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around it was still green, but you could see the swollen seeds on the
ballyhoos just waiting for their chance. The only thing that d be left
standing after fire swept this area would be the ballyhoos and the pretty
little frame houses in Milo s Ford, all made of that same fireproof ballyhoo
wood.
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Irizarry handed a box over the seat back. They re on five-minute timers,
Annie. I
wanted to make sure we could get safely clear. I m going to make a long pass
all around the town. Clelie will give us the go-ahead when the ground
personnel decide the wind is right, He nodded vaguely in the direction of the
comunit. He had the damndest look on his face.
Why are you handing them to me? I asked.
Because I don t want to do it. It feels wrong to me. This was your idea you
do it.
Okay. I glanced at Leo. Is this going to bother you?
Only if you don t share, he said.
So I divvied them up between us, we opened windows on opposite sides of the
hovercraft, and we waited. After what seemed like forever, Clelie s voice came
over the comunit, Everybody s clear and the wind is right, Tomas go!
He did and Leo and I dropped incendiaries the length of the run. By the time
we reached the river, the first of them had gone up and caught with a
vengeance. Irizarry goosed the hovercraft and moved!
At the top of the rise, he brought it to an abrupt halt and swung us around to
face the town. He whistled. Annie, I didn t believe you. I didn t think it
would catch that easily.
Now you know, I said. This way the hazard gets cleared and townsfolk can
move back in safely. At least for another fifteen years or thereabouts. This
time a controlled burn was the best solution for everybody and everything
concerned. Next time& well, next time we ll have to think about it all over
again. I leaned back against Leo and watched the fire spread. All around
Milo s Ford, the last of the ballyhoos were going up like fireworks.
You know, I said, surprised at myself, I think I m admiring my handiwork.
Leo laughed. You re my favorite force of nature, Annie.
Leo was back from his survival training trek with Jen and
Ilanith, and the three of them wanted nothing so much as to sit on the porch
with their feet up and watch nova-rise over Loch
Moose. I had a lap-full of Aklilu, who was sleepy and, for the moment, quiet.
Elly brought the baby, and Nikolai and Chris came out bearing gifts molasses
snaps and a pitcher of iced tea.
For a while, the only sounds were the singing of the cheerups and the munching
of cookies
.
Too bad Susan isn t here, I said. Molasses snaps are her favorite.
Second only to Janzen. Elly laughed.
They re pretty mushy, Mama Jason, Ilanith said. Probably
they d bug the hell out of you. Too busy to talk and all.
Wait till it s your turn, kiddo, I told her. Take notes, Jen.
You re the one gets to tease Ilanith when the time comes.
Right, said Jen, smugly.
Ilanith gave her a sideways look and said, How bout a story, Mama Jason?
That was pure diversionary tactic, but Aklilu roused enough to say, Story!
So, story it was&
Getting the Bugs Out
« ^ »
We were doing a little contemplative fishing out in the middle of Loch Moose.
At least, I was. Ilanith had her hook baited, but she was having about the
same luck I
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was without bait or hook, which is to say nothing disturbed the serenity of
the loch except the odders.
Mama Jason? Ilanith said. I m sorry I distracted Noisy. That s the biggest
bell
I ve ever seen him make. I couldn t help hovering.
Neither could I. I moved enough to pat her hand. You weren t distracting
Leo, kiddo I was.
She made a scoffing noise loud enough to attract the attention of Pushy, the
current head of the pack of odders. He rippled over and lifted his head to
bellow at her.
Poor Pushy, he s all grace in the water, but that face is a howler. Looks like
an old boot with big warm eyes.
The boat rocked. This time I had to move to compensate as Pushy tried to climb
aboard. Ilanith giggled and bought him off with a chunk of stale bread.
Seriously, Mama Jason, she said, as Pushy slithered back into the loch.
Seriously, I said. I m a hot old broad and I can distract Leo from just
about anything he s doing. So says Leo and nice of him to say so, too. I felt
the same way about him and if I couldn t think of the right courting present
for the man soon
I d start to get cranky on the subject. That was one of the reasons for the
vacation
(the other being I needed one) and for the contemplative fishing.
I could tell from Ilanith s expression that she didn t believe a word of this.
Like most other adults, I took the easy way out. Wait until you re a little
bit older, then you ll understand.
Sensible kid that she is, Ilanith said, I ll ask Elly.
I thought that over. Elly would find a way to explain it to her which is why
Elly raises kids and I don t. Do that, I said. Meanwhile, if you want me to
drop you
off on shore so you can watch Leo cast the bell, I will. I mean what I say:
you re welcome, I m not.
Well, she didn t understand it but she did believe me. She gave my offer
thoughtful consideration and then said, Nah. I d rather fish with you.
And that was a compliment of the highest order.
Feeling well loved and very smug, I settled back once more. I had plans not to
move for the rest of the day, or at least until it was time for one of Chris s
dinners up at Loch Moose Lodge. Ilanith settled back too, looking much the
same.
It was enough to lean back and appreciate the loch, laugh at the antics of the
otters at one end and the odders at the other, and not catch so much as a fry.
Something hovered around us. It had the right amount of legs to be an insect
but not one I d ever seen before so I cocked an eye to watch. I couldn t tell
at first glance if it was native Mirabilan or one of our imports. It made an
odd kind of whining noise.
Ilanith was watching it, too. She wanted to look at its genes as much as I
did.
The object of our mutual interest lit on my arm. The whine cut off just as
suddenly. Afraid to disturb it, I moved my head, not my arm, for a closer
look just as it bit me.
I slapped it flat.
Mama Jason!
I d sure as hell shocked Ilanith all right. Vacation s over, I said. And
you can do a gene-read on a mashed bug just as easily as you can on a live one
if you move fast enough. Now, move!
We did. Rowed like hell for shore, charged up the path to the lodge. Ilanith,
being the younger by some, took the lead early on. I could hear her shouting
instructions to all and sundry before I reached the first crest. By the time I
reached the lodge, half of Elly s kids stood wide-eyed in the hallway.
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You smashed it? said Jen. Her eyes were huge. Really smashed it?
Yes, I said, thrusting out my arm to show her the evidence. Where s
Ilanith?
Mouth agape, Jen just pointed up the stairs. When I headed up, she trailed
behind.
The rest of them were too astonished to move that fast. I d obviously
scandalized the whole troop. Elly! wailed one of the smaller ones, Elleee!
In my room, Ilanith had already brought up the computer and linked it to my
lab.
My kit was spread out across the bed as if it had been upended and dumped. It
probably had, come to think of it.
Scowling ferociously, Ilanith scooped the remains of the bug from my arm none
too gently and stuffed a sample into the analyzer.
You take half, I said. Run your own gene-read. We ll compare notes when
you re done.
That set her face to warring with itself. Disapproval of my outrageous
behavior met the sheer delight of being asked to help out. The battle was
still in progress when she vanished from the room with her sample.
Freed from the distraction, I got to business. The first step was the
computer s.
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