Ganymede (The Clockwork Century 3)

She smiled. “It’s just as well. So!” She made a show of standing up and changing the subject as she changed her position. “Do you think it’s safe to go down there and take your pictures? Collect your samples?”

He stood quietly, squinting out into the darkness, toward the gas lamps and their stretched shadows, and the river with its shimmering moonlight, and the stars that gave no light at all—but plenty of ambience. He said, “I don’t hear anything else coming. Do you?”

“No. I don’t. ”

“Then how about we start with these, and you keep a lookout while I do my business. Are you all right with that? Don’t worry, you won’t be doing a damn thing to help Texas. I promise you, Texas isn’t listening to me. Yet. ”

“I don’t mind playing lookout. As long as you don’t mind losing tonight. ”

“Losing?”

“You’re still down by one. ”

“I told you, there are still more of these things farther down the river. ”

“You also told me you’re short on plates. ” She strolled to the ladder, built into the side of the cargo container, and began to descend it. “And the night is growing late, Ranger Korman. I have a business to run. And God knows, I have some sleep to catch up on. ”

He made another one of his patented grumbling noises and said, “Fine. Let me get these bastards squared away, and we’ll see how late it’s really gotten. We can always pick up where we left off later. We’ll just say the score’s been put on hold. ”

“Will we, now?”

“Yes,” he said, looking down at her, for she’d reached the street level and was a few feet below him.

She noticed him looking down the top of her dress, but did not bother to cover herself, or pretend she hadn’t seen him looking. All she said was, “Call it how you like it. I won tonight. ”

“It’s whoever shoots best for the week,” he insisted.

“The week?”

“Yes, the week. It’s only Thursday. We’ll start again tomorrow night, and see who’s on top come Sunday morning. ”

“You’re a filthy heathen of a man, aren’t you?” she asked him, watching as he turned around and began his own descent to the knotted, bleached boards of the pier. And to her.

“Ma’am, you don’t know the half of it. ”