Read Online Claimed (The Flash Gold Chronicles, #4) by Lindsay Buroker - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lindsay Buroker
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might ever be in danger if he got wrathy. He would hate himself for that. “I’ve never crossed that line, despite what that Pinkerton agent believed, but I’ve seen other bounty hunters go bad. This last year... since meeting you, really, I’ve decided... I want to quit once I’m done with Cudgel. All of this only started because of him, and I think it’s right that it should end with him. I’m not sure what I’ll do afterward, but I’m thinking on it.”
He shifted his weight and tossed the dregs of the kerosene bottle at a couple of snakes that had ventured close. One on the other side of the pit was slithering in and out of the rib cage of one of the fresher corpses. Kali kept glancing at it, and he thought about shooting it, just so she wouldn’t have to be disturbed by the image, but the bullet would go straight through its head and ricochet off the wall. Best not to stir up the rattlers until they were safely out of the pit.
“Head of security for a freighter captain?” Kali said.
Cedar snorted softly. “Something like that might work.”
“Because I’ve had your cooking, and I definitely couldn’t recommend you for galley work.”
“Good to know.” He cocked his head. “Freighter captain, huh? So this isn’t a one-time trip you’re thinking of making?”
“It started that way, with some of the Hän looking for an escape—there’s not much left for them here anymore, more disease and hunger than anything—and then me thinking that I might bring some cargo back to finance some further trips. Running freight isn’t all I’d like to do, but with all the money it’s taken to get this ship together, I’ve been realizing that getting it built won’t be the end of my journey but the start of a new one. Paying for repairs and supplies and keeping it in the air—well, we won’t be able to just fly around the world for free, not unless we take up pirating, which I’m not looking to do.”
“I reckon the difference between dreams and goals is that one has to be stoked with more than thoughts.”
Kali nodded. “I’m sure there would still be time to do some pure exploring, and I don’t know, I’ve thought about trying to learn more about the flash gold and this legacy my father left me, but running freight, it’s honest enough work, and it could take a captain—or a security chief—to some interesting places.”
“Places where Pinkerton agents wouldn’t be likely to follow?”
“The world’s a big place, I hear. Lots of other countries out there, some of them real distant from California.”
Cedar smiled again. Kali’s hands had continued to work while she spoke—while he spoke—and her grappling hook looked to be almost done. As usual, it appeared much more sophisticated than anything he would have made.
“This... isn’t the place for this, I know,” he said, “but I was wondering, when you were saying captain and security head, did you ever imagine...”
“Yes?” Kali prompted when the seconds ticked past.
A snake slithered out of the nose hole on a head that had been gnawed down to the skull. No, this wasn’t the place for this conversation. He would wait for a more appropriate moment. “Were you thinking we would be fifty-fifty on the earnings, like we have been with this bounty-hunting partnership, or do security guards rank lower on the pay schedule?”
“Hm.” Kali met his eyes, and he tried to decide if she knew what he’d truly been thinking about. “I don’t imagine security chiefs get a huge cut in normal circumstances, but as a co-owner, I expect you would be entitled to fifty percent. I’m just looking to have freedom, not to be rich, and that arrangement has worked fine for me so far.”
“It’s worked well for me too,” he said, though he couldn’t help but think he wanted more. More than a business arrangement. What they had started and stopped and started... how much did it mean to her?
She pointed her wire cutters at him. “Just
He shifted his weight and tossed the dregs of the kerosene bottle at a couple of snakes that had ventured close. One on the other side of the pit was slithering in and out of the rib cage of one of the fresher corpses. Kali kept glancing at it, and he thought about shooting it, just so she wouldn’t have to be disturbed by the image, but the bullet would go straight through its head and ricochet off the wall. Best not to stir up the rattlers until they were safely out of the pit.
“Head of security for a freighter captain?” Kali said.
Cedar snorted softly. “Something like that might work.”
“Because I’ve had your cooking, and I definitely couldn’t recommend you for galley work.”
“Good to know.” He cocked his head. “Freighter captain, huh? So this isn’t a one-time trip you’re thinking of making?”
“It started that way, with some of the Hän looking for an escape—there’s not much left for them here anymore, more disease and hunger than anything—and then me thinking that I might bring some cargo back to finance some further trips. Running freight isn’t all I’d like to do, but with all the money it’s taken to get this ship together, I’ve been realizing that getting it built won’t be the end of my journey but the start of a new one. Paying for repairs and supplies and keeping it in the air—well, we won’t be able to just fly around the world for free, not unless we take up pirating, which I’m not looking to do.”
“I reckon the difference between dreams and goals is that one has to be stoked with more than thoughts.”
Kali nodded. “I’m sure there would still be time to do some pure exploring, and I don’t know, I’ve thought about trying to learn more about the flash gold and this legacy my father left me, but running freight, it’s honest enough work, and it could take a captain—or a security chief—to some interesting places.”
“Places where Pinkerton agents wouldn’t be likely to follow?”
“The world’s a big place, I hear. Lots of other countries out there, some of them real distant from California.”
Cedar smiled again. Kali’s hands had continued to work while she spoke—while he spoke—and her grappling hook looked to be almost done. As usual, it appeared much more sophisticated than anything he would have made.
“This... isn’t the place for this, I know,” he said, “but I was wondering, when you were saying captain and security head, did you ever imagine...”
“Yes?” Kali prompted when the seconds ticked past.
A snake slithered out of the nose hole on a head that had been gnawed down to the skull. No, this wasn’t the place for this conversation. He would wait for a more appropriate moment. “Were you thinking we would be fifty-fifty on the earnings, like we have been with this bounty-hunting partnership, or do security guards rank lower on the pay schedule?”
“Hm.” Kali met his eyes, and he tried to decide if she knew what he’d truly been thinking about. “I don’t imagine security chiefs get a huge cut in normal circumstances, but as a co-owner, I expect you would be entitled to fifty percent. I’m just looking to have freedom, not to be rich, and that arrangement has worked fine for me so far.”
“It’s worked well for me too,” he said, though he couldn’t help but think he wanted more. More than a business arrangement. What they had started and stopped and started... how much did it mean to her?
She pointed her wire cutters at him. “Just
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