“Hi,” Eos said with a smile.
“How are your wives, Sel?”
“As demanding as always.” He let out a gusty sigh. “But my wise God tells me I should take as many as I can provide for.” He smiled. “A burden I must bear.”
“And the kids?”
Now Sel smiled. “Excellent. All of them.”
“Good to hear. Now, I need two of what we discussed on our call.”
The man’s smile vanished. “Not sure I have them in stock.” He tapped a finger against his lips. “If I do, it’ll cost you.”
Dathan knew the drill. Besides, with three wives and eight kids, he figured Sel needed it. Dathan pulled out a round, silver medal from his backpack and set it on the counter. “That should do it.”
Sel’s eyes widened. “I think I might have what you need. Wait here.” He vanished into a back room.
“That’s a priceless artifact,” Eos said. “Terran Olympic medals are rare.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Hence why I can purchase what we need. You gonna give me the ‘this belongs in a museum’ speech?”
She shrugged. “I’d like to. But you aren’t going to listen and besides, it would be a tad hypocritical of me since I’ve promised you theMona Lisa.” She pressed a hand to her stomach. “I want to find Star’s End, prove that it’s real, so it’s time I accept what I’m willing to do to get there.”
God, she had steel under her smooth skin. He’d expected a sharp tongue all the way to Beta7, not tough practicality.
She touched a broken screen and some crumpled console parts. “You get electronics from him?”
“Nope.”
As she wandered across the cramped shop, Sel hustled back in. “Here you go.”
Dathan took the two small packages, studying all sides.
“Grade A, as always, Sel. Thanks.”
Eos moved closer and glanced over Dathan’s shoulder. She hissed. “Are those explosives?”
He sighed. “You want to tell everyone in the area we just purchased illegal weapons?”
Her mouth snapped closed. “What do we need them for?”
“You never know.” He slipped the explosives into his pack.
Sel leaned forward. “I have something else you might be interested in.” He set two silver boxes on the counter.
Eos made a choking sound. “Plasma nets.”
Sel nodded, his smile wide. “And you’ll never guess what the old guy I bought them from told me. Said he’dinventedplasma nets, but the company he worked for stole the design, made all the money, and fired him.”
Dathan resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “You believe stories like that, Sel, and you’ll go out of business real quick.”
Sel laughed. “I haven’t told you the good bit. The guy didn’t tell the company he’d programmed in a master code that works on all of them. 7591.”
Dathan shook his head. “Thanks, Sel, but you can keep your nets and your story.”
“Anytime you need something else, you give me a call. Anytime.”
Dathan waved at Selesos and pulled Eos back into the alley. Moments later, they merged back into the main market.
