Ypsilanti released her. His voice throbbed with anger. "Would not have
you! Have been in the woods with an alien!" He put his open palm in her
face and shoved. Toal slammed back against the logs.
Shocked by the shuttle pilot's brutality, I swayed to my feet and
grabbed his shoulder. I said, "Don't--" and then Ypsilanti's clenched
hand thudded against my jaw. I flipped backward, slid on my shoulders,
and stopped with my head hanging over the edge of the walk.
Although I had seen box fights in historical tridies and read of them
in books, I had always supposed they belonged in mythology.
Ypsilanti said, "Galactic Government slave! You are not fit to walk on
Maggie!"
It seemed that he had told me this before. I sat up. Betty Toal, with
knife in hand, struggled between two guards. Ypsilanti kicked me on the
leg above the knee. I seized his ankle, jerked, and let go. Yelling,
the shuttle pilot toppled from the wall.
"Good! Good!" Toal cried. Blood ran in two streams from her nose. One
of the guards had her knife.
Ypsilanti, covered with mud, ran up a flight of steps farther down the
walkway and stalked toward us. "Hold him!" he commanded. "Will beat
his head off!"
A man emerged from the shadows behind the pilot and said, "Ypsilanti,
stop."
Ypsilanti whirled. He stood rigid and said, "Maximum Macready, the
alien tried to murder me!"
"Nonsense. Saw you knock him down. You should not be here. Have no
authority over the guards."
Maximum of the Jury Qasim Pierre Macready glared at the guards.
"Release them," he said. "Alien Kinlock has been hired to kill the Hog.
Must not interfere." Macready looked closely at my cuts and ripped
clothing. He asked, "Any success, Alien Kinlock? Rasmussen thought the
Hog got you. Came for help. Tractor had trouble, due to neglect by
Farmer Yuko. Rasmussen did not reach the city before sunset. Shoot the
Hog?"
Toal answered, "Kinlock shot him, Maximum. He risked his life. The Hog
crawled to the swamp. We expect to find his body tomorrow."