Laldasa (49 page)

“The driver's story checks.” The Sarngin allowed himself a minute gesture of frustration, raking the fringe of ringlets back away from his forehead. “He has been employed by the Air-Spirit Agency for four years. They consider him one of their most reliable and discreet drivers. He doesn't know the identity of last night's fare because, by company policy, the identity is only given at the client's discretion.”

“Then the company records-“

“Show only that a call was placed to rent a luxury car under the name Singh. Since there is no more common name in Kasi ... ”

Jaya nodded. “But the car was paid for-“

“In cash, by a man who fits a description so general as to be no description at all. He wore a pair of tinted eyeshades—Mitrex brand, according to the Air-Spirit cashier. She volunteered that she's always wanted a pair. I gather they are considered fashionable,” he added wryly.

“I'd buy her a hundred pair if she could give us a worthwhile description.”

“Would it help? I think we can assume the courier was Parva Rishi or one of his cohorts. I've got Govi-sama and some of my men out digging around his known haunts already.”

“So, what do we have?”

Gar expelled a sharp breath and sat on the arm of a chair near the window. “We have Badan and Devaki, who are still being interrogated. And we have the Vadin Adivaram ... if we can find him; he has yet to return to his home. And we have Varaza and his Lieutenant, if we can connect them solidly enough to this business.”

“No one here saw the men Adivaram brought in?”

“No one. Adivaram removed all the guards from the entry and made sure the catering draymen stayed in the kitchen during their passage. Hadas Gupta and the driver are the only two people to even glimpse these men and the driver has made discretion such a habit, he didn't even look at their faces when he picked them up.”

Jaya straightened. “Picked them up? Where?”

“In a public tiedown in the Jewel District—and before you ask, yes, I had the tiedown searched and all vehicles accounted for. On the surface there is nothing suspicious there. There were a number of aircars, two carriages and a single horse. They all belonged to merchants on the row. So, Nathu-Rai, tell me—precisely who is it we are attempting to corner?”

“What makes you think I know?”

“Ah, not know, perhaps, but suspect-“ He tilted his head and waited for Jaya's reply.

“Obviously, I suspect Duran Prakash, if not of conspiracy, at least of complicity. And ... I have to admit I'm suspicious of both Nigudha Bhrasta and Ranjan Vrksa. I have to wonder if it was coincidental that Bhrasta just happened to show up in the KNC box the morning after I'd gotten my ribs kicked in.”

Gar nodded. “A sensible suspicion. Do you think you have enough evidence to accuse them of this complicity before the Inner Circle?”

“With my mother's testimony and my father's journal, I can at least raise the suspicion that Prakash is part of a Consortium attempt to manipulate the outcome of Vrinda Varma deliberations. If Hadas can identify him as one of the men that was here last night, we've got him on suspicion of kidnapping, as well.”

“Theft, you mean. The memsa did have a dascree in her palm, Nathu Rai. Yours.”

Jaya winced at the jibe and knew that, coming from Gar, it was not accidental.

“I would suggest,” continued the Commander after a moment, “that the best use of your time would be to lay out your case and that the best use of mine would be to find the missing Vadin.”

Jaya nodded and pulled himself to his feet. “I've got just enough time before the Circle Call to bathe and change clothes. I suppose I should go home.”

“May I recommend that you also take breakfast? You will be of little use to the cause of Nadim-sa in a sugar coma.”

oOo

The Cause of Nadim-sa. Jaya made a wry face at the roof of the Sarngin aircar that ferried him home. He had little interest in Causes just now and every interest in Nadim-sa. Her disappearance had turned his insides into a deep pit full of cold ash, and an emotion that had nothing to do with Causes and crusades dug its raptor claws into his soul and shook it.

He relegated all causes to Niraya Hell. He only wanted Ana back.

The thing with its claws in him shook a little harder and demanded recognition. Bhakti is what you feel, said Ravi's voice. Bhakti is what you feel.

Ana could speak of bhakti and passion in one breath and feel both for a Being she could neither see nor touch. Could she feel them for a man—for him? Ana believed in Causes. Ana fought crusades. It was as much a part of her as her Rohin devotion or her inherent courage or that hint of the Jadu that lurked in her eyes. He could not have Ana and eschew Causes.

Liar.

The Voice was sharp and clear and came straight at him from deep in the ashy pit: You could separate the woman from her Causes if you wanted to but you don't want to. You don't want to, because they were your father's Causes and they came to you in your blood. They've been part of you since you formed in your mother's womb.

He knew it was true and, for the first time, did not embark upon denial. The thought that followed that revelation was even more sobering: It was his responsibility to tell Rokh Nadim that his daughter had been kidnapped.

oOo

By the time he left for the Asra Complex Jaya knew that Bel Adivaram was the key to Ana's whereabouts. Varaza and three of his minions had folded under interrogation moments before, but Adivaram's was the only name any of them seemed to know. From Adivaram, Varaza claimed, came the order to poison the jailed thug. He had even provided the poison. Ashur Badan was also induced to reveal his suspicions that the Vadin's puppet-masters were Consortium officers. Hadas, shown a selection of pictures, quickly recognized Duran Prakash as one of the men he had seen the night before.

“I am not certain,” Mall Gar had told him, “whether it is ignorance or fear that has so effectively tied Devaki-sa's tongue, but I suspect she knows more than she's saying.”

“Or maybe she only pretends to know,” said Jaya. “Still, if you can keep her alive, you might learn something from her.”

“Yes, if. Perhaps,” Gar mused, “the thought of being accessible to her master's masters will jog her memory.”

Jaya prayed that it would. He was not looking forward to trying to untangle this skein of intrigue before the Circle in his present state of exhaustion. A breakthrough from Gar would be welcome.

He found the Deva Radha in her private chamber.

“Nathu Rai Sarojin,” she greeted him. “You're here quite early. Is your cousin with you?”

“My ‘cousin' has been abducted, Deva.”

Radha rose from her chair, her shock visible on her fine-boned face. “What? By whom?”

“Last night. By Bel Adivaram and two men, one of whom was identified as Duran Prakash.”

She sank back into the chair. “Adivaram? Are you certain?”

“Yes. He was identified by two witnesses last night and implicated by the owners of the Badan-Devaki dalali who seem to have been involved in some illicit dealings with him.”

Radha shook her head as if trying to shake astonishment from it. “Illicit dealings? What sort of illicit dealings?”

“The Badan-Devaki has been ... enhancing their chances of snaring prime das by bribing Sarngin patrolmen to bring any attractive yevetha they've arrested to their dalali—regardless of what district they're found in. We suspect that about two dozen patrolmen have been involved. Apparently, when a few of these men were found out by their superiors, the officers did not report them, but instead demanded to be in on the take. Somehow, this came to the attention of Bel Adivaram who, for his own reasons, became their ... overlord and protector.”

The Deva raised a hand to her heart. “This is ... this is incredible. Horrific.”

Jaya grimaced. “It gets worse, Deva. To make the system even more lucrative, the group hired an ambitious thief named Parva Rishi to put together a team of thugs for the sole purpose of creating yevetha for the Sarngin to arrest. At some point, some KNC officials became involved and the thieves were told to concentrate on Avasans. Ashur Badan suspects these anonymous officials discovered Adivaram's dealings and used the knowledge to control him.”

“Badan-sama has confessed to his part in this?”

Jaya nodded. “Mall Gar, Commander of the Port Zone Sarngin, is heading the investigation. I've found him to be trustworthy.”

The Deva closed her eyes. “I must admit to having had my suspicions that Adivaram was currying favor to the Consortium. I did wonder at his reaction to the attack on you—his insistence that he filter Rakesh Bithal's report.” She shook her head. “Corruption ... everywhere you turn. But not here, I thought—hoped. Certainly not here. And the cruelty! Corruption is bad enough, but to benefit from the enslavement and pain of other souls—that is times worse than corruption.”

“Ashur Badan is fond of reminding me that buying, selling, and owning das is legal on Mehtar.”

She looked at him. “Our ancestors made it legal. The business sector works hard to keep it legal. So much of our economy rests on the shoulders of das laborers.”

“Forgive my impertinence, but are you making excuses, Deva?”

Her lip curled. “I do believe I am. Making excuses for the inaction of the Inner Circle and the silence of the Orders. We are more timid than we once were. More timid than Tara-Rama meant us to be. Timid and corrupt.” Radha uttered a deep sigh. “Have you told Nadim-sama?”

Startled, Jaya glanced at her. Her sharp eyes were on his face. “Told him-?”

“That his daughter is missing.”

“Not yet. Ravi is attempting to contact him now. How-?”

She shook her head and raised a hand to silence him. “That won't be necessary, Nathu Rai. Rokh Nadim is here, in the Complex.”

Jaya flailed about for something to say, then sat down in the nearest chair.

“I'm lost,” he said.

She cocked her head a little to one side. “Rokh Nadim has been under the protection of the Orders since Taffik Pritam informed me that his daughter was missing. At first, he was insistent that we do something to find her, then, suddenly, it seemed no longer to matter. He knew where she was, he said, but our sources on Avasa confirmed that she wasn't there. And that confirmed what I already suspected. I knew Ana was no cousin of yours, Jaya. I saw the cree in her palm. It looked wrong to be a dascree, yet if she was born and raised on Avasa as she said, it couldn't be raicree. There was this sense of ... freedom about her. A sense even you or I don't have. I think it has to do with these.” She raised her left hand, revealing the small, Cloud and Star cree of the her Dandin Order.

“When we brought Rokh Nadim to Mehtar,” she continued. “I asked about his daughter. He described her as a resourceful young woman who was following the Upward Path and showed me a holo-pic of a beautiful little girl with hair the color of black cherries and skin like golden cream. There was little doubt that your Ana Sadira and his Anala Nadim were one and the same.”

Jaya felt as if he was floundering in a fast current. “You brought Nadim to Mehtar. He was never really missing, then.”

She looked vaguely apologetic. “No. We felt it was necessary to protect him by making it seem as if we'd lost him.”

“We?”

“The other Dandin of the Circle. We felt the need for complete secrecy. None of the secular members of the Circle know.”

“Then you believed Nadim's life was threatened.”

“Oh, yes. We just weren't certain who was issuing the threats. The Consortium has made a good case that the Worker's Coalition is the real source of danger to the AGIM associates and to you. Now, it looks as if the seeds of deceit have been sown on a higher plateau. With Adivaram involved ... ”

The Deva was silent for a moment, thinking. “How high up does this go?” she wondered, finally. “Who else among the Nine besides Adivaram might be doing the Consortium's bidding?”

He studied her pensive face for a moment then brought the com-journal out of an inner pocket. “I've been reading my father's journal. It contains notes on his suspicions that the KNC was trying to pressure Varmana into ... showing favoritism.”

The Deva's eyes were riveted on the machine. “He kept notes? Nathu Rai, you have no idea how grateful I am that he did. How did you find them after all this time?”

“Mother knew where they were. She thought I might find them interesting. I did. Did he share any of this information with you?”

“Yes. That is, he shared his suspicions but gave me little recorded material. He thought Duran Prakash might be involved. Prakash had suggested to him that his friendship with Namun Vedda somehow ought to imbue him with loyalty to the Consortium.”

“So I read.”

She looked clearly disgusted. “Partisan politics have no place in government. Nathu Rai, we must go to Rokh Nadim. Shall I tell him?”