The Dragon Never Sleeps

— 117 —

Lupo looked up as Two came in. "What did they think?" A fraction of the take from the Hemebuk Neutrality had arrived. T.W. and one of the Valerenas had introduced the Directors to the undistributed pile. Two had gone along disguised as one of T.W.'s assistants.

"They were impressed. T.W. told them there would be more. I didn't hear much grumbling about how we shut them out."

"Simpletons. As long as they can afford to indulge themselves, they don't care what we do. It was worth the investment for the little time we need."

Lupo Provik had embezzled the majority of the Outsider payoff. He'd already bought the shell and assets of a dying colonial corporation from artifacts who had hoped to establish their own closed society. He had gotten a bargain by agreeing to maintain their social goals.

Now he was shopping for independently held, financially troubled, potentially profitable star systems, preferably with the foundation infrastructures in place. Given those, he could put together a new House. With capital left over.

It would not be House Tregesser, but it would be safe.

It would be a veil behind which he and his could vanish. If the dam just held till he cobbled it together.

Two said, "There's something going on out there in the shadows."

"Uhm?"

"Somebody is going to try something. A couple of the Directors had that slinky feel. And there are tensions down below. Like people sense a storm gathering."

Lupo leaned back, frowned, wondered who and why. "Anything concrete?"

"No."

"Any ideas?"

"Not unless the Worgemuth faction thinks it's a good time to unforget and forgive about Myth."

"I can't buy that."

"I don't either, really."

"What's T.W. say?"

"She feels it but she hasn't found anything. I told her to keep an eye on everybody since there's no sane reason for anybody to try something."

"Tina too?"

"Even Tina. What the hell are you messing with? You've been at it for two days."

"Putting together specs for a star chart like we had in the end space. I figure if we're going into business on stolen money, we ought to buy at least one toy while we're at it."