so loud that they practically had to shout in each other’s ear to make themselves
understood, but Yvette was right-the nearest thing to private was being in the middle of a
noisy, uncaring crowd.
“You left me last time with an unanswered question between us,” he said. “You told me
you’d think about it, and that was several weeks ago. Have you come to any
conclusions,.
Yvette looked away from him and took a long deep sigh before answering. “I don’t want
you to think I’ve been avoiding you these past weeks, because I haven’t. I just haven’t
had the time to go actively looking for you.” “That’s an evasion, not an answer.
“I know. I can’t give you the answer you want, I’m afraid. I find you a most attractive
man, Dak, and there are more odd moments than rd care to mention when I have to
snap myself out of a daydream about what it would be like married to you. But I just can’t
convince myself it would work. Putting aside all the romantic clichés about love
conquering all, there are too many barriers in our way.
She explained about the physical problems stemming from their different planetary
backgrounds, problems that would lead to either him being a cripple or her an exile. She
could not, of course, tell him the real story about her family and her job; instead, she
leaned heavily on her love for her dear departed Carlos and how she could not bring
herself to “betray” him so soon after his-death. Dak’s expression was grim as he listened
to her speak, but he did not interrupt even once. She tried to finish with as soft a cushion
as she could. “I love you, I really do. That goodnight kiss you gave me last time had me
floating through the air on my way back to my suite, even in one gee. I’m not just saying
this to make you feel better; it’s the way I feel. But for all the reasons I’ve told you, plus
a few personal ones, I don’t think we could sustain a long-term relationship. We’ll both be
much better off if we break apart now, before our emotions get totally out of hand.
Dak scowled, and an angry gleam appeared in his eyes. He was not apparently used to
being turned down in something he wanted. “I still love you, Carmen,” he said evenly.
“Being apart from you these past few weeks has made my longing stronger, not weaker.
You say you love me, too. But your reasons for not wanting to marry me just don’t hold
air. We can overcome any problems we set our minds to. We both have a good deal of
money, we can go back and forth between a heavy gravity world and a lighter one. I can
buy machines to help me withstand your stronger gravity. I . . .
His voice had been rising with each sentence, until it took on an almost hysterical tone.
She raised a hand to silence him. “Dak, please, this is getting us nowhere.
He stopped, caught his breath, and then continued in a more reasonable tone, “Look I’ve
been invited to a really swank party tonight. It’s being given by one of the big shots on
Vesa, a man named Garst. Why don’t you come along with me and we can talk about
this some more then? I’d be delighted to have your company, and. . . .
“I don’t think I’m getting through to you. It will not work between us, and all the talking
you do will not make it work. No, I won’t go with you tonight; there would be no point to
it.
The anger dropped suddenly out of Dak, and he looked instead like a frightened little
boy. “Don’t drop me forever,” he begged. There was a hint of tears in his eyes. “I really
don’t think I could take that, Carmen; you’ve be come too special to me. Please-if you
won’t come to the party then at least say you’ll meet me tomorrow and we can visit some
casinos together.
There was such an air of desperation to his voice that Yvette had to relent. She did love
him, and it tore her up inside to see him so affected. “All right,” she said softly, “I’ll meet
you tomorrow, but only for a little while. I have things to do myself, you know. Where and
when do you want to meet?.
“Right here at, say, eleven hundred.” Dak’s face bad brightened perceptibly at her
sudden capitulation.
“All right,” Yvette nodded. “But I have to be going for now; there are things I must do.”
She stood on her toes to reach up and kiss him, intending to give him only a slight peck.
But suddenly his arms were around her and the simple kiss was turning into far more
passionate a thing than she had planned.
When finally they did part, she was feeling a little wobbly on her feet. “Whew. See you
tomorrow,” she said as she started to walk off.
“Don’t be late,” he called after her. As an afterthought, he added, “If you should need to
get in touch with me for any reason, I’m staying at the Soyuz Hotel.
Yvette just barely heard him, for her keen senses were trained elsewhere at the
moment. She had picked up a tail again-Murgatroyd. Apparently even this chance runin
with Dak had been enough to set off the curiosity of that band that was so interested in
Gospodin Lehman’s welfare.
Yvette did not go straight back to her hotel as she’d intended. She had no way of
knowing whether the trio who had ambushed her knew where she was staying on
Vesa-but if they didn’t know, she certainly didn’t want to show them. In a concerted effort
to lose her tail, Yvette went through the main halls of the three most crowded casinos
she knew, changed jits repeatedly as she drove all over the tourist district of Vesa, and
ducked into a ladies’ room for over an hour before emerging with her houppelande over
her arm to give her an entirely different appearance. There was no sign of Murgatroyd
following her by this time so, realizing that she couldn’t just keep wandering the moon all
night, she decided to risk going back to her room.
Once inside, she bolted the door and pulled up a chair to sit facing it, just in case the
shadows were to try another attack. She kept herself awake until early in the morning.
CHAPTER 7
A Meeting at the Warehouse
As he stared at the men from Chandakha, Jules realized that he was the only other
person in the crew who had witnessed their deliberate murder of Rask. Everyone else
was coming from the other side of the spacefield, and the body of the scraper machine
had been interposed between them and the Chandakhari. As the rest of the group, led by
Fizcono, now pulled up to the scene, all they would see was the dead body of their
former comrade lying at the feet of the coterie of Chandakhari.
Jules thought quickly. He was the only one who knew the Chandakhari had murdered
Rask with deliberate efficiency. But if they thought he knew that, he might become their
next target. All in all, he decided to feign ignorance of exactly what happened. They must
know he had seen them do it, but by pretending not to know he could plant some doubt in
their minds.
So, just as Fizcono and the rest of the crew came around the corner of the scraper, he
asked, “What happened to him?.
Forakhi, the unofficial leader of the Chandakhari group, locked his gaze with that of
Jules, as though trying to read the SOTE agent’s soul. “We tried to hold him, but be was
like a madman,” Forakhi said slowly, his eyes never wavering. “We backed him up
against the scraper, but he was squirming so much that he tore his suit on it.” He was
defying Jules to contradict him; Jules said nothing.
Fizcono knelt beside Rask’s body and verified for himself that the man was dead. “More
drapping reports to fill out!” he muttered savagely under his breath. Then, standing up
and looking at the Chandakhari for a long moment, he said aloud, “I guess you men did
the best you could, under the circumstances. You’ll all have to write up your versions of
what happened, of course; insurance companies are fussy about that sort of thing.
Then he turned specifically to Jules. “Nice work, duChamps. I can’t recall ever seeing
anyone move so fast and so well. Where did you learn all that, anyhow?.
“I was on the gymnastics team in school,” Jules lied smoothly. “Guess I’ve always kept
myself pretty much in shape.
Fizcono accepted that story with a grunt and began issuing orders to have Rask’s body
taken back inside to the infirmary. The rest of the men he told to go back to work, though