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Cann
smiled. Susan figured he probably wasn ’ t used to being
bossed around by anyone, let alone some upstart shadow from the
dirt farms. The sheriff got gingerly to his feet. He looked
pensive, as though he expected the brace to fail but
didn ’ t want to let Charlie down.
    “ Well? ” Charlie asked, seeing the sheriff
standing before him.
    Sheriff Cann flexed his
leg, lifting his foot of the ground before stepping forward and
walking around the office.
    “ Well,
I ’ ll be damned. ”
    He took several large
strides.
    “ That feels
fantastic. Will it work on the stairs? ”
    “ Only one way
to find out, ” Charlie replied. “ If this
works, Doc Winters says she ’ s got at least five
other people she could fit with these. ”
    “ OK, let's go
give it a whirl. ”
    The sheriff grabbed his
keys and opened the door. Charlie grabbed his bag and followed
Susan out into the open area in front of the cafeteria. The sheriff
turned off the lights and locked the door behind him.
    “ How much did
this cost? ” the sheriff asked as they walked
over to the great staircase. “ It ’ s aluminum. This must have cost you a hundred
chits at least. I'd say, a hundred chits for each
strut. ”
    “ Oh, it's
nothing, ” Charlie insisted, and Susan got the distinct
impression he was lying. “ They ’ re off-cuts from
Supply. ”
    “ Did you
steal these parts? ” the sheriff asked. He
wasn ’ t dumb, Susan figured. She was wondering the same
thing.
    “ Now,
sheriff, ” Charlie replied. “ If I did, I
wouldn ’ t be stupid enough to hand them over to you, now
would I? ”
    The sheriff laughed,
slapping Charlie on the shoulder.
    “ You ’ re good kid,
Charlie. The silo needs more thinkers like you. ”
    They stopped
at the top of the stairs. Sheriff Cann looked at the two of them
and said, “ Well, I don ’ t know about you
kids, but I ’ m turning in for the
day. ”
    Like the
mayor, the sheriff lived on the second level, in what was
considered prime real estate. Given his leg, he
couldn ’ t get to the lower levels and there had been
some talk of retirement, but the deputies did most of the stair
climbing for him. Now, though, watching him scoot down the stairs,
Susan figured he ’ d been given a new
lease on life.
    “ Woo
hoo, ” he cried, taking the stairs one at a time, something
Susan had never seen him do before. “ You, sir, are a
genius! ”
    Charlie had his hands out,
calling for the sheriff to be careful. Susan had her heart in her
throat. Even porters hesitated before running downstairs, but the
sheriff was quite a character, surprising her with his
vigor.
    “ And he has
the nerve to call us kids, ” she said, taking
Charlie ’ s hand.
    Down on the
first landing, the sheriff called out, saying, “ I love it.
Thanks, Charlie. ” He stuck his head out over the rails
and waved before disappearing from sight. Charlie and Susan waved
back.
    “ Well, ” Charlie said. “ That went
better than expected. ”
    “ That was a
beautiful thing you did there, ” Susan said,
snuggling against his arm. She felt buoyant, as though she could
have drifted on a breeze.
    “ He ’ s a good man, ” Charlie replied,
putting his arm around her.
    “ Did you
steal that aluminum? ”
    “ I prefer the
term, liberate. Hell, down there in Supply that brace was just a
spare part gathering dust. ”
    “ How did you
know the brace would work? How did you figure that
out? ” Susan asked, turning toward him.
    “ Ah ... that
is a very good question. Are you sure you want an
answer? ”
    “ Absolutely, ” Susan replied, suspecting there was
something nefarious behind his invention, something other than
having quick hands in Supply. Maybe that's why he was wearing blue
coveralls, she thought, so as to not attract attention down
there.
    “ OK, but
first I ’ ll need to get changed. ”
    “ Changed? ” Susan asked, following back into the
empty cafeteria. “ You're not going
back Down Deep? ”
    Charlie grinned