Part 13 (2/2)

'You don't sound bothered.'

'She grew up on Paris II, didn't she? Worst cess-pit in Little Europe. She can handle herself here.'

Shade didn't respond. He hated Lindey for being so cool.

She was always this way, whatever the spot. She'd earned earned her place here. her place here.

'Poor Shadow.'

She may have picked up on his self-pitying mood, but her voice was cold.

'Huh?'

'Always seems to happen to you, doesn't it? Things getting out of hand. Going wrong.'

She knows. Shade cleared his throat, made a big pointless show of picking which tunnel they might take as an alternative. 'I don't know what you're talking about, Lindey.' Shade cleared his throat, made a big pointless show of picking which tunnel they might take as an alternative. 'I don't know what you're talking about, Lindey.'

'I think that sappy little girl likes you, you know,' Lindey went on, her eyes wide and smiling. 'She must find it so rea.s.suring having a big brave soldier like you around.

Someone who keeps his head while all around are losing theirs.' The smile faded. 'Someone who makes d.a.m.n sure of it.'

Shade couldn't keep up eye-contact, and studied his palmset instead. 'Seems there's nothing beyond this rockfall.'

He tried to sound brisk and emotionless about it. 'No s.h.i.+p.

This is the end of the road.'

'Maybe they'll airlift you out again,' Lindey whispered, her face in shadow. 'Earthman.'

Shade bore down on her angrily. 'What the h.e.l.l is all this, Lindey?'

But she put her finger to her lips, shushed him, and walked off back the way they had come. 'You know, I wanted you to get through this mission so badly.' Her voice wasn't teasing now. It was strained. 'I wanted you to get merits, to earn your Elite placing. To feel like you'd actually made it, like you'd finally pushed the past behind you.' She paused, enjoying herself. 'Before I buried you with it.'

'Lindey?' Heart sinking, he strode up behind her, grabbed hold of her shoulder.

She spun round, gun pulled and ready, and jammed it into his neck. 'Off. Now.' She sneered. 'You're not in the Royal Escort now, and I'm not just some petty officer in Pauper Fleet - Earthman. Earthman. We're equal. We're equal. Elite Elite, right?'

Shade let go of her. She chuckled softly.

'I know what you are,' Lindey said simply. 'And I know what I could be. So you'd better think of a few strings you can pull for me me back on Earth. Or a few other people here might have to find out about you too.' back on Earth. Or a few other people here might have to find out about you too.'

Shade felt his temples throbbing, felt the shrapnel in his face bite at the little good skin left. 'What are you going to do?'

Lindey lowered the gun and tapped the palmset tucked into her belt. 'If we ever get out of this... You'll see.' She blew him a kiss and turned away. 'And then you'll have to be very, very very nice to me, my little Earthborn Shadow...' nice to me, my little Earthborn Shadow...'

Shade watched her go, clenched his fists. 'Will I,' he muttered.

IV.

Polly sighed. The Doctor and Tovel were digging about in the gossamer cables within the navigational console. Haunt was watching them, sullenly. Creben and Joiks were still waving little pieces of machinery around the place, looking for her magic door (Polly hoped they would fall through it and vanish, just as she had). Shel lingered by the grisly display of corpses, staring at them as if he were somehow communicating with them telepathically.

The idea frightened Polly. She edged closer to Ben.

'He's a funny one, isn't he,' she whispered. 'Shel, I mean.

He acts more like a machine than a person.'

'Confucius say, he inscrutable,' Ben said cheerily. 'Bet if we looked hard enough we'd find ”Made in Taiwan” stamped on him somewhere.'

Polly didn't smile back. 'That's racist, Ben.'

'Come on Pol, I didn't mean nothing by it.'

'No one ever means anything by it, but they still make the jokes all the same. Would you like to be treated like that?'

Ben looked away, hurt. 'We ain't been treated so well by any of them in case you hadn't noticed.'

Polly spoke without thinking. 'Adam's all right.'

'Adam?' Ben didn't look happy. 'Oh, got you. Ben didn't look happy. 'Oh, got you. Shade. Shade. The bloke with the face. Yeah, you and him seem to be getting on pretty well.' The bloke with the face. Yeah, you and him seem to be getting on pretty well.'

Polly sighed. Jealousy was so childish. 'I don't know why you're so bothered. You and that froggy woman seem to be hitting it off quite well yourselves,' she said, folding her arms.

Ben didn't say anything to the contrary. The rat.

'Look, d.u.c.h.ess,' Ben said finally. 'We're all stuck here, whizzing through s.p.a.ce on some dirty great rock with a load of murdered black-magic criminals, a bunch of trigger-happy s.p.a.ce marines and G.o.d knows what else. Let's not fall out in the middle of this lot.'

'We haven't fallen out,' Polly told him, and was rewarded with a broad grin. She lowered her voice. 'You know what we were saying earlier, about cat people and dog people?'

Ben nodded. 'What do you make of this lot?'

'Well, I suppose they should all be cats. Independent.

Tough.' Polly considered. 'Shel's a cat. Creben and Lindey too.'

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