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Cloudy looked at them. “Thank you. We will accept gladly, but we would rather have the ability to anchor our stall to the dock. Both of your companies have lobbied against it. If we leave, if the stall must move, it is only eight wounds in the dock, but it would keep the thugs from pushing it off the dock when no one is here... again.”
“The peacekeepers came and got our footage this morning. Were those the guardians this morning?”
Cloudy coloured and rubbed the back of her neck. “Yes.”
“How did they know?”
“I called them.”
The managers were shocked. “How are you known to them?”
“They came by a few days ago after a mission, and I fed them. That’s all.”
Emgoth nibbled daintily at his akko. “And she is the same species as Overseer Mekked’s wife.”
Cloudy growled. “Shut up, or I will forget all my sauce recipes.”
Emgoth grinned. “It’s hilarious.”
“Shut up, or I will hide some new bruises with the old ones.” She narrowed her eyes at him.
He grinned.
Sunny chirped from the stall. “You have to admit it’s funny, Cloudy.”
“It isn’t funny. You and Margo Weller? That was funny.”
Sunny blinked, and understanding flashed. “Got it. Sorry.”
Emgoth looked at her. “Ah, I see. Right. No more jokes.”
“Thanks.”
One of the managers said, “We will contact the city about fixing the stall down.”
“If they say go, I can have it anchored in fifteen minutes.”
“How?”
“It’s a Terran thing.” She smiled. “If the stall is ever not needed, it will cost us eight hundred credits to replace the affected area.”
The managers looked at each other and lifted their com units. They made calls, signed documents, and grinned. “Lock it down.”
She nodded and looked around. Not too many folks to watch.
Cloudy hummed and walked to the stall, gathered the bolts and fastening gun, and then she stuck her head out and said, “This is going to be a bit loud for forty-five seconds.”
She touched the control panel, and the loud whirring occurred. She kicked off her shoes and went to the edge of the docks. She jumped into the water for the second time that day, but this time, she moved under the dock, climbed up the supports, and used the handholds she had arranged years ago. As the bolts emerged through the bottom of the dock plates, she loaded a nut into the gun and fastened it snug against the plate. She repeated it eight times, and then she moved to the edge of her handholds, dropped into the water, and kicked hard enough to land her on the deck again.
Sunny was staring at her and said, “So how much do those alterations cost?”
“Depends on your physiology. I can send you for a quote.”
There was some light laughter from the crowd, and she blinked. There were fifty locals staring at her. She sighed. “I am going to change my clothing again.”
Sunny looked at her and then the crowd. “Wise.”
She went into the stall, got her last clean uniform, and a tiny sonic shower. She would have to do laundry tonight. Saltwater made everything crunchy and itchy.
