Games & Players (Administration Series) by Manna Francis

Author:Manna Francis [Francis, Manna]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9781934081433
Publisher: Casperian Books LLC
Published: 2012-11-10T14:00:00+00:00

All Work and No Play

Part One: Cattle Market

Of all the evenings Sara could choose to be late, Toreth thought as he waited in her hall, it would be this one. The irony of his complaining about someone else being late didn’t escape him, but the idea of what might be happening in his absence still made him grit his teeth.

“I’m really, really sorry,” Sara called as she flew across the hall from bathroom to bedroom in a blur of gold-tone skin and blue towel.

He’d have preferred it if she’d sounded at all repentant. He crossed the hall to stand closer to her bedroom door, from where he could see her reflection in the window. “So you should be. You know we need to be there in plenty of time.”

“Bastard got hurt and I had to take him to the vet. Poor little baby. I couldn’t leave him there all on his own until I knew he was going to be okay.”

The absence of a skulking, psychotic shadow hadn’t yet registered with Toreth. Not surprising, because the place still smelled the same.

“I had loads of trouble getting a taxi,” Sara continued, her voice briefly muffled, “and then I had to stay there while she looked at him and decided what to do. She wanted to put him under first so she wouldn’t hurt him when she examined him.”

Thereby suggesting Sara’s hapless vet wasn’t a complete idiot. Actually, anesthetizing the cat before approaching would be a good idea when it was perfectly healthy. “What happened to it?” he asked.

“He lost a fight.”

“Jesus, what with? A freight transporter?”

She was facing away from the window, giving him a nice rear view, but he heard the exasperated sigh and imagined the rolled eyes that would go with it. “A fox, the vet thought. Or maybe even a small dog.”

Or possibly an escaped lion. “Much damage?” he asked hopefully.

“Not as much as I thought when he crawled home. His tail’s broken in a couple of places and he’s got bites all over his back, but he’s going to be fine. The vet thinks his tail might end up with another kink in it.” Sara turned for the door and he took a tactical step back. She came out of the room, brushing her still-damp hair while shrugging into a dress. “Another ’nother kink, I mean. Can you get my zip?”

He zipped her up and asked, “Ready?”

“One minute. Not even thirty seconds.” She dived back into the bathroom, and glass and plastic began to rattle. He was about to start a protest when she reappeared clutching a black bag. “I’ll do my makeup in the car.”

All very well, he thought as they left the flat, but that wouldn’t get him back the time he’d already lost.

***

The place was packed when they arrived and Toreth handed his jacket to Sara as soon as they got inside. It was her fault they were so bloody late, so she could brave the chaos at the temporary cloakroom. Toreth always liked to arrive early, to scope out both the prey and the competition.

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