Ten
Kit said, ‘‘I took Bauer’s place four months ago. I can do it again.’’
The old man shook his head. ‘‘That means the other sections gotta keep covering yours. That means overtime pay. And half of Eden beating down my doors, scared shitless.’’
Kit puffed out a breath. ‘‘All that’s the same whether it’sme now, or Bauer when you made your deal.’’
I shifted in my chair. That explained why Kit Born left her post out in the boondocks, just to take delivery of supplies that were being shipped out to her anyway. She wanted to size up her potential client anonymously before she pimped with her employer to take Bauer’s place. I got smiled at, interviewed, then got a lift to town because I was a potential paycheck, not a potential date.
Okay, business was business. Kit seemed mission-capable to me, but when you negotiated ‘‘trivialities’’ for Cutler, you were still obliged to throw coins around like manhole covers.
I raised my palm. ‘‘Cutler paid for a grezzen expert, not a trainee.’’
Kit’s boss didn’t mind being a dick about a refund, especially to a Trueborn, but he also knew Trueborns had lawyers. Lots of them. He squirmed in his chair.
Kit snorted. ‘‘Trainee? Don’t you mean Cutler shouldn’t have to pay full rate for a chick?’’ She held up one hand and began ticking things off on its fingers. ‘‘I’m a licensed multi-engine pilot. I—’’
I rolled my eyes. ‘‘Your breasts and your license have nothing to do with it. Cutler paid for—’’
The old man coughed, chopped the air with his hand. ‘‘Shut up! Both of you! Parker, I may be an Outworld hick to your Mr. Cutler, but my word is good. I’ll get you a male guide as experienced as Bauer—’’
Kit reached over and grabbed the old man’s hand at the wrist. ‘‘Wait. I’ll do the job on contingency. If Cutler doesn’t get his grezzen, I work for free. If he gets his trophy, he pays me the guide share that Bauer would have gotten. I know how generous you aren’t with your employees, Oliver. I’m sure the difference Cutler could owe me will be pocket change to a Trueborn.’’
That was a terrible deal for her, but it would get the old man off the hook. Not to mention me. He turned to me, and raised his eyebrows.
Cutler liked pay-for-performance. My own deal already had a big bonus in escrow that got released to me as soon as we got a grezzen back inside the Line, or got refunded to Cutler if we didn’t. I turned to Kit. ‘‘Let’s go meet Cutler. It’s a deal if he likes you.’’
He would. Cutler was big on free enterprise and pay-forperformance. Maybe more so if the free entrepreneur had Caribbean blue eyes. The eyes worked for me, anyway, especially when she was angry. Kit had been less than candid with me, but I couldn’t blame her for sizing up in advance a bunch of offworlders whose incompetence or inadequate equipment could get her killed. And if she hadn’t suggested her compromise, her employer might have let me dangle in a situation that could have gotten me killed. Besides, maybe she had made her offer because she wanted to get to know me better.
When the two of us got back to her Sixer, I paused with my fingers on the door handle. ‘‘Thanks.’’
She cocked her eyebrow. ‘‘For what?’’
‘‘For helping me out.’’
She rolled her eyes, and snorted. ‘‘Help you, Parker? I’d blow a gort first. And breasts don’t affect a guide’s job performance. Mention mine again and your testicles won’t affect yours any more.’’
Perhaps I had overestimated her romantic interest in me.
She jerked her thumb at the Sixer. ‘‘Get in. Let’s find out if I have a new boss. Which won’t be you, fortunately.’’