第15节

was parked less than two feet away and that at any minute, the rest of

his kinfolk might walk in through the door.

Haft an hour, or maybe an hour later, after they'd done everything but

bounce off the walls, they lay alongside each other breathing deep and

hard. Where their bodies touched the skin was tacked together by a

thin film of sweat.

Lundkwist caught her breath and put her mouth against Steve's ear.

'D'you wanna drop another one in?"

'llh-uh,' said Steve. 'This is where I bail out."

'Okay." Lundkwist sat up and dropped her legs over the side of the

bunk. 'That was good. Right on the button." She ran a hand down her

throat, between her slim breasts and onto her flat hard stomach. 'Need

a shower but, uh, somehow I think I'm gonna have to leave that till I

get home."

Steve nodded. 'Long ride to Wichita,' he observed.

Lundkwist came from the northernmost Federation base -Monroe Field in

Kansas, opened up in 2886. Which also made it the newest. 'Your

kinfolk here?"

'Are you kidding?" said Lundkwist. 'They brought the whole base

along." She began to dress.

As Steve put his clothes on he studied Lundkwist and thought about what

they had done. It had set his brain and body fizzing with feelings and

desires he had long since put a cap on. Putting the bomb in the barrel

with her had provided an undeniable moment of pleasure but that was

something he could live without. Allowing yourself to need other

people in that way - to let them get that close was a dangerous

luxury.

It made you vulnerable.

'So ..." said Steve, 'It's "goodbye" then."

'Yeah ... we're booked out on the four o'clock shuttle."

Lundkwist checked her watch then zipped up her parade tunic and

adjusted the tasselled Honour Cadet lanyard.

Steve could have cheerfully strangled her with it.

'Good luck and, uh - good hunting."

'You too." Brickman established firm eye contact and smiled warmly as

they shook hands. 'And take it easy, okay?

You made the Number One spot. You don't have to prove it all over

again to the Mutes."

He patted her shoulder as she turned away. Lundkwist looked back at

him from the doorway with a tightlipped smile. 'You know how to make a

guy feel good, Brickman, but underneath that whiter than white smile

you really are one mean sonofabitch."

Steve eyed her steadily and continued dressing. 'Part of my survival

kit."

'.You know what your trouble is?" Lundkwist didn't wait for him to

reply. 'You think you're different. You're so busy working at being

Number One you've got no time to be one of us. It frightens people.

And that's bad - because one day you may need a friend."

'Anything else?" asked Steve imperturbably.

'Yeah,' said Lundkwist. She tapped the Minuteman badge on the breast

pocket of her tunic. 'You and I both worked our asses off to win

this.

I just want you to know that whatever it was you did wrong, in my book

you're still the top gun."

Steve shrugged modestly and zipped up his pants. 'Time will tell

..."

'It will indeed,' said Lundkwist. She stepped away from the door then

leaned back in. 'Oh, by the way - happy birthday."

FIVE

Two days after his triumph against Shakatak D'Vine, Cadillac went with

Clearwater and Mr Snow deep into the forest. They found a glade by the

edge of a stream where they squatted crosslegged, facing each other on

a carpet of red leaves. Behind them, on all sides, the black-brown

trunks of the redwoods stood guard, like giant warriors.

Here and there, rose-coloured shafts of sunlight pierced the thick

canopy of leaves, casting bright pools of light on the sea of ferns

that washed against the gnarled roots of the trees.

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