close. Maybe if we
leave now?"

"I think it's too late." Jason stood as half a dozen men entered the
clearing. "Good afternoon, gentles."

"Not for you it isn't," the obvious leader said. "You don't go
anywhere without a couple thousand credits petty cash, Mister
Jason--hand it over."

"In the mountains?" Jason laughed. "Not even I carry cash where
there's nothing to buy and no bodyguards."

"Like hell," the leader said pleasantly. "Hand it over, Jason, or we
take it out of your hide."

"I told you, I don't have anything to hand over."

"Then we'll take what you don't have." The leader gave a hand signal,
and his men surrounded Jason. He grunted and swore at them, his voice
holding a mixture of disgusted anger and pain.

"NO!" Dana shouted, jumping on the back of one man and wrapping her
left arm around his throat, her right hand against the back of his
head, her left reaching for her right elbow for a neck-breaking hold.

She was pulled off before she could complete it, held securely despite
her struggles while the attackers gave her thakur a fast frisking.

"Hell, he was telling the truth," the leader finally said in disgust.
"No trace of a wallet or anything that'd hold that kind of cash." He
backhanded Jason, almost casually. "You've been one hell of a lot of
trouble, Jason, for no return. Want to try convincing us we shouldn't
kill you for it?"

"You can't kill him!" Dana exclaimed, horrified. "He's-- You just
can't!" She took a deep breath; these men would need more than her
emotions to discourage them. "Jason Interstellar's Security people
wouldn't quit till they found you, and they'd make sure you were
punished."

One of the two holding her fondled her roughly. "Maybe have some fun
with the fem before we kill both of 'em, Ca--Boss?"

Dana was too angry to be frightened; she twisted to give him a scornful
look, then glared at the leader, who gave her a frightening smile
before he pointed to two of his men. "You, you--knock him out, then
tie him to a tree; he'll be found before he starves."

Dana took comfort in the knowledge that he would be; the Torrance
hunting party should find him the next day, before he even got really
hungry. Then the designated ones did as they were told; Jason slumped
under an expertly-applied baton to the base of his skull, then was
secured to a small tree.

Dana had time to wonder at the use of a baton--criminals didn't
normally use that sort of weap