The Draco Tavern Part 7

The boy took off his shirt. Silverback looked him over, but came no closer. She said, "Z. Wayne Bennett, you must be wonderfully accurate with a shotgun."

"I didn't have the right load. If you'd been closer, you'd be dead."

"You shot me when I was carrying Ham, yet the boy took no harm." She paused to let us all realize how seriously the man had risked his son's life, then said, "No harm except that my hands convulsed when the blast hit me. Of course we must pay extra for his hurt."

"I thought it was more dangerous to leave him in a predator's grip."

She didn't answer. Bennett turned red. He said, "You hunted him wearing a flying belt."

I said, "Z. Wayne, it strikes me that a lift belt is no different from a hunter's gun except that it's not a weapon. Do you hunt?"

He glared.

"If you were strong enough, you'd hunt without the gun. Tefee tee hatch nex ool Tefee tee hatch nex ool means their world has lighter gravity, that's the means their world has lighter gravity, that's the tefee, tefee, with air enough like ours to breath, that's the with air enough like ours to breath, that's the tee." tee."

"Still cheatin'." To the female, "And who gave you you the right to hunt the right to hunt my boy?" my boy?"

The female said, "Need."

I said, "Oh, come on."

She said, "Doctor Schumann, the hunt triggers our appet.i.te. We need eat only seldom, but we must gorge then. You can testify."

Bennett said, "What?"

"I ported stocks of their food from the market," I told him. "I haven't seen them eat, but I know how much food goes up. At first none, then lots."

"If we can't work up hunger during a hunt," she said, "we become malnourished, or we must take noxious medicine."

"Don't we all," I muttered.

"The effect is temporary. We will be lucky to last twenty days. Then, if we cannot hunt, we must endure cold sleep. We had expected to study Earth and mankind for two years."

I had given his children the thrill of a lifetime, then let Bennett confront the ent.i.ty he'd shot. She had shown him the risk he had taken with his son's life. If Bennett could stay reasonable, couldn't I? But these idiots were throwing it all away, and I was getting angry.

"You don't have a problem," I said. "If you need to hunt, arrange a hunt! I've hunted with the Folk myself! They sold the TV rights and videotaped it!"

"Hunt by arrangement?" She couldn't believe it.

"Live at eleven," Bennett said grimly.

Better take care of Bennett's grievance first. I said, "Mr. Bennett threatens exposure, as is his right. The price of raising a child until he's finished college is around a hundred thousand American dollars, I think."

"Skeep? Price is stunningly high!"

"You might have got a better price by getting his agreement first!" first!"

Silver Tongue asked, "What would you do, warn the victim?"

"Sure."

"No," said Silverback.

"The thing is," Bennett said doggedly, "my wife talked me into coming here first. She's walking today because her spine got fixed by some alien technique I can't spell or p.r.o.nounce. I'm asking because you might ... might might have a rational answer. What gave you the right to attack my son?" have a rational answer. What gave you the right to attack my son?"

"We must buy that."

"After stealing it!"

Silverback said, "We hoped for two years on Earth, continue on the next liner. If Earth cannot feed us, we must endure cold sleep beginning tomorrow! Feeding aliens, isn't that your business, Rick?" She examined me hopefully; gave up and turned to Ham. "But you are harmed, debt must be paid. Skreee?"

Her mate said, "Price is ridiculous in the up direction."

Ham said, "I'm all right."

I wanted wanted the price to sting a little. I said to the birds, "Your sense of proportion is way off. What if you did catch an orphan? There wouldn't the price to sting a little. I said to the birds, "Your sense of proportion is way off. What if you did catch an orphan? There wouldn't be be anyone to deal with." anyone to deal with."

"An orphan would be the business of local government," Silver Tongue said.

"Were you ready to ask the French government to name their price?" Sacre bleu, Sacre bleu, I thought. I thought.

"Is France rapacious?"

"No, it's governments governments that are rapacious ... and lawyers. You've attacked Ham in the United States of America, where lawyers are thicker than anywhere on Earth!" I had my second bright notion. "You try that again, you'll be lucky not to lose your place aboard that are rapacious ... and lawyers. You've attacked Ham in the United States of America, where lawyers are thicker than anywhere on Earth!" I had my second bright notion. "You try that again, you'll be lucky not to lose your place aboard Clickety-ponk Clickety-ponk to some small boy with stars in his eyes and a smart-mouthed lawyer." to some small boy with stars in his eyes and a smart-mouthed lawyer." That That should push some b.u.t.tons. should push some b.u.t.tons.

Ham stared at me. Then he pulled at his father's sleeve. "Dad?"

Silver Tongue said, "You exaggerate for effect. I offer two bars silver, two pounds each."

Ham's eyes weren't really glowing, and no alien could read so subtle a signal. But Ham and his father were trying to interrupt each other, and suddenly Z. Wayne bellowed, "You would never see me or your mother again! Nor Lilly either! Lilly, talk to him! Silver Tongue, am I right? These ships go slower than light! Even if he caught a ride back from some other star, it could be a hundred years, or a thousand!"

The boy said, "But an interstellar interstellar-"

Silverback noticed what was going on. "Major decision, give up the past, adjust to far-away unknown future, as we have. Circle the galaxy or stop off at own risk. Up to a hundred thousand years before return. Wait until older, Hammett. Mister Bennett, we accept price to teach Ham through college as determined through the Internet, pay in United States dollars, twenty percent finder fee for rapacious bartender-"

"Hold up," said Z. Wayne.

"-Escrow account for you and Hammett until Hammett attains age of presumed wisdom, if you will sign now."

"There's nothing wrong with the price," Z. Wayne said. "No, dammit, Ham, we will not sue to get you a ticket on an interstellar liner! Silverback, I want some a.s.surance that there will be no further hunting of children."

"We would have to leave Earth early," she said.

"You can't prey on children. No matter what you pay, who you pay, you still can't do that."

The birds were silent. Z. Wayne looked at me.

"I have a notion," I said.

Five months later I took my niece and her children to the Park.

They'd raised the price of tickets by 60 percent. The crowding was fierce. Marilyn was shocked.

"Relax," I told her. "This is Draco Tavern's treat, every dollar of it."

"But why do they they pay that much? Most children aren't even wearing the hats! Those that are ... four a day? Out of hundreds!" pay that much? Most children aren't even wearing the hats! Those that are ... four a day? Out of hundreds!"

"Under two hundred." We'd picked a Wednesday.

The young man wouldn't give Wayne and Becky hats unless Marilyn and I signed contracts as their guardians. Despite four children tugging at us, I took a couple of minutes to examine the contract. I wanted to be sure no sneaky little weasel clauses had crept in since we wrote it.

A lot of parents were changing their minds after they read it. I signed.

"Ricky, is is this safe?" this safe?"

"Sure. Jael? Alvin? Han?" Had they changed their minds?

They made their intent clear, and Marilyn signed, and the kids put on the hats. Han asked, "Can I keep it?"

"It's a loaner," Marilyn said.

I said, "You can buy it when you leave."

Scattered through a crowd of a thousand were less than a hundred hats, all on children between five and ten, all flame orange with a wide brim for protection against the sun and against looking up. Children with and children without orange hats all looked up anyway as they entered the Park. We found cloudless blue sky, and the new tower.

"Where are they?" Denise demanded.

I shook my head. "The tower's theirs. They come when they want. Only the top, of course." Most of the tower was the Beanstalk Fall, with much too long a waiting line. "Hey, Dolphin Ride!"

A prey who welcomes us is not acceptable!" Silverback kept repeating herself. She was prey who welcomes us is not acceptable!" Silverback kept repeating herself. She was sure sure I didn't understand. I didn't understand.

"First remember what you're avoiding," I told her. "Two years in cold sleep, then off into the starscape. Even doing it my way, you'll lose time while the lawyers argue."

"No!"

"Bet on six months, plus or minus. You can't have everything. What you can can have," I said, "is prey that don't know you're coming." have," I said, "is prey that don't know you're coming."

"Nonsense! They sign contracts!"

"Look again. The Park gets seven hundred people on a weekday, three times that on weekends. Half of those are kids," exaggerating a little. "You pick two in a day. Four if you can stand it. It's less than a hundred to one that any kid gets picked.

"A lot of them, kids and parents, will spend the whole time looking up." Memo: Be d.a.m.n d.a.m.n sure the Park makes dark gla.s.ses available! "You don't pick those. Ignore them. Others will forget you're there. You're not on a schedule. It's an sure the Park makes dark gla.s.ses available! "You don't pick those. Ignore them. Others will forget you're there. You're not on a schedule. It's an amus.e.m.e.nt amus.e.m.e.nt park. They'll be park. They'll be distracted." distracted."

Z. Wayne had been working with a Palm Pilot. "Can you really get away with this? You're selling very little. Pot odds are of any kid being carried one and a half feet by two-point-two pounds of bird."

"Most of them won't wear the hats! Z. Wayne, they'll pay extra to see some other kid some other kid carried off. Most of the kids carried off. Most of the kids with with hats won't get more than that." hats won't get more than that."

"They'll never buy it," said Bennett.

"Shall I put out offers?"

"Try it," said Bennett, and "One may ask," said Silverback, and "Scraww!" said Silver Tongue. So I put in calls to Disney, Knott's, Six Flags....

Music from the sky.

We all looked up. The birds were there, black against the sun, singing their hearts out. They wheeled and sang for at least ten minutes above the endless line for the Beanstalk Fall, then glided behind the tower in a roar of applause.

I faced forward again. The kids were tired of waiting.

Screams. I looked around.

The birds had circled behind the tower, already diving, picking up serious speed. They fell straight toward us. Silverback pulled up and rolled, showing her silver-and-scarlet design, but Silver Tongue swerved and swooped and dropped on an eight-year-old girl.

For an instant I wished fiercely that Disney World had bid. All that empty land for the birds! And they could have been wearing yellow Mickey Mouse hands! But Disney hadn't even got in a bid; their lawyers were too timid. Silver Tongue's claw tips were sheathed in blue, the color of his belly, and the girl never saw them until they closed on her. We heard her scree-hee-hee-heeming, fear and laughter as she rose.

THE WISDOM OF DEMONS.

With the midnight sun behind him, he entered the Draco Tavern as a fire-edged black silhouette. Even so, I knew him.

I watched him approach the bar. His walk was wobbly and he was being careful of his balance, like a karate master just out of the hospital. He'd been drinking last night... wait, now, it wasn't him at all.

Then he wrestled himself onto a stool and adjusted the height, and I knew him again. "Webber, wasn't it? Last night."

A goofy, twisted grin. It wasn't Webber. "Yes! Alan Webber, anthropologist. Give me water. Flavored water."

"I've got some carbonated fruit Savors-"

"Good!"

I ducked back into storage.