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him. So what do we have? An artifact and two aliens. Why would a legate drag them around? Tina laughed. The artifact is obvious. For the same reason you drag me around. Nyo simpered. You really think she can cook, Tee? Shike smiled. He tapped one of three small holoportraits. This one is mental. Psionic. Strong. Be handy if it was tame. What s the other one? It s ugly. And it looks mean. Bligger says it s a Ku warrior. What the hell is that? Blessed said, Check history, Nyo. Cable said, I looked them up. They had it out with the Guardships a long time ago. Gene-engineered their whole species. Ku warriors were faster and meaner than anything human. If you were a Canon legate peeking in dangerous places, you might want a character like that covering you. Blessed said, It builds into an interesting picture. I don t believe them, but I ll give them a closer look. Bring them down. I took the liberty after I talked to Bligger. Smelled like something we might use. As they awaited their interview, Turtle admitted, I put it on too thick. Maybe that Traveler was extrasuspicious. Of course. Amber Soul s seizure had not made those people produce false identifications. He had been asked about that repeatedly. All he knew was, he had boarded a vessel purporting to beGregor Forgotten . Lord Strate had booked passage. Wasn t his business to know why. He was a bodyguard. He had picked Strate because that was a name Midnight could remember and talk about endlessly he hoped not too much. If he kept them focused on him long enough, they would lose interest. Then it would be into DownTown and disappear and scheme out how to get away beforeVII Gemina came. A tall young man summoned them into an office. Turtle took his measure at a glance. A lifetaker. Doubly dangerous because he had a mind stacked atop the conscience of a spider. Carrying at least three weapons. He rose and followed. Midnight knew he would do the talking unless she was questioned directly. Amber Soul could not stick her foot in her mouth if she wanted. There were three more in the office, all younger than the thug. The leader would have stood out even had he not fortified himself behind an immense combination desk and info center. Turtle saw toughness and competence in spite Page 123 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html of youth. The one behind the desk asked, Are you the one doing the talking? Yeah. Turtle pitched his voice near the bottom of the register of human hearing. Its undertones would make them uneasy. Name? Sally Montengrin. A entertainer whose name was known throughout Canon space. What? The boy was startled. You ask a stupid question you re gonna get a stupid answer, kid. You got it in front of you. You got the next answer, too. And the one after that. All the questions been asked five times each by fourteen different guys. They been cross-checked by three different computers. So cut the crap. He had the boy rattled. Probably nobody ever talked back. Do you know who you re talking to? Should I care? Some kid who thinks he matters because he s big in his House. But ain t nothing in Canon. I could make your life unpleasant. You can t make it worse than it is already, being here on the butt of the universe getting interrogated by a fifteen-year-old with delusions of importance. Midnight touched his arm, cautioning him not to overplay it. The girl laughed. Itis the butthole of the universe, Blessed. The boy flashed her an irritated look. She sneered. The boy looked at Turtle. You might be right. If your answers are a web of lies, I won t trip you up now. So what am I going to do with you? Not being human, I don t get why you figure you got to do anything. But the human that s got the power always figures he s got to interfere. What would a Ku do? Ignore us because he d figure we wasn t any of his business. Unless he got in a bureaucratic bind. Then he d ship us off to Capitola Primagenia and let the Presidents sort us out. Most human administrators would agree. But you re not going to do that because you figure you might be able to use us somehow. The boy s face went cold. One finger twitched. Turtle seemed to do nothing but lean a little and take a small step backward. The thug flung past him in a surprised sprawl. He showed no animosity as he pulled himself into a sitting position. That s enough, Blessed. An experiment, the boy told Turtle. If I d thought you was serious, you d all be dead. Page 124 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html Young eyes went hollow as young ears heard echoes of the whisper of the wings of Death. The boy Blessed said, You ve made an impression, Ku. Seriously, do you know who I am? Who you are, no. I ve heard this is a Tregesser world. I m Blessed Tregesser. My grandfather is Simon Tregesser. Turtle looked at him blankly. Simon Tregesser! Simon Tregesser! the girl chirped. Her brother asked, You ve never heard of him? No. He hadn t. Blessed Tregesser stared for half a minute. Tina, show them where they ll be staying. The girl frowned but led them out of the office. Turtle was satisfied with his performance. But now he had to get off this world. Before these people found him out. BeforeVII Gemina came. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |