"How?" I said. "How did it happen? How did you—?"
She shook her head. "You wouldn't understand. Not yet."
"All right," I said. "You saved my life, and a lot more. You may know how the Martian cops crack down. You did a lot for me." I leaned forward. "Now what's the catch?"
"You can repay us personally. You can do us a big favor in return. By so doing, you can possibly save Earth from annihilation."
I laughed and her eyes widened. "Wouldn't you want to do that?"
My laugh faded; she meant it. Maybe she was crazy, but she didn't know it. And for crazy people, they certainly had pulled a good job of getting me off that street, into a cruiser, and to Earth. Maybe some kind of a gag.
She said in a whisper. "You—killed a man!"
I looked into her eyes until I thought I was passing out. I clenched my hands. "An accident. Hit him too hard. I'm no killer, I—"
"But you did kill him, and you've killed before...."
"In self defense, sure," I said. "But out there in the Asteroids, you have to—"