Marked In Flesh

CHAPTER 18

Thaisday, Juin 14

Tess poured a mug of coffee for herself, then sat at the table where Nadine stared at the plate of food. The woman had dark circles under her eyes, as well as cuts and bruises caused by the men trying to pull her out of the car.

“Humans First and Last,” Nadine said, her voice barely audible. “I thought they were strutting blowhards who enjoyed the sound of their own voices. I expected some trouble from them, but not this.” She looked up. “They were going to throw me in the fire. How can someone call himself a human and do that?”

Since she thought that savagery was completely in keeping with human behavior, Tess said nothing.

“I need to do something.”

“What?”

“I don’t know. Work. Something to occupy my hands while I . . . I’ll talk to my insurance company. Not that it will do much good if they’re sporting an HFL decal on their door, but I’ll file the paperwork.”

“Then what?”

Nadine shrugged, then winced. “I appreciate you letting me stay here last night, but I’m not comfortable living on charity.”

Tess stood. “Come with me.” She led Nadine to the work area in her shop. “Does this have everything you would need?”

“Appliances? Yes. But you’d need to get your hands on some loaf pans if I was going to bake bread here.” Nadine pointed to the cookie sheets and muffin pans. “Someone already does some baking?”

“I do when I’m in the mood,” Tess said. “I don’t do enough of it to supply A Little Bite with food.” She hesitated. She should discuss this with the rest of the Business Association first. Then again, Simon had been making a lot of decisions on his own, and this was her shop. “You’re welcome to use the room above the Liaison’s Office until you get yourself sorted out. You can make the food for A Little Bite as your rent. We can sell loaves of bread so that people like the Denbys can make their own sandwiches. Or I can take you over to Meat-n-Greens to have a look at the kitchen there if you want to cook other things.”

Nadine studied the workspace. “How do we get supplies?”

“Make a list of everything you usually ordered for your bakery, and give me a list of tools you would like to have here. I’ll see what I can do about getting them. We may not be able to purchase everything we request, but I think we’ll have enough.” Supplies shouldn’t be a problem. The terra indigene who grew food on humanlike farms between Lake Etu and the Feather Lakes had sent a message that they would sell their crops only to other terra indigene or to Intuit settlements that belonged to the terra indigene. If all the Others throughout Thaisia were making that choice, Tess figured the Lakeside Courtyard could trade fruits and vegetables for Midwest wheat to make flour.

“What about Chris?” Nadine asked.

“Last I heard, the doctors needed more time to work on his broken hand, and he was still at the hospital,” Tess said. “Police officers from the Chestnut Street station are there standing guard. No one will hurt him. One of the girls can drive you over there to visit.”

Nadine nodded. “He should have family there. Chris’s father joined the HFL, so I don’t know if either of his parents will be at the hospital to help him—or will let him come home to heal.”

Simon was right, Tess thought. We keep getting tangled up with more and more of these humans. “We’ll figure out something when he’s ready to leave.”

Nadine sniffed once, then squared her shoulders. “Well, I’m going to warm up that breakfast you kindly made for me and get started on those lists.”

Tess stayed at the counter and let Nadine bustle around in the back.

What would the Humans First and Last movement say when they realized the Courtyard had the only bakery left in the city of Lakeside?