"What did he tell you?"
"Not enough. What was Hayle holding out? You birds found something out
there. What was it?"
"We found a few artifacts on Mars," I said. "Not Martian in origin;
visitors. We surveyed--"
"Don't string me, Maclamore. I'm willing to give you a fair deal, but
if you make it tough for me--"
"How do you know I haven't got a detonator buried under my left ear," I
said. "You can't pry information out of me, Arena."
"I think you want to live, Maclamore. I think you got something you
want to live for. I want a piece of it."
"I can make a deal with you, Arena," I said. "Return me and my shipmate
to our scout boat. Fuel us up. You might throw in two qualified men to
help handle the ship--minus their black-jacks, preferably--then clear
out. We'll handle the rest. And I'll remember, with gratitude."
Arena was silent for a long moment.
* * * * *
"Yeah, I could do that, Maclamore," he said finally. "But I won't. Max
Arena is not a guy to pick up the crumbs--or wait around for handouts.
I want in. All the way in."
"This time you'll have to settle for what you can get, Arena." I put
the gun away and stood up.