Outrageous Fortune-Errant Freight Book One

Chapter 41

Five hours later, John stepped off the gangplank onto the soft, springy grass of the Lycos Keep 'shipyard, set on a plateau high above the Lycos wild lands. High as they were, the salt smell of the sea still drifted up, mixing with the tang of pines surrounding the open meadow.

Tariq's Al-Jinn already sat at anchor, her sleek allusteel-and-bamboo hull gleaming under the late-afternoon suns as they made a break from the heavy clouds. Beyond the Al-Jinn sat a light scout 'ship with the deep red envelope marking her as a Keeper vessel, one of several patrol 'ships responsible for the safety and preservation of the Avon wild lands.

But John's attention was taken by the party waiting on the airfield, amongst which Tariq stood, his long black coat distinctive against the wall of red and saffron around him which included a dozen Keepers, most of them armed marshals, and a woman whose middling height did nothing to decrease the stature of her red-on-red garments, indicating her status as a Senior Hive Master.

Her elaborately braided hair held somewhat more gray than Tariq's, and her complexion was a hint more gold than his. As he neared, John noted her eyes were a deep amber, and her face held the comforting lines of one who smiled often.

She was not, however, smiling when he came to a halt in front of her.

"Captain John Pitte," Tariq stepped in, "may I present Master Shohreh Nazri, the superior I spoke of." Here he paused, and the woman cleared her throat. Tariq's lips tightened, he clasped his hands behind his back, and added, "And my mother."

Which explained the eyes. And up close, John could see more...the defined cheekbones shared with her son, and the tilt of chin that had skipped Tariq and emerged again with Izaldine. "Master," he said as he bowed formally, "your grandson favors you."

Now came the hint of a smile. "Captain," Shohreh greeted him, then gestured to the party behind her, who split and filed, six to a side. "My son tells me you have some inconvenient passengers."

"Inconvenient," John echoed. "A circumspect description."

"As my son will have told you, I live in a very circumspect world," Shohreh replied.

"He has." John shot a glance at Tariq. "Just not in so many words."

* * *

"No," John said.

He was standing in the foyer of Tariq's house, where he'd come to a stop on hearing Tariq suggest the Errant crew retain possession of the calculator.

Tariq hissed and stepped back to join him. "Listen a moment—"

"I have listened," John told him. "And I am telling you, no. You can't expect us to keep the damned thing."

"Then who? I can hardly keep it," Tariq pointed out, suddenly the voice of reason. "Whoever Mary and Colin work for will be watching me—watching my family. If they even suspect I lied about having the device in my possession..."

John pressed a finger to his right eye because Tariq was right. "And we can't deliver it to the authorities," he said.

"Not unless we are prepared to spend our remaining years in the Barrens," Tariq agreed. "Or worse."

"We have hammers aboard the Errant," John pointed out before the same logic he'd used against Jagati's earlier destructive urges reared its reasonable head. "Except destroying it would likely—"

"Make the calculator's owners angry," Tariq finished the sentence. "I, for one, do not wish to spend the rest of my days avoiding retribution."