Driftmetal by J.C. Staudt Read Free Book Online

we say, or we’ll kill you ’
routine, huh?” I said. “I expected better from you guys.” I’ve
always liked making people think I’m one step ahead of them. I also
like being a wiseacre, so… two birds with one stone, there.
    “Not quite,” said Blaylocke. “We prefer to reward
rather than punish. The device lets us keep tabs on you.”
    “A bluewave beacon? No thanks.”
    “It’s not on the bluewave. It’s a sub-signal. We’re
the only ones who can trace it. The device will let us listen in on
everything you’re saying. If we get wind of you doing anything that
could jeopardize your task, you’ll get a shock just like the ones
from the magnetic cuffs and the cracklefields on our bikes. Keep it
up, and we’ll come find you.”
    “ That’s your idea of a reward?”
    “The not-killing-you part was the reward.”
    “So I have no choice in the matter. You’re forcing
me to do this.”
    Blaylocke shrugged. “We were hoping it wouldn’t come
to that. We thought you’d want to help.”
    “Surprise, buttholes. I’m not a humanitarian. I
don’t work for free. How do you expect me to do this, anyway? Why
don’t you just do it yourselves?”
    “We will do it ourselves, if you fail. But
even as a wanted man, a techsoul can get around in the stream
easier than a human could. You said you’re an outlaw. Don’t outlaws
know how to sell things under the radar? When you stole all that
gravstone, did you plan on selling it?”
    “Sure,” I said.
    “To one person?”
    I looked at him like I thought he was dumb. Wasn’t
hard, since I did. “Highly unlikely that I could’ve found one
person who could afford all that gravstone. Probably would’ve had
to find a dozen.”
    “So all you have to do is pretend you have enough
gravstone to sell to a dozen people. Then find us those
people.”
    “That could take months, if I’m lucky. I’d need a
boat to haul it in, and a crew to protect it.”
    “As human as we may be, we do have brains,” Vilaris
said. “We’re not gonna give you the gravstone in advance. That’s
how Gilfoyle burned us. You find the customers, we ship the
goods.”
    “With the kinds of people I tend to deal with,
asking them to take delivery after payment is as good as spitting
in their faces,” I said.
    “There is one other option,” said
Blaylocke.
    I waited.
    “You could convince Mr. Gilfoyle to pay us
back.”
    I laughed out loud. “The guy keeps a whole crew of
thugs on retainer. If you think I’m ever getting within a mile of
him by myself, you’re delusional.”
    I wanted that medallion—the one I’d tried to trade
away from Gilfoyle for his own truckful of gravstone. But I wasn’t
stupid enough to go near him again.
    “What if you weren’t by yourself?” Vilaris said.
    “What does that mean?” I asked, leveling my gaze at
him.
    “Blaylocke and I will come with you. There isn’t
time to build a streamboat, but we can charter an airship from the
city.”
    Blaylocke disagreed. “This is his problem,
Clint. Let him figure it out.”
    “A crew of humans?” I said. “Please. Spare me the
fairy tales. If anyone gets wind of me riding around with a bunch
of primies, we’ll all be dead before dinner.”
    “You’re forgetting what kind of primies you’ll be
riding around with,” Vilaris said.
    “The kind with cracklefields and magnetic
cuffs ?” I said. “Ooh. The techsouls will be so scared, they’ll
forget to bring their skin augurs.”
    “You think we don’t know how dangerous it is for us
up there? That’s why we want you to go,” Blaylocke said.
    “Yet you won’t give me gravstone, money, a boat, or
a half-decent crew. You’d better get ready to do a whole lot of
crackling, because that’s the only way you’re getting me to move a
muscle for your cause.”
    Vilaris gave a long sigh. “An airship and a crew of
primies is the best we can do.”
    “Fine, but only if we switch from the airship to a
streamboat once we get up there. I want to hire