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СКАЧАТЬ Purvali’s face from his display. He scowled at a block of text that summarized the current financial status of the second largest mobile submarine restaurant on the lake.

      “Whatever happens,” Sabor said, “I’m obviously not going to have any peace until I let you prance around the forest. Take care of her, Choy.”

      He watched her as she made her preparations. She fired her gun at a passing tree. She recharged her armored coat. She slipped into a relaxed meditation state and gave herself a half hour nap.

      She dropped to the ground as soon as Choy brought the widemounts to a halt. Choy positioned her on the left flank and removed her symbol from the map display. Choy would track her movements with his memory. There would be no possibility the opposition could pick up a stray transmission.

      Sabor raised the side of his carrier. Cold air bit at his cheeks. He couldn’t watch Purvali’s movements on the display but Choy furnished an explosion graphic when she shot the cat that was leading the assault on the left side. Another graphic announced a hit on a second cat. Choy transmitted a command and the widemounts backed away from their food sources.

      Purvali raced out of the woods with her eyes focused on her goal. She leaped for her mounting ladder when she was a full stride away from her widemount. She pulled a pillow into position and lowered the side of the carrier as she rolled inside.

      Sabor jumped away from the tree he had been using as a cover. He grabbed the pillow and threw it at the ground. A command shot out of his brain. The lock on the carrier returned the appropriate signal.

      He ran to his own widemount without waiting for Purvali’s response. On the display, the hardbodies called off their attack and let the widemounts widen the gap once again.

      Sabor switched to the view from his rear camera. Purvali had folded her arms across her breasts. She was staring silently at the back of her widemount’s head.

      Sabor’s system pipped. Possessor Avaming’s stock welcomer replaced Sabor’s pouting paramour.

      “Possessor Avaming has asked me to inform you he has deployed thirty of his security personnel on the border he shares with Possessor Makajida. He has advised Possessor Makajida of his actions.”

      “Please convey my thanks to Possessor Avaming,” Sabor said. “Please let him know I deeply appreciate his kindness.”

      He gave his system another order and it immediately put him in contact with a more ostentatious image—the muscular, thickly robed flesh-and-blood human male who served as Possessor Dobryami’s welcomer.

      “Good afternoon, Financier Sabor. May I ask your business?”

      “I have some intelligence I would like you to convey to Possessor Dobryami. Please tell her I have reason to believe Possessor Kenzan Khan is about to lose the services of the fifty soldiers he is currently renting from Possessor Makajida.”

      Wrinkles creased the welcomer’s square, manly forehead. “Is there any way Possessor Dobryami can verify this information?”

      “I could give her the names of other people she should query but I think it would be best if I didn’t. I suggest that she prepare to act on this development—if she wishes to act on it—and watch for evidence it is taking place.”

      The welcomer frowned again. Sabor could visualize the turmoil in his mind. This was not, obviously, a routine call from a routine caller.

      The welcomer decided a terse nod would be the appropriate physical response. “I will advise her at once.”

      “I suggest you give the message your highest priority.”

      “I will include your request with my transmission, Financier.”

      Purvali had removed a scarf from her luggage and wrapped it around her head. Her hidden face and her straight body communicated the same message kilometer after kilometer, without a single change in her position, every time Sabor popped her image onto his display.

      “You have a realtime call from Colonel Jina,” Sabor’s system announced.

      Sabor glanced at his time strip. It had been forty-one minutes since Avaming had announced he was deploying his troops. “That could be interesting. Put the good colonel on. Copy to Choy and Purvali.”

      Colonel Jina flashed his unforgettable smile. “Good afternoon, Sabor. We’re having a busy day, aren’t we?”

      “It’s always good to stay active, colonel. What can I do for you?”

      “I’ve been keeping track of the time you’ve devoted to rest stops. We will be resolving this situation the next time you’re forced to stop for a feeding session—in about twenty minutes, by my calculation. You don’t have enough cats to counter another assault and your widemounts don’t have enough energy to outrun us.”

      “My assistant Choytang is in charge of our logistics. But I believe twenty minutes is a reasonable estimate.”

      “Kenzan Khan is determined to take you prisoner and acquire total control of your assets. It seems to me there should be some room for compromise. If you were to forgive all his current debts, for example, he would be in a position to borrow more capital from you and maintain the forces he needs to pursue his conflict with Possessor Dobryami. I would be happy to convey such an offer to him.”

      “Doesn’t that create some conflict with your professional ethics, colonel?”

      “I have several assets at risk. I would rather not lose them in an avoidable assault.”

      “They are all replaceable.”

      “But replacement takes time. And time has a financial value. As you, of all people, should know. The proposal I am making would be in everyone’s interest, Honored Sabor.”

      “I have to think about time, too—the long term consequences. I would still be surrendering to extortion. I would be encouraging all the other ruffians who would find such actions appealing.”

      “It seems to me this wouldn’t be the first time you have yielded to the threat of violence. You and your colleagues have consistently bestowed large loans and special rates on the more powerful possessors.”

      “No possessor has ever attempted anything this blatant. If we’re going to discuss our mutual interests, it seems to me it would be in your interest to advise Kenzan Khan you aren’t going to fulfill his contract. Your business, colonel—like all businesses—depends on a system for an orderly transfer of payments. In most societies, that infrastructure normally rests on the rule of law. We have not established such a rule here and we are therefore dependent on other means. But that doesn’t mean you can live without the infrastructure.”

      “You are going to be taken. You will be captured. Your concubine and your assistant will be captured. You will be taken to Possessor Khan. Your minds and all your assets will fall under his control.”

      Sabor’s fingers tapped out a silent message to Choy. What’s the maximum time you can keep the widemounts moving?

      Thirty-three minutes.

      Do it. Postpone the next stop for as long as you can.

      “Kenzan Khan СКАЧАТЬ