Bull and three other Guys had gathered up the four people who were going to the crash site in their arms and made tracks in an uncharacteristic haste, a phalanx of five more Guys leading the way to break a trail. Joe and the others had found themselves taking the ride of their lives. The aliens had thundered through the dense jungle growth at speeds occasionally topping seventy kph, hurdling some obstacles with tremendous eight meter leaps and crashing through others like meat tanks in overdrive, covering the distance in just over half an hour.
Serena had been in even worse shape than they had thought—and than she had let on. Not only had both her legs been broken and one lung punctured by three splintered ribs, she also had a broken wrist, various internal injuries, and a broken back. Hakim and Petra had gotten her stabilized, Jubal cocooned her in transfoam to immobilize her body, then the Guys had peeled the wreckage away from her with a breathtaking display of brute strength tempered by tender, almost reverential delicacy.
Guys lived longer than their imar hosts, and two or three times during their lifetime they would abandon the imar body they resided in for a younger, healthier one. Bull and the others were aware that humans were peculiarly body-bound, but it was only upon seeing the shape Serena was in that they truly understood that she would die if her body did. They were aghast at the thought.
After a brief communing with the others, Bull insisted that a shuttle be sent directly to the crash site for her. Captain Tsao already had a second smaller shuttle carrying the ship’s doctor en route to the BCT worksite and it was quickly diverted to the scene of the crash. They loaded Serena in and watched it lift, Tsao herself controlling its ascent. The supply ship broke orbit and raced toward a safe transit distance only minutes after the shuttle docked.
There had been no word since, not until that morning, when Captain Tsao had sent a message that the Tahiti was back insystem and Miss Caltefores would be coming down by shuttle sometime that afternoon. Jubal, who had been running things in Testa’s absence, had come to personally give Joe the good news that she had survived and returned.
Serena paused just inside the doorway. She met Joe’s gaze and smiled. “Not what you were expecting?”
It took Joe several seconds to find his voice. “You look good,” he managed at last. “Like it never happened.”
“Believe me,” she said with a laugh, “It did. I ran up a medical bill big enough to build an entire hospital. Even my father was impressed.”
“But you’re OK now.”
“I’m just fine, and as you can see I’m no more delicate than before.” She sketched a bow in Bull’s direction. “It is an honor to see you again, Bull. I can’t thank you enough for all your help.”
Bull removed his glasses and bared his teeth in the Guy version of a smile. “We could do no less for someone who so honored us, Miss Serena. I am delighted that you have returned, and overjoyed to see you so well recovered. Mister Joe said I should stay to greet you, but does not think I should be allowed to play cards with you.”
Joe chuckled. “Not for money, anyway. We wouldn’t want the Guys to end up owning BCT.”
Serena sauntered toward him. Her walk looked fine. In fact it looked great. He knew he was staring, but couldn’t stop.
“They already do own a small piece of it,” she said. “Father put a thousand shares in a managed account under their name to compensate them for their help. Then they picked up another couple thousand, ones that used to belong to Frank and the faction at BCT which paid him to arrange my accident. Believe me, there was blood in the halls back at BCT for a while.”
Joe assumed that was just a figure of speech. Then again, when someone with her father’s wealth and power went on the warpath his enemies were most certainly dead meat. He couldn’t keep from wondering what might have happened to him if she had died. That wasn’t something he wanted to think about.
“So, you’re telling me the Guys are rich?”
“Wealthy, anyway.” She snickered. “Can’t you just see them taking the tsassa-mahra baths at Sardonyx?”
Joe said nothing. He had no idea what she was talking about, and this reminder of the gulf of class and lifestyle between them made him feel obscurely sad.
“Anyway,” she continued, “You ought to know that you’re talking to the new Vice President in charge of Site Operations.”
The gulf just got wider. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks. I’ve already started making some changes, and have plenty more planned.”
Joe smiled. “I just bet you have.”
“One I’d like to make is hiring you away from the BAA. I’m offering an upper echelon job with an embarrassingly high salary.”
Joe’s smile faded. He’d had a feeling that, being who and what she was, such an offer was bound to come. He didn’t doubt that it was genuinely meant as a reward, but how it was meant, and what it would amount to, were two entirely different things.
He turned away to gaze at Bull. The answer he would have to give her was largely based on the way his relationship with this oversized, occasionally aggravating person and his kind had changed. Serena’s crash had marked a turning point, maybe even a coming of age for him. Bull and the other Guys were no longer just his charges, or his responsibility, but his friends. The protection of their interests demanded the very best he had to give them.
He returned his attention to this woman who, in her way, was as alien to him as any Guy. “Thanks, but I don’t think so.”
She crossed her arms, her face unreadable. “Why not?”
“I know you have good intentions, and I’m honored by your offer, but the advocate for an alien people can’t function properly if he’s in someone’s pocket. Even someone as nice and well-intentioned as you. I know my place. It’s not inside BCT.”
She seemed to be taking his refusal well; in fact she appeared to be trying to hide a smile as she said, “OK, I guess I can accept that.”
He peered at her uncertainly. “You seem almost happy I said no.”
“Do I?” She shrugged. “You would have been extra overhead, and you know how important BCT’s profits are. Besides, I also happen to have a second job offer for you. You see, while I was still in the hospital I started negotiating with the BAA. It took all the clout I had, and I admit that I traded on looking like the daughter of Frankenstein to get my father’s help, but I got the BAA to create a new division. It’s called ‘Standards and Practices Oversight for Treaty Enforcement and Fair and Ethical Treatment of Native Races.’ I admit that’s quite a mouthful, but I think it’s something that’s been needed for quite a while. The job of being Field Director in charge of keeping an eye on BCT’s performance in those areas is yours if you want it.”
Joe stared. “Me?” There was that gulf again. She’d spent the past months bending vast bureaucracies to her will. He’d taught Bull how to beat him at rummy. With Jubal in charge and the treaty being scrupulously observed there hadn’t been much else for him to do.
She came and parked one round hip on the corner of his desk. He realized that she was wearing perfume. For him?
“Now before you answer, let me warn you that the job has some drawbacks. It will mean a lot of travel, going from planet to planet and site to site, checking to make sure the BAA agents under your jurisdiction aren’t cutting corners or getting too cozy with BCT site management. You’ll probably have to spend months at a time dealing with this spoiled rich bitch my father put in charge of site operations, and although the pay is a bit better than what you’re getting now, it may not be enough to compensate for that.”
Joe just sat there staring at her. She stared back. Both remained poker-faced.