Titanium Texicans (26 page)

Ndubuka said, “You buy the scarves and you may have the bracelets as a gift.”

Tasso laughed and said, “Deal. But you’re going to regret giving those to me instead of naming a price.”

Cherry was talking to one of the women about a dress. Though they talked in hushed tones, Cherry was animated. The more she gestured, the more the woman shook her head, steadfastly looking at the floor.

Tasso called to her. “Cherry, can you come here a moment, please?” The two young women followed her, but no one looked them in the eyes except Okpara. Tasso grabbed another bracelet and handed it to Cherry. “What could you sell that for in your shop?”

Okpara looked at Cherry in surprise. “You own a shop selling such trinkets?”

Cherry laughed, “I’ll sell anything I can make a profit at.” She glanced back at the tai in the window. “This is the same wood?”

Tasso nodded.

Cherry said, “I could get ten credits easy.”

Anisa snorted. “Twelve or fifteen more like it.” In fact, I’m going to buy this one now. She and Kendra began pawing in pockets Tasso would have sworn didn’t exist in their cheerleader uniforms, and if pockets did exist, they couldn’t hold much more than air, and a microscopic amount of air at that.

“No,” Tasso said. “Those two bracelets were gifts from me. I gave them to you as presents. Mr. Okpara, if Miss Chisholm can sell these bracelets for ten credits, she can’t buy them for the same price. She must pay less to make a profit. Isn’t that correct, sir?”

The man nodded in agreement, “It is the way of business. I do not see how such trinkets would bring such a price, but if you believe you can sell them for such a price, you can pay us five credits each.

Tasso laughed, “And this, too, is the way of business. I’ll give you three for each of the bracelets and not a credit more. I’ll give you two for each of the Kaduna cattle, three for each of the Texas longhorns, four for each of the horses and nine for the tai.”

Okpara laughed. “There are almost forty bracelets in this pile. Surely, you wouldn’t offer over a hundred credits for a child’s trinkets. They are the hobby of a cripple, nothing more.”

Tasso stopped laughing. “Sir, I don’t wish to insult you as our host. Where I come from it’s a man’s job to provide for his family! If he can do so by growing crops, digging rocks, or raising cattle, it doesn’t matter if he has one good leg or three.”

Okpara nodded. “I wish it were so, but on Kaduna there is nothing but raising cattle.”

Tasso smiled at Okpara’s son. “I see there are those here who can profit from sewing dresses and scarves. And now I see Ndubuka is an artist with a talent for working in wood.”

Ndubuka looked up and smiled. “You are wrong in one thing, good sir. I do not regret giving you the bracelets as a gift.”

Cherry said, “Tasso, you’re wrong about something, too. I’m buying these bracelets, because it’s my shop and I’m going to sell them.” She turned to Okpara and looked him in the eye. “I’ll only buy them if I can take the rest of your wife’s stock, all of it. Do you deliver?”

CHAPTER 24

TASSO WAS AMAZED at the Texican barbeque. He hadn’t realized they would be roasting entire sides of beef and whole hogs on open flames. There were huge pots of pit beans, coleslaw, potato salad, and something called french fries. He recognized fried potatoes at the first bite, but they were crispy, soft, and hot all at the same time. He didn’t know who the French were, but he’d be sure to thank them for their fries if he ever met one. He was about to bite into something called a hatch chili when Anisa snatched it away from him. “No way, greenhorn,” she laughed. “I had to call the doctor on you once for eating a taco. I’m sure not going to let you eat this.”

“Is it hotter than a taco?” he asked.

Kendra and a host of other trainees laughed.

Anisa said, “Hotter? Tasso, no one here even considers tacos hot. Only a couple of us would eat this and they’re football players who’ve been hit in the head one too many times. This would burn your mouth and everything else all the way through until it came out the other end.”

Everyone laughed again and Tasso joined in.

Gordo towered over Tasso. “I’ve been looking for you, Menzies. If y’all would excuse us, I’ll bring him back shortly.” He had a cloth wrapped bundle in his hands.

Tasso grabbed his bag from under the table and followed Gordo as the man wound his way through the crowd. Tasso would’ve asked where they were going, but Gordo didn’t slow down except to keep checking behind him to ensure Tasso was following.

They came to a pair of doors. One security officer from each ship stood guard at the door. The officer from the Red Scorpion gestured with his chin for the two men to enter the room. Gordo sighed and steadied himself. He barged through the doors as if they were an offensive line in a football game. Tasso hadn’t really wondered where they were going, but if who was on the other side of the door made Gordo nervous, maybe Tasso should be concerned, too. He took a deep breath and followed the large man.

He stepped into a small dining room. It had wood paneled walls and wood planks for a floor. There was a long bar along one side of the room. It looked like a saloon in a dozen paintings scattered about the Escorpión Rojo. Both ship’s captains were seated at a green felt covered table. FO Graham was sitting next to Captain Lilianna Rojo. An elderly woman sat next to Captain Delgado Rojo. Tasso assumed she was the first officer of the Araña Rojo.

The Escorpión Rojo’s captain said, “This is the boy, Del.”

Delgado Rojo stood up and offered his hands to Tasso. “Good to meet you, Señor Menzies. Welcome aboard the Araña Rojo. I do hope everyone is treating you well?”

Tasso said, “Sir, I hope we lose every football game to your ship if this barbeque is the prize for losing.”

“Hey!” Gordo said. “I resent that. We’re going to win tomorrow night.”

Delgado Rojo shook hands with Gordo. “Stephano, right? I hear our offensive line is going to have to double-team you to keep you off the blitz. Here, have another beer? Have six?”

Gordo laughed and said, “Beer? I never touch the stuff before a game. I can play with a hangover, but it slows me down and if you ever had to go pee when wearing a protective cup, you wouldn’t drink before a game, either.”

Everyone laughed. Tasso joined in, but the exchange baffled him. Too many words didn’t make sense. He wasn’t even sure they were still talking about football.

Lilianna Rojo said, “Tasso, we have some private things to discuss.”

Tasso nodded, “Yes, Captain.” He turned to leave.

“No,” she said. “I mean we have private things to discuss about you and with you. Do you trust us or would you like Gordo to stay?”

Tasso said, “Captain, I do trust you and First Officer Graham. I’ll trust these others if you say so, but I’d like Gordo to stay anyway, if that’s okay?”

She nodded, “I think that’s wise. Please be seated.”

Gordo pulled up a chair and dropped into it, setting his parcel on the table before him. “I’m not used to such high-ranking company. Forgive me if I use the wrong finger bowl or something. Really though, I don’t know what’s going on.”

Tasso sat next to Gordo and put his bag on the table next to the other package. “I don’t know either, but I guess it has something to do with who I really am.”

Gordo looked at Tasso. “And who are you that you get called into the presence of two spaceship captains?”

Tasso shrugged, “I don’t really know. That’s been my problem for years, and as it turns out, of some interest to spaceship captains.”

Captain Delgado Rojo said “First things first. What’re you two jackrabbits carrying around in those bags that are cluttering up my new poker table?”

Tasso looked at the table. It looked like regular table, except green felt covered the round top. How could a table be a poker? Wasn’t a poker something used to stir a fire?

Gordo unwrapped his package. Everyone around the table became quiet as they stared at the ojimbe woodcarving of the Araña Rojo. It looked polished in the light of the room. The burls and whirls of the wood grain stood out clearly. The sheen of twinkles looked like the heat of a takeoff shimmering along the sides. Gordo pushed it over to Delgado Rojo and nodded.

Delgado Rojo said, “This is amazing.”

Gordo replied, “I think so too,
El Capitan
. Please accept it as a gift, not just from me, but from all of the crew of the Escorpión Rojo as a way of apology.”

“Apology?”

Gordo laughed. “For how badly we’re going to kick your ass in football tomorrow.”

“It is
muy linda
, amigo.” Delgado said.

“I think so too, El Capitan,” Gordo replied. “I’d keep it myself, but it’s your ship. It’s not mine.
Comprende
?”

“Si, gracias.”

Lilianna Rojo said, “And you, Tasso, have a carving of my ship for me in your bag?”

Tasso looked embarrassed and blushed. “Forgive me, Captain. I didn’t know we were meeting, so I didn’t bring you a gift.”

She laughed. “Gifts aren’t required here, cowboy. So, what’re you wrangling around?”

Tasso opened his bag and dumped it on the table. “Actually, Captain, I got this for Purser Rojo, but I haven’t found him at the barbeque yet.”

She said with a laugh, “You got my brother a mud brick. How nice! I’m sure it’s something he has always wanted.”

Tasso smiled at the captain’s sarcasm, but he wasn’t offended. “Yes, Captain, that’s what I thought. Gordo and I took a drive through town on our way over here and I picked this up. Everything is built using this stuff.” He pushed the brick with one flick of a finger and it skittered across the felt with ease.

She picked the brick up and a look of shock crossed her face. It rang solid when she tapped it with her knuckles. The brick sailed through the air from one ship’s captain to the other. “Del, how strong does this feel to you?”

Delgado Rojo leaned over and tapped the brick against the deck. He slammed it hard, deliberately trying to break it, with no luck.

Tasso nodded. “That’s what I found out. It’s extremely light. It’s actually much harder than the native rocks on Saronno. I know it’s not my place to bring up things like this, but Grandpa always bought our necessities in town when he took our chiamra plants to market. He would have had a fit if he had to make two trips instead of one. I thought since we’re dropping cargo off on Kaduna, it’d be a waste of time not to pick something up. I thought maybe if Purser Rojo knew of a market for strong, light building blocks, we could make more use of—”

He stopped talking. Everyone was staring at him.

Captain Delgado Rojo looked at his cousin. “This would convince me he is an Ortiz even before we get a chance to see any DNA results. This boy is a natural born trader.”

CHAPTER 25

TASSO DROPPED Anisa and Kendra off at their cabin after the barbeque. He received a kiss on the cheek from each girl and as much as he enjoyed that, he was still fuming inside. He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep. The captain of the Araña had called him an Ortiz. He didn’t like being an Ortiz. He was a Menzies. No space-going lothario would or could change that. He was a Scot, not a Texican. They kept trying to change him, but he wasn’t going to change. He knew who he was. He may not have met this Ortiz man who’d gotten his mother pregnant, but having sex with his mother didn’t make the man his father.

The captain of the Araña had also called him a trader. He was a chiamra farmer, not a trader. He was only pretending to be a trader until he could get back to his Saronno valley, claim title to his land, and grow chiamra for spice. He was no more a trader than he was the attic cleanup boy or a ribbon sales clerk in a lingerie shop. Those were things he did, not who he was.

The time was late, but Cherry said they were going to have a lot of Araña crew visiting their promenade. Instead of heading to his cabin, he went straight from Anisa and Kendra’s door to Cherry’s Lingerie Shop. He might as well do something productive if his anger was going to keep him awake.

The extruder was sitting quietly in the corner, waiting for him to wake it up. He grumbled to himself as he put the extruder through its paces. He ran spool after spool of ribbon until Cherry’s shelves were overstocked and dozens of piles were stacked under the counter and in the backroom. He ran dozens of blue, white, and red rolls with Araña Rojo’s crest imbedded on them. If the Spider’s crew was as excited about them as the Scorpion’s crew was, they would be out of stock quicker than he could make more.

He extruded blue and red stretch belts for their cheerleaders. He made dozens of dataport and locator wristbands, and he extruded shoelaces by the hundreds in such a variety of weird color combinations that it made his eyes hurt. He made cinches and bridles in the other ship’s colors for The Big Barn Saddle and Tackle Shop across the promenade. He made so many piles of packing straps in blue, white, and red that he had to stack them outside of the store by setting up extra tables, being careful not to block the walkway. He worked the extruder so hard he had to refill the material bin before the promenade started filling with other shopkeepers trying to get an early start.

Without Cherry and Ain in the store, the women’s garments and things on the racks around the store didn’t embarrass him. When the extruder was busy cranking out various items in long lengths, he took the time to carry everything from the back of the store and fill up every shelf and rack. There wouldn’t be any way to put everything out, since the deliveries of many items were sometimes months apart, but he filled up as much as he could in preparation for a busy day.

The Okpara family had promised to deliver their goods early, so he left enough space for their goods on a few shelves. He agreed with Cherry that everything from the Okpara dress shop would sell quickly. He didn’t need to save much rack space because of the scant Okpara inventory.

He was deep in thought trying to figure out a way to put spangles on multi-colored hatbands when Cherry and Ain bustled into the store. Both women stood google-eyed at the piles of goods stacked neatly in every corner and open space. Cherry was speechless, causing Ain to laugh.

“My friend Tasso, you are amazing. Are you not a
djinn
?”

Tasso shook his head, “I don’t think so. I’m a Menzies.”

Ain said. “A djinn is a magical creature who performs miracles. I’ve always heard a djinn would deny his own true nature, claiming to be just a man like any other. Tasso, you are not like other men.”

Tasso shook his said, “I came in early to run a few extra thing—”

“I do not mean your inability to take time off,” Ain interrupted. “I would expect nothing less from you. The miracle I speak of is that you have rendered our Cherry mute once again.”

Cherry finally found her voice enough to give Ain a razzberry, blowing the rude wet noise at both of them until she was breathless. “I saw you at the barbeque, Tasso. Did you even go to bed last night? There is so much here.”

Tasso shook his head. “Don’t worry, if we don’t sell something to the Araña’s crew, we can put everything back in the extruder and rework it into something else.”

“Sell it? Unless I miss our customer’s desires, we may have to glue your butt onto a chair to keep up. I have dozens and dozens of special orders already on my dataport from Araña’s crew who sought me out at the barbeque last night. I wonder if we have enough time to extrude everything they requested, especially the bulk orders from their promenade shops, before we leave port.”

“I can get started on the requests now if you can give me a download. I should be able to get some of them done before the Okparas show up this morning.”

“Ain and I were going to come in and get the stock levels increased to get a jumpstart on the day. We didn’t realize you were so far ahead of the race that we’re in a completely different competition. From what I remember of the special orders, it looks like some of the things you have already extruded will fill most of the special orders. It’s only an hour or so before the Okparas agreed to meet us at the main hatch with their inventory, so let’s get to sorting.”

Cherry started by reading the special orders aloud. Tasso pointed out previously extruded goods matching the descriptions. Ain made notes and scurried about marking and separating anything presold, giggling with uncharacteristic excitement to have sold piles of goods without ever having a customer set foot in their little store. Whenever a special order was still unmade, Tasso entered the order into the extruder and let it begin spitting out product. He entered every order into the machine’s memory and set it to run order after order, letting it go without being there to catch the goods. Ain swept in, swept up the extruded product, and swept it away, setting it aside for the customer. They had barely made a dent in the premade goods before they ran out of special orders. Ain had all but run out of clear space to stack the presold goods. She giggled every time she scanned a new order and location into the store’s database. Finally, Ain shouted in triumph, “Take that, whores!”

Cherry stopped and stared, “Excuse me?”

Ain said, “I am embarrassed, yet exalted beyond decency. You have my deepest apologies for my rude outburst. You should both know that I was turned out of my home. My husband cast me away because I was unable to provide him children. On my world there is nowhere for a woman alone to go. The Ministry of Decency picked me up off the street and took me to a house of prostitution. The women there said it was either whore myself or starve to death. I was prepared to starve to death when you found me, Cherry. Now,” she gestured around her, “I am surrounded by an embarrassment of riches. And I say again, take that, whores! You will starve long before I do.” No matter what she said, she didn’t sound embarrassed.

Cherry laughed.

Tasso was shocked. He wondered what kind of men would dismiss a smart and beautiful woman, turning her away to starve and die. It made him think of his own father, wondering why he left his mother behind. Even though that was before he was born, it made him feel like he was abandoned. It made him embarrassed to be a man and more than a little angry.