Trickster s Girl - By Hilari Bell Page 0,46

foam pad was big enough for two. After a while he peeled off the jacket and gave it back to her, so they both slept warm, even though she gave him only one of the blankets and kept the other for herself.

He fell asleep as soon as he stopped shivering. The drizzle was beginning to let up, and even at nine thirty on a cloudy night enough light came through the canvas for Kelsa to see the dark circles under his eyes.

How many times had he changed shape on this long crazy day? She'd lost count, but clearly it was too many. She had no fear of the bikers' finding her tonight. Those horrible moments in the Woodland Cafe seemed as if they'd happened days ago, instead of just this morning.

She was in Canada now, and safe, for a while at least.

Still, Kelsa stared out into the dripping twilight of the northern night for a long time before she slept.

***

Raven was gone when she awoke, and an uneasiness that was almost fear swept over her before she heard the crackle of the fire.

Kelsa dressed and visited the bushes before joining him beside the dancing blaze. She wondered where he'd found dry wood. Or had he dried it with magic, as he'd dried her clothing back at Flathead Lake?

He'd figured out how to work the self-heating can, but he still held it tentatively, as if he expected it to explode in his hand.

Kelsa was about to tell him that it wouldn't, and that all its components were biodegradable within five years, but Raven spoke first.

"You said the bikers carry illegal drugs with them. How can they get past those scanners? Isn't the border station there to stop people like that?"

"It's mostly to stop the kind of people who started the tree plague," Kelsa told him. "But the scanners detect illegal drugs too. What the drug gangs do, according to the newscasts, is ride a couple of days off-road, into the wild country along the border. That's why their bikes have tires like mine. They'll hide the drugs, mark their coordinates, then go through the border station carrying nothing that's illegal. Once they're in the country legally, all they have to do is ride back and collect their stash from the other side."

Raven looked puzzled. "If it's that easy to get around them, why didn't you just ride your bike across the border?"

"There are patrols," Kelsa told him. "And cameras at most of the easy crossing points, and the patrols move other cameras around. That's the main reason biker gangs make the effort to tap into the security nets, so they can know which areas are being monitored."

"Then why do you have these border stations at all?"

"They were built to prevent terrorists from smuggling bombs and bioweapons into the country," Kelsa said. "And across state lines. Catching drug smugglers is a side benefit."

"Don't terrorists just go around it, the same way smugglers do?"

"No. The border stations caught a few of them at first, but now terrorists just go to the place they want to destroy and construct their weapon there. But it's easier to do that than it is to distribute illegal drugs without getting picked up on the camera net, which is why most crime takes place off the grid. Outside of cities and towns," she added.

"Human logic," Raven muttered, not quite under his breath. "No, don't explain. From what you say, if they want to keep their cargo safe, your bikers will take longer to cross the border than we did. And don't they need government permission too?"

Kelsa shook her head. "The people who apply for legally homeless status are travelers. They usually get permission to cross all North American borders when they apply."

Raven stared at her. "Then what good does the border station do?"

"Well, it makes it possible for security forces to track the movements of suspects, and ... and other things."

Raven shrugged. "But it will take the bikers longer?"

"If they want to keep their drugs, it will. By several days. I think it would go against a lot of their instincts to leave those drugs behind."

"So after we heal the next nexus, we'll have some time before they could catch up with us?"

"Some," said Kelsa cautiously. "A few days at least." Assuming, of course, that the newscasts were accurate.

"Good," said Raven. "Because I really need a bath."

***

Since a hotel would demand PID cards when they booked a room, Raven was persuaded to settle for a shower in the