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that befell a security company that had been getting over-zealous in
persuading Alazahad of his need for business protection.
Good to see you too, Mahom. How s the machinery moving?
Oh, you know how it is. Just trundlin along. How about you? Still seeing
that gorgeous woman you got lives out on Nineveh, by the lake?
You bet.
And how are you doing, guy? Mahom leaned down to administer Guinness a
couple of powerful pats on the shoulder. Hey, lookin good, boy! Lookin
good. Is this man still causing all kinds of trouble?
Actually, I m here for purely domestic and respectable reasons this time,
Kieran said, letting his gaze wander around the vehicles lined up on the lot,
and the collection of miscellaneous machinery in the yard by the office
building behind.
Yeah, right. That s how it always starts.
I do believe I detect skepticism. Kieran looked pained.
Who from? Me? What are you talking about? Okay, so, what s going on?
Kieran led the way over toward a selection of pricey but better equipped,
high-performance models that he had spotted, grouped to the side for the more
discerning. It s time I found myself somewhere a bit more permanent here,
Mahom Mars is the center of a lot that s going on. That means I ll need to be
able to get around. What have you got?
You name it. If I haven t got it, I can get it and for you, Knight, a better
deal than you re gonna find anyplace else. What did you have in mind? I ve got
a hot contact in personal flymos right now.
Leave the flymobile for later. Let s stick to wheels for the moment.
I hear you.
Fast but maneuverable. A good looker is always nice, but no fake cosmetics.
Something tough that ll handle well off the road and deal with the soft
patches. Full satellite com and nav, emergency backup on all essential
systems. Probably gas or hydrazide turbine-electric. Military-spec shocks and
suspension; pivot axle; individual wheel drives are a must. Forget induction
pickup, optimizing overrides, and any smart automatics.
They stopped in front of a Euromco Brigadier: gold sheen with dark strip
inlays, sleek but with rugged foundations, tan upholstery. Kieran looked it
over, then looked at Mahom inquiringly. Mahom shook his head. Rich kid s toy.
Okay for picnics and day trips around the domes. But the forced-flow
oxidizer will kill your range out on the surface. He put a hand on Kieran s
shoulder to draw him to the dark blue Kodiak next to it. Guinness stiffened
and growled a warning note.
It s okay. Just say hello again for a second, Kieran said. Mahom stretched
down a hamlike hand for Guinness to check over with his nose. Friend, Kieran
told Guinness. Remember? Keep it in your filing system this time. Friend,
okay? Guinness wagged his tail, evidently happy.
Degenerate hydrogen reactor driving a closed-cycle turbine, Mahom said.
That s the way things are going to go. One recharge will last a year. Take
you around the planet.
When they get it right. I heard this is practically a prototype. It was a
new technology being pushed by one of the Martian home manufacturers running
on a stretched budget and high hopes
but allegedly they knew their stuff.
It s solid enough, Mahom said. But the competition is making them cut back
too much on costs for the home-grown models here. They ve put the know-how
into a new, deluxe production design that ll be coming out of the lunar
factories. He winked knowingly. Loaded. Got double-
sealed shells. Terran government subsidies picking up the tab. The word isn t
generally out yet, but I
got an advance order in for a few. What I ll do is rent you this until the
first ones show up. You can get the feel of how it works, make up your mind
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then. Should be around a month. Does that sound good?
Kieran walked slowly around the Kodiak, taking in the light yet robust frame,
generous ground clearance, splayed wheelbase for stability at speed. A chrome
logo affixed to the trunk carried the proud message: S
UPPLIED BY
ALAZAHAD MACHINE. The dynamics of gravity wells made it actually cheaper to
ship loads from the lunar surface to Mars than from Earth to Luna. And if
governments back on Earth were trying to extend political influence to the
Moon by making their taxpayers help him buy a car, why should he turn it down?
The new one ll have a version with collapsible rear seats that ll turn the
back end into practically a hatch-top truck, Mahom said, following him with
his eyes. You won t beat that for versatility.
CO-two compressor-reservoir boosted cooling, specially developed for Mars. For
you, fifteen percent off the regular price. Flat four hundred a month on the
rental in the meantime. That s a steal all by itself.
Kieran opened the two doors on the side nearest him and leaned in to look and
poke around. The interior was finished in soft black with gray trim,
comfortable and spacious, though with minimal extras as Mahom had said.
Guinness bounded in and took possession of the passenger seat, panting and
looking back at Kieran as if to ask what they were waiting for. He seemed to
have made his mind up, at least.
I have to go out to Stony Flats this afternoon, Kieran said, straightening
back up. Let me take it out there for a test drive, and I ll let you know
tomorrow after I get back. How s that?
Sounds like we ve got a deal, Knight. I just need to take a swipe of your
license in the office, and we ll pick up the key. Then you re on your way.
They crossed the rear yard through a mix of commercial vehicles and various
wheeled, tracked, and balloon-tired, earth-moving, digging, and drilling
contraptions even one on legs. There was a
Chinese army personnel carrier that had found its way to Mars through
God-alone-knew-what machinations, and numerous partly dismantled bodies and
frames that would never, of their own accord, move again. Just before they
reached the office door, Mahom beckoned Kieran over to a door in a square
concrete building behind the office shack, which he unlocked. He flipped on
the light inside to reveal racks and shelves packed with handguns, shotguns,
assault rifles, submachine weapons, several plasma cannon, a row of machine
guns, and seemingly every form of ammunition
conceived by man, ranging from twelve-clips for automatics to hand-launched
antiarmor projectiles and grenades. I wondered if you needed to do any
shopping in the accessories department too, while you re at it, he explained,
beaming.
Mahom, I m just driving out to see a geologist, not starting a war. But if I
ever decide to, I
promise I ll let you know.
Okay. Just checking. Mahom turned out the light and locked the door again.
But in the meantime I ll be looking into getting a good flymo for you. I
haven t forgotten about it.
I m sure you haven t, Mahom, Kieran agreed with a sigh.
11
A road climbing a series of hairpin bends through one of the side canyons,
then upward between crumbling buttes of wind-worn rock and sandy hills, led
out onto the more open plain. The air was hazy, the sky above, a curious pale
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