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behalf."
"Are you a noisy person?"
"I'm not likely to play shuntbuzz all night, if that's what you mean. But
that's not the point.
The point is..."
"The point, my friend, is that it would be rude of you to refuse my
hospitality. Perhaps I can convince you another way. How are you to pay for
your accommodations here? Are you using a department card?''
"Card, but..."
"Restricted?"
"Of course."
"Then you are functioning on a per diem designed to cover your daily expenses
while you are working with us. A per diem you receive as a supplement to your
salary regardless of how you spend it. If you choose to stay in an expensive
place, you have to cover the difference out of your own pocket. But if you
choose to live cheaply, you have a balance you can spend at your own
discretion. That is how we operate here."
"It's the same in Tampa," Moody admitted.
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"Which means that if you slay with us, the money which would otherwise go
toward your room and board will be
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61
yours to pocket. Would that not help to compensate somewhat for being sent to
a part of the country you dislike so intensely?"
"Hey, I never said I didn't like it here. Hell, I just got here."
"Your expression speaks eloquently even when your mouth is closed."
"What's that?" Moody was angry at having been so transparent. "An old Navaho
saying?"
"No. Actually I got it from an Italian variety show that was on the RAI
transponder last week.
What do you say?"
Moody didn't want to start the week by insulting the guy he was going to be
working with. By the same token, the thought of spending time in a cramped
little apartment with kids underfoot hadn't
Ooljee said something earlier about kids? struck him as less than appealing.
But he didn't see how he could turn down the offer.
"I'll give it a try," he said reluctantly, "but none of this 'board' business.
I'll pay for my own food or you'll be broke inside a week."
"All right." Ooljee grinned. "But I warn you. My wife loves to cook. She is an
experimental gourmet and will be delighted to have a new vict guest, to try
out her latest recipes on. As to what you do with your money, that is up to
you. The pleasures of full-time police work are few, and should be indulged in
whenever possible."
They enjoyed the park for a while longer. Then Ooljee rolled up the windows
and reprogrammed the onboard. The engine revved softly as the laser pickup
exchanged information with the nav strip embedded in the pavement of the
parking lot. The truck backed, turned itself around, and departed.
Now that his plans were settled, Moody was able to devote his time to
examining the exotica of urban Ganado. He was especially intrigued by the
kids' attire, an eclectic and inventive combination of all that Asia and
America had
62
Plan Dean Foster to offer. It would have looked out of place back in Tampa.
Here it all belonged.
He made Ooljee slow down so he could study an exceptionally attractive young
woman. Her black hair was crested by a pair of dyed-blond aerodynamic curls
that swept up, around, and out from the sides of her head. Silver wire
shimmered among the obsidian strands. The rest of her outfit consisted of red
leather jacket and skirt dripping with buttons and carved fetishes, bits and
fragments of salvaged componentry, reflective plastic boots, and a false tail
built up out of twisted silver.
Ooljee watched his colleague watching. "The hairdo is traditional Hopi. The
decorations are not."
"How do they keep it up like that?" Moody marveled at the gravity-defying
array.
"It's an old technique, though the girl is probably Na-vaho. There has been a
lot of intermixing the last fifty years. Would have been more, but old
enmities die hard."
"You don't have to tell me that. I'm from die South."
As they turned westward they left the city center with its glitz and flash
behind, entering an
file:///F|/rah/Alan%20Dean%20Foster/Foster,%20Alan%20Dean%20-%20Cyber%20Way.tx
t (23 of 117) [1/16/03 6:39:58 PM]
file:///F|/rah/Alan%20Dean%20Foster/Foster,%20Alan%20Dean%20-%20Cyber%20Way.tx
t area crowded with individual homes, apartment buildings, and service
structures. Cedar and stunted pine grew densely on uncleared land.
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"You do not have much of what I would call a Southern accent, my friend."
"Accents disappear fast in Metropolitan Florida." Moody shifted in his seat.
"It ain't like living out in the country, on the family place. You find
accents in Georgia and Sip, but Florida's full of folks from all over
everywhere. In that respect it's a lot like L.A. I know Cubanos who sound like
they're from Chicago, not Havana."
"Traditions are stronger here and down in the Strip," Ooljee replied. "You've
probably heard about the Strip. Imagine a whole cluster of Ganados strung out
along the Border. A good place for a man to lose himself. So we are
concentrating our search here and there. Our suspect has a
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63
real dilemma. He could go to Portland, say, where he would stand out but where
the search is not as intense, or he can stay here where he blends in naturally
and try to hide. Me, I think he is around here somewhere." High beams from an
oncoming truck dimmed tardily, highlighting the sergeant's face.
"You are not married?"
"Been there." Moody stared out the window as they rushed past a gleaming
all-night market. "Twice.
It ain't easy being married to a cop."
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