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The thrusters disengaged as the ship lowered back down to the tarmac.
The spaceport immediately erupted into chaos.
The scheduled flights on the giant noticeboard flipped from DEPARTING to DELAYED. Passengers waiting at the other gates threw up their hands and complained to the helpless stewardesses.
“It’s done,” the president said morosely. “Excuse me. I have to call the airport manager and the police. I’ll be in touch.”
I groaned at the thought of having to explain everything to those people. It would be a few days of agony but it would be worth it if Bianca reconsidered and stayed with us.
Cleb took me by the hand.
“Now what?” he said.
“Now we do the hard part,” I said.
Cleb and I ran through the spaceport, past the angry passengers and desperate airport employees.
Sorry folks!
I was glad no one knew I was responsible for the delays. At least, they didn’t yet. It would only be a matter of time before they did.
We exited the spaceport. I scooped the communicator out of my pocket and was about to stab in Waev’s ID when I spotted him reversing the shuttlecraft into a short-term parking bay. I ran across the road and dived in the back.
“It was you, wasn’t it?” Waev said. “There’s talk on the news about a merchant vessel failing to take off on the runway. Please tell me you’re not responsible for this.”
But he could see in my eyes that I was.
“It’s about to get a whole lot worse, my friend,” I said.
He almost looked afraid.
“What are you going to do now?” he said.
“I’m going to fly over the spaceport,” I said.
Waev stared incredulously.
“You can’t be serious!” he said. “When they catch you, they’ll lock you up!”
“They’re a little preoccupied at the moment,” I said.
“That’s your defense?” he said, shaking his head. “I can’t help you with this. I have… priors with the police.”
Another new piece of information.
“Aren’t you just full of surprises?” I said. “It’s okay. I never expected you to take the rap for me.”
I braced him on the shoulder.
“I appreciate everything you’ve done for me,” I said. “There’s just one favor I need to ask of you.”
I turned to look at Cleb.
The sweet little boy looked between us.
“What?” he said.
“You can’t come with me this time,” I said. “You might get hurt.”
