Free [Wildcards 10] - Double Solitaire by George R. R. Martin Page A

fucked over by you ."
    Shame set her to plucking nervously at the strands of hair that had broken free from her braid.
    "I am sorry Jube. Old hatreds make mockery of recent friendships. We are not representatives of our respective cultures, are we?" She turned strained and desperate eyes to Jube.
    Taking her hand, Jube said softly, "If it's any comfort to you, I'm not a negotiator. I'm a scientist, an anthropologist, that's all. And I do love these people... at least as much as you do."
    Tach nodded. Her throat suddenly hurt too much to talk. Jube's words had reminded her of just how much she was leaving, and the responsibilities she couldn't help but fear she was evading. The sealing of the city could only mean that another attack on the Rox was imminent, and Tach wondered if this time Bloat could survive. She should stay and try to help, but the ship was arriving, and there wouldn't be another. She did calculations and decided that if the Ideal favored her, she could be restored to her body, and back on Earth in two months. Could Teddy hang on that long?
    "White Sands, three days. Well, I'd best get planning." She drained her shake and slid out of the booth.
    "Tachyon." She stopped and looked back. "In memory of the old joker news vendor who told bad joker jokes, take this, and don't think too harshly of me," Jube said.
    He placed it on the table. A tangle of wires topped with a yellow-green crystal. Tach's eyes widened slightly.
    "Thank you, Jube. It will help."
     
    "Cool," breathed Trips as the heavy sunken door swung up to reveal the Turtle shell.
    "You're sure you'll be all right?" Tach asked again nervously.
    Tommy nodded. "Yeah, I got sandwiches." He hefted the wicker hamper. "Plenty to drink."
    "Don't get pulled over," Mark said seriously. "I bet there's an open-bottle law for turtle shells too." He then allowed a delighted smile to crease his cheeks. Tom and Tach just stared up at the big ace, then began laughing.
    "What a team," Tom said. "Your relatives haven't got a prayer, Tachy."
    "They could not withstand us before," the girl replied. She stepped forward and gave the ace a quick hug. Tom started to close his arms around her, then abruptly dropped them.
    "Like, go in peace, man," Trips said, flashed Tom the peace sign, then vigorously shook the smaller man's hand.
    Tom entered the shell. Trips and Tach stepped back and watched the great armored shell slide silently out into the night. It dwindled quickly as it climbed. Their last sight of it was as it crossed like a small, self-propelled shadow across the face of the moon.
    "Awesome," Mark sighed.
     
    Jay and Mark were waiting for her in a corner booth. The nightclub was jumping at nine o'clock with a bad salsa band making conversation virtually impossible. It wasn't deterring the patrons, however. The rumble of three hundred voices provided a bass counterpoint to the wailing singer.
    "How'd it go?" Mark asked. Under the colored strobe lights his face seemed to dissolve and reform every third second. It was sickening.
    "Not so well," Tach said. The memory of Cody's tears gnawed at her. "She wanted to come with me. Impossible of course. A woman of childbearing years. Impossible." She sat down at the table and briefly buried her face in her hands. "I love that woman. And I have brought her nothing but pain." Tach threw her hair back. Turned to Jay. "So have you completed the arrangements for our journey?"
    "Yeah." He pushed three tickets across the table.
    Tach stared at them. Blinked and looked again. They had not changed, they were still... "Bus tickets?" Tachyon finally said.
    Jay threw out his hands palms up. "Hey, they're watching the airports, trains don't go anywhere close to where we need to be --"
    "I thought you would charter a plane or something."
    "With what?" Jay asked. "You got no money. I got no money. He" -- jerk of a thumb at Mark -- "sure as hell ain't got no money."
    "But a bus ? I'm pregnant. The last time I rode a bus was from Lisbon to