Paolo Bacigalupi - Ship Breaker

Nailer started to answer, then stopped. Was it? Did he really want to tie himself to this girl? He shook his head, irritated. The fact was, he had already set himself in conflict with his father. There was no hope of resolution now, no matter how much he might have wanted it. Richard Lopez would never leave an insult like the killing of his crew unanswered.

“It’s not safe for me here,” Nailer said. “Not now. He’ll come after me with everything he’s got. He can’t afford to lose this much face. Too many people would be laughing.”

Sadna shook her head. “I can’t do this thing. I can’t leave my crew. No one will be with you.”

“With me and Pima-”

Pima shook her head. “No. I’m not doing it.”

“You’re not?”

“I’m not leaving my mom.”

“But we talked about getting out. Getting away from here.” Nailer tried to keep the desperation from his voice. For some reason he had assumed they were crew and that they were together.

“You talked about it. Not me.”

Nailer stared at her. Pieces clicked into place. Pima had family. Something to cling to. Something solid. Of course she wouldn’t risk the run. He should have seen it. Nailer forced himself to nod. “Still, we can catch the train and make it to the Orleans in two days. It can’t be that hard.”

Pima held up her hand, showing him her splinted fingers. “You think? Reni had both hands for the jump, and he still ended up looking like ground pork.”

Sadna looked down toward the beach. “We can broker a truce with your dad, Nailer. I can protect you.”

“If you think so, then you really don’t know my dad.” Nailer shook his head. “Anyway, I don’t want that. I want out. Lucky Girl says she’ll get me out if I help her.”

Sadna glanced at the girl. “And you believe her?”

“I’m telling the truth-” Nita started hotly.

Sadna waved her to silence. “Really?” She looked at Nailer. “You’re sure she’s worth it?”

“No one ever is,” Tool rumbled.

“My father can pay,” Nita said. “He can reward-”

“Shut up!” Pima said. She turned to Nailer. “Nailer decides. He’s the one to take you. He’s the one to take the risk.” She grabbed Nailer and pulled him aside. She lowered her voice. “You’re sure about this?” She glanced back at Nita. “The girl’s sly. Every time she tells us something, it turns out it’s only half true.”

“I believe her.”

“Don’t. Swanks don’t think like us. She’ll have an angle. You sure you’re watching yourself?”

“There’s no risk. I’ve got nothing here. There’s no way I can keep clear of my dad if I stay.” Nailer shrugged, pulled away from Pima’s grip. “My dad will never forget this. No matter what anyone says, he’ll never forget.” He looked at Nita and spoke loudly to the group. “We’ll go. I’ll take her.”

A flurry of activity down below startled them all. Pima scrambled up on a boulder, peering through the foliage. “Get up here, Lucky Girl,” she said.

Nita climbed up beside Pima, and Nailer joined them. Out on the dark water, a pale ship was anchored, lights glowing like the day, bright LED spots sweeping the water, catching the shapes of boats rowing toward shore. Nita shook her head. “They’re coming for me.”

“They’ll pay a reward, too,” Pima’s mother said to Nailer.

“Mom.” Pima shook her head.

“We’re crew,” Nailer said stubbornly. “I’m not selling her.”

Pima’s mother studied Nailer. “You run and Richard Lopez will hunt you forever. You can never come back.” She looked down. “You can still make a peace. Broker a deal and sell the girl to those people down there, and Richard will forget. You don’t think so, but money will make him forget plenty. Moby and Blue Eyes and the rest are nothing in comparison to the amount of money we’re talking about.”

Nita watched fearfully. If he sold her, they’d be rich, for certain. He could buy peace from his father.

Lucky and smart. I need to be lucky and smart.

The smart thing was to give Nita up, to buy the safety he couldn’t beg for. But just handing her over to her enemies made him feel nauseous. The smart thing was to turtle down and let the girl go and make a profit in the bargain. Her fight wasn’t his. He looked to Pima. She just shrugged.

“I told you what I thought.”

“Blood and rust,” he muttered. “We can’t just give her to them. It’d be like giving Pima to my dad.”

“But a lot safer for you,” Tool suggested.

Nailer shook his head stubbornly. “No. I’ll take her to the Orleans. I know how to hop the trains.”

“This isn’t light crew and a short quota,” Tool said. “You won’t get second chances. You make a mistake now and you die.”

“You ever jumped the train?” Sadna asked.

“Reni told me how.”

“Before he went under the wheels,” Sadna said.

“We all die,” Tool rumbled. “It’s only choosing how.”

“I’m going,” Nailer said. He looked at Nita. “We’re going.”

Something in the way he said it got it through this time. No one tried to protest. They just accepted it and nodded, and suddenly Nailer felt as if he’d made the wrong decision. He realized that a part of him had wanted them to talk him out of it. To find a way to convince him not to run.

“You’d best be going, then,” Tool rumbled. “Richard will be coming to sell the girl soon.”

“Good luck,” Pima’s mother said. She dug into her pocket and offered Nailer a handful of bright linen Red Chinese cash. “Run hard. Don’t come back.”

Nailer took the money, surprised at the amount, feeling suddenly alone. “Thanks.”

Pima ran back to the camp, and returned with a small pack that had been Blue Eyes’s. She handed it to Nailer. “Your scavenge.”

Nailer took the pack, feeling water sloshing in it. He looked at Nita. “Ready?”

Nita nodded eagerly. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Yeah.” He pointed through the jungle. “The tracks are that way.”

They started out of the clearing, but Tool called after them, “Wait.” Nailer and Nita turned back. Tool studied them with his yellow killer’s eyes. “I will go as well, I think.”

Nailer felt a shiver of fear. “We’re fine,” he said at the same moment as Pima’s mother smiled brilliantly and said, “Thank you.”

Tool smiled slightly at Nailer’s hesitation. “Don’t be so quick to turn down help, boy.”

Nailer had a dozen retorts, but all of them were based in his distrust of the half-man’s motives. The creature frightened him. Even if Pima’s mother trusted him, Nailer didn’t. It worried him that someone so close to his father and Lucky Strike was going with them.

“Why now?” Nita asked suspiciously. “What do you want?”

Tool glanced at Sadna, then nodded toward the beach. “The patrons down on the ship have half-men of their own. They will have questions about my presence. It will not be a convenience for anyone.”

“We can make it alone,” Nailer said.

“I’m sure,” Tool answered. “But perhaps you will benefit from my wisdom.” His sharp teeth showed briefly.

“Be glad he’s willing to help,” Sadna said. She turned to Tool and clasped his huge hand in both of hers. “I owe you now.”

“It is nothing.” Tool smiled and his sharp teeth showed again. “Killing in one place or killing in another; it makes no difference.”

THE GROUND SHOOK as the train came up at them. They crouched in the ferns. The engine roared toward them and then flashed by. Nailer swallowed as machinery rushed past. Wind pummeled his face and tore at the leaves of the trees and ferns around him. The train seemed to suck him forward to where the huge wheels, each as high as his chest, blurred past. They beckoned him to throw himself under their passing weight, inviting him to be chopped into pieces and left bleeding as the train roared on. With rising fear, Nailer realized that it was one thing to speculate idly about jumping a train, another to watch freight cars hurtle past.