The Dark Lady

would take to lighten it?”
    Peres smiled. “Another thousand ought to do it.”
    “Seven hundred,” said Heath quickly.
    “Eight.”
    “Done,” said Heath.
    “All right,” said Peres, suddenly businesslike. “How do you want to arrange it?”
    “Some of the bounty hunters might take umbrage at the sight of Leonardo and me leading her off to my ship,” replied Heath. “Perhaps it might be better if you were to bring her to us there.”
    “Do any of them have any reason to think she'd rather go with them?” asked Peres.
    “Frankly, I have no idea,” answered Heath. “But I see no reason to put temptation in their path, so to speak. You're the mayor; you'll have much less difficulty taking her to the ship than we would.”
    “And if she doesn't want to go?”
    “You're kicking her off the planet, and she has no friends and no money,” said Heath. “Why wouldn't she want to go?”
    “She's a strange woman. You never know with her.”
    “Just tell her that she's got two choices: come with us or stay in jail.”
    “But I don't want her in my jail,” protested Peres. “She's nothing but trouble— and damned near everyone she latches onto ends up dead.”
    “Then convince her to leave Acheron with us.”
    “All right,” said Peres, though his expression implied that he didn't think she'd agree.
    “Look,” said Heath. “Would you rather I spoke to her?”
    Peres shook his head. “She'll take one look at the alien, and then nothing could get her to go with you. I'll take care of it.”
    “Fine,” said Heath. He glanced out the window and looked down the street toward the Kid's corpse, where four bounty hunters were arguing among themselves and gesticulating wildly. “As soon as they've settled their financial differences, we'll go directly to my ship.”
    “I'll meet you there in half an hour,” said Peres, opening the door and walking up the ramp to the street.
    “Well, Leonardo,” said Heath, smiling and rubbing his hands together, “we've got her!”
    “It was the only civilized thing to do,” I agreed. “I could not countenance her being forced to leave in the company of killers.”
    Heath chuckled. “In case it's escaped your attention, she came here after being in the company of a bounty hunter, and she then took up with an outlaw.”
    “Nevertheless, these are terrible men,” I said with a shudder. “How can they kill like that?”
    “You'd be surprised at what a man can do when there's money involved,” replied Heath. “And before you condemn them, don't forget that bounty hunters are the closest things that the Frontier worlds have to police.”
    “But it was brutal, premeditated murder!”
    “The Kid knew they were here. He didn't have to come.”
    “Why did he?”
    “I beg your pardon?”
    “The Kid,” I said. “Why did he come back if he knew there were bounty hunters waiting for him? I do not understand his actions.”
    “You heard Peres,” said Heath. “He came back for the woman.”
    “But he must have known he would never live to rescue her,” I persisted. “Why did he willingly throw his life away?”
    “Maybe he thought he could make it,” said Heath without much conviction.
    “That is an unacceptable answer,” I replied. “I know he saw at least four of the bounty hunters; he had to know there were still more he could not see.”
    Heath shrugged. “I really don't know, Leonardo. Men under pressure do strange things.”
    “But he was not under pressure,” I pointed out. “He was safe out in the desert. He knew the mine tunnels so well that no one dared go after him.”
    “But he thought the woman would be killed tomorrow night.”
    “If he believed her plea for help, he must have known that he could not possibly save her. If he did not believe it, then he had no reason to come back.”
    “True,” admitted Heath thoughtfully.
    “Then what is the answer?”
    “I don't know,” he said, checking the window to see if the bounty hunters had dispersed yet. “Maybe we'll get it from the Dark Lady.”

12.
    “Can I get you anything to drink?” asked Heath.
    He had just put the ship on automatic pilot after leaving Acheron's atmosphere, and the three of us were sitting at a table in the galley, the one place in the tiny vessel that could accommodate all of us.
    “Something hot, please,” said the Dark Lady.
    Those were the first words she had uttered since Peres had delivered her, and I marveled at the musical quality of her voice.