Salvaged Destiny (6 page)

“Absolutely. I think I can even claim it as a legitimate
expense, so we should go somewhere nice.”

* * * * *

Del had obstinately refused to let him pick her up,
insisting instead on meeting under a particular tree on the Lower Boulevard.
Lazlo accommodated her peculiarities. Considering how hard they’d already
worked that day, he wasn’t going to argue with her. Just thinking about how her
smudged face had filled with confusion when he’d invited her out earlier made
him smile. He needed her to be in a good mood because there were tougher
challenges ahead.

So Lazlo waited, freshly showered and neatly dressed, under
the largest cashew tree and tried not look around for Del too obviously. He was
early and resolved to spend at least ten minutes alone before he started to
wonder if she was going to stand him up.

To take his mind off the possibility, he thought about the
conversation he’d had with Major Sekar upon his return. He’d informed his
commander that they hadn’t had any success and that he’d spotted another cart
out in their general area. The major had sobered even more than his usual grim
expression at that information and ordered him to carry regulation weapons with
him at all times.

Then his commander asked how Del Browen had performed and
Lazlo happily described her skills and abilities until the major held a hand up
to stop him. He warned Lazlo that her safety was his responsibility when they
were out on this assignment and Lazlo had taken that advice quite seriously. Not
that he hadn’t already felt entirely responsible.

There were quite a few pedestrians out on the Boulevard. It
was early evening and there were families interspersed with individuals, the
flow of movement a bit slower than the normal rushed pace of life during the
day. Lazlo hadn’t spotted anyone that he’d arrested before, so that was
promising.

Lazlo watched a man try to manage the erratic trajectory of
a determined toddler girl. She was about two feet tall and headed for a planter
filled with damp soil that would look especially grimy smeared on her clean
yellow jumper. The man caught her before she could grab any dirt and she gave
him a thwarted look.

Lazlo felt like laughing—she had the same expression Del had
when he’d maneuvered the promise to share a meal out of her. The little girl
stuck out her chin and with an amazingly flexible twist nearly escaped the man’s
grip, her tiny hand just brushing against the side of the planter before she
was caught up in a hug and lifted away.

“Aww, let the girl have her dirt.” A familiar voice spoke up
at his side and Lazlo glanced over to see Del Browen also watching the little
drama.

“You wouldn’t say that if you had to wash her clothes.”

She looked up at him, her gray eyes amused. “You saw the
state of my things today. That’s my usual laundry challenge. I could handle a
little mud.”

Lazlo nodded and looked at her. She was wearing plain tan
pants and a white shirt, loose and buttoned all the way up and down. Not
eye-catching, but presentable and not at all soft or accessible. Exactly what
he’d thought she’d wear out to dinner. But despite his hope that she would
dress in something more out of character and revealing, he still wanted to
compliment her.

“You look very nice, Citizen Browen.”

“Thank you for the kind effort, Lieutenant Casta.” She
sighed. “I know what I look like.”

“You do look very nice. Tidier than you did earlier.”

“Oh now that’s not much of a challenge, I looked as if I’d
been drug behind a cart before I changed.” She quirked an eyebrow and glanced
over the people wandering around them.

“Mine weren’t much better. I’ve been thinking we should
dispense with the titles, since we’re working together.”

“Maybe. All right, that makes sense, Lazlo.” Despite her
reluctance to say it, Del smiled a little and turned toward him when she did.

“Del.” He tried it on and found it very pleasant to say. “Where
would you like to go, Del?”

“Someplace quick. I’m hungry.”

“No Mendel Club tonight?”

At his mention of the port’s most expensive and elegant
restaurant, Del snorted and shook her head. “Can you picture me there?”

“Sure,” Lazlo agreed easily. Why wouldn’t he want to take
her there? “It’s really good. You’d like it.”

She looked at him with disbelief. “Not tonight, big man. The
closest I’ve ever been to that place is picking up the refuse at the back door.
Let’s just go to a quick counter. There’s a good noodle place over on—”

“Upper Southwest. Yes, I know that one,” Lazlo broke in. “Sorry
to interrupt, but here comes a patrol. Get ready for some questions.”

He saw Tate and Wood ambling their way, uniformed and
surveying the Boulevard. Tate spotted him first and gestured for Wood to follow
her over. They were both good patrol officers. He’d worked with each of them a
few times. They were sturdy, confident and dependable, excellent traits for
security work.

“Hello, Lieutenant,” Tate greeted him while Wood kept
glancing around at the people on the Boulevard, ready for any sort of
interruption.

Lazlo greeted them both, then introduced Del to them. She
shook their hands and stayed silent.

“How are things tonight?” Lazlo asked, curious about what
might have happened in the port while he was gone. He was addicted enough, or
lonely enough, to keep the port security data feed scrolling even when he wasn’t
at work, so being cut off today had bothered him.

“Quiet now. Earlier we had some excitement,” Tate offered
with a glance at her partner.

“Disturbance in front of Council offices. More of those
protesters,” Wood rumbled tersely.

“What happened?” Maybe he could review the data feed later
for all the details.

“Chanting, signs, blocking the entrance for a bit. We stayed
out of it until they started making people stumble as they walked by. Then when
we asked them to leave, they did. No muss,” the male officer reported as he
propped his hands on his hips and flexed his arms. Del’s eyebrows rose.

“Some muss,” Tate broke in, excited. Her blue eyes
brightened as she explained. “They were fairly belligerent and confrontational.
The commander’s orders to take it easy on these people might come back to burn
us. If they keep getting bolder.”

Lazlo felt as if he needed to support the major’s approach
to the protesters, one he happened to agree with. “It’s not our job to escalate
any situation. Being calm with this sort of thing has worked out well for us so
far. I know that Major Sekar will make the right call if their tactics change.”

Both Tate and Wood looked mollified for the moment, enough so
that they turned their focus to Del, standing silently at his side. She was
shorter and slighter than all three of them and he had the sudden urge to put
his arm around her to protect her.

“So are you two headed out for dinner?” Wood asked. The male
officer took a deep breath and gave Del a very subtle looking-over. Now Lazlo
really wanted to put his arm around her. Maybe put a blanket over her.

“Yes we are,” she replied, sounding as firm as if she were
deciding what direction to go. “Lazlo suggested the Mendel Club, but I didn’t
dress for that tonight.”

“But another time, right?” Lazlo asked, trying to portray
interested male, which wasn’t that much of a reach anymore.

Del merely looked at him with faint exasperation. “We should
probably get going.”

Both Tate and Wood said farewell and ambled off, but not
before Wood invited them to stop by Chancy’s later. He looked mostly at Del
when he said it, which made Lazlo determined they would not stop by. Walking toward
the noodle quick counter, Lazlo tried to come up with a topic of conversation
not involving the work they were doing. He now felt paranoid that anyone around
them could be listening in and reporting back to some mysterious competitor.

“Would you like to stop by Chancy’s after we eat?” Why did
he ask that? He didn’t want to go there.

“No.” She didn’t even look over at him as she walked with
determination toward the noodle counter.

“Oh.” He thought for a moment. “Why not?”

“I’m tired and we have to be up early tomorrow.”

“Right.” Lazlo sighed a bit. At least she didn’t seem all
that interested in meeting up with Wood. Then again she didn’t seem all that
interested in spending any more time with him. But that was understandable. She’d
been with him all day and would be again tomorrow. And this was just a quick
dinner. He shouldn’t expect her to want to follow him home. Not that he wanted
her to follow him home or touch his hand or laugh at his jokes. If he ever made
any.

He was hopeless at this.

* * * * *

They reached the quick counter and had to wait for a while
for two seats to open up. The cook also acted as server and she was a blur of
motion—knife flashing, wok sizzling, plates flying. Del grew hungrier and
hungrier as she watched, smelling the spices and the nutty scent of hot sesame
oil. Del laughed when Lazlo clutched at his stomach in faux pain because she
felt like doing the same. Two women left their seats and she and Lazlo quickly
claimed them and sat down.

“Order everything. I’m going to expense this meal.”

Del nodded, not really believing him but enjoying his good humor.
After careful and polite negotiation with each other, they ordered four dishes—vegetable
lo mein, bitter melon, curry eggs and sticky noodles. Del watched Lazlo as he
collected napkins and chopsticks for them. She was coming to appreciate what a
good man he was—open, courteous, kind. But he seemed to be alone here on Sayre,
never mentioning a wife, partner or girlfriend. But maybe he liked men? She
took another look at him and he caught her at it.

“What?”

“Nothing. I was just wondering—” Del shut her mouth, not
willing to go any further with that thought.

“Wondering what?”

“Ah, just what your gender preference was.” Del said it in a
rush while looking at the cook chopping up bitter melon on the board in front
of them. She’d never been good at lying or small talk or flirting, so she
decided that she would just ask and not have to stammer out some sort of
awkward excuse.

Lazlo just kept looking at her until she decided to stop
staring at the vegetables and look at him. Hoping that she wasn’t blushing, she
finally held his gaze. He had nice eyes—rich brown, intelligent and twinkling
with good humor.

“Hetero. And I’m not involved with anyone.” He stopped
watching her to thank the cook as she passed over their vegetables and then he
busied himself serving her some and then for himself. “I guess we should have
gone over that before we went out.”

“Well it’s not an actual date, so personal information wasn’t
actually necessary.”

“I don’t mind.” He took a bite of melon and nodded, grinning
at the cook who smiled back and began to dish up some noodles for someone farther
down the counter. “What about you?”

“What about me what?” He raised his eyebrows and she
realized what he meant. “Oh I’m hetero, but it’s been so long that I can’t be
sure anymore.” She clamped her hand over her mouth, mortified at what she’d
just said. Lazlo began to laugh, big barking laughs of sheer amusement, and she
knew that she was blushing then, face hot, stomach fluttering. The cook glanced
over at them and looked as if she was trying to determine if they were really
happy with the food or just unstable.

“Now I’m terribly embarrassed,” Del muttered and ducked her
head over the sliced and stir-fried melon. Lazlo tried to stop laughing but he
failed, managing to slow to hitching chuckles eventually. “I don’t think it has
ever been so long for me that I would be confused on that point,” he managed to
say before becoming amused again. He grinned and Del gave him an irritated
look. Luckily, the cook handed over a bowl of scrambled and fragrant curry eggs,
so he could concentrate on dividing that between them and let her relax a
little.

“Of course it hasn’t. You’re, you’re…” And then she trailed
off again, looking mortified.

“I’m what?” Lazlo prompted her, wondering what new hilarity
was going to emerge from her. This Del Browen was full of surprises and he
wanted to hear more. When she’d been out on the plateau she was different—confident,
relaxed but businesslike. She’d strode around the Outlands with perfect ease,
every rock formation and sand pile exactly where she’d left it.

Now she was trying to be a conversationalist and having some
difficulty. It was no wonder the thought of dining at the Mendel Club had
filled her with dread.

“I’m not saying another word about it. I’ve made enough
idiotic comments for now.” She sniffed and ate some egg. “I know that I’m not
the most socially graceful person out there, but the last few minutes have been
a new low for me.”

“It’s probably me,” Lazlo offered, trying to make her feel
better. “People just talk to me. It makes my job easier.”

“I bet it does. All the criminals just confess everything.
They probably show up at the station looking for you.” She ate another bite of
egg. “This is really good. Thanks for suggesting it.”

“You’re welcome. Now aren’t you having a nice time with me?”

She swallowed hard and looked at him with exasperation. It
seemed to be her default expression. “Yes, but that’s not the point.”

“Was there a point in there somewhere?” Lazlo asked as he
happily accepted a bowl of hot sticky noodles from the now intrigued and
eavesdropping cook. Del shook her head and started to eat the noodles he gave
her. “I didn’t think there was a point. But that’s all right with me. I don’t
have to have a goal in mind to enjoy myself.”

“That’s very relaxed of you. I suppose I’ve always assumed
you law enforcement types were devoted to efficiency. And lots of rules.”

“Yes, people assume we are judgmental and severe. That we
like to arrest people and use force.”