Buffalo Soldier by Maurice Broaddus

Author:Maurice Broaddus
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

V. : Here Comes the Hotstepper

DESMOND FOLLOWED Kajika and Inteus down a series of stone steps deep beneath the building. Two guards came to attention at their approach. They passed through a set of double doors, then proceeded down a long, winding hallway. Kajika moved with a different air. Her lightness of spirit and casual veneer had been replaced by a hardness. She moved with a determination that dared anyone to bar her way. Inteus marched in step with her, neither behind nor ahead. As he walked, he checked the pulse weapon attached to his arm.

While Desmond wanted to leave Lij with one of the attendants, the boy would have none of it. He clung to Desmond’s leg fastidiously. In the name of saving time, Kajika simply allowed him to come, and Desmond suspected that she wanted to keep the pair of them in her sight. Her invitation for him to join her and Inteus fell far short of a request.

They arrived at a large bay window. In the room, a woman sat in a chair, her arms shackled behind her. Wrapped in layer after layer of clothes, Cayt seemed much smaller. Draped in an ankle-length rifle frock coat, her double-breasted gold leaf vest folded over an open-collared black bib shirt. The gold chain of a pocket watch hooked to a button on her vest and disappeared in the right vest pocket. An empty black tooled-leather buscadero holster was strapped to the left leg of her canvas-colored divided leather skirt. Her black gambler hat and matching fringed gloves were piled neatly in her lap.

“She had these on her.” Inteus handed Kajika a hand pulse modified from a Colt Mustang along with three charge cartridges and what appeared to be a man’s billfold. Inside was an identification card from the Pinkerton National Detective Agency for a Cayt Siringo.

“The Pinkertons? A bit outside of their jurisdiction, aren’t they?” Kajika asked.

“They are a private security guard and detective agency. They have their fingers in a lot of military and corporate intelligence pies. They provide security services to the Albion government on a contractual basis. The ID checks out. We’re running a full background check.”

They spoke in English. Most times when the two spoke and needed privacy, they shifted to their native tongue. Creek or Miccosukee, Kajika once explained. She spoke five languages and could read a couple more. So, Desmond knew that they wanted him to hear what was going on.

“She’s not speaking. Do you know each other?” Kajika asked. “Don’t worry; she can neither see nor hear us through the glass.”

“‘Know’ is a strong word,” Desmond said.

Cayt chuckled, her head lowered, her blond hair obscuring her face.

Inteus hit a button on the wall. His voice carried into the room. “Is something funny?”

“I introduced myself to him in Tejas but missed.”

At the sound of her voice, Desmond tensed. He flattened his palm against the glass to steady himself.

“You two sound like you have history, Desmond,” Kajika said.

“She was the one who shot me. Before that day, I’d never set eyes on her.

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