her.
“Thanks. I’ll be right back. Since it doesn’t look like I’m holding you up, or anything. ”
“No, ma’am. Take your time. ”
Kirby stood beside the captain, watching Mercy retreat to the station house—or the building that would become a station house if Cly had anything to say about it. The engineer said, “Fine figure of a woman, there. ”
“How can you tell? She’s wearing a mask. ”
“Not talking about her face, sir. She looks strong. I like that. ”
“You like them taller than you?”
“If I stuck to the ones who were shorter than me, I’d never have any fun at all. ”
Cly shrugged. “She’s young. But not so young that people would talk. ”
“Are you saying I should have a word with her?”
“I’m saying if you did, it wouldn’t be a scandal. But there are two things you should know first. ”
“I’ll start counting. ”
“First,” said the captain. “She’s been married before. ”
“Widowed?”
“Her husband died in the war. ”
“And what’s number two?” Troost asked.
“Number two is her father. If you decide to have a word with her, you’d best do it while he’s still on crutches. ”
“Is he a big man?”
“Yup. ”
Kirby Troost said, “Good. They’re the easiest kind to outrun. ” And then, as Yaozu strolled into the compound area he added, “Men like that one, on the other hand…”
As was so often the case, the lord and master of King Street Station was dressed in white except for his shoes—making him easy to recognize, even in a mask that obscured his face. He moved ghostlike through the foggy gas, which thickened and thinned in clumps around him, parting for his passage.
“Captain Cly,” he said. “I trust Houjin gave you my requests?”
“Got ’em right here,” he said, patting the vest pocket where all his lists went. “Some of this will take some looking for, but I’ll scare it up. ”
“Of that I have no doubt. But there’s still the matter of how you’ll pay for it. I’m certain your credit is good from coast to coast, but money speaks louder than reputation, and some of my requests are expensive. ” After reaching into the folds of his long pale jacket, he extracted a pouch. “This should cover everything, with some to spare. And you’ll find the second half of your fee when you return. Now, at the risk of making a sudden shift in conversation, is this your new crewman? I understand that Ro
dimer died last year. ”
“That’s right. ” Cly answered both questions at once. “This is my new engineer,” he said, indicating Troost.
“You seem … very familiar to me,” Yaozu said, squinting through his visor at the smaller man, who squinted back through his own.
Troost said, “Can’t say we’ve ever met. It’s hard to tell with these masks. ”
“You’re right, of course. Still, there’s something about you. Whatever it is, it reminds me of someone I met years ago, in a desert town called Reno. ”
“Never been there. ”