Devil to the Belt (v1.1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

said. “For God’s sake, just shut up, he can hear you.”
    “So if he doesn’t? A month gets him well, and we pull into station and he looks healthy and he says sure he was managing that ship just fine—”
    “Just let it alone, Ben!”
    “I’m going to get pictures.”
    “Get your pictures.” Bird shook his head, wishing he could say no, wishing he had some way to reason with Ben, but if getting a vid record would make Ben happier, God, let him have the pictures. “We have the condition of that ship out there, we have the log records over there—”
    “Charts—” Ben exclaimed, as if that was a new idea.
    “We’re not touching that log. No way. That part of the law
I
know.”
    “I’m not talking about that. Look—look, I got an idea.”
    An idea was welcome. Bird watched doubtfully as Ben punched up the zone schema, pointed on the screen to the’driver ship and its fire-path to the Well, the same thing that scared them even to contemplate. “
That’s
got a medic. That’s got a friggin’ company captain in charge. We just ask Mama to boost us over there just across the line and
they
can take official possession.”
    “Damn right they would. The company doesn’t run a charity.”
    “It’s an Rl ship! They’re obligated to take him. They have no choice. The law says a ‘driver is a Base: they can log us right there for a find if we bring it in, and this is a find, isn’t it? Same as a rock. We can turn it in, money in the bank, and we can apply to do some clean-up along with its tenders for the rest of our run—that’s damn good money. Sure money. And we got the best excuse going.”
    “Ben, that’s a ‘driver captain you’re talking about. They don’t
have
to do anything. You want him to tell us we’ve still got to turn around and take this guy in to Base, maybe clean to Rl, if he takes it in his head—he can do that. You want him to tell us he’ll hold Eighty-four Zebra for us—and then contest his fees in court when he shows up three years from now with one hell of a haulage charge? We got this run to pay for, we got serious questions to answer, because there’s a whole lot that’s not right about this, and I’m not taking my chances with any Court of Inquiry back at Base with all the evidence stuck out on a ‘driver that for all we know isn’t coming in for three or four more years. If you want to talk law, now, let’s be practical!”
    Ben’s mouth shut.
    “A ‘driver does any damn thing it wants to. Three years’ dockage charges, supposing they’re on the start of their run. Three years’ haulage. You want to try to pry a claim away from the company then? Not mentioning the cost of getting it there. We’re short as is. You want to hear them say ferry it back ourselves anyway? Twice the distance? Or get us drafted into its tender crew on a
permanent
basis? You know what they charge a freerunner for fuel?”
    Ben looked very sober during all of this. Ben bit his lip. “So that’s out. You know, we could just sort of knock that fellow on the head. Solve everybody’s problem.”
    Ben, who was scared to death of looking at a body.
    “Yeah, sure,” Bird said.
    And from aft: “What time is it? What’s the time?”
    Ben glanced up. “Now what does he want?”
    Bird checked his watch. “2310,” he shouted back.
    “I want my watch.”
    “God,” Ben muttered, shaking his head. “We have four weeks of this guy?”
    “
I want my watch
!”
    Ben yelled: “Shut up, dammit, you’re not keeping any appointments anyway!”
    “Patience,” Bird said, but Ben shoved off in Dekker’s direction. Bird sailed after, arrived as Dekker said quietly, “I need my watch.”
    Ben said: “You don’t need your watch, you’re not going anywhere. It’s 23 damn 10 in my sleep, mister, you’re using our air and our fuel and our time already, so shut up.”
    “Ben, just take it easy.”
    “I’ll shut him up with a wrench.”
    “Ben.”
    “All right, all right, all right.”