Hunter slowed the boat and cut the lights and engine. Chartreuse went back outside, grabbed a long pole off the roof and handed it to Hunter.
“You pole at the front. I take the back. Invisible and silent she goes.”
They pushed forward in darkness, Hunter at the back, minding the odd bends in the canal. The only sounds came off the river banks, insects and birds disturbed by Urchin’s passing. As Hunter long wooden pole broke the water’s surface, a roosting pigeon woke and complained noisily before the night swallowed its displeasure at the next bend.
The Panthers needn’t have bothered with stealth. Bright cold light fell over Urchin. Chartreuse returned her pole to the roof and stepped up to the stern. Benway was there, smoking a cigarette. They could have come in a disco-bus, it wouldn’
