Mal Goes to War by Edward Ashton

Author:Edward Ashton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

* * *

“SO,” PULLMAN says. “Kayleigh killed those guys, didn’t she?”

They’re walking again, Rowan in the lead with Asher slung over her shoulders, Kayleigh in the middle, and Pullman trailing behind. Once it was clear that the fight was over and that Mack and Tuttle had no backup on the way, Rowan announced that the three of them were more of a security risk on their own than with her, and that they might as well stick together after all. They’re on their way back to her campsite now, winding off-trail up a steep, thickly forested slope.

“I don’t believe we have enough evidence to conclude that,” Mal says. “Kayleigh claims she was emptying her bowels during the firefight. I see no compelling reason to disbelieve her.”

“Kayleigh claims she was in the privy for the better part of twenty-four hours,” Pullman says, his voice pitched just above a whisper. “You don’t find that at all suspicious?”

“I try very hard not to think about the workings of the human digestive tract.”

Pullman glances up from the trail to where Kayleigh trudges on ahead of them. “This isn’t a time for flippancy, Mal.”

“I disagree. This is an excellent time for flippancy, Mr. Pullman, because this discussion has no practical import. Kayleigh is my friend. Mr. Mack and Mr. Tuttle were not my friends. In fact, given that they were in the process of attempting to murder my friends, I think it is fair to call them my enemies. Consequently, whether or not Kayleigh was responsible for their demises does not affect my feelings toward her in any way. I honestly cannot understand why you feel the need to continue pursuing this line of thought. If Kayleigh did in truth kill those men, then she did us all a great service, for which we should be grateful. If, on the other hand, she did not, we may have reason to be concerned about her digestive health, but otherwise all is well. Under no circumstances, however, do we have any reason whatsoever to think badly of Kayleigh.”

“Those men were hardened soldiers, armed to the teeth, and she killed them with her bare hands. She’s a dangerous person, Mal.”

“No, Mr. Pullman. This is clearly untrue. Mr. Mack and Mr. Tuttle had their throats cut. It seems obvious that whoever or whatever killed them made use of a knife of some sort, does it not?”

“You mean like the knife Kayleigh has strapped to her hip right now?”

“More or less, yes.”

They walk on in silence broken only by Pullman’s labored breathing for another minute or two. It’s nearly full dark now, and Mal is beginning to wonder how much farther they’ll be going tonight.

“I should have known,” Pullman mutters. “After what she did to Mr. Andreou, I should have known.”

“Now, really, Mr. Pullman. The Andreous tried to have you burned alive. Given that, I would suggest that Kayleigh showed remarkable restraint with them, and that they surely deserved everything she gave them and more. More to the point, as previously noted, Mr.

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