Let's Make a Deal (Bob and Nikki Book 11)
shoes? You are a better negotiator than I gave you credit for.”“He’s just afraid I’ll sic the pros on him again, if he doesn’t behave.”
Joshua asked, “Pros?”
“Dee Sloan and Beatriz Cachi. They negotiated with him the first time he showed up. He’s wise. They scared him.”
Joshua said, “I’ve met Dee. If she thinks Beatriz is fit to ride with, I wouldn’t want to go up against the two of them.”
Nikki said, “They spent a week and a half in the armory, trying to figure out who was the better shot. Neither one of them missed, so they never got their answer.”
Rikki said, “Ladies who can shoot? Pity their ears are set so low.”
Nikki replied, “That’s all well and good for Beatriz. Dee’s husband is a better shot than she is.” I thought I was going to see something new, for a bit, but Rikki managed not to shoot beer out his nose. He said, “Oh! No offense was intended, I assure you.”
Nikki replied, “It would take more than that to get Grandpa mad.”
“Grandpa?”
“Yes, she is married to my Grandfather, Dingus Sloan. Also known as Dingolus Slongum, the Lost Guide.”
“I met him on the Gene. He is the Captain of his own ship now, is he not?”
I said, “He is. I got mouthy over the comm, and we had to wake up the Navy, before I really wanted to.”
Rikki replied, “That’s not going to make you popular with the folks back home.”
“Unless they send someone who actually knows how to fight a ship, I don’t think it will be a problem.”
Joshua asked, “What do you mean, Bob?”
“So far they have been sending dregs, who couldn’t fight their way out of a paper bag. If they send people who are actually trained to fight a ship, I may have more trouble, especially if they get here before the rest of the fleet gets back.”
Rikki asked, “The people they have been sending aren’t their best?”
“The first bunch certainly wasn’t. This last group was better, but they still seemed awfully easy to defeat. Give them something shiny to look at, and hit them from behind. No big deal. One thing I was curious about, though. How common is stunner resistance among your people?”
Joshua said, “Not common at all. Why do you ask?”
“The fleet they sent to the Navy yard had more resistant people than we had seen before. Two or three times as many. We assumed it was a sign they were finally taking us seriously.”
Rikki said, “Most of the people with stunner resistance get recruited to work in intelligence. I’ve never heard of a ship crew having a large proportion of them.”
Nikki asked, “You mean the ships they sent after Bob had an intelligence presence, like they were trying to gather intel on him?”
“It sounds that way, yes.”
I replied, “We never did get around to seeing how many resistant people there were in that last fleet they sent. I hope young Snappi made it home all right.”
Joshua asked, “You mean you didn’t have to stun the last bunch?”
“Nope. Just killed their ability to maneuver, and told them to get out of my sky.”
“And that worked?”
“After young Snappi’s Captain had his accident, we didn’t have any more trouble.”
Rikki said, “Seems odd that they would come in force, and fold so easily.”
I replied, “I thought so too, but they didn’t try to sneak back into the system for a second round.”
Nikki said, “It almost sounds like the fellow who had the accident was the only one who wanted to come after you, Bob.”
“We have no way of knowing what happened on the other ships. It might be that all the Captains had accidents.”
Joshua asked, “Why would you say that, Bob?”
“Snappi didn’t seem the least bit worried that the other ships would take offense at his action. It seems unlikely that would be the case, unless the other ships had similar changes in management.”
He replied, “You think the junior officers of the whole fleet killed the Captains who were about to get them killed, at the same time?”
“That’s the conclusion that the evidence brings me to. It seems to me that something like that would have to be prearranged, in order to work.”
Nikki said, “How could they hope to get away with something like that? Surely, the higher-ups back on Oak would frown upon that sort of thing.”
Joshua said, “They most certainly would. They would have to take the fleet rogue to keep their freedom, I would think.”
I asked, “Do you have any contacts back home who could give you an idea what’s happening?”
Rikki said, “I’ll call my sister. She’s always up on the latest gossip.” He wandered off by himself, and got out his comm. He talked for a bit, and then came back and joined us. He said, “It seems that the fleet that came to get you wasn’t the only thing that had a change of management. Several elder statesmen had, what did you say, ‘accidents’. It seems there is a new government on Oak.”
I asked, “Is there any way to tell if they will be more or less friendly to humans?”
Rikki said, “Humans, in general, I doubt there will be much change. Bob Wilson, in particular, well, you have been mentioned in speeches by the new government.”
“Do I want to know?”
“They say that the previous government’s attempts to capture or stop you were misguided, and that you have done nothing to show hostility toward the people of the Oak Empire. They say hostilities will cease, and they will send an ambassador to negotiate a treaty with you.”
Nikki said, “Good news, if true.”
I replied, “You’ve been hitting the culture pack. I agree, though. We have no way to verify that they mean what they say.”
Nikki said,