She waited a few minutes before she followed him outside.
Chapter Four
***
Netto stepped intothe watership at Montihan’s request, annoyed at how the day had gone. Zeph was already in the lounge with Montihan’s daughter, Janet, sitting next to him. The boat swayed under his feet as he entered.
The first thing he noticed about the vessel wasn’t the design, the materials, the tech, or the stability, but the smell. It smelled like the brown-haired daughter: sun and ocean.
“So you were in the war?” Janet asked, facing Zeph.
“You bet. Since the turning point.”
“So that makes you an old man...”
“Do I look old?” There was a twinkle in Zeph’s eyes. “Because I can assure you, I’m anything but old.”
“I don’t know if I can believe that. You’d have to prove it and I’m not sure if that’s possible.” Janet added after a pause, “Old man.”
He watched the ease with which Zeph flirted with the girl. It was like watching a dog fetch a ball. Netto understood it, accepted that for the pursuer it was fun, but it was beyond his personal understanding. He never held the attention of anyone long enough to ease into a conversation and the few times he had—with humans—their discomfort was enough to keep his mouth shut. Their eyes always went to his mouth and to the rows of razor-sharp teeth within.
When a woman flirted with him, it ended before it began, with her eyes widening and her body tensing with fear. Opening his mouth did that.
Netto tuned them out and focused on Montihan, who was obliviously running a scanner over the rails throughout the interior.His daughter is already halfway in bed with a Cyborg. Doesn’t he see that?
“What are you doing with that scanner?” he asked.
Montihan didn’t look up, “Checking for bugs.”
It took Netto a breath to scan the watership and discern that there was no tracker tech or espionage gear. “It’s clear.”
The man nodded before clicking off his handheld. “Thank you. Rylie did it this morning but one can never be too careful.” He sat down in the captain’s seat and swiveled his chair to face the group.
“Why are you checking? Are you having problems with one of the factions on Kepler?” Zeph asked, his voice hard.
Montihan rubbed his mouth. “Not lately, beyond the issues that everyone is facing in the Eastern hemisphere agri-lots, but I’m not quick to place my trust in those beyond my homestead.”
