"Dexatrinahuline. Emergency dosage. He'll come around and be hyperactive fm about an hour, after which he'll sleep for another fifteen and then wake up good as new-unfortunately. It works fast."

"Sure does," said the drugger, sitting up. He glanced rapidly about the waveskimmer, then down at the wrecked hoveraft, finally out to sea. His eyes settled on the black reef that was the Vom.

"Nothing expansive," he said. "Just a little tap to inconvenience us. Maybe we ..." He reached down and rubbed his thigh. "That was quite a jolt of whatever it was you gave me. Don't recognize it offhand but I've probably sold it."

"It wasn't done out of concern for your health," Kitten said grimly. "Now, how does one open that case of yours-without getting poisoned, burned, shattered, or otherwise 'inconvenienced'?"

"Now, why would you want to know that?"

Mal reached down and grabbed Rose's right shoulder. He could feel the bones and wiry muscles under the cloth. A slight pressure, so, and Rose winced.

"Okay, okay! No need- to get tough. There's a solid gas-air pattern charge 'onside the shell that blows the case apart but doesn't affect the contents. You arm it by pressing this lock button, here ..." he indicated a slot for a magnetic key, ". . . and then grip the handle. There's a trigger built into the handle underside. Once the keytab has been pressed and the trigger cocked, when pressure is removed ...

wham!"

"How long?" asked Kitten.

"When you press the keytab down, you turn your thumb to the right as far as the tab will go before letting up. That'll give you up to sixty seconds before the blast. More time than that wouldn't be practical."

"Not much time to get away," said Mal.

"It wasn't designed to be anything but a last-resort type threat. Planning a little blackmail with it yourselves, mebbee?"

"If it can be placed against the creature," Kitten said, "chances are good that if detonated or absorbed the monster would take in enough to affect its system. It shouldn't be impossible. The thing can't be more than half a meter below the surface."

"There's a small lifeboat on the back of this skimmer. There was one on the raft, too, but it's been replaced by a hunk of reef. The draft should be shallow enough so that the Vom will ignore it."

Mal prodded the drugger's leg. "What do you think? Could the drug do anything?"

"Why can say? The Vote-that's its name, eh? -is an unknown quality. But this amount of bloodhype," -he indicated the case- "is a unique gathering, too. Sure be a., interesting experiment. Of course, if the monster does absorb the case and the drug, it might also absently ingest the boat and boatman."

"An admitted complication," said Kitten. "One that I can't see a way around. We'll just have to chance it.

Unhook the case from that wrist chain, please."

"You can't be serious, pretty-pretty! The idea's insane! I feel duty-bound to protect you from yourself. I don't believe I should let you have it." He clutched the precious container possessively.

"Unlock the chain," said Mal quietly, "or I'll simply detach the whole arm."

"You argue persuasively, Captain." Rose bent over and did something to the connecting links. There was a sharp click and the case was free.

Mal hefted it in one hand. "Very light, for so much death." He turned and walked towards the rear of the skimmer. "Give me a hand with the boat, Kitten."

"What makes you think you're going?"

"For openers, I can row faster, harder, and longer than you. I might have a chance of making it far enough back to the reef to escape. You wouldn't."

"What about your precious credit account, Captain? There's neither profit nor percentage in this for you."

"So I'm mentally erratic, like you say. Besides, Repler's always been a profitable stopover for the Umbra. I'd like to see the suckers live a while longer."

"I can accept your rationale," she replied. "But don't expect me to be ladylike about it."

"Kitten, I wouldn't expect you to be ladylike about anything." He turned to unfasten the braces holding the tiny boat. The blow that hit the back of his neck was very clean and carefully judged.

"Well struck!" applauded Rose. "I admire your work, Can I give you a hand with the boat?"

"The day I need to ask for your help I'll just sell my soul outright. Mortgage and all."

"As you wish. I will need yours, then."

She turned and straightened slowly, staring at the object in his hand.

"That's interesting," she said evenly. "You have a gun."

"Yes. It's not much of a gun, of course, but it'll handle one person. I didn't think it would take the both of you. Not the way the Captain moves. So I decided to wait a bit in hopes of a better opportunity. I never expected you to be' quite this obliging. Just goes to show. If you live right..."

The small boat rocked gently in the blue-green water.

"Where do you think you're going in this teacup?" she asked. Her eyes never left the muzzle of the tiny pistol.

"I'm going to try and skirt the edge of that thing. That should allow me to try out a crazy idea I might as well have a crack at. If it doesn't shift out, I ought to be able to slip into the city without being noticed.

Current'll help with the rough work. At that point I'll have a number of options open. You'll excuse me if I don't elaborate. I don't think you'd be sympathetic. Right now, I'm arming this toy."

Laying the gun aside-not far enough aside-he set the keytab and tied down the trigger securely with a piece of cord.

"I can slip the knot on this fast enough if I have to. Gonna need both hands for steering. Anybody takes a potshot at me, either I'll release the trigger manually or shoot it loose. Either way the drug will be released into the atmosphere. As soon as I get close enough to the city, rest assured I'll do my best to stay upwind. You might as well stop staring at the gun. I'm not so feeble I wouldn't beat you to it."

He lowered the small air-compression motor into the shallow water.

"And now, my lovely-love, I bid you good-bye." The sea bubbled like soda-water around the stern of the little craft. It moved slowly off along the edge of the reef, careful not to stray over the Vom.

Kitten stared for a moment, sighed deeply, and walked back to where Mal was sitting on the deck. He was rubbing tile back of his neck. He did not look happy.

"Well, I'm sorry, already! I told you not to expect me to be ladylike about it."

"Congratulations." He looked around suddenly. "Well, where's the case? And where's the old man?"

"Uh, considering that you didn't see anything, you've summarized the situation neatly." She pointed out to sea. The small boat was now a good many meters off, still chugging slowly along the reef edge. Soon it would round the first spit of the island and be lost to sight.

"Well now, how did you manage that?"

"He had a gun."

"He had a gun," Mal replied slowly. "Why didn't he pull it before now?"

She turned away. "He said he was waiting for a better chance."

"Well, he sure got one." Mal struggled to his feet and walked forward. He looked back at her and booted the instrument console something fierce. It did not improve its shape.