Catalyst_ A Tale of the Barque Cats - Anne McCaffrey [35]
The office door opened behind them and the woman and boy stood there, the boy holding the sleeping kitten. “We can’t wait all day, you know,” the woman said. “We’ve animals to tend to at home. Give us the reward and we’ll be on our way.”
Catching site of the newcomers in the com screen, Bennie’s eyes lit up. “Is that him? Is that the kitten?”
“Yes, it is,” Janina began.
“His name is Chester,” the boy said.
The kitten woke, stretched his tiny paws up the boy’s arm, and yawned before climbing onto the boy’s shoulder and blinking at the room, the other people, and even the com screen. Chessie had never paid much attention to com screens unless there was some interesting movement for her to observe. The kitten regarded the remote crew members with the same curiosity he showed toward Jared and Janina.
“Chester because of his little white chest?” Indu asked. “It suits him! What a handsome little fellow he is! He’ll be the heartbreak of every Barque female in the universe.”
“Not a chance!” the boy said adamantly. “You got the mother cat back but Chester is mine.”
Janina looked toward Captain Vesey, but he was shaking his head. “I’m sorry, son, but he’s not. Chessie and her progeny belong to the Molly Daise.”
“That wasn’t the deal,” the boy’s mother said. “You only mentioned one cat, and it’s one cat we’re returning. There was nothing on the flyer about the kittens. Kitten. My boy has fed and cared for both cats, not knowing the female was yours, and we’re out the money for the food and his time …”
“I’m sorry,” Janina said. “I made up the flyers and I left out anything about the kittens, it’s true.”
The woman said in a hard businesslike tone, “Kittens would be extra, then, even you would have to agree.”
The crew members nodded at one another. “I’m sure we can come up with a bonus on the reward for the return of the little fellow as well. Another 750 credits perhaps?” Captain Vesey said.
“No!” the boy said. “He’s mine. You can’t have him!”
The woman sighed and put one arm around her son’s shoulders, including the one with the kitten, who sniffed at her uncertainly, bobbing his fuzzy tail behind him as he investigated. “Well, there you have it. My son is very attached to his kitty. I’m afraid it’s not worth it to me for 750 credits to disappoint him.”
Mick cleared his throat and said, “These cats belong to the crew, ma’am, and we aren’t wealthy people. We offered the reward as an inducement to returning them, not in place of a purchase price. As I understand it, when Chessie left, she was pregnant with at least five kittens, of whom you still have only one. Furthermore, you’ve brought her back in such a condition that she can’t bear us any more kittens. We’re pleased to have her back as acting ship’s cat, but we’ll need the kitten for her to train as her successor, and to continue her line. The truth is, as things stand, he’s the more valuable of the two to us. So …” He looked around to the others, who depended on their purser for negotiating the ship’s business. “… I’m afraid that if the kitten isn’t returned with his mother, the reward will have to be considerably diminished—to about a tenth of our original offer.”
“You can’t do that!” the woman said. “I’ll take you to court! I—”
Captain Vesey cleared his throat. “The cat disappeared under mysterious circumstances—arson and considerable damage to station property and to Dr. Vlast’s personal records and effects. I’m sure the court will want the Locksley Guard to investigate fully how our cat—who is very talented and clever but who, as you know, has no wings—left the station, made it down to Sherwood and into your possession. The Molly Daise’s parent company has a pretty good fleet of lawyers and investigators.”
“But we need that money!” the woman said. “All of it.”
“Then we’ll be needing both cat and kit, madame,” Captain Vesey said. “Once Ms. Mauer, Chessie, and her kitten have reached the space station, the money discussed in the reward, plus the bonus I mentioned,