Clutch’s demeanor shifts in an instant, the background clicks and squeaks of her high friction body going silent as she falls still. “You have an in with Themish?”
She’s intrigued, intrigued enough to trigger a fresh round of suspicion and throw my zero-to-cop rating into the red zone.
“I try to keep a more open mind toward strangers than many of my colleagues,” Clutch says. “But strangers who happen to be friends with brand new station commanders? Those make me nervous.”
She doesn’t look nervous. She looks poised to spring.
I keep picturing how long it would take her to swing her stinger in my direction and how long it would take me to get out of its way, measuring the two against each other. I need to calm her down without losing her interest, right now, and I doubt I’ll get two shot
