"When you come and see me, I don't want it to be financial." "I don't buy into the whole find-one-true-love fantasy." "If you don't believe in love, it's because you have been in love and you got burned." "There are things I can't explain at the bottom of that mine shaft, but I think Luke was killed because of it." "I'm proud to be your sister." "You two are sisters?" "Fox gloves, half off." "Hats, three for one." " Get them while you can." " Coats, jackets, ponchos!" "Ladies' earrings!" "Fox gloves, half off." "Hats, three for one." "Get them while you can." "Coats, jackets, ponchos!" "Gloves, half off." "Scarves, three for one." "Get them while you can." "It's your lucky day." "Half price, 40 for the pair." "Genuine fawn skin." "Nighty night." "That's a boy." "The runner's mine, leech." "I've been tracking him for a month." "Nolan." "Eddie." "Oh!" "So what kind of town would give a knuckle-dragging grunt like you a badge?" " They were desperate." " I guess." " Gonna need your sidearm, Eddie." " Yeah, right." "Come on." "It's the way things work here." "You get your steel back on the way out." "All of them." "You're gonna leave me naked here, No-Man?" " So you seen Cooper lately?" " Meh Yewll, correct?" "Do these townspeople know about your many scientific achievements during the Pale Wars?" "Don't worry." "I'm not interested in sharing this information." "I'm a big fan of your work." "The Biodyne Project." "Pure genius." "So you look good." " For an old man." " Hmm." "You look like shtako." "Oh, I'm sorry, honey." "I didn't have a chance to freshen up." "I've been a little busy chasing down that slippery son of a bitch." "Who is he?" "I've never seen a drop-blast that strong." "Oh, he's just some pyro on the run from the Earth Republic." "Got his face off a wanted poster in Yuma." "So when did a nice boy like you start chasing bounties?" "Hard times, my friend, unlike you." "I kind of like it, though." "I'm out in the fresh air." "I keep my own hours." "Shoot interesting people." "I'd appreciate your help in getting me out of this cell." "Consider it a professional courtesy." "I'm afraid you have me confused with someone else." "Deputy." "I never forget a face." "Come on, just remand him into my custody." "A signature here, a thumbprint there." "Bam, he's not your headache any more." "Yeah?" "What am I gonna tell the grocer who lost his leg to this guy?" "You tell him he's gonna get prosecuted by the Earth Republic." "They're right behind me." "I'll turn him right over to them." "So I just got word from Cedars." "There's a reason why this guy's running around with crystalline drop-blasts." "He invented them." "Invented 'em?" " So that's Pol Madis." " That's Pol Madis." "All right, I'm sorry." "But I didn't lie." "The man is a pyro." "He's a weapons designer." "The weapons designer." "The guy invented chemo-tracts, Eddie," " the stuff that burnt..." " I know he's a monster." "That stuff wiped out half our unit." "That's why I want to deliver him to the Earth Republic." "They'll prosecute him for war crimes and hang his ass." "Must be a hell of a payday." "What is it?" "500, 600K?" "Yeah, something like that." "So what?" "I gotta earn." "I'm not like you." "I need a real drink." "You've pulled your share of stunts, pal." "Hey, you stole Varus' Libera Nova gem." " Must have made a fat profit off that." " I see people have been talking out west." "Yeah, biggest cartel boss in the Bay Area gets jacked, word gets around." "How much did you clear?" " It got clutched." " Oh, it got clutched?" "Spirit Riders ambushed me in the B-lands." "Dumbass." " Friggin' I-raths." " Yeah." "Six burn victims total." "Talak Gundun just regained consciousness." "Holy hell." "No-Man, is..." "Irisa?" " Little taller." " Wow." "Irisa, this is Eddie Braddock." "We fought together in the 9th." "Uncle Eddie." "She doesn't remember." "Well, it was a long time ago." "You were yea tall, about the cutest thing I'd ever seen." "Until you tried to bite my finger off." " That'll teach you where to point it." " Too true." "Incredible." "I thought you would have dropped her off with some I-raths." "You raised her like a human daughter?" "Tried to." "You see, you're a good man, which is why you're gonna give me Pol Madis." "You don't stop." "I got six people in the infirmary." "Pol Madis needs to answer for that, here, in this town, among these people." "Ever since I got out, I have been scraping." "I have been scavenging, and I've got nothing to show for it." "I need this." "It's what I got." " Okay, it's time for Plan B." " What's Plan B?" "I get ass-plastered and find me a good whore." "Hey, gorgeous." "Come here." "What can I do for you?" "Well, it seems I've come into some scrip." "Kenya, this is Eddie Braddock, an old war buddy of mine." "Eddie, this is Kenya." "Nice to meet you." "Wait a second, are you two..." "Ah." "So this fine woman must be in need of a real man." "Yeah, well, that counts you out then." "Buddy, I would never get between you and a woman, unless you're in a sharing mood." "And I would never get between a woman and her work." "Lady's choice." "Come on, sweetheart." "Come." "Hmm." "Nolan always did have great taste." "Come here." "Oh." " Shoot." " What?" "I'm so sorry." "I completely forgot that I have a client in five minutes." "Ah, I see." " I'm your guy's buddy, so..." " Are you kidding?" "I would chup Nolan's brother if he had the scrip." "I just mixed up my schedule." "But wait." "I will not leave you wanting." "Girls." "Mmm-hmm." "Meet Ceci and Midge." "On the house." "Girls, don't forget to show him the six-legged monkey crawl." "Oh, yes, I do want to see that." "We get Pol Madis out of town, it's a win-win situation for everyone." "Not for me." "Not for Defiance." "And I already sent the word to Earth Republic." "They should be on their way." "Since when have you been so eager to get the E-Rep into town?" "I'm negotiating an extradition agreement." "This war criminal is a bargaining chip." "We give them Pol Madis, they give us rights of way for the Mag-Lev rail road." "Rights that we could never afford without this leverage." "Extradition orders take time." "You could be out of office by the time you get those easements." "We do it my way, Madis is on the first roller out of town, the E-Rep gets him even faster, and you buy yourself more goodwill." "And that first roller just happens to belong to your old buddy." " I know I can trust him." " A bounty hunter." "The reward just guarantees he's going to hand him straight to the Earth Republic." "How much of that jaja's ending up in your pocket?" "I'm not making a dime." "Then why hand over one of the most-wanted criminals on this continent to a scavenger?" "He's my friend." "You're pretty good to your friends." "This guy..." "We've been through hell and back together." "I owe him." " I admire that." "I do, but..." " I'm just asking that you think about it." "Quentin, darling." "How nice to see you." "Hey, Aunt Nicky." "Always with your head in a book." "That's good." "Luke was pretty on the eyes, but you're the smart one, Quentin." "What are you reading these days?" "This is just a book I found on my dad's shelf." "These symbols." "How interesting." "Distinctive, aren't they?" "I saw these when your father gave me a tour of the mines." "They were on a cave wall." "Oh, you must have seen them." "You and Luke practically grew up in those mines." "Well, you keep feeding that intellect of yours, Quentin." "And give your father my love." "Makes perfect sense." "What?" "Luke had it with him when he died." "The young brother has found it." "The kid has the artefact?" "For the time being." " Want to come back to my place later?" " What's at your place?" "Me." "I'm at my place." "And a bed." "A couple of drinks." "Forget I even asked." "Stay seated." "You know, maybe it's just a human thing, but usually when a person gets invited somewhere, they give some sort of indication as to a yes or a no." "No." "Thank you." "Excuse me, sir." "Can I have some water please?" "And some salt?" "This is completely unacceptable." "I've never not been able to do my job." "Well, the good news is Nolan doesn't have a lot of friends, so the odds of this situation ever happening again are pretty low." "The odds are nil." "It's not gonna happen again." "Are you breaking up with him?" "Breaking up implies that we're some kind of a couple." "You're falling in love for the first time since Hunter," " and it scares the hell..." " Oh, Amanda." "I'm supposed to take love advice from a woman whose last boyfriend was a vibro?" "Just don't pull the rip cord before you jump." "Look, Nolan is a cocky, stubborn pain in the ass, but he's a good guy." " He's not like Hunter Bell." " Stop." "It's okay, Ken." "Exactly what kind of questions was she asking you?" "About the caves, the glyphs." "It's like she knew I had it." " Get rid of it, right now." " What?" "No." "Take it to the mines, throw it into Dante's Drop, and let it melt into slag." "But, Dad, I'm finally getting somewhere with my research." "There was an earthquake here in 1811, based on the pocket watch, the bones." "That's exactly when those people" " were buried down there." " So what?" "It's the first recorded earthquake in this area." "What, you think it's a coincidence that they were down there?" "It doesn't matter." "Nicolette Riordan is a dangerous woman." " If she's interested in that thing, it's trouble." " I'm not afraid of her." "Well, you'd better be." "Your brother was murdered with that thing hidden in his bedroom." "It connects him with the Volge attack." "It also connects you, me and your sister." "I want it gone." "It creeps me out when you do that." "It creeps me out waking up to your ugly butt asleep on my floor." "Kenya busy?" "Yeah, with Uncle Eddie." "Why does he call you No-Man?" "Um, it doesn't take much to get a nickname in war." "I was caught behind enemy lines once." "No man's land." "A dumb name." "I don't like him." "Eddie's rough around the edges, but he's been good to me." "Been good to both of us." "I still don't like him." " Where'd it come from?" " I don't know, one guy's out!" "Check on Tommy." "Get the body." " He all right?" " Yeah." "Thanks." "What's the matter with you?" "I see you found yourself another gun." "You know I got a bad shoulder." " What the hell is this?" " You blasted our way out of Calexico with it." "Strafing powder." "Yeah, and you know the recipe better than anyone." "One part table salt, two parts water, and presto, you got yourself a nice little boom." "You think I did this?" "If I had busted him out, do you think I'd still be here?" "I'd be looking at Defiance in the rear-view with the haint tranqued in the backseat." "Come on, Nolan." "I would never do that to you." "I could use a shooter." " Best one this side of the Storm Divide." " Second best." "We've set up a perimeter, we've got roadblocks both ways at Bissel Pass." "Good, and when we get him, he's mine." "We'll see." "I guess we will." "Skunk-ox gloves, half off." "Scarves, three for one." "Get them while you can." "Skunk-ox gloves, half off." "Skunk-ox gloves." "Hey." "What do you think you're doing?" "That is my case." "I stashed it here yesterday." " You obviously took it." " Yeah?" "How do I know it's yours?" "I'll unlock it and show you." "What is all this?" "Medicinals." "I'm a pharmacist." "Then this stuff is valuable to you." "Yes, that's why I'd like to pay you for your trouble." "Scrip's in the back pocket." "This isn't money." "What are you trying to pull?" "Shh." "No need to be agitated, not with your heart condition." "I don't have a heart condition." "That's not what the coroner will say." "Madame Mayor, the envoy from the Earth Republic" " is here to see you." " Great." "I wonder which corrupt baby-kisser they're sending us this time." "Well, I prefer pinching cheeks these days." " Germs and all." " This is Connor Lang." "They sent you?" "I volunteered." "I'm with the General Assembly now." "I represent the Fourth Province." "Congratulations." " Kazha, could you give us a moment?" " Certainly." "Congratulations to you, Madame Mayor." "It's, uh, very impressive." "Shouldn't you be hobnobbing with the President," " making the world a better place?" " I am." "Pol Madis needs to be captured." "Sadly, a certain self-proclaimed city-state couldn't hold one man in one small cell." " Madis had help." " He did." "Your lawkeeper's incompetence." "Well, he's not getting very far." "You saw the roadblocks on your way in." "And that's supposed to contain him?" "He's eluded the Earth Republic for years." "When my lawkeeper finds him, which he will, we can negotiate the terms of his extradition." "There are no terms." "Madis put six of my citizens in the hospital." "One man lost a limb." "Justice is served in Defiance." "And the E-Rep gets the leftovers." "Is that what you were about to say?" "No." "Okay, maybe." "Let's try this again." "Okay." "Earth Republic grants Defiance irrevocable rights of way for the Oklahoma City stretch of the Mag-Lev." "In exchange, I give you Pol Madis." " Once you find him." " When we find him." "I always loved that unwavering sense of confidence, but you better hurry." "A caravan of rollers will be in Defiance in less than two hours." "Earth Republic has no jurisdiction here." "He's an international war criminal." "And off the record, if he's not in your custody by the time they arrive, they're under orders to tear this town apart brick by brick until they find him." "So you're the good cop?" "Sorry." "This comes from the top." "I searched him head to toe." "He was clean." "Someone slipped him some strafing powder." " Who?" " Why don't you tell us?" "Are you insinuating that I had something to do with his escape?" " It wouldn't shock me." " We're just going door-to-door, Doc." "You two Votans were quite chatty." "Bedside manner." "A little pleasant palaver." "The man's a war criminal." "I don't imagine you were talking about the weather." "No, we were talking about how funny humans look when they're enraged." " Really?" " Hey." "You hear anything, you let us know." "I hope you don't mind." "I'm famished." "What are you doing in my home?" "When heaven falls to Earth, peace shall reign." "You're with the Votanis Collective." "Pol Madis." "Pleasure to meet you." "Thank you for your care package." "I thought I'd never get out of that cage." "I don't know what you're talking about." "State your business." "I was told by an operative in Cedars that you were a comrade, that you could get me to Brazil." "Yes, of course." "Well, you belong in the Votan capital, not here." "I'll smuggle you out in one of my delivery rollers." "I'll make a call on my hailer right now." "No!" "No need to rush." "Here." "Join me for some bulgur ashkhan." "I'm told by many a Casti my recipe reminds them of home." ""Of home"?" "Hmm?" " Mmm." " Hmm." "Indeed, it does." "Most Casti believe that the culinary arts are a woman's domain, but I consider myself progressive." "Consider yourself gone." "Leave this house at once." "Get out." "Now." " You sure you want to do this?" " I support the Votanis Collective." "I believe we need a nation to call our own." "But I have worked hard to make a home here, to become a respected member of the community, and after your pyrotechnics, your presence in this house jeopardizes all of it." "You're a disgrace to everything the Collective stands for." "Watch yourself." "Getting fat off human avarice in your multi-tiered house with your three baths a day, pledging allegiance to whatever culture will take you the furthest, and every month, you send off your bundle of scrip to Brazil," "all to ease the guilt of leaving your parents to die." "You smug shtek." "I'm hard-pressed to think of a reason not to shoot you on the spot." "Can you think of one?" "Your life may very well depend on what you say next." "Does it feel like indigestion?" "It's not." "It's the nano-tab I slipped into the ashkhan." "Yummy, huh?" "Sends a nice little zap of energy directly into your nerve endings" " whenever I want it to." " Make it stop!" "I can dial it down." "Ahh." "And I can dial it up." " Ouch, right?" " Make it stop!" "What do you want from me?" "Seconds, I think." "For a start." "I wouldn't do that." "Hold on to it." " Dad said to throw..." " Dad doesn't understand." "Trust me." "I'm not gonna steer you wrong." "Viper four, tighten your perimeter along Doran Ridge." " Over." " Copy that." "That hooker friend of yours, she likes you, man." "Yeah?" "What position were you in when she told you that?" "Standing, fully clothed." " Too drunk to chup?" " Never." "She cut me loose." "Well, you got to learn to use deodorant." "I know women, Nolan." "This one's into you." " You know women?" " Yeah." "Is that why one tried to chop your hose off?" "Why would you even bring that up?" " That girl was just plain crazy." " Uh-huh." "What should I say?" "I recommend something smart." "Lawkeeper Nolan." "What can I do for you?" "Sorry to bother you, Tarr." "We're looking for the bomber, door-to-door." " Mind if we take a look?" " No, please." "By all means." "Do you have reason to believe he's hiding here?" "No, not necessarily." "You're a Casti, he's a Casti." "Do the math." "We may be of the same origin, but that's where the similarity ends." "The man is a psychopath." "He should be publicly dismembered on a cleansing rack." "You had any word from your boys in the Hollows?" "Not yet, but I'll make inquiries at once." "When Madis shows his face, you'll be the first to know." " Well, thank you for your cooperation." " You're very welcome." "It's nice to see you both." "Enjoy the rest of your day." "Well done." "Hmm." "Come." "Let's go for a ride." "How am I supposed to get you past the checkpoint?" "improvise." "You know, I've been thinking." "You're absolutely right." "I've let my ambition override my sense of duty." "The Votanis Collective should be my priority." "It must be." "I'll devote more time to the cause, more money, whatever the V.C. needs." "No, I'm serious." "I couldn't give a kanga-rat's balls about the Votanis Collective." "I just like killing people." "Yeah, you get it, don't you?" "That there is the face of a man who knows he may never see his family again." "I can see it in your eyes." "Go ahead." "Kill me." "I'll piss on you from high and haunt you for eternity, you sick gwoke." "Aah!" "All right, out of the car." "Come on!" "That's the way." "How did you know he was with me?" "Back in the house?" "You were nice." "Tommy!" "Take Mr Tarr home." "Come on." " What about Madis?" " I got this." "You go on." "Go on." "Buddy, couldn't have done it without you, man." " Thank you." " Now, you get him the hell out of here before I change my mind." "Hey, after I collect, on my way down to Antarctica," "I'm gonna swing by Defiance." "Buy you a big night of drinks for your trouble." "But I warn you." "If you haven't done right by that sweet girlfriend of yours," "I'm gonna head upstairs, give her something to hang her towel on." "Washcloth, maybe." " Funny." " And you." "Yeah." "Have fun with the Earth Republic." "I hope your execution is slow and painful." "By "execution," I assume you mean an estate with a pool, hunting grounds and my very own lab." "The only reason I've been dodging the Earth Republic is because I can get a better financial package from the Votanis Collective." "Everybody wants me, but not for hanging." " You knew about this." " Does it matter?" "Another war is gonna start with or without Pol Madis." "Maybe so, but his W.M.D.s don't have to be a part of it!" "Look, man, you heard your squawker." "Earth Rep is gonna be here any minute." "You'll never get him back to Defiance." "Come on, you were the one who said we're not politicians, we're soldiers." "You're right." "What is wrong with you?" "It felt right." "Corporal Joshua "No-Man" Nolan." "Leave no man standing on the battlefield!" "Kill 'em all!" "Let God sort it out!" "I was counting on that gwoke-ing scrip!" "You don't need to do this to make a buck!" "Come on, you can come back to Defiance with me." "Learn a little self-restraint, I'll make you a deputy." "I'm gonna learn self-restraint from you?" "You trigger-happy son of a bitch!" " You calm down." " Calm..." "You want me to calm down?" "If I can't collect on Pol Madis, I'm collecting on you." "Turn around." "What are you doing?" "Varus was never gonna let you walk away with his Libera Nova gem." "I'm sorry, Nolan." "There's a quarter-mil bounty on your head." "Come on, Eddie." "This isn't you." "You see, that's where you're wrong." "This is me." "This is who I am now, the kind of guy that'd stab his best friend in the back." "Six years in an E.M.C. prison." "Do you have any idea what that's like?" "I know." "I'm sorry, Eddie." " Is that why you never came to visit me?" " I had Irisa." "I had to protect her." "I clocked those MPs, remember?" "I stole the roller to get her away!" "She would've died in a refugee camp" " if it weren't for me." " I know!" "You got to raise her!" "You got to be a father, a hero." "What did I get?" "I got caught." "Eddie, it wasn't right." "No, it wasn't!" "It wasn't right, and it's my turn to get what's mine!" "Ah..." "Just kill me." "Come on, kill me like you did Pol Madis!" "You're good at it, No-Man!" "You're right." "You set me and Irisa free." "You got every right to call in that marker." "So I tell you what, you deliver me to Varus." "But you're gonna promise me one thing." "You tell him that Irisa is dead." "Okay?" "She has to be safe." "That's the only thing that matters." "Shtako." " I can handle this." " No, you can't." "You have no idea how important Madis was to them." " Drop your weapons." " Copy that." "This is Representative Lang, Fourth Province." "Stand down and wait for further instructions." "Caravan zebra, copy that." "What the hell happened here?" "Sir, I'm the lawkeeper at Defiance." "I was in pursuit of this..." "You are way out of your jurisdiction, lawman!" "This is murder of a man who was supposed to be taken alive." " Do you understand the consequences..." " I did it." "Yeah, I've been waiting a long time to put a bullet in Pol Madis." "Well, you'll spend a lot longer locked up for it." "Bag the body." "Take some photos first." " Yes, sir." "Double time, damn it." " What the hell are you thinking?" "Eddie, you don't have to do this." "You've got a daughter in Defiance." "She needs you." "Yeah, but you don't have to be the one that takes the fall." "Come on, are we gonna do this, or what?" "You know, I've never heard of anyone being in a rush to get to Vegas." "Oh, I'm not." "But a lot can happen between here and Vegas, sunshine." "Eddie." "You'd do the same for me." "Let's move it." "You can do it, Q. You're stronger than you think." "Do it, Quentin!" "You have to!" "Hey, you." "You look like you've seen better days." "Yes, I have." "So you want to get together later?" "I'm booked." " When do you turn in?" " I'm not." "Wow, an all-nighter." "That sounds expensive." "There's no client." "You're just..." "You're not my type." "You want me to drink this?" "We are gonna have a toast, and then we're gonna talk a little bit about your uncle." " I don't have an uncle." " Yes, you do." "I'm a little dehydrated back here." "Can I get some water, a couple of salt tablets?" "Yeah." "Sure."