Crystal Heat

4

After Talit left her, Shadith looked about the room and found another surprise, not anything she’d expected from what she knew of Adelaar. It was not an office but a comfortable parlor; it might have been a place where people lived rather than worked. Padded chairs, a scatter of small elbow tables whose thick tops suggested that access ports might be concealed beneath the polished wood, a fireplace with a fire crackling merrily behind glass doors.

Shadith grimaced and settled herself in the chair Talit had waved at. She felt out of place, out of step. An office would have been more comfortable for her. She missed Autumn Rose. It would have been good to have that steely intellect to act as front and deflect attention from her.

She heard the click of a door and looked around. Adelaar walked briskly into the room, her best business face on. She settled herself in another chair and tapped the top of a table which opened, displaying a terminal. She ran a sequence on the sensor squares, moved the table to one side, and nodded to Shadith. “Privacy shield up, recorder going. So what is this about?”

“To do a job for one of Digby’s clients, I need to get into Marrat’s Market. Digby has reasons for not wanting his connection with this client even hinted at. They know me there, they know I work for Digby, so slip and slide isn’t going to work. You know Marrat’s?”

“Yes.”

Shadith waited a moment, but Adelaar said nothing more. “Right. Well, if I show up there without a reason, I get escorted to the tie-down, put in my ship, and told not to come back. Would you be willing to let me use Adelaris as cover?”

“You could have made a splitcom call. Why come here?”

“Comcalls are not always as private as one thinks. One of Digby’s selling points is discretion.”

“And if I asked you who these clients are?”

“Do you?”

“Yes.”

“Turn the recorder off. Thank you. The ICliu Berej. A Taalav array has been removed from Pillory.”

“Then we can expect Taalav crystals on the Gray Market soon. Or is it already?”

“Soon would be more accurate, I believe. In three or four years. Maybe. If the array survives and produces.”

“Hm.” Adelaar let her head fall against the chair’s cushioned back and closed her eyes.

In the silence that followed, the fire crackled behind the glass doors and Shadith’s breathing got louder and more uneven as she waited for the answer.

“Aslan says you’re an extraordinary musician.”

Adelaar turned her head, reached over to the table and ran another pattern on the touch squares. “If I remember correctly, you like shara tea and lemon wafers? Good. It seems odd you’ve left University to unravel knots for Digby.”

“I haven’t the necessary passion to chase bookings and bend my life to serve my art. Too much of a solitary, I suspect. Perhaps in another fifty or sixty years I’ll change my mind. There’s no hurry.”

“I see why you and Aslan are friends. It’s a way of thinking I can’t understand.” Adelaar went silent again as a serviteur hummed in to lay out the tea service and the platter of wafers. When it was gone, she closed the privacy shield and leaned forward to pour the tea. “I’ll do a deal, Shadow. In return for the use of Adelaris’ name, you work on a small problem for me. A bit of serendipity here. Some connections of mine tell me that my problem at the moment is actually in residence at Marrat’s.”

“Mh?”

“I’d like discretion on this. Embarrassing, possibly damaging to Adelaris’ reputation. A scamjack managed to jump the line to Hegger Minitools and got downside here on Droom. Among his other activities he romanced one of my older apprentices, a girl named Mirik. A young Fulladerin from Saber Minor.” She sighed. “They think because they’ve had a hard beginning they’re street smart enough not to be fooled. It’s an illusion. He got away with a rather nice variation for the programming of guard ’buts that my development staff had not quite tamed enough to bring to market. The silly child ran with him. No doubt she’s had a rude awakening by now. I believe he left quite a string of shattered hearts and careers behind him, male and female both. A versatile man, as it were. I was rather annoyed when I discovered all this. Hm. The sources that told me he’s at Marrat’s also mentioned that Mink is still with him. The program variation is gone; I’m not worried about that, we’ve cut our losses. If I ever get my hands on him, he’s going to be walking around minus some essential parts, but I’m not asking you to do anything about him either. Well, one thing, flake him if he’s still there and collect as much information about him as you can without spooking him. If he’s gone by the time you reach the Market, no problem. It’s the girl I’m really interested in. I want to know if she was a dupe or in on the scam from the beginning.”

“If she’s a dupe and he’s dropped her, what do you want me to do?”

“If she’s clean, and unless I’m very much mistaken, she is, I want her back. Remind me before you leave to give you a credit flake in case you need to buy her out of something. She’s a bright child with a remarkable questing mind, but little experience. Talk to her. Tell her she’s got a place here if she comes and claims it. Tell her she’s had a useful lesson, but she shouldn’t let it ruin her life.” Adelaar set her cup down, smiling at something she alone saw. “She’ll find some other way to mess up, I know that. You’ve never seen such a klutz. She can trash a room just walking through it. Nearly burned the dorm down when she came up with an answer to a problem we’d been having on a program and let a tea kettle melt to slag. If she was fooled, she’ll be miserable now. She gets that way. Could be close to suicide. Hm. Probably best if she doesn’t come back here till things have quieted down a bit. The authorities might make difficulties for her and us. Tell her I’ll finance a stay on University for a year, then she can come back clean. My word on it. She knows what that means.”

“How much of this do I tell OverSec when they ask?”

“That I’ve sent you to search for the girl and provide return fare if she wants to come back. It’s not the kind of thing Digby usually does, but since you’re Aslan’s friend, you can say you’re just doing a favor for her mother.”

“It’s a deal, then.” Shadith got to her feet. “If you’d call a flier, I’d like to get back to the Field as soon as possible. Thanks.”

Adelaar stood, smiled. “And thanks to you, Shadow. Useful information to know that the price of Taalav crystals might slide in a few years. Should I wish you good hunting or not? I wonder. Wait here a moment till I grave that flake for you.”