Matadora Read Free

of the ferry. As the two vessels neared, Dirisha saw three people on the smaller boat, frantically pulling on ropes and gesturing wildly.
    The air was rent by the ferry's warning hom, a deep, dinosaur-like blast.
    The sailboat seemed to stall at the sound. It was directly ahead of the masive ferry and if it didn't move soon, it would be run down.
    The sound of the ferry's engines changed, and Dirisha felt a slight tug as the big craft began to turn slightly to starboard. The dinosaur bellowed again, more insistently, but the smaller boat didn't seem to be able to move.
    Dirisha calculated the angle between the sailboat and the ferry and it looked to be critical for the sailors. The ferry was turning, but ponderously, and the three on the sailboat must know how precarious their position was.
    They weren't going to make it, Dirisha saw. She stepped toward the metal railing at the deck's end and gripped it tightly, leaning over to stare at the sailboat.
    With perhaps fifty meters left before impact, the sailboat suddenly seemed to lurch to one side; it would still be close—
    Horn still blasting, the ferry slid by the sailboat, with less than five meters to spare. The bow wave and side slip of the air cushion rocked the little boat as if it were a chip of wood. The mast nearly touched the water as the boat heeled over and then, miraculously, righted itself. Dirisha was close enough to see the faces of the three people on the boat. Two men and a young woman. It looked as if die three were laughing. Then the boat was past her, still bouncing wildly in the turbulence of the ferry.
    Maybe she'd laugh too, if she'd just missed death.
    She had only a small bag containing the few possessions she owned, so it was easy enough to walk away from the ferry into the village of Simplex-by-the-Sea. A sleepy town, she decided, with most of the inhabitants staying inside perched in front of air conditioners or exchange strips, to beat the heat.
    Now what? She was here, but she had no reason to be. She could look for a local pub, she figured, and maybe get a job as a bouncer. Or maybe just enjoy the sunshine for awhile, take long walks on the beach and watch the seabirds and the fishing ships shuttle back and forth. She had enough stads to play the rich woman—for awhile, at least. A vacation, a real vacation. She'd never had one of those before. There were times when she hadn't worked or hadn't been training, but those hadn't been vacations, only times between. She gripped the handle of her bag tighter and picked a direction—
    "Hey, Dirisha!"
    She dropped the case and spun quickly, startled. She slid into a defensive stance reflexively, her hands coming up in the oldest of her fighting systems, hard-style oppugnate. Nobody could know her here—!
    Dirisha's green eyes widened in surprise and she grinned as she raised herself from her martial crouch. It was Bork!
    The man she stared at was five meters away and walking toward her as if nothing on the planet could stop his progress. He was big, close to two meters tall, and on this world must have weighed nearly a hundred and twenty-five kilograms. His black hair had a little more gray in it, but his massive frame didn't look diminished—if anything, he looked larger and more muscular than when she'd seen him last. He wore loose-weave osmotic orthoskins and a pair of spetsdods, one strapped to the back of each hand.
    Saval Bork, homomue, and once a bouncer in the Jade Flower on Greaves, as she had been. And a nice man.
    Her smiled faded as the first question hit her: what was he (doing here?
    Almost as quickly, the second question crowded into her mind—how did he know she was here? From his purposeful stride, it was obvious Bork did know, and that bothered Dirisha greatly.
    Bork stopped next to her. "You look good, Dirisha. I'm glad to see you."
    "I'm glad to see you, too, Bork, but I can't help but wonder why I am seeing you."
    He nodded. Bork had the big man's temperament in a lot of ways