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Riply’s ear. He nodded and slapped her on the
ass as she sashayed away.
    After she left, Ryu said, “I’ll tag
along with you this afternoon.”
    Trent gave a cheer and even Danny
seemed pleased with the company. Not Tate. Ryu usually went his own way once
they got on land. She didn’t see why he wanted to tag along now. A part of her
couldn’t help the paranoia that said Jost had set him on her in case she ran.
That was ridiculous though.
    “I don’t know about you deck
scabbers, but I’ve got a date with a pretty little female,” Ripley said.
    “Big surprise there, you throwing
over your friends for a bit of action,” Tate said sarcastically. The rest of
the group laughed.

Chapter Two
     
    They ended up close to the merchant
district, not for the shopping, but for the entertainers that invariably found
open spaces to perform. Danny explained that there were four main markets in
the Lower City and Little Harbor Marketplace was one of the smallest.
    Tate’s head swiveled looking at all
the brightly costumed people. They were like brilliant colored birds as they
flitted through the open-air market. After weeks at sea where everything on
ship was drab brown and grays, just seeing the rich colors people draped
themselves in was a culture shock. Tate thought longingly of what it must be
like to wear such vibrant clothing.
    Danny’s broad figure cut a swath
through the crowd making it easy for Tate and Trent, with their smaller builds,
to tag along. Ryu followed with his hands tucked in his pockets. He hadn’t said
much since they’d left the Crow’s Nest. Now, he simply watched everything with
a bored expression.
    Enticing smells tempted Tate.
Pasties, meat pies, desserts and the like made her mouth water. She’d already
begun a mental list of the food she wanted to try once there was a little room
in her stomach again.
    A large open square housed the
market. Vendors set up stalls that were easily dismantled at day’s end. Some
vendors had set up shop by laying blankets down and placing theirs goods on
them. They reclined on pillows and chatted amongst themselves until a customer
approached, then suddenly they were all business with gracious smiles and
helpful comments.
    Tate absorbed the cacophony and
organized disorder around her. She felt small in the midst of all this
movement. How was she ever to find her way?
    Slim paths clogged with bodies
wound amid the stalls. Though chaotic at first glance, it was an organic maze,
made new with the start of each day.
    Danny was like a shark scenting
blood in the market. He led Tate and Ryu from stall to stall, bargaining for
goods for the ship with a tenacity Tate had never seen in him before. It was no
wonder he was in charge of ship supplies. Trent had already peeled off to
explore on his own.
    At one such stall, she watched with
a slightly bemused expression as he gestured wildly at what he wanted to buy.
The top of the vendor’s baldhead turned red as he argued just as fiercely back.
    “Not what you expected,” Ryu asked.
    “I don’t think I’m ever going to be
able to barter quite like that.”
    Ryu laughed. “It just takes
practice, and Danny’s had a lot. Not everybody approaches bargaining like he
does either. Most are a little more subtle.”
    She nodded thoughtfully. A movement
from the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned to see a pair of
boys standing across the small alley, half hidden by a stall. If one of them
hadn’t been staring straight at her, she never would have noticed them for they
blended into the crowd. She cocked her head as he swiftly looked away.
    “What’re you looking at?” Ryu
asked.
    The boy said something to his
companion who scanned the crowd casually. His eyes met Tate’s briefly before
moving on. She rubbed her nose in thought. That was interesting. Maybe the boys
were embarrassed she’d caught them looking.
    Somehow Tate wasn’t so sure. The
way the second boy had checked her out while not seeming to,