Chapter Thirty-One
There was nothing more useless, in Captain Melanie Cash's mind, than going through the effort of tightening one's boots and double-checking one's sleeved dagger if one's blacksmith partner decided that one should wait outside of the big top while he checked things out on the inside. Silly men.
Carly, bless her little heart, had prudently decided that it would be best for everyone if she, say, went to watch the trapeze show. Melanie had obliged, thinking that she and Will were going to charge into some entertaining and well-written danger together. That had not turned out to be the case, and Melanie was crouching in the tall grasses at the side of the tent alone.
Or so she thought.
It did not take her long to decide that she was no longer by herself. Whoever was coming towards her through the grass made no motion to disguise the fact that they were coming towards her through the grass. The sound of parting greenery was soft compared to the hustle and bustle of the crowd waiting for admittance into the Big Top, but Melanie had the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox -
- until she suddenly found a pistol poking underneath her chin. "You breathe very loudly," Dana Flint said conversationally. "Even if it were darker, I still could have shot you." The two women studied one another for a moment, until Dana heaved a great sigh and dropped her gun back into its holster. Melanie's eyes did not leave Dana's face, but neither did she make a move for her own weapon.
"What ... what happened to you, Flint?"
Dana touched her lip and eye briefly, then smiled with some pain. "The reason why I'm here with you, actually. Long story, and you may not believe me even if I told you."
"I don't think you gave yourself those injuries."
"You're right about that. Some of the lackey's of my ex-employer gave them to me."
This gave Melanie pause. "Why would they do that?"
"Something about them wanting to kill Jack didn't sit right with me, and I had the bad sense to let them know about it." Melanie started when she heard those words, but Dana calmed her with a hand. "It wasn't a part of my job, it wasn't a part of the deal at all. Boss said that he wanted something of Jack's, and I work on a very strict basis." She sounded bitter. "Allowing them to kill a man who saved my life was not part of the contract."
"Is ... is Jack dead?"
Dana made a face. "If he was, I don't think that I'd be here with you now, waiting to find out how to help him."
Melanie nodded. She looked at Dana's face again. "Is your eye going to be okay?" It was very black and swollen.
Dana tried to smile again. "Believe you me, Miss Cash, I need these eyes more than anything else that I've got. A gunslinger's no good if she can't see what it is she's supposed to be shooting." Dana eased herself into a sitting position beside the pirate. She nodded to the loaded dagger in the sleeve of Melanie's coat. "How come you haven't used that little contraption yet?"
Melanie thought for a moment. "Back in the ... Not-Exactly-a-Pub, you told me that you knew when I didn't trust you." Dana nodded. "Then you must know that I don't ~not~ trust you now. I don't know why, just as I didn't know why I didn't trust you when I didn't. I suppose that it's just good for a pirate to have instincts. You seem reasonable."
"May I tell you a story, Miss Cash?"
"We've got some time to kill. Go ahead." Melanie sat down in the grass with her back to a tree and shut her eyes.
"There was a frog and a scorpion," Dana began. "The scorpion wanted to cross a river, and so he asked the frog if the frog would carry him across on his back. The frog refused. 'If I let you get on my back while I swim across the river, you'll wait until I'm in the middle and away from shore, then sting me until I drown.'
'That's unreasonable,' the scorpion replied. 'If I were to sting you as you carried me across the river, we would both drown.' So the frog thought about this, then agreed, and let the scorpion climb onto his back. The frog started to swim across the river, and when he reached the middle, the scorpion stung him.
'But this is unreasonable,' said the frog as he drowned. 'Now you will drown with me.'
'I can't help it,' replied the scorpion. 'It's in my nature.'"
Melanie was slightly taken aback by the story and was going to tell Dana so. When she opened her eyes, however, she found herself looking into the dark eye of Dana's pistol for exactly half an instant.
Then Dana Flint pulled the trigger.
There was nothing more useless, in Captain Melanie Cash's mind, than going through the effort of tightening one's boots and double-checking one's sleeved dagger if one's blacksmith partner decided that one should wait outside of the big top while he checked things out on the inside. Silly men.
Carly, bless her little heart, had prudently decided that it would be best for everyone if she, say, went to watch the trapeze show. Melanie had obliged, thinking that she and Will were going to charge into some entertaining and well-written danger together. That had not turned out to be the case, and Melanie was crouching in the tall grasses at the side of the tent alone.
Or so she thought.
It did not take her long to decide that she was no longer by herself. Whoever was coming towards her through the grass made no motion to disguise the fact that they were coming towards her through the grass. The sound of parting greenery was soft compared to the hustle and bustle of the crowd waiting for admittance into the Big Top, but Melanie had the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox -
- until she suddenly found a pistol poking underneath her chin. "You breathe very loudly," Dana Flint said conversationally. "Even if it were darker, I still could have shot you." The two women studied one another for a moment, until Dana heaved a great sigh and dropped her gun back into its holster. Melanie's eyes did not leave Dana's face, but neither did she make a move for her own weapon.
"What ... what happened to you, Flint?"
Dana touched her lip and eye briefly, then smiled with some pain. "The reason why I'm here with you, actually. Long story, and you may not believe me even if I told you."
"I don't think you gave yourself those injuries."
"You're right about that. Some of the lackey's of my ex-employer gave them to me."
This gave Melanie pause. "Why would they do that?"
"Something about them wanting to kill Jack didn't sit right with me, and I had the bad sense to let them know about it." Melanie started when she heard those words, but Dana calmed her with a hand. "It wasn't a part of my job, it wasn't a part of the deal at all. Boss said that he wanted something of Jack's, and I work on a very strict basis." She sounded bitter. "Allowing them to kill a man who saved my life was not part of the contract."
"Is ... is Jack dead?"
Dana made a face. "If he was, I don't think that I'd be here with you now, waiting to find out how to help him."
Melanie nodded. She looked at Dana's face again. "Is your eye going to be okay?" It was very black and swollen.
Dana tried to smile again. "Believe you me, Miss Cash, I need these eyes more than anything else that I've got. A gunslinger's no good if she can't see what it is she's supposed to be shooting." Dana eased herself into a sitting position beside the pirate. She nodded to the loaded dagger in the sleeve of Melanie's coat. "How come you haven't used that little contraption yet?"
Melanie thought for a moment. "Back in the ... Not-Exactly-a-Pub, you told me that you knew when I didn't trust you." Dana nodded. "Then you must know that I don't ~not~ trust you now. I don't know why, just as I didn't know why I didn't trust you when I didn't. I suppose that it's just good for a pirate to have instincts. You seem reasonable."
"May I tell you a story, Miss Cash?"
"We've got some time to kill. Go ahead." Melanie sat down in the grass with her back to a tree and shut her eyes.
"There was a frog and a scorpion," Dana began. "The scorpion wanted to cross a river, and so he asked the frog if the frog would carry him across on his back. The frog refused. 'If I let you get on my back while I swim across the river, you'll wait until I'm in the middle and away from shore, then sting me until I drown.'
'That's unreasonable,' the scorpion replied. 'If I were to sting you as you carried me across the river, we would both drown.' So the frog thought about this, then agreed, and let the scorpion climb onto his back. The frog started to swim across the river, and when he reached the middle, the scorpion stung him.
'But this is unreasonable,' said the frog as he drowned. 'Now you will drown with me.'
'I can't help it,' replied the scorpion. 'It's in my nature.'"
Melanie was slightly taken aback by the story and was going to tell Dana so. When she opened her eyes, however, she found herself looking into the dark eye of Dana's pistol for exactly half an instant.
Then Dana Flint pulled the trigger.