Chewing Rocks (22 page)

Sno said, “I want Sheriff Bob under warrant for using his office for a personal vendetta against me and as an accomplice to Evelyn Queene for this whole mess.”

Abramsohn shook his head, “We can do that. Of course I will if you insist, but none of the evidence supports the theory Sheriff Bob was a willing accomplice in any of Evelyn Queene’s mechanizations. I don’t think it will hold up to review.
The other…maybe.”

Sno shook her head in return. “I don’t care if it hold
s up under review. I still am under warrants he has signed against me, right? Well, I might as well fire right back at him. I want the heat to blow both ways.”

Her dad nodded. “She is right. Bob filled warrants against her, let’s push back.”

Sno said, “I know it is not princess behavior, but I do want to slap the warrant on him. I don’t think he will run, but I want to put him in his own chain link jail in the park.”

Willem smiled, “I would pay to see that.”

Abramsohn laughed, “So would I, but it is Miss Whyte who will pay the price for that. If he get’s locked up, then so does she.”

Sno laughed, “Free food and clean sheets. I am in. I’ve gotta sleep somewhere while Larry fumigates Sedona after you get those animals off my ship.
”

Abramsohn added, “I hate to be a damper on what is turning into a good party, but there are serious charges going both ways. This little action here is just the first skirmish in a conflict that is going to cost lives. Plural lives
, as in more than one.”

Willem said, “Then jail is a good place for my daughter. Out in the open, where some of these people can’t get at her and where a lot of people can keep an eye on her.”

Abramsohn shook his head. “Be careful on your way to jail, Miss Whyte. Sheriff Bob has lost this skirmish, but he has friends. He is a popular man with a large majority of Ceres’ citizens. That is why he keeps getting re-elected.”

Willem said, “You could beat him.”

Abramsohn replied, “I do not want the job; not me, or my father.”

Sno said, “Enough politics, okay? We got things to do.”

Abramsohn laughed, “Enough politics? It is all politics, young lady. It is all the politics of power and greed.”

“Call it what you will
,” Sno said, “You will enforce the warrants on Evelyn Queene and what’s his name?”

“
His name is Wallace. We certainly will enforce these warrants.”

Sno nodded, “Okay. Dad, make sure they don’t run. They both have too many ways to get out of this. They get to Earth and we won’t have a chance of getting justice.”

Willem said, “Already working on it. Abramsohn and Sons has a handle on all of this. You just watch your back.”

Abramsohn signaled for a tall, hulking young man to join them
, “In light of that, I want to introduce you to Ben.”

Sno said, “I know Ben. Good to see you again. It’s been a while since we downed a few beers.”

Ben smiled, “I didn’t think you would remember me. We only danced once.”

Sno said, “Sure I remember you even though you look like you put on some weight since I last saw you.”

Ben patted his stomach, “It’s muscle mostly. I went to college on Earth. It is amazing what a steady diet of high gravity can do for a work out.”

Sno said, “Well, it
is nice to see you again, Ben. But, I don’t need a date right now.”

Ben laughed, “My wife will be ever so happy to hear that.”

Sno turned to Abramsohn, “Okay, why is Ben here?”

Abramsohn replied, “Ben is your new shadow. He is
your bodyguard. He is your second set of eyes.” He held up a stalling hand. “I know you don’t think you need a bodyguard. Nobody ever thinks they do, until they do.”

Sno said, “Hey, if Ben wants to hang around a while that is okay with me.
No offense to Ben here who was a good egg a few years ago, but he has been to Earth and back. Do you trust him?”

Abramsohn nodded. “I trust Ben with your life, and with my life, and with the life of my newborn grandson. Ben is my son.”

Sno laughed and looked at Ben. “So you are Abramsohn’s son’s son?”

Ben laughed, “And my baby son Toby is Abramsohn’s
son’s son’s son, but I think we will keep the name of the business the way it is.”

Sno said, “Good enough. Ben
, are you ready to go to jail to protect your client?” Without waiting for a response, she scooped up her shotgun and shouted. “Bob, you fat bastard, let’s both go to jail.”

Sheriff Bob looked startled, “What? Wait, you can’t do that.”

Sno said, ”I have a warrant against you and I have a loaded shotgun. What do you see that says I can’t arrest you?”

“But, I’m the sheriff. It’s my jail.”

Brandy Johnson shouted over the crowd’s laughter, “Then you should know where it is, Sheriff Bob.”

Sno turned to her father. “Dad, if you and Abramsohn’s
son can handle things here, then Sheriff Bob and I are going to jail.”

Willem laughed, “Have fun, Princess.”

“Okay, Sheriff Bob,” Sno said waiving the man toward the huge double cargo hatch leading to the street and into the town proper. “I got warrants on you and you got warrants on me. I don’t think that either one of us is going to skip out on these warrants and try to leave town, but there is no sense in taking any chances, right? So, we go to jail.”

“Um, right
,” Bob said as he fell into step with Sno. “I guess we might as well go at this like adults. We seem to have attracted an audience.” He gestured behind them.

Sno saw about half of the crowd follow
ed along behind them out of the tunnel and into the street.

Sheriff Bob waved to the crowd, “Come on folks. The citizens of Arizona City don’t hide their law in backrooms and behind closed doors. You all might as well be witnesses to the whole show.
This young lady and I have counterbalanced warrants requiring arbitration.”

Sno did
not contradict him on arbitration. She was really glad he was thinking that way. She was ready to face a duel with Queene, Wallace and three of the four pirates, but as mean as she was feeling, she was not quite ready to face Sheriff Bob. She was sure she could take him in any kind of duel: fists, knives or guns. She practiced often. She was fast, very fast and very, very accurate, but Sheriff Bob was just more of a goofball, not someone who deserved to die.

She let Sheriff Bob fall a bit behind as he played to the crowd. She almost laughed as he launched into a campaign speech for his next election.

She turned to Ben. His eyes seemed to scan everywhere at once, looking at everything and everyone except her.

“Well, Ben
,” she said. “It doesn’t look like you have much to worry about with all of these witnesses around us.”

“Not quite, Miss Whyte. Crowds can be more dangerous than empty streets. It is harder to see
an attacker coming.” Sno smiled at her bodyguard. “Ben, it seems that we have known each other since we were kids even though we haven’t seen each other in a while. Maybe you should try calling me Sno. After all I do recall that we danced once or twice.”

“Danced? Miss Whyte.” Ben smiled, but his eyes continued swiveling, watching the crowd. “I seem to remember one night we even kissed.”

Sno stopped in the street, “Kissed? You and me? Damn, Ben. I am sorry, I don’t remember that.”

Ben gestured her forward. “Yes, Miss Whyte and I will expect you to clearly remember you do not remember that when you meet my wife. But, as a client you are Miss Whyte. When this job is over and you are safe, both legally and physically, I will be glad to call you Sno and even introduce you to my wife Grace and my son Toby.”

“That is a deal, Ben. You watch my back and I will watch yours. I don’t want to have you hurt, because I sure don’t want to tangle with any woman who has managed to throw her loop around you.”

He
gestured with his head pointing out Vittie heading straight for them. Sno almost gritted her teeth, but gave a small shake of her head as if to clear it. She let a smile come to her face. Vittie slid up next to her and grabbed her hand. Sno’s first reaction was to pull away, but she controlled her impulse and smiled at the woman. Vittie may have been an earther, but the woman had just stood on the dock with Dad pointing a gun at a local duly-appointed, law enforcement deputy.

Sno juggled the shotgun and
slipped her hand free from Vittie’s. She reached inside the shipboard utility coveralls she was wearing. She jerked a strap and shrugged her shoulders uncomfortably.

Vittie smiled, “Uncomfortable foundations?”

Sno shook her head, “I don’t know so much about that, but this bra is killing me. I have been wearing a bra with these coveralls since I took those animals on board Sedona. I guess I just am not used to this wearing many clothes for this long. I just felt the need to cover up with them around.”

Vittie nodded, “I know the feeling
. After we get you settled in jail I can skip back to the Sedona and get you a more comfortable change of clothing.”

“Really? Thanks, jeans and t-shirts are good. I should have changed before we docked
, but I didn’t think about it.”

Sno
added, “And you, earth-girl. Nice gun skills.”

Vittie gave a shiver. “I don’t know what I would have done if I had to pull the
…this thingee.”

Sno shrugged. “
It’s the trigger. Either you would have or you wouldn’t. I am just glad no one had to squeeze off a round. That would have been a real mess, too many guns in too small of a space.”

Vittie looked up at Sno. “
You know, I don’t get it. It would be easy enough to keep all of the guns out. That would make this place a whole lot safer.”

“Would it? I don’t know about that. I know you have read the Ceres bylaws because that is one of the conditions for you to live here full time.”

“You mean clause two? Yeah, I’ve always wanted to ask why it is clause two when it is the first clause listed.”

Sno nodded. “Exactly.”

Vittie looked confused, “What? I don’t get it.”

“No. I suppose not. Most
earthers don’t get it right off the start. It kind of sneaks up on you.”

“No. I mean. I understand it. I even learned it enough to quote it.
‘A well armed citizen is necessary to the security of a free state, therefore the right of the people, collectively and individually, to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed or abridged.’

Sno nodded. “Do you know where it comes from?”

Vittie shook her head negatively.

Sno said, “
With some minor wording changes it is from the old United States of America Constitution, before it became invalidated by politicians and the world government.”

Vittie said, “I remember something about that from school, but those were different times when that was written. People needed guns to hunt and to feed their families. There isn’t anything to hunt on Ceres.
Maybe some people used to need it for self defense, but crime is so minimal here and the police are only a phone call away.”

Ben snorted.
He looked surprised at his own interruption. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”

Sno smiled, “The police? So you want to trust the police here
?” She hooked a thumb over her shoulder where Sheriff Bob was campaigning with anyone who would listen.

Vittie said, “Okay I see th
e point and I can see that by the time the police get there it may be too late.”

Sno replied, “Yes, it usually is.”

Vittie said, “I know on Earth it is all but impossible to get rid of guns. Some rogue country will always try to make and export guns. But here on Ceres you are such a small town you should be able to control the import or export of such things.”

Sno nodded, “There you have it.”

Vittie shook her head, “Maybe I am as dense as you say. I just don’t get it.”

Sno laughed, “No. You are not dense, just conditioned to hear only what you have been told is the right thing to hear. Typical
earther. Here this is called the second clause out of respect to the old U.S. Constitution where it was listed second in the…what was it called, Ben?”

Ben replied, “Bill of
Rights.”

Sno nodded, “That’s it
, the Bill of Rights. However, when Grandpa Snowden and the others wrote the bylaws they listed it first because they believed it was this very right that the people would need to protect any or all of the other rights. The right to keep and bear arms is not about hunting. It is not about self defense; although it certainly has benefits for doing that. It is about keeping any government we put in place from controlling those imports and exports. It is about keeping any government from deciding how, where, and with whom we live. It is about keeping their police,” again she hooked a thumb over her shoulder at Sheriff Bob, “from turning this into a police state, from making false arrests and from just plain getting too big for his britches.”