Chapter 28: Heigh Ho!
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	"No! This goes here, that goes /there/!" exclaimed Setzer as he 
gesticulated wildly toward the open hatch beneath the engine.

	Scarecrow frowned, tossing the wrench between his hands impatiently. 
Setzer's idea of 'helping to rebuild his airship' had revealed itself to 
consist of Scarecrow turning a wrench while Setzer occasionally cursed and 
told him he was doing it all wrong.  As nice a guy as Setzer might be, he 
wasn't exactly the most diplomatic of managers.

	Scarecrow nodded abruptly, turning back to the hatch as Setzer wheeled 
around, heading back to his desk.

	Setzer grinned secretively, privately congratulating himself on 
providing Scarecrow with a somewhat less than accurate impression. It served a 
few separate purposes: Firstly, Setzer was concerned with the 'ease' of his 
agreement to Scarecrow's desires. It wouldn't do for him to get the reputation 
of a softie.  Then /everyone/ would ask for a loan after he cleared them of 
their gold. And since he was a nice guy, he'd give it to them.

	Secondly, Setzer wasn't entirely sure if he trusted Scarecrow yet.  
And if there's anything a gambler knows how to do, it's to bluff.  Now was the 
time to keep his cards close to his chest. Keep Scarecrow off guard.

	Setzer stared idly down at the mass of papers and books that rested on 
his workbench.  He had been working almost non stop on the propulsion system 
for Scarecrow's watership. 'And now...' thought Setzer, 'it's finished.'

	Setzer looked at the intricate lines and sketches he had etched over 
the past week. 'I give it a 1 in 4 chance of working. Not great odds, not when 
a life is at stake.'  He looked up, frowning at the sweating Scarecrow.  
Scarecrow was struggling with a particularly stubborn lugnut, breath short and 
ragged from the physical effort required.

	Setzer frowned. "All right, that should be enough for today.  Tomorrow,
we'll be done, and I'll install the new system." he called over to Scarecrow.  
Scarecrow looked up in surprise as Setzer brushed "Magitek and N-Dimensional 
Geometry" and "Zen and the Art of Airship Maintence" from his desk, along with 
the mass of papers.

	Scarecrow stood up, making his way across the room to take a seat 
across from Setzer. "Why did you want me to stop? I could get the job finished 
tonight, and get the watership ready that much faster." 

	Setzer shook his head, dipping a hand beneath his jacket and drawing 
out fifty two cards thinly cut metal cards, each honed to a razor edge and 
etched with the face of a playing card.  "My combat deck." he said simply, 
placing it on the desk before Scarecrow. 

	Scarecrow glanced down with some surprise, then back up. He reached 
out, grasping the top card with two slender fingers, leaving the face hidden 
from Setzer. "I've never seen anything like these."  mused Scarecrow quietly.

	"I'd be surprised if you had.  Back when I was young, I became obsessed
with gambling.  Had to know everything there was about it, and my life revolved
around it.  Not much different from my current life, now that I think about 
it."  Setzer grinned.

	Scarecrow nodded, allowing the faintest hint of a smile to cross the 
dark mask he wore. 

	"Anyway, I went to the local blacksmith, and asked him to make the 
first deck I had."  Setzer drew the top five cards from the deck, showing the 
faces to Scarecrow with a smooth gesture that ended in a sharp snap. "It took 
some convincing, but he finally agreed to put it up to a coin toss. If I won, 
he would make them free of charge. If I lost, I would work as an apprentice for
the next year."

	Setzer's hand turned suddenly into a flurry of motion as each card 
aligned itself on the far wall, edges forming a perfect pentagon.  "I think 
the end result is obvious.  I practiced, every day and every night with these 
cards. Then, I found the greatest gamble of all."  Setzer's hand fell slowly 
as he leaned back, eyes searching distantly remembered times.

	Scarecrow watched Setzer for a moment, then stood up. "I think I 
understand you just a little more, gambler."  he said quietly as he looked 
down at the musing Setzer.

	Setzer glanced up, smiling ruefully. "You and everyone else, assassin."
he responded, his voice soft.

			***************************************

	The propulsion unit on the watership was finally finished. Setzer had 
just put the finishing touches and was climbing down from where he had 
positioned the propellor.  "There. Now all that needs be done is the tests.  
I'm going to want to run the propellor dry overnight to make sure the metal 
can stand the strain."

	Scarecrow frowned in annoyance.  "How long are these tests going to 
take?  I have much to do, and not much time left to do it."

	Setzer shrugged flippantly, "About a week or so."  He began to walk 
away, back toward his workspace.  He stopped, looking over his shoulder. "Oh, 
you might want to see if you can dig up the Water Helmet somewhere. If that 
thing goes, I wouldn't want to be stuck at the bottom of the ocean without one.
I think Gau had it.  At least, that's what my friends told me...once."  He 
paused, then continued.  This week had been one for memories.  Ones that 
brought up emotions he would prefer buried.

	Scarecrow watched the leather clad gambler exit.

		**********************************************

	A dark figure flitted lightly up the side of the watership, unhitching 
it from the dock. The ship drifted into the water with the softest of sounds 
as the water lapped at the edges. "The time for patience is gone." whispered 
the figure before it disappeared within the watership.