Beast Master's Circus

Chapter Seven

Laris worked on, knowing that Dedran would be listening to the record of her talk with Logan. In a few days he'd ask her to expand on the Peaks ranch. Her bond-master and Cregar would want to know all she could tell. Well, she had an idea there. She started to think it out as she cleaned cages, fed and watered their occupants. What she had in mind just might work. It would delay an attack on Storm's beasts if some of the things Logan had told her were true.

She smiled savagely to herself. It would take careful handling. She'd have to make Dedran think it was his idea. But if she said just the right things the circus boss could take the bait. Cregar was under orders and why should he know any more about Arzor than the circus boss knew? She'd accessed the information available in the ship's library often enough to know all the library had about Arzor.

Laris had listened to Logan as he talked about the natives of Arzor. He'd told her old stories, native customs. And something of the vast and often savage desert lands in which the wild Nitra clans lived. The ship records had said almost nothing about Arzor, save to note that the natives were mostly friendly. The men would accept that.

Eyes opened behind her own. *Be cautious, sister-one. Too little said is better than too much.*

*Come with me and listen when he calls me then. Maybe you can think of something to say.* Prauo was not a talker without cause but his advice was good once he did.

*I will do that.*

The intercom on the hold wall began to whistle her name. Dedran wanted to speak to her. She obeyed, trotting from the hold with deliberate haste. Let him also believe that she was eager to be cooperative in the face of his threats.

Dedran eyed her prompt arrival with approval. Bondservants. They all needed a touch of the whip occasionally. The girl was more valuable to him than she knew but if she did not bend to his designs, then he'd have to break her.

He addressed the small figure as she stood before him submissively. "Sit down." She obeyed. "Now, I've listened to your talk with this Logan. So he's going to High Peaks ranch. Tell me about it."

Laris talked, making the difficulties sound just a bit greater than they were.

"So they send few copters up there," she informed him. "The winds as they come from the peaks are dangerous. Logan will have coptered to the lower reaches of their land, then ridden the rest of the way." She watched as he absorbed that then shifted to prattle about the animals.

"And they have coyotes. They're so cute, and smart—why once I saw them..." She recounted a hunting story making much of the animal's intelligence. "They're a mated breeding pair too. It's a pity, but they won't be at the Peaks. Storm's wife took them to some native camp to hunt again. But you want the others, not a pair of coyotes."

"Don't tell me what I want," Dedran said absently. Laris kept her face bland and submissive. Had he taken the bait? He looked at her. "Tell me about this Tani. Is she a trained beast master?"

He had! She shook her head. "No, Storm said once she has the abilities. But the war ended too soon. She was never even in the services. Her aunt and uncle are scientists and she worked with them. Mostly washing bottles and lab equipment I think." She mustn't make him think Tani worth taking or killing. "She's only about nineteen I think." A lie but Dedran might not know, she thought. Tani didn't look older and he'd only seen her briefly a couple of times. Dedran equated age with wisdom, youth with stupidity. Let him see Tani as no threat.

Dedran scowled thoughtfully. "Tell me about this girl and the coyotes."

A mind voice came, *Quickly, protest their importance.*

Laris wrinkled her forehead. "But she's not even trained. And if you take one of the coyotes it would pine away like some of the other animals you've brought in."

"You said she has the abilities, and so do her animals, yes?"

"Well, so Storm said. But he's her husband. He could have been just, well, bragging about it."

*Well done, sister-without-fur. Gently, not too firm.*

"I don't know. Anyway, Tani and her team are over on the fringe of the desert. It'd take longer to get to them." She allowed her face to frown a little. "Of course Storm did say it was easy to get there in a copter. There isn't the same wind gust problem as they have at High Peaks..." She allowed her voice to trail away.

Dedran nodded once in decision. "I'll want you to speak to Cregar tomorrow. Tell him all you know about this girl and the coyotes. I presume you have some idea of where the natives she's visiting are camped."

Laris agreed. Logan had talked about the Djimbut clan and their lands enough to allow her to give some direction to Cregar's search.

"Then get out and check that wolf. Is the stupid brute going to survive or are we talking samples from another dead beast?"

Laris mumbled that the latter was probable and fled. To her distress that information was almost certainly true since the will to live was broken in the large gray animal. It lay there refusing to eat or drink. She could provide nourishment intravenously but when she'd tried that before, the wolf had roused as soon as she left just enough to rip the tube free each time. She was using stimulants but they had worked with less and less effect. She had kept it alive for several days but she was losing the battle and knew it.

Inside herself she raged at the necessity of torturing the animal. But if she didn't Dedran would see that someone else did who would be less kind. She counted. Five days since liftoff. If the wolf died now Dedran wouldn't blame her. She'd kept it alive long enough to show she was trying. She removed the tube, cut off the trickle of stimulant, then stroked the harsh pelt. She bent over and whispered softly into one furred ear.

"Go free, friend. Run free. I give you leave to go."

The lungs heaved up, hesitated, and then the breath went out slowly. The body seemed to flatten. She waited a few minutes to be sure before taking with a steady hand the samples Dedran would require. She placed those in the chiller, labeled them, added a warning to the lid, and went to find the circus boss.

"The wolf died. It tore out the tubes again while I was with you. I've taken the samples. They're safely in the chiller. Three sets."

He hurled a paperweight at the wall. "I had it! It wasn't even hurt. Damned beasts, damned beast masters." His eyes suddenly looked frightened as his voice dropped to a hoarse whisper. "I have to get one that stays alive. Maybe a beast would stay alive if its mate was with it." He turned on Laris. "Get out!" She edged to the door as he slumped in his seat. Her ears caught his mutter as she slid the door shut.

"Nhara will kill me if I fail."

Nhara? Laris drove the name deep into her mind. It sounded like an inner systems name. She wondered if Nhara might well be Dedran's mysterious patron and backer. She'd long since deduced that Dedran owned only a small percentage of the circus. It was a decoy, used as a screen, as through it moved people and animals which would have been noticed as illegal in some way without it.

Cregar came to talk about Tani and the coyotes just before the Lereyne landing. He listened to all Laris could say. Dedran was there as well and the men talked over the girl's head.

"Coyotes are smart even without genetic enhancement." That was Cregar.

"So why did the beast master HQ switch mostly to wolves?"

"I'm not certain. I think they may have found coyotes more independent. Wolves are pack animals."

Dedran was onto that. "So coyotes are less likely to suffer separation trauma, and with the girl not having been trained at all they may be less strongly bonded." He smiled nastily. "Think of it, Cregar. You could even end up with them bonded to you." He turned to Laris. "You say the girl went to this native camp alone? None of her family are with her?"

"She went alone but," Laris said, choosing her words carefully, "there's nothing to say one of the family won't go after her. Although I did get the impression she was to stay there alone several weeks. But I could be wrong." That should cover her. If anything happened then she could quote her own words. She hadn't been sure and had said so.

Dedran discounted her warnings as she'd expected. He had fastened onto this idea of a young harmless girl unable to protect two enhanced beasts. Two animals bonded to each other as a mated pair. He discounted the natives too. Dedran came originally from a long-settled inner planet. Any native race there had died out long before humanity lifted its face to the stars. He despised native races as primitive. He'd never been called on to live as they did and had no idea of how much intelligence and ingenuity—and ferocity—such a life could take.

They were only a step up from the animals they used, he thought. Cregar could copter in, sneak up after dark, stun as many as was necessary, and escape with the stunned coyotes. He could pick up assistance from local criminals as always. Make sure they had no ID. Hire the copter under a false name. And anyway, one thing he had found about Arzor: The native lands were theirs by treaty. The natives had no copters and by government decree no one over-flew tribal lands. It would take them days to get a message out about his raid. By then Cregar would be long gone.

He waved the girl to the door and gave Cregar his orders. "I want both coyotes undamaged. Stun them. Try not to kill any of the natives or the girl either. The Quade boy was talking to Laris in one of the bugged rooms. Too many people are beginning to put two and two together and they're getting a conspiracy against beast masters as their answer. Take as many men as you need and stun the whole camp if you have to. Set their horses free, and stun everyone again before you leave. It should give you enough of a head start."

"Uh-huh. Baris and Ideena were heading here the last I heard of them." He gave a hard grin. "I had a contact of mine keep a watch on what they were doing. You know, Dedran, I could use that scout ship of theirs. If I offer them the right to loot the camp before we get out they'd take me in and off Arzor again without declaring a passenger. If Arzoran security start looking for anyone it would be for them."

"And if they get themselves killed you could fake voice-prints and lift off with a sweet ship to add to our outfit. They aren't guild." Dedran agreed slowly. "I like it. Talk to them. Offer them anything but let them set the price." His eyes met those of the man opposite him. "And if the natives don't kill them, maybe they still won't make it back."

"I think that's possible. I'll look for them as soon as we land." He stood and left the cabin. A man couldn't choose the ones he worked with. A pity. But the money was good and the chance of beasts again sounded even better. But he'd see to it that his hirelings didn't harm the Tani girl. She wasn't a real beast master. Not one of those who'd stood by and let him be dumped like rubbish. He'd allow her to live. Since she wasn't trained the loss of her team wouldn't be so bad anyhow. He went to his cabin, laid down, and dreamed of days long past when one was many and all were one.

He was near the cages the next day, gazing at the beasts as Laris scurried to and fro in her work. He noticed her struggling to move a larger box of supplies from the top of several others, and moved forward just as the box began to tilt dangerously downward. It had been heavier than Laris expected as it slid toward her. Cregar jumped forward, realizing if it fell on the child she could be injured. His hands closed on the box's handles and he caught it before lowering it down safely with her help. He glanced at her.

"Be careful, if you are hurt Dedran won't be pleased."

Her mouth twisted into a wry smile. "I know." He turned to leave and without thinking she spoke. It was the old custom of the camps binding her to a fair exchange. The man had maybe saved her from injury, a favor of the same kind was owed.

"Cregar?" He turned to listen. "Don't discount the natives on Arzor. Logan told me they're warriors. A clan can fight like a tigerbat swarm." He said nothing, only nodded in reply before he left again, but Laris was satisfied he'd understood her warning.

They touched down on Lereyne to find that Dedran's forerunners had whipped up crowd enthusiasm to almost a frenzy. Cregar faded into the crowd seething on the port periphery, watching the circus set up on the back lot. He found Baris drifting quietly along, eyes flicking from side to side. Cregar could have taken the idiot right there. But he wanted to use the pair as long as possible. And it would fire the other man's touchy pride.

Cregar half turned away and waited. Crats, but the man was clumsy. He'd sensed him sneaking up minutes before he closed in to hand range. He encouraged his body to flinch when the hand tapped him lightly on the shoulder. Turning, he had time to see the gratified look in Baris's eyes. The man had been a skulker, a scavenger, and a hanger-on during the war and in some ways he'd never gotten over not being a real fighter.

Now it delighted him that he'd successfully surprised one who'd not only been a warrior, but one of the elite. Cregar allowed him his moment of triumph before beginning negotiations. Ideena was more suspicious.

"What's in this for you?"

She was sniffing at the bait. Now to set the hook. "We'll both do well," Cregar told her calmly. "For us, I get the beasts Dedran wants. You'll be transporting me and them free. I'll split the cost of those we hire. For you, Dedran had his little snooper staying with the family there for weeks. She says that the Storm woman is off visiting with a native clan." He leaned forward and splayed a set of photos across the table. "Ever seen something like this?"

Ideena gaped. "Cat's-eye gems." She stared at him, her tongue flicking out to lick her lips. "Where?"

He smiled. He had her now. "Where'd you think? Arzor, where I want to go. That's the world which produces them. The Thunder-talkers there wear sets like this. Thunder-talkers are their witch doctors and they always wear the most valuable green gems as their symbols. Some of the wealthier clan people would have lesser jewels. The ones in gold or red maybe. Those photos are from the early days. Now the planet holds a native treaty in place. They don't go onto native lands, they can't hunt there or even fly-over without specific clan permission." He added one further comment, his voice stressing the words slowly.

"And the clans have only bows and arrows. They ride horses. No guns, no copters, no nothing."

Ideena's eyes were glittering. "And any clan would have a Thunder-talker."

"And any Thunder-talker would have a set of gems like these, maybe better," he confirmed.

She exchanged looks with Baris. "We're in. But we get to check the whole clan if there's time."

"There should be. If there isn't we can just stun them again." He watched her. Ideena looked at Baris who signaled acceptance.

"All right," she said. "We're definitely in. But any tricks, Cregar, and Baris'll feed you to those damn beasts you're snatching."

"I'm interested in the animals, and getting in and out with my hide and no peacekeepers on my tail. That's all. But while you're giving out warnings take one for yourself." He fixed her with his eyes until she nodded. "Good. When can you lift off?"

Ideena consulted Baris in a low mutter as they walked to the ramp. Baris seemed to be protesting. She overrode that and turned to Cregar. "Tomorrow morning at the earliest. We need supplies, and Baris has something he wants to do."

Cregar would have bet on it. At the very least Baris would be planning some way to make sure they weren't tricked. Considering the man, it wouldn't be anything too subtle though. And since neither of this precious pair would want anyone knowing their business, they'd be unlikely to be planning the timeworn "leaving an envelope with someone to be opened" routine. There was always a chance that trick would go wrong, and the envelope used to convict them of something.

He waved graciously. "Tomorrow morning then. And I'll contribute to supplies. That's fair." He handed over a hundred-credit note, contriving to brush against Baris's sleeve as he did so. The tiny bug should stay there long enough. He'd planted two larger bugs already. One under the table here, and another by their ship's ramp. Ideena would expect that. She'd look, find them, and be satisfied. But they were meant to be found. Now he flicked three more from his fingertips when neither quarry was watching.

One bounced off and was lost. The other two clung to Ideena's clothing near the hem. Not an ideal spot but they had good amplification. He should be able to hear what this pair said. He left the duo with protestations of comradeship and hurried to a secluded place behind a shed. Then he thrust the receiver into his ear hastily. Baris was complaining.

"Why can't we just murder the creep once we lift off? We can dump his body into the sun and keep going."

Ideena's voice would have etched steel. "Baris, you idiot. If we do that how are we going to find out where this clan is?"

"Who says we need that particular clan?"

"I do. If we get picked up for any reason before we're clear, well, we're just innocent traders accepting a hired collection job. We had no idea what the man was doing. When we found out, we were out over the desert in a copter filled with his men. You get us new IDs in some unlisted name before we lift. If they run us they find nothing. If they run Cregar they get..."

It was clear that a great light was dawning on Baris. "Oh, I see. That's clever of you, Ideena. They'll get his record and then they'll believe us."

"Riiight," Ideena drawled. "So we dump him after we score and get clear. He thinks we're going in without listing him as a passenger, but we do more, we list him as having hired us. If nothing does go wrong Dedran will likely pay well to have these animals back even if Cregar doesn't come with them. Just see to it that Cregar can't steal the ship and we'll make out like pirates."

"What do you mean 'like pirates'? We are pirates." There was a lot of chuckling and Cregar removed the receiver. He took a small flat object from his belt, set several buttons, hooked it back, and strolled into the port crowds again. He'd let the recorder pick up anything else they said for a while, and he'd play it back every few hours. But Baris and Ideena would be busy most of the day. It would be later when they had their errands out of the way that what they said might have some bearing on him again.

He reported back to Dedran. "They're not intending to do anything until we leave Arzor. But I need a clean ID for myself and a set of theirs with their true identities. I'll plant theirs somewhere half smart. If we get picked up by any authorities I'll be clean and it'll be that pair who'll have to be answering questions."

He smirked. "There's times when I can hardly keep track of who's double-crossing who in this game. Hang on a moment." He activated the recorder and listened. "Nothing, just supplier trading. Listen, we'll be using their ship to get to Arzor and do the grab on the animals. One thing Baris and Ideena will do is try to fix their ship so I can't lift off on my own without them. Any ideas how they might be able to do that?"

Dedran considered. "Nothing you shouldn't be able to counter if you drop them at some stage and can pick over them and their gear for any lockchip. They'd probably use one of those to freeze their ship's controls. But if you have to make a run for it and lose them..." He thought. "Take an all-purpose memorychip. If they take a chip out of the navigationcomp the ship won't lift. Or if they run a null program to keep the programming wiped. Put a memorychip in and it bypasses the null program or the lack of a proper chip."

Cregar nodded. "Sounds okay. But keep thinking. I'll see you before I lift. If I don't come back neither do your animals." He didn't have to mention that if the authorities collected him because Baris and Ideena had been able to dump Cregar first, then if Cregar was still alive he'd have no reason not to talk to the Arzoran authorities and save his own skin. If he gave them someone higher up the chain they'd give him immunity and a new ID. He'd talk selectively of course. Enough to have them out looking for Dedran the mastermind.

Not enough to encourage a guild contract. But that would still leave Dedran doing several lifetimes—depending on the planet which caught him and for what. Some had the death penalty for many of Dedran's activities. And Dedran had no one farther up the chain he could talk about. Too many of those were heavy into the guild, who'd forcibly resent it. Not that Cregar had to say any of this, he didn't have to, it was what Dedran would do if he was the one caught first. His smile was bitter—what a life. Turn in your companion before he turned you in. Trust no one, make no friends, never stay long in any place. How had he come to this?

Cregar spent much of the day on the move, but he sat in to watch the afternoon show. It went well and the crowd stood to applaud at the end. Judging by the number of people turned away at the door, Dedran would be able to stay here for weeks without suspicion. He checked out the recorder as he checked back with the circus boss. Neither had any more worth hearing. Cregar headed toward the ramp, then halted.

There was one other thing which bothered him. But there wasn't much he could do about it. He turned away and stood looking indecisively into the animal hold. At the far side he could see the girl grooming a tigerbat. They'd be setting up for the evening show soon. Cregar cursed in a soft, tired voice. He was a fool. But he trusted Laris more than he did any other person, and she'd warned him. He'd understood her earlier comment to him about the natives, they weren't quite as passive as the ship's library made them out to be. With that warning in mind he'd added a precaution or two for his trip into the clan lands.

Dedran had talked recently about his plans for the child. Here on Lereyne they had the arenas as they had on several other worlds. In them, beasts fought for their lives. On Lereyne the sport was frowned upon socially although it was not illegal. However, the nonacceptance meant that it was very difficult to acquire good beast trainers. Dedran would like to sell Laris for that purpose, unless her bond expired before he could do so, or the child found enough credit to escape. And if she thought what he would tell her now was only about money—the child was as honest as she could be with Dedran as bond-master.

He caught her eye and signaled her to come to him in silence. She obeyed, then stood listening as he spoke in the camp slang he'd learned in low ports, using a very soft, carefully blurred voice. None could lip-read that or even pick it up understandably with a wall bug or directional mike.

"If I don't come back, I gotta a stash 'a credits. Want you ter have them. They behind a panel, room next t' mine." He gave swift directions and waited to see she understood.

"Why'n me?"

"If 'n I don't need them 'ny more what matter. Take 'em and get out. Swear oath, no touchin' 'til it's sure I'm gone. Then use 'em to leave. Oke?"

She met his eyes firmly. "Swear oath," the same carefully blurred voice repeated. She put out a shy hand and brushed her fingertip over his arm. "You'm take care 'n thanks." She was gone, back to her tigerbat grooming and Cregar was left shaking a little. He forced calm and left without meeting Dedran. He found himself wondering, if he'd stayed in the service, if he'd married, if he'd had a daughter, would she have been like that one?

He hoped so. Then he scoffed at himself. He was getting soft in his old age. Laris was just another camp brat, but—she was better than most. The girl had warned him, risking the circus boss's anger if he'd heard that, and Cregar had heard her tell Dedran earlier that Cregar was a fine trainer. Something inside of him was warm remembering her words. Let the kid get out if she had the chance; if he went down on this trip his credits would be no use to him anyway.

He turned into the street where the shop should have his requirements, his thoughts returning to the circus. If Laris stayed there Dedran would fake an open bond and sell the child to be a beast trainer for one of the arenas. She would fight that—and her new owners—and be broken, something he didn't wish to happen. He put it all out of his mind as he entered the store and settled to bargain for one of the all-purpose shipchips. They came high and he wasn't wasting credit.

Fortunately he didn't have to. Lereyne was a fishing planet with a number of ports—and all the shops which catered to them. On the huge inland sea there were canneries, fish-drying factories, and a host of fishing boats, along with the people who worked on the boats and in the factories. The volume of foreign cargo ships which ported on Lereyne not only made it an excellent place to stop for a circus, it also made it a good place to buy small, normally high-cost, portable items. Cregar bought an all-purpose secondhand shipchip for a price which made his smile stay in place all the time he searched for Baris.