War World X: Takeover by John F. Carr

company stores. Everybody knows how they loot the planet and don’t give anything back. Take my advice, young fella; don’t have anything to do with the companies. You want to hunt shimmer stones? Buy your gear here in town, head off into the hills and do your own digging. You come across anything useful, come trade it here in Castell City. Don’t go to Kenny-Camp.”
    “Still….” A brief grin flickered across Sanchez’ face. “It sounds like that’s where the money is.”
    “Money and trouble,” Brodski gloomed, inwardly holding back a laugh.
    “Hmm. And what’s the quickest way to Kenny-Camp?”
    Brodski rolled his eyes theatrically. “The River Dragon should be coming in soon; she’s for hire, and makes regular runs down there. But just remember, young fella; you’ve been warned.”
    Sanchez nodded agreeably, saluted Brodski with his glass and drained it. Then he got up and strolled, not too quickly, toward the table near the front of the bar where the red-scarved lady sat awaiting customers, his intentions plain.
    Brodski wished him the joy of her. If Sanchez was hoping to pump her for information, he’d be sorely disappointed; everyone else knew that Alzora spoke only Arabic and bad Russian, and her conversation was limited to the list of her fees and services.
    Brodski waved a signal to Flora and took himself off to the back room. Once there, he clicked on the radio and cut through the chatter with: “Breaker! Breaker! Heads up, Leo. Codo-Boy’s heading for Kenny-Camp as fast as he can get there, and he’ll want your boat.”
    “Got it,” Makhno’s voice replied. “I’ll keep him from seeing the radio.”
    “Let’s keep him from seein’ the Queen , too.” Irish’s voice was staticky with distance. “Likewise the Princess. ”
    An even more staticky voice, still recognizable as Van Damm’s, growled: “Can you stall him for two weeks? We need time to set up the mess with Reynolds’ camp, not to mention clearing some of the floating beggars out of your path. We don’t want Cole’s replacement to see them and get ideas.”
    “I think I can manage,” Makhno chuckled.

     
    The first problem with hiring the River Dragon was finding her. The rather large Harmony beadle—if you please!—patrolling the dock had no idea when the ship might come in, though he offered several kindly suggestions as to who might know. Trotting from warehouse to warehouse Sanchez garnered no further information, except that the warehouse managers themselves indulged in a bit of primitive banking, evaluating goods for barter, and changing CoDo creds for gold, goods or out-world currencies.
    A visit to the town hospital—likewise guarded by a sturdy beadle—revealed only that it was actually quite a good clinic, employing both off-world techniques and tools and local herbal cures. Another visit around the bars and restaurants likewise revealed nothing new. By the time dim-dark was approaching, Sanchez was beyond impatience and into steaming.
    He finally saw a bizarre-looking riverboat approaching, learned that this was indeed the legendary River Dragon and took care to be waiting on the new dock when the ship came in. He noticed that her captain looked oddly familiar, enough like the pilot of the ferry-raft to be a close relative. Sanchez bothered to ask the man his name, which he couldn’t recall hearing before, and asked when the boat would be heading down river. He was not pleased by the answer.
    “Yes, four T-days,” Makhno repeated, idly scratching his new beard. “I have a lot of trips to and from the shuttle. There are some shimmer stone miners going home this time, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
    “But four days!”
    “That’s the least I can make it. The ships come in intermittently, you know.”
    “And usually stay in orbit for ninety days! Don’t tell me you’re not taking goods and passengers straight down to Kennicott Camp!”
    “Sure, but they usually wait until I’ve got the full