Maybell found Heinemann hiding in one of the unused warehouses at the British Dockyards of Cygnus-X-One. He had hidden himself well, as it had taken her two days—and all of her bounty hunting skills—in order to find him. He was supposed to have delivered to Claire the paperwork she needed for transferring live goods between planets, guaranteeing that her cargo was free from bio-engineering.

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"The InterStellar Police Force has little interest in granting me freedom." He grunted as he puffed on a cigarette, made difficult by being both drunk and having non-human lips. As such, he slurred his words. "What's the gripe about bio-goods anyway? I'm bio-engineered. So's Claire."

Maybell made no attempt to avoid the smoke Heinemann blew in her face. "You're human," she said. "That's different."

"Bah! I got more jackass in me than human."

"You're a hyena," Maybell said, as an obvious matter of fact.

Heinemann grabbed Maybell by her vest. He pulled her towards him with such strength that she had to steady her pinch front cowboy hat, to keep it from falling off her head.

"Who cares?" He growled into her face. "Claire's got so many cow genes in her, she needs milking twice a day! And Sara Jane? Have you seen the size of the face she has on her horse neck?"

Maybell kept her cool, knowing that her man didn't mean the slurs he hurled about their friends. She also had to keep him quiet, for if any other bounty hunter caught wind of who she was seeking—or God forbid, found out she had him collared—they'd show up with guns blazing. For some unexplainable reason, the bounty on Heinemann was now so high that even the fraction a hunter would receive for delivering his dead body to the magistrate would still be worth the trouble.

So she spoke with grace. "You saved my life from those bull-rex rustlers. I love you for it, Heinie. You're my hero."

He mewled as his rage melted, a sad look now in his eyes. "You almost got shot!" he exclaimed.

"I've been almost shot before. It's nothin' new."

He released the hold he had on her and sat down in an old wooden chair, to drink beer from a bottle. Many other empty bottles littered the dump where he hid. He sighed and scooted his chair, to turn his back on her.

"It's not fair! I ain't done anything wrong, shooting that murderous mule." He spoke ill of the man who had killed his former business partner. "He deserved to die, sure as I do now."

Maybell laid a sympathetic hand on her man's shoulder. She forced down a startle as he tensed, powerful and frightening. But then he slumped, as if her caress magically drained him of anger.

"You don't deserve to die," she said with kindness. "Kelles will get us out of this mess."

Heinemann mewled again, this time sounding forlorn. "The magistrate doubled my bounty because I rescued you. Why? It's supposed to be rescinded."

Maybell didn't know the answer, and had nothing to say. She laid a second hand on his other shoulder, and leaned in to press a cheek against the back of his neck.

He howled, sad and mournful. "I'm a good man, Honeycakes. I'd never hurt anyone, 'less I had reason to."

"Of course, Heinie. I know. So does Kelles. Everyone knows."

"I ain't done nothing wrong."

"I know."

His drunken slurring returned. "That mule killed my man. I came to save your life."

Maybell began kissing the length of Heinemann's neck. She followed a trail of spots up, reaching the back of his head. He responded by slumping further.

"I know, my love," she cooed while kissing an ear. "I know."

She embraced him from behind with a full hug. He dropped the butt of his cigarette into an empty bottle, and furthered the embrace by wrapping his arms around hers, forcing her to cling tight.

She returned to caressing his neck. "I'm your partner now," she said between kisses. "I can be your man."

"It's the Panda Overlord," Heinemann muttered, plain and simple. "It's him. I know it."

Maybell did her best to not show fear. She'd heard that name before, but knew little about the man. The Panda Overlord was nefarious, a dealer of stolen goods, and happily involved in activities that oftentimes were criminal.

Heinemann turned his head enough to see Maybell's face with an eye. "Now how will I keep you from getting killed by a guy like him?"

Maybell kissed another spot on her man's neck, doing so to keep fear from creeping into her voice. "Kelles will figure it out."

Heinemann stood up upon hearing the name. "Kelles is the reason I'm hiding! It's her and Sara Jane's big idea!" He paced the room while tossing his head and clomping his feet, mocking Sara Jane's horse-like manners. "Let's team up with Maybell! She makes friends out of enemies! And Claire! She has a whole herd of friends."

"She does," Maybell conceded, despite her dislike of the woman.

Heinemann charged up to Maybell, his breath stinking of stale beer and cigarette butts. "So did I, once! And now, you know what? They want to kill me and cash in!"

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"Nobody"s trying to kill you. We're making sure you're okay."

Heinemann stepped away, a look of shame on his face. "No," he agreed. "No, they ain't. But one of them tried killing you."

Maybell blinked, saying nothing, while Heinemann continued confessing. "I… I know who Red Bull is. I know why he came looking for you."

"He was rustling bull-rex and got caught in my trap."

"Yeah, but there's more. I mean, come on. What good does it do selling live bull-rex? They're huge! They have no value, 'cept for their meat. So why not butcher them? There's no law against transporting dead bio-goods."

Maybell shrugged. "I don't know. You're right. It makes no sense."

This time, when Heineman grabbed Maybell by the lapels, he did so with love. "They did it to cash in! They ferret me out by hunting you, knowing I know who you are."

He released his hold on her and faced away. His head slumped so low that, despite the length of his neck, it disappeared past his shoulders.

"And it worked, damn it," he said to the floor. Still slumped, he returned to his chair, sitting and lighting a cigarette. "But they didn't get me!" He then spoke loud and cheery. "Instead, Red Bull lost an arm! And three of his men! Ha ha ha!"

Heinemann puffed on his cigarette between fits of giggles. Smoke billowed from where his head hung, making it look like his back was smoldering. With hoots and howls, he carried on.

"And hoo boy! Is he pissed!"

"He's in jail. I'm not worried."

Heinemann laughed all the louder, knowing Maybell was lying. He then started giggling again, like a kook, causing more smoke to billow.

"He won't be there long. The panda will get him sprung, and fix his arm. You shot three men, and you're not in jail."

"I was obliged. They were rustling."

Heinemann's head reappeared, his neck arching it towards the ceiling. It was followed by an arm and a bottle, half-filled with beer. The bottle was empty within seconds, as he poured it down his throat without swallowing. Then, wihout looking down, he dropped it and let it clatter, joining others on the creaky floor.

"Red and his men weren't on Mu-Beta-Prime to rustle bull-rex. They came to hunt you. Through you, he found me, and now the panda knows what I'm doing. They know about you, they know about Kelles, and Sara Jane and probably Claire. His pack of jackal bounty hunters are freaking everywhere, looking to cash in on me. Especially now that my bounty's doubled."

"So why come to Cygnus-X-One?" Maybell asked. "This place crawls with scum."

Heinemann slowly nodded. As he turned his face back to the floor. Maybell's lit up with realization.

"You came here to die. To be caught, and turned in for bounty!"

"I can't let you risk your lives, Honeycakes. You and Sara Jane, and the others—you're in trouble cuz of me. And you're good people. Not like me. So get out, and leave me alone."

Maybell didn't budge, not knowing what to do or say.

"Get out of here, 'cakes," Heinemann said to the floor. "Don't come back."

Maybell broke down and bawled, her voice wailing. "No! I'm tired of always losing! This is my fault! Not yours."

"Do as I say. Now go on. Git."

"I'm not leaving!"

Heinemann leapt up and attacked. With brute force, he turned her body. Despite her best effort to resist, he held her by the elbow with a hand, and marched her towards the door. With his other hand, he slid the door open and shoved her out.

"Get lost, Bitch!" he hollered, slamming the door and locking it.

Maybell realized quickly that she had a greater concern at the moment than being a jilted lover. A pack of jackals, each wearing the signature badge of a registered bounty hunter, was searching the British Dockyards.

Upon sight of her, they converged.

The conservatory for Terraform Research on Cygnus-X-One was airy and large—a beautifully crafted dome, with its center reaching a height of twenty meters. It was packed with all manner of plants, as narrow paths wound between them.

It was the perfect place for an intimate conversation. "We know you're here to meet Heinemann," one of the jackals said to Maybell, as they kept her seated in a chair.

She took to mocking him. "What the hell is a Hinder Man?"

"Look, lady," another said. "We know you're mates with that ass."

"He's a hyena, you dumb mutt."

Growls and snaps and snarls came from the pack of genetics as they surrounded her while she sat, dead center in the dome of the conservatory. "You're meat for our dinner if you don't give him up!" said the first.

"You searched the place. I was alone."

The lead jackal laughed as his lips curled, showing a mouth full of canine teeth. "And you drank all that beer? You smoked those grits?"

"Yup."

He sniffed her breath. "You don't smell drunk to me."

"I hold my liquor well."

"Those butts had genetic teeth marks," he said, as his pack joined together and laughed. He pulled at Maybell's lips, examining her teeth.

"Your teeth are human."

She slapped his hand from her face and, as he and his pack turned away, he spoke to her from over his shoulder. "We"ll find him soon enough, perhaps using you as bait. And then we might let you go."

They disappeared into the foliage, leaving to lock her in. "Or the Splicers might find you dead here," he said, loud and unseen. "When they come to check their begonias."

Maybell used the first minute of solitude she had since having been shanghaied to survey her surroundings. Before she could come up with an escape plan, six gunshots rang out, loud as thunder. A moment later, a calm voice called, sweet and low.

"Maybell? You wanna come here?"

Finding her way through the foliage, she came upon a woman who was huge, and buxom beyond belief. Her breasts and hips were enormous. She also had tiny, knocked knees, looking as if the weight of her body had crippled them. A jazzberry punni headscarf patterned with gold thread traveled the length of her back, covering her long, jet-black hair. Two obvious animal ears, bestrewn with pins and charms and tags, poked out the sides of the scarf, along with a pair of cow horns.

In one hand, the woman held a member of the pack of jackal bounty hunters by the scruff of his neck, fully up and off the ground. In her other hand, she held a long-barrelled Colt .45. Smoke trailed around it and around her, indicating that it had been the source of the thunder.

"How did you find me?" Maybell asked Claire.

Claire chewed a wad of gum the size of a snooker ball, as if it were cud. "I kinda knew this would happen," she lowed. "Once Heinemann failed to show with the paperwork I needed, like these clowns—" She shook the jackal. "I started keeping tabs on you."

Maybell was flummoxed. "What? Why me?"

Claire snapped her gum before answering. The jackal hung helpless in her hand.

"I couldn't look for Heinemann, or scum like this guy might have found him. I also knew bullshit like that wouldn't slow you or him down."

Maybell kicked at the dirt with her boots, knowing she was being scolded. "Oh," she muttered as an apology. "I should've been careful, a bit more, I guess."

"You could have got killed. You could have got Heinemann killed."

Maybell huffed under Claire"s withering gaze. "Sorry. He's a pack animal, though. He needs a mate."

She dared raising her eyes, to look upon her savior. "Is Heinie okay? Is he safe?"

Claire again shook the man in her grasp, blowing a bubble at his face. She let it pop and snapped her gum.

"I don't know. All I know is these jerks didn't find him." She waved her empty revolver at Maybell. "You need to deliver my cargo. My ship's docked upstairs at the station. Use public transport to get there."

Maybell stopped scuffing the dirt. "Why me?"

"I have to clean up our mess. And I'll keep Heinemann safe. My cargo's perishable. It was supposed to be delivered yesterday, and it's still on board."

As Maybell squeezed her way past Claire's big-breasted bovine body, she heard moans and groans in the foliage. "You, ah… you didn't actually shoot those jackals, did you? They're registered bounty hunters, you know."

Claire blew a bubble the size of a soccer ball. "Nah," she said as her bubble grew. While sucking it in and rechewing, she pawed the dirt with a foot.

"I kicked the shit out of them."

Maybell called down to Claire on the link while checking the hold of her ship. "What the hell's in here, making racket?"

Claire responded in a commanding tone. "Deliver those birds to Mrs. Peacock on Schenor. They're for her aviary."