Against Impassable Barriers by Kate MacLeod

Author:Kate MacLeod
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781946552648
Publisher: Ratatoskr Press

16

It wasn’t his ship, but Bo seemed to know every centimeter of it anyway. He led Scout down the length of the marketplace to where it ended in a wide staircase with shallow steps spaced so far apart it was almost not even a staircase. The dogs trotted along beside her, occasionally smelling the air. Then they started to pull at the leashes, trying to urge her on faster.

“Where are we going?” Scout asked as she fought to keep a firm hold on their leashes.

“The park,” Bo said, sounding surprised. “Did no one show it to you?”

“No,” Scout said. Her tour of the ship had been a pretty abbreviated affair, limited to the places Sparrow liked best.

“It’s perfect for dogs,” Bo said.

“I guess so,” Scout said as the dogs whined, anxious to move up the seemingly endless staircase just a little faster.

“You can let them go. Nothing will befall them,” he said.

“I’m more worried about what they might do,” Scout said.

“They’ll be fine,” Bo promised. “Consider it my first demonstration that I’m worthy of trust.”

Scout gave him a hard look but decided he was probably right. The dogs could look out for themselves, and if Gert ended up mauling another cat, it would be on his head.

She bent to untie the cords from the collars, Gert first because she was generally calmer about it, but even she was jumping again and again, anxious to be free. At last, the knot slipped off her collar, and she turned to charge up the stairs.

“Hey, wait for your brother!” Scout called after her. Shadow whined pitifully but sat at rigid attention until she had the cord untied and he could make his way more slowly after Gert.

“See, he knows how much he can handle,” Bo said. “He’ll be back up to speed by this evening, I’m sure.”

Scout wrapped the cords up into tight coils and slipped them into one of the many pouches on her belt.

“That was Gertrude Bauer’s belt, wasn’t it?” Bo asked.

“Yes,” Scout said with what she hoped was a tone that would encourage him to drop the matter, but she should have known better.

“I saw her cross the barricade,” Bo admitted as they slowly continued their climb up the stairs. Scout could see a bright light at the top of the stairs that had the warm yellow feel of real sunlight. “That was a bit surprising, a galactic marshal breaking a barricade like that. I did a little research and learned why she was there. Tragic story.”

“Tragic ending,” Scout said.

“I would have preferred she got her man, to be honest,” Bo said, “but at least her man was got. And good riddance.”

“She shouldn’t have died,” Scout said. “Do you know the details about that?”

“Just that she was there with you in that bunker,” Bo said. “I won’t ask you to tell that story. Nothing that involves eight of you going in but only you coming out can be a fun tale to tell.”

“No,” Scout said. She tried looking up again, even shading her eyes with her hand, but all she saw was the dazzle of sunlight.

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