Mary Rosenblum (19 page)

“She is so determined! And the pot. I really think she believed it was from the old emperor’s tomb.”

“It was.” Li Zhen turned away from him, staring at the layers of life that still covered the wall.

“Waste of a valuable antique then. She’ll cuddle it all the way back down to give it to Father.” Xai’s face twisted briefly. “You know, listening to you, I wonder if I can really trust you, my longtime friend?” He smiled, but his eyes glittered. “You sounded like some driven monk, talking about tomorrow.”

“You have your tomorrow in hand,” Li Zhen said mildly, his eyes still on the wall. “I have mine. They happen to converge for a time.” He turned to smile at Xai. “I would rather your little sister stay on Dragon Home until you have finished.”

“I would rather she did not.” Xai stared at him coldly. “Do not interfere with her. I will take it personally.”

”Your sister will do exactly as she wishes. Has it occurred to you to ask why she did not reveal your deceit to your father?”

“She wants to be his heir.” Xai grinned. “Let her.”

“I think you underestimate your sister’s subtlety. Remember that you will not kill her, up here.” Li Zhen frowned. “How is the slow fire in our sister city?”

“I will not kill her if she is no threat. It is ready to explode.” Xai threw himself down on the sofa, rolled onto his side to snatch Ahni’s chopsticks from her plate and help himself to a dumpling. “Hire the right person, and your path is made easier.”

“How soon?” Li Zhen looked at the door. “Wait.”

A moment later, the young cousin’s son appeared with a tray and a new pot of tea with two fresh cups.

Took away the cups Li Zhen and Ahni had used.

“No antique for me, cousin?” Xai picked up the white pot, tipped it to pour, the stream canting slightly into the cup, a visible reminder of the spin gravity that gave them a down. “As to how soon, I don’t have that much control. The right incident will take place with the right people in attendance. Already there have been several small … skirmishes. And the camera-eyes I tipped off are prowling for blood.” He grinned broadly. “You will look so virtuuous, cousin, as you humbly step in to save them all. They will worrship you and you will have your empire to build your tomorrow in.”

“I am not interested in worship.” Li Zhen poured himself tea, sipped it reflectively. “Just the Council vote.

Where did you find your point of access?”

“Would you give me that information if I asked it of you, cousin?” Xai smiled and crossed his arms behind his head. “There is always a back door and always a key to it that may be purchased. Let us say that my father’s money has been well spent, as has my own. The latest word is that a motion is on the table in the World Council to send the CSF to NYUp to maintain order.”

“It won’t pass.” Li Zhen prowled across the chamber, blanked the view of the orbital’s many levels. “The Pan Malaysian Compact will vote for the intervention because they are in a quiet trade war with the North American Alliance and would like to see it discomfited. So will the Estados Latinos, simply because they always vote against the NAA unless they have a pressing agenda of their own. Of course my father will vote for it. As will the Taiwan Famili yes?” He raised an eyebrow at Xai.

“Honored Father always votes with the Tiger.” Xai grinned. “He is very predictable.”

“That is not enough.” Li Zhen seated himself, frowning at the bright gleam of the fiberlights in Xai’s hair.

”You stand out quit nicely in a crowd,” he said absently. “Is that clever?”

“Everybody wears light fibers in NYUp.” Xai shrugged impatiently. “It’s the fashion statement of the moment.”

“The vote will not pass.” Li Zhen shook his head. “The NAA will vote against it of course. The North Americans have never tolerated outside intervention at all, and the EU always backs the NAA. The Black Sea States always vote against the Pan Malaysian Compact because they are very anti-Muslim.”

Li Zhen shrugged. “We need two votes. The Black Sea States have two votes.”

“Some things have more power than religious intolerance.” Xai rolled lithely to his feet. Bowed. “I will see what I can discover by way of my “back door.” He hesitated. “There is one complication. The local faction that promotes autonomy on NYUp –NOW – is led by a very strong and charismatic individual.”

“Dane Nilsson, the Chief Botanical Engineer for the hydroponic system there.” Li Zhen inclined his head.

“We have not met, but he has contacted me in the past, wearing the cloak of their secessionist movement.

Do not underestimate him.”

“I don’t.” Xai nodded, grinned again, showing the tips of his teeth. “He is in my way. I plan to remove him. Permanently.”

“No.”

Xai’s eyes narrowed at the Chairman’s tone. “Why not? He conceivably could complicate matters. He has a large and very loyal following there.”

“Precisely.” Zhen folded his hands, unsmiling. “If you kill him, he becomes a martyr. It is dangerous to create a martyr. They are immortal. And untouchable. Better to destroy the man before he becomes a martyr.”

“And just how do you plan to do that?”

The Chairman smiled slowly. “I have an arrow that will destroy the man and his chance at martyrdom.”

“What arrow?”

Li Zhen smiled. “You gave it to me.”

Xai scowled. “Just shoot that arrow soon, will you? I can fine tune the moment when events proceed, but only so far. Nilsson may be able to stop it.”

“The arrow has already left the bow.” Zhen rose to his feet. “Do you need transportation back to the orbital?”

“No.” Xai gave him a brief hard glance. “I do not. I hope it’s a swift arrow.”

He left unceremoniously, and for a long time Li Zhen stared after him, frowning thoughtfully.

THE COURIER DROPPED HER AT THE SMALL DOCKING BAY where he had picked her up.

Ahni frowned as she exited the dock to find a glowing lavender arrow on the floor beneath her feet.

Damn. The hotel had managed to sneak a chip into her after all. Well, it didn’t really matter. She wasn’t trying to hide from anyone.

But it still annoyed her, because usually she was canny enough to avoid house-chips. She blinked up the schematic for this level, deciding to walk back to her hotel. The visit with Li Zhen had left her troubled.

He had not been lying the entire time, but he was connected to Xai for all his protest of innocence. The conversation made her think of an iceberg, the lethal mass invisible beneath the waves, only the white, picturesque tip gleaming in the sun. It had to do with the secession movement. She was sure of that.

What did Xai stand to gain here?

Gently she touched the fragile curve of the pot. And what was the subtext here?

One did not give away a priceless heirloom to a casual guest.

Before she had strolled more than a dozen meters from the dock, the tension in the air penetrated her awareness, banishing her contemplation of the pot. Ahni paused in front of a closet-sized shop front displaying microG manufactured personal electronics and offering right-now implantation. Casually she studied the passersby. The tourists were oblivious, but the business folk walked with shoullders slightly hunched, their steps hurried. They felt it, too, or maybe they were just noticing a change in attitude.

It hit her suddenly what she was noticing … staring. And crowding. Not all the natives, but enough that she noticed. And she also noticed that the natives who were
not
staring and crowding were noticing it, too, radiating dismay, or disapproval. Or appproval and mimicking it. She saw quite a few people pass a crowder, notice, approve, and then crowd the next tourist they passed. Up and down the corridor tourists were walking a crooked path, taking unconscious little sidesteps as a native swerved too close.

One man marched down the hall, body language erect, pushy, radiating challenge, pushing every tourist coming toward him a half step off course. A native woman approaching him, a very dark afro-mix, noticed and her approval sparked bright in the air. As she passed, she aimed for a Korean businessman approaching. The poor man, clearly sensitive, took nearly a full step sideways and stumbled, obviously not adept in the less than normalG.

The tall pushy man’s response flared.

Score!

Ahni nearly turned to look at him, stilled her automatic reaction. He was doing this on purpose. Enticing others to do it, too. A memory prodded. Noah’s girlfriend–what was her name? Cleo. Ahni drifted on a few meters to watch a skinny boy getting his nails inlaid with gold. Cleo had reacted to something Noah had said about ghosts, about fake personae in the Con. And then she had said that it had nothing to do with the tension. But what if it was coupled with people like the alpha she had just seen? Start provoking downsiders and sooner or later someone would react.

A shape flung itself at Ahni. She pivoted, ready to defend herself, recognized the dark hair and oval face of Donya, the child on the climber, and wrenched her response under control.

“Ahni, Ahni, Ahni!” The girl leaped up against her chest, arm around Ahni’s neck, slender ankles locked behind her back. ”I looked for you everywhere!”

Ahni smiled for her, shaky with aborted violence. The tension here was affecting her. “Donya!” She managed a cheerful tone. “You shouldn’t startle people like that. Are you enjoying your stay?”

“It’s boring.” Donya pouted. “Kelly is doing this intern proogram with some engineer or other and he’s being a butt. I’m just a little kid and he doesn’t have any time for me at all. And my nanny has to go with me everywhere and she’s not a native and Mama won’t hire a native because she’s convinced I’ll get kidnapped or raped or something. I want to go fly.” She gave Ahni a sly smile. “You know how to do that, right?”

”Yes, I do.” Ahni smiled. “But I think maybe … not this trip. Your parents are right. This isn’t a good time to wander around on the upper levels.”

“Ahni, that’s not fair!” Donya’s face took on a stony stubbornness. ”You promised me.”

“I did not.” Ahni held her gaze until the girl looked away. “Well, okay, you didn’t promise. But … Oh, never mind.” She turned away, sulky. ”You’re just like all the other grownups after all.”

”What would your parents do to your nanny if she let you do something they thought was dangerous?”

Ahni asked gently. She watched Donya think about that.

“Yeah, you win.” She gave Ahni a narrow look as the worried nanny charged up, frightened and scolding. Donya smiled. “See? 1 wasn’t lost. I was talking to Ahni. See you later!” she called, waving, as the frustrated nanny dragged her away.

What a handful. Ahni smiled absently, then focused on the issue at hand. Time to find a safe way to visit the axle. The hotel chip complicated matters. Thinking hard, Ahni returned to her hotel to dress in clothes that looked more like local garb and didn’t shout “tourist.” She rode the elevator up to Noah’s park, jumpy in the confined space as the tourists vanished. Not even the business travelers seemed willing to brave the upper levels. Ahni made her body language as unassuming and invisible as she could, but was aware of hostile attention as people got on and off.

Noah wasn’t at his plaza, so she took the elevator clear up to the axle park. A few tourists floundered around amongst the crisscrossed web of colorful cables and Ahni noticed uniformed Security lounging nearby, obviously watchful. She had seen no Security yesterday. As she pulled herself toward the scrum fields, a small dark girl kicked off and soared toward her.

Donya! Ahni recognized her this time, winced at the bright flare of her triumph.

“Catch me!” The girl flung out her hand as her trajectory took her past Ahni. Clutching the nearest cable, Ahni grabbed her wrist, swung her into a tight inward spiral.

Donya grabbed the cable and got herself stopped. “Now the nanny won’t get in trouble,” she crowed, grinning.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

The girl met her glare with an innocent smile. “You were right. Nanny couldn’t risk taking me places my folks don’t want me. So I gave her the slip.”

“So she’s still in trouble.”

“Well.” Donya lifted one shoulder in a perfect native shrug. “It was really easy to slip her, so maybe she deserves being fired. I mean … what if someone really had kidnapped me?”

Ahni rolled her eyes and Donya’s smile blossomed.

“So come on! Look!” She spun and pointed. “They’re playing ball. Have you done that?”

Sure enough, Noah and his friends were at it, zooming like misssiles across the open space between the cables. Without waiting for Ahni’s reply, the girl planted both feet against the cable and pushed off, hurtling through the maze of cables and smack into the center of the playing zone. “Look out, kid,” the red haired Paul yelled as he hurtled by. “Get off the field.”

Donya made a grab for the ball, missed and yelped as Noah shot past on an intersecting trajectory, one lean wiry forearm clamping around her waist. His trajectory wobbled and faltered, but still took him out of the play zone, the yelling Donya clamped firmly under one arm. Ignoring her shouts and pummeling fists, he snagged a cable, planted one bare foot, and shot straight over toAhni.

“Does this belong to you?” A smile glimmered beneath his severe tone. “You need to keep it on a leash.”

“I am not an ‘it’ and if you let me play, I bet I can do really well.” Released just out of reach of the cable, Donya floundered, glaring. “I saw other kids out here playing.”

”Yeah, but they live here. Sweetheart, you have the guts for it. Noah nudged himself lower, so that he faced her on eye level. “And you can sure play, but you need to practice first. It’s not fair to bust up our game and if you do something we don’t expect, you’ll get hit hard and we could both get hurt.”

”Yeah.” She looked down and away. “Sorry. I was rude. But I … just want to play so much and nobody will
let
me. I really
am
sorry.”

“S’right.” Noah gave Ahni a wan smile. “I was gonna take break anyway. I’ll give you a few pointers, okay?”

Ahni swallowed frustration. She needed to talk to Dane but she couldn’t leave this kid to wander around on her own. Noah had tugged Donya into motion, was instructing her on how to push off and regulate her speed, how to change her trajectory in flight and use the cables to increase or spill momentum. While she waited for him to finish his lesson, Ahni dropped briefly into Pause and called up demographics on NYUp reproduction. Donya had made her realize how few young children she had seen, even on the upper level she had visited.