Cress

Chapter 32

"Oooooooww,"  Thorne  moaned,  placing  a  cooling  pack against his throbbing
  cheekbone."Why did he have to hit so hard?"
         "You're lucky he didn't break your nose or  knock  out  any  teeth,"  said
Jamal.  Thorne could hear him   stuffing around,   followed   by glasses
   clinking together.
         "That's true. I am rather attached to my nose."
            "There's a chair behind you."
             Thorne  tested   the floor with   his cane until  it struck something  hard, 
      and eased himself onto the   chair. He leaned  the  cane  against  the  side  and 
      adjusted the pack on his cheekbone.
             "Here."
              He held out  his  free  hand  and  was  glad  when  a  cold, condensation-
         slicked glass was put into it. He  sniffed  first. The  drink  smelled  faintly  of
       lemons. Taking a sip, he found that it was cold and frothy, tart  and  delicious.
             The  absence  of   sudden warmth suggested there was no alcohol.
             "Tamr hindi," said Jamal. "Tamarind juice. My  favorite   thing   in   the 
      trading cities."
          "Thank you." Thorne  took a bigger gulp, his   cheeks puckering from
        the sourness.
               "Have you always been such a gambler?" Jamal asked.

       "I guess you could say I enjoy  a  challenge. No  survival  skills? Let's  honeymoon
                 in   the desert. Can't see?   Let's go  play    some cards.   I     would   have
                 won  too,  if  that guy hadn't gotten so touchy."
     He thought he heard a chuckle, but then Jamal slurped at his drink.
  "Were you there the whole time? Watching that   escort-droid bleed me 
       dry  and not say anything?"
      "If a blind man wants to lose his head in a suicide card game, why
    should I stop him?"
  Thorne relaxed against the back of the   chair. "I guess I can respect
     that."
      "I am curious why you didn't   bring your    girl with  you. I'd have
    thought she'd be a valuable asset."
      "I  thought  she could use the   rest." Thorne  adjusted  cooling  pack
     on  his face. "Plus, I don't think she's ever played Royals  before, and  there
   are  all  those tricky rules to explain..."
  "And she probably wouldn't have been pleased  about you  wanting  an 
      escort-droid?"
       Thorne guffawed. "Oh, no, no, I didn't want the escort for me.  I 
     thought  she'd make a nice gift."   A silence followed and he was sure  he
   could  picture  the skepticism on Jamal's face, despite having no idea what
   Jamal looked  like. "She was   for this android ... spaceship ... friend of
    mine. It's complicated."
    "It always is." Jamal clinked  their  glasses  together. "I  get  it,  though.
You  get your hands on an escort-droid,  all  the  while keeping  everyone's
attention  away from the true prize upstairs. You do seem like the protective
sort."
     Thorne's instincts hummed at something in Jamal's  tone. "Well.  I  am 
a  lucky man."
"Yes, you are. A girl like that doesn't fall out of the sky every day."
  Thorne kept his smile for a heartbeat, then  downed the rest  of the
  drink.  His nose crinkled. "Speaking of  Mrs. Smith,  I  should  get  back  to 
    her. Promised  to bring up some food and then got carried away ... you
    know how it is."

           "I wouldn't be in any hurry,"  said  Jamal. "I  saw  her  with  Jina  couple
  hours ago. I think the ladies were going out for some refreshments."
        The grin froze on Thorne's face, and now he knew  for  sure something  
   wasn't right. Cress, leave the hotel without telling him? Not likely.
   But why would Jamal lie about something like that?
"Ah. good," he said, hiding his uncertainty. He   set the empty glass 
down on the floor, tucking it beneath the chair so he wouldn't trip   on 
it later. "Cress could use some ... girly ... time. Did they happen to   say
where they were going?"
        "No, but there are plenty of eateries on this  street. Why?  Afraid she
     might  run off without you?"
        Thorne snorted, but it sounded forced even to him. "Naw. This'll  be
      good  for her. Making friends ... Eating stuff."
   "Exploring all that Earth has to offer?"
        His  expression must been hilarious, because   Jamal's   laugh was 
loud   and abrupt.
      "I  knew you wouldn't be surprised," he said.  "Kwendle   thought   you 
       didn't know she was Lunar, but I figured you  would.  You strike me   as the
      type of  man who has a   keen    sense   of  value.   Especially when   I saw you
    bargaining  for  that escort downstairs. Even blind, you do seem   to have
      impeccable taste  in  female companionship."
    "This is true,"  Thorne  murmured,  trying  to recapture  this  conversation.
     Sense of value? Impeccable taste? What was he talking about?
            "So tell  me  got  you  came  across  her. It  was  a  Lunar  satellite,  I've  got
    that much, but how did you get  tangled  up  with  her  to   begin with?  Did
    you  find  her still in space, or down here  in the desert? Must have been in 
       space,  I  guess. There was that podship in the wreckage."
        "Um. It's kind of a long story."
        "No matter. Not like I'm going  to  be  up  in  space  any  time  soon. But
      then to crash.  That couldn't have been part of your original plan." Ice
cubes crackled.  "Tell me this, did you plan on bringing her to Africa
        the  whole  time,  or are there more lucrative markets elsewhere in the
Union?"