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I put my hand to his folded arms and shook my head, trying to get him
to admit that it was funny, and the positioning of my hand seemed to
bring one of the boys' attention to Jeff's I.D. The boy stepped
forward past the spokesman of the group to peer closer, paled
slightly, then hastily nudged the others while pointing to the I.D.
They stared at the words "Special Agent" under Jeff's name, and the
facial pallor spread to include all of them - especially the one who
had put his foot in it by opening his mouth.
"Hey, man, I didn't mean anything!" the boy quavered, his stricken
gaze on Jeff's face. He seemed to want to turn and run, but was too
scared to move a muscle. "If you want her, she's all yours! I mean, I
wouldn't try to move in on you! I just didn't know!"
My amusement was faintly revived at that, but Jeff realized he'd made
a mistake pretending to be angry at what the boy had said. He glanced
at me as he unfolded his arms, and then put a calming hand on the
boy's shoulder.
"Relax," Jeff soothed him, showing no amusement of his own. "She and
I are just friends, but you can do me a favor if you will. I have to
leave now, so I'd like you guys to keep an eye on her for me. This
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Tanderon by Sharon Green - Chapter 6
can be a rough place, and I wouldn't want her to get hurt."
The boy under Jeff's hand immediately swelled with pride, his fear
totally forgotten in the face of having been asked to do a favor for
a Special Agent. The others grew their grins back, stirring briefly
in relief before moving even closer, and I was not only back to where
I'd been with them, but was now in an even worse position. All thanks
to my good pal Jeff. I moved my eyes to his grinning face, and sent
him a look he'd have no trouble interpreting.
"Thanks, friend," I murmured, brushing at his shirt near the I.D.
badge. "Next time you can watch your own back."
Jeff laughed at my expression, put his hand to my face to stroke it
gently with the back of his fingers, then he turned and moved off
into the crowd. He waved once before he was swallowed up, but then it
was as if he'd never even been there. I stood there a minute longer,
watching the place he'd disappeared, silently wishing him survival in
whatever he was about to begin.
It doesn't pay to dwell on things like that very long, so I sighed in
disappointment that I wasn't going with him, then turned and
reclaimed my place on the S line. Unfortunately, though, my newly
appointed bodyguards came trailing along after me. The boys were
talking excitedly among themselves, high over having been as close as
they'd stood to a real Special Agent. That made me sigh again, since
I suddenly realized how monastic the next few months were going to be
for me. I have never been attracted to little boys no matter how good-
looking they are, and the attitude extends to grown up little boys as
well.
I was able to move forward a pace or two, wrapped in my own thoughts,
before the blessed silence was once again rent asunder. The spokesman
of my bodyguards was still flying high, and he came up behind me to
put a possessive arm around my shoulders.
"Man, what a guy!" he enthused, obviously having become Jeff's newest
and greatest fan. Then he sent me a questioning look, and made a
circling motion with his free hand. "But there was something I didn't
understand. What did you mean when you said that next time he'd have
to watch his own back?"
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Tanderon by Sharon Green - Chapter 6
I hadn't known the boy had heard my remark to Jeff, but it really
didn't matter much. I reached my hand back and took his arm just
above the elbow at the pressure point, removed it gently from my
shoulders, then patted his gasp quiet.
"Jeff has a peculiar habit," I explained in a reasonable, sincere
way, watching the hotshot rub at his arm where I'd squeezed so
gently. "Every once in a while he gets the urge to have his back
watched, just to see if the muscles are moving properly. If he
doesn't have anyone to help him he has to use two mirrors, and that
gets to be complicated."
"Oh," the boy commented, giving me a very strange look. I felt sure
he had no idea what to make of my explanation, but he wasn't about to
argue the point. I turned back to face the front of the line and
moved up with it slowly, wondering just how many more things I'd find
amusing around there. When I got to the head of the line, I found
out.
"Santee, Diana," the female clerk behind the counter repeated. "We've
been given a special schedule for you. Just a minute and I'll get
it."
She ducked out of sight for a minute but was back almost immediately,
a formal schedule in her hand that had my name on it. I glanced at it
with very little interest, did a doubletake, then raised unbelieving
eyes to the woman who still stood behind the counter.
"Don't blame me," she shrugged, not at all discomfited by my
expression. "It came straight from the Commandant's office. I never
saw a schedule that crowded before, but there must be a reason for
it."
There sure was - Ringer and the Council! Tanderon was a planet that
fit in perfectly with standard Federation time units. It had a sixty
minute hour, twenty-four hour day, and a seven day week. My new
schedule called for up at 0500 for an hour of calisthenics, twenty
minutes to shower and dress, and forty minutes for morning parade and
breakfast. My first class started at 0700, when most everyone else
had an hour free for personal chores.
Classes lasted till 1200 hours, then forty minutes for lunch, except
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Tanderon by Sharon Green - Chapter 6
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