The Agent Gambit

by Sharon Lee

  "You did not know. And it is reasonable that my life expectancy be shorter than yours. You go into battle, fight an enemy pointed at you as you are pointed at him, collect your fee, and move on. Should you meet an old adversary in a bar a Standard or ten or twenty hence, what would ensue?"

  "Huh? I'd probably buy him a drink, and then he'd buy me one, and we'd be cryin' into our third about the good old days."

  "Exactly. Were I in the same position, however, my old acquaintance would immediately renew hostilities. With every assignment, I add one or two such enemies. Sooner or later, my luck will be down, while the luck of a person I wronged in the past will be up, and I will die. As such things go, I am on the wrong side of the wager-three years is a long time for a spy to live."

  "You're telling me you're waiting to be gunned down?" She eyed him in disbelief.

  He shook his head. "No. I was chosen to be who-what I am now because I am a survivor. I fight when there are no odds at all in my favor. I manage to stay alive, somehow, some way. It's a good trait in a Scout. Apparently it is essential in a spy." He tipped his head. "You still have not told me why you brought me with you, when you fear me, when you could have come alone."

  "I told you: I don't waste my friends. Even a friend who's crazy, or who could kill me."

  "No!" His reply was too sharp, too quick.

  Miri raised her eyebrows. "No? Well, you're the oddsman." She laid her fingers lightly on his forehead. He flinched away and she shook her head. "I don't think they did you any favor, putting that thing in your head. No wonder you're crazy."

  She shifted again, raising her arm above her head. She felt as good as new, except for an ache high in the shoulder and another that spoke of bruised ribs when she breathed deeply. "Help an old lady get up?"

  He stood and bent, settled his hands about her waist, and lifted her easily to her feet.

  Fighting dizzy nausea, she made a grab for his arms and dropped her head forward against his shoulder. He held her patiently, and she suddenly noted how good his hands felt on her, how soft his shirt was and how warm, with the warmth of the skin beneath.

  She pushed away and he let her go, though he stayed at her side as she walked across the room to the table, which was getting bigger and smaller in a rhythm she could almost hear.

  "I think we both better get some solid, old-fashioned sleep," she told him. "Sleeping rooms down that hall. I'll show you."

  She turned, staggered, and would perhaps have fallen, except he was there, hand on her elbow. The instant she was steady he withdrew his support and she turned to look at him fully.

  Horror still lurked in his eyes. She was suddenly struck with a fear that it would never leave them.

  Reaching out, she tucked her arm through his, pretending not to feel the slight withdrawal. "Maybe we'll do better if we lean on each other, huh?"

  He did not answer, though he let her hold onto him and thus force him along the hallway.

  She glanced at his face. "Val Con yos'Phelium, Second Speaker for Clan Korval."

  "Yes."

  "Who's First Speaker?" she asked, firmly ignoring the kaleidoscopic hijinks the walls and floor were indulging in.

  "My sister Nova."

  "Yeah? What's Second Speaker do?"

  He almost smiled. "What the First Speaker commands." There was a slight pause before he elaborated. "Second Speaker has no power, except if the First Speaker is unable to perform her duties. In that situation, the Second Speaker takes these upon himself until the First Speaker is again able or until another has been chosen."

  "How do you choose a First Speaker?" Miri persisted. "By age? Nova's older than you?"

  "Nova is younger, a bit. Shan is eldest. He had been First Speaker after-after Uncle Er Thom died. But he is a Trader, you see, so he trained Nova for the task and then refused Second, saying he would be off-world too often." His voice was almost back to normal. "Nova is best choice for First: she is on Liad most of the time and is a Rememberer, which is an aid when speaking for the Clan before the Clans."

  "You ain't on Liad much, are you? How come you drew second slot?"

  He actually smiled. "It gives Nova just cause to complain that I am so seldom at home."

  She laughed and nodded at a shimmering doorway. "Here we go."

  They entered and he allowed her to lead him to the bed, finally retrieving his arm as she sat, feet swinging high off the floor. He turned to go.

  "Val Con."

  One eyebrow tilted as he looked back; the horror was still there.

  She waved at the bed. "You're beat too, remember? That's what started this whole thing. And this bed's big enough for all the Gyrfalks to sleep on and not be crowded." She grinned. "Your honor's safe with me."

  He shadow-smiled, sighed, and came back. "All right."

  Sitting on the edge of the bed, he stroked the coverlet and glanced at the woman who already lay curled, eyes closed.

  "Miri?"

  Her eyes flicked open. "Yeah?"

  "Thank you for your care. I was-trapped-in my thoughts. . . ."

  "No problem. Used to have to do it three-four times a year. Part of the joys of being a sergeant. Now go to sleep, okay? And turn off the light, if you can figure out how it works."

  He laughed softly. "Yes, Sergeant," he murmured. He waved a slim hand over the flat plate set high in the wall above the bed. The light dimmed to two glowing bulbs, one red and one blue, miming alien moons.

  He lay atop the coverlet, staring at them, afraid to close his eyes . . . .

  "Go to sleep, kid," Miri grumped at him.

  Obediently, Val Con closed his eyes.

  And slept.

  HE WOKE, unsure of what had called him back, and lay listening, eyes closed. Silence-no. The sound of someone breathing in sleep, nearby. His right arm was numb and appeared to be pinned.

  He opened his eyes.

  There was Miri, face drowned in sleep, head resting on his right arm, one hand beside her cheek, fingers clutching his sleeve.

  He felt a surprising twist of something sharp in the center of his chest-painful, yet not painful. He clamped his teeth to contain the gasp and took several deep, slow breaths. The sensation became less sharp, though it remained, warm and cold together.

  He had never seen her face at rest before; he noted the slim brows that curved above the lightly lashed eyes, and the spangle of freckles across her nose, spilling here and there onto her cheeks. Her full mouth was smiling faintly, as if what she dreamed pleased her.

  Beautiful Miri, he thought and was surprised at the thought, even as he extended a hand to stroke her cheek.

  Six hours before, he had tried to kill her.

  He snatched his hand back, fist clenched, and flung his mind away, seeking that which had awakened him.

  The ship has ceased its labor.

  He shifted slightly. "Miri."

  She stirred, lashes flickering, and tried to settle her head more firmly on his arm.

  "Miri," he repeated. "Wake up."

  The gray eyes flicked open, regarding him softly for the space of a heartbeat before they sharpened. "Why?"

  "The ship has stopped, and I require the use of my arm."

  She frowned, released his shirt, and twisted to a sitting position with a cat's awkward grace. "Stopped? Are we there?"

  "No," he said, trying to rub feeling back into his numb arm. "The ship rests after eight hours in drive, Watcher said. It is out of drive now, which means we have four hours in normal space to recalibrate and measure and make necessary adjustments." A needling sensation signaled the return of utility to his arm; he swung his feet over the edge of the bed and dropped lightly to the floor.

  Miri surveyed the room. The psychedelic effects seemed to have stopped while they slept, and she thanked the gods for their favor. She slid across the bed and jumped down

  "Well, what're we waiting for? Are we going to the control room or ain't we?"

  SHE STARED AT the navigation tank for several minutes be
fore she walked over to the board and sat astride one of the benches, facing her partner.

  "Val Con?"

  He flicked a glance at her, then returned to the board. "Yes."

  "Umm-I ain't a pilot or a navigator, so maybe I'm missing something, but-ain't that the same star pattern we were in when this tub went into drive?"

  He sighed and straightened a little on the bench to ease his back. "No, not exactly. We are actually four light-years from Prime." He bent forward to check a dial and moved his eyes to her face again, half-smiling. "Or, put another way: We've just reached Terran short-Jump."

  "What!" She stared at him, suddenly suspicious. "You're laughing at me."

  He held up his hands. "No-or at us. Clutch ships are slow-rather like Clutch people. I don't remember how it is exactly that their drive works-one of those things people make you study but there isn't any real use for it . . . ." He pushed three knobs in sequence, glancing up at the tank. "But it does work on an entirely different principle than Terran or Liaden ships-Electron Substitution Drive. For whatever good a name may do."

  "Like saying you understand how a Terran ship works because of the Congruency Flaw," she agreed, frowning absently at the tank. "Boss, it's gonna take us a hundred years to get out of the sector."

  "Not quite. Three or three-and-a-half weeks to Volmer, assuming Watcher has coded the destination properly."

  "What I said." She tipped her head. "You don't remember anything about how this drive works-just that it's different?"

  "I do sometimes forget things," he murmured.

  "Just don't seem like you, somehow." She stood. "I'm going to the bookroom. Unless there's something useful I can do here?"

  His attention on the board, he shook his head. She left, shrugging and trying to ignore the flare of irritation she felt.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  IT HAD TAKEN some time to get things sorted out. Happily, the victim's fingers had been retrieved intact and there was an excellent chance that they would be successfully replaced. The incisions, the doctor told Mr. Ing over the comm, had been almost surgically precise.

  That out of the way, it had taken rather longer than Ing had hoped, though no longer than he had expected, to coax information from the young Clutch person seated on the other side of his desk, seriously taxing the structural integrity of the sturdiest chair available on the Station. Finally, however, Ing had the short-form name of a kinsman.

  The blur on his screen became the head and shoulders of another Clutch person. "Yes?" it inquired.

  Ing inclined his head. "May I have the honor," he began in Trade, "to speak with he who is named in the short form Twelfth Shell Fifth Hatched Knife Clan of Middle River's Spring Spawn of Farmer Greentrees of The Spearmaker's Den, The Edger?"

  The big eyes blinked. "You are, please?"

  Extremely brief, for Clutch. Ing began to entertain hopes of putting it all neatly to bed in another three or four hours. "This person is called Xavier Ponstella Ing, Dayside Supervisor Prime Station Municipality of Lufkit."

  The person on the screen inclined its head. "I shall inform the T'carais. Please do not sever the connection." The screen was abruptly empty of Clutch persons, displaying instead an abstract design in blue, green, and orange.

  Ing glanced over the comm at his prisoner. "Perhaps," he tried, "it would be well for you to come here, where your kinsman will be able to see you and where you will be able to speak with each other more easily."

  There was a pause long enough to let Ing wonder if his words had been understood. Then the youngling levered himself out of the chair and came around the table, shuffling, to stand behind Ing's shoulder.

  On the screen the abstract was replaced with the countenance of yet another Clutch person. This one was old, Ing saw: his shell nearly covered his shoulders.

  "I am he with whom you requested speech, Xavier Ponstella Ing. To save your time, it should be said immediately that, among humans, I have no objection to the name Edger," the big voice rumbled through the speakers, picking up some static. Ing adjusted the gain and bowed his head profoundly.

  "This person is most often addressed as Ing," he said. "I'm afraid there has been an altercation on Prime between your kinsman, whom you left to watch your vessel, and a human." He paused, but Edger seemed willing to hear him out completely.

  "I am not sure how it came about," he continued, "for the human was in shock from his injuries when aid arrived, and your kinsman appears to have less than a good command of the trading tongue. The short of it is that your kinsman seems to have bitten two fingers from the hand of a human person on this station. This is a criminal offense-it is called Assault and Battery-for which we have punishments. Since this incident involves your kinsman, however, I would not presume to punish him without your knowledge and consent." Ing hoped the old boy was a reasonable sort.

  "This human person," Edger said. "What was the name?"

  "Herbert Alan Costello," Ing said, wondering.

  "Ah. And the condition of Herbert Alan Costello? It seems that I have heard it dangerous for humans to experience the state called 'shock.'"

  The old gentleman was really concerned, Ing thought. He hadn't expected that, considering the kid's attitude.

  "I have recently spoken with the doctor, who assures me that the fingers will be able to be replaced and that function should return, perhaps wholly, but certainly to the ninetieth percentage. It was most fortunate that we were able to recover the fingers in such excellent condition."

  "Most fortunate, indeed," Edger agreed. "You spoke of punishment. It is the custom of our Clan to mete punishment to members of the Clan. It would shame me to have it said that I am so lacking in propriety that I allowed a kinsman of mine to be corrected by one of another Clan, no matter how shamefully he had behaved. It would mean much to me, were you to honor this custom. I assure you that this person will be punished in full measure for his crime."

  "It would also mean much to me," he went on, "if you would ascertain the sum of Herbert Alan Costello's medical expenses, as well as the cost of maintaining his household while he is unable to pursue his rightful occupation. I will pay this sum to Herbert Alan Costello, and also whatever blood-price is appropriate. I depend upon your advice in the matter, since I cannot presume to place a price on such damage to a human, who may not regenerate what he has lost. I would do everything that is proper, so that this disgrace does not mar the goodwill that exists between the Clutch and the Clans of Men."

  Ing blinked. "You are very generous," he began.

  Edger waved a large hand. "I am mortified that one of my Clan should have acted in such a manner. I repeat that he will not go unpunished. He is young and without experience, it is true, but there is no excuse for the lack of courtesy that you have brought to my attention. It is mine to rectify, and to hope that Herbert Alan Costello regains the full use of his hand."

  Edger shifted his gaze upward and back, his large eyes hardening. Ing felt a moment's sympathy for the kid behind him.

  "I am also ashamed," Edger said, speaking to Ing, though his eyes were on Watcher, "that you have somehow been led to believe that my kinsman does not speak Trade. His knowledge of that language is adequate. It is beyond my comprehension that he would not have spoken when addressed in that tongue and thereby made an accounting of himself to an Elder-in-Charge."

  Ing would have sworn that Watcher cringed.

  "Maybe," he offered, "your kinsman was also in shock of some kind. The condition does sometimes rob persons of language for a time, even the tongue they have spoken since birth." Hell, it was only a kid.

  "You are kind," Edger said with awesome dignity. "I take note of your effort to soften the blow to our honor, but I am not persuaded that this was the case.

  "Watcher!" he snapped, still in Trade. "You will come to me. You will come with whatever person or persons Xavier Ponstella Ing deems proper to send with you, so he might be assured that you will damage no other beings before you are under my eyes. You w
ill come in whatever haste or deliberateness Elder Ing adjudges proper. Above all, you will speak when spoken to, and answer all questions honorably and in the best fullness that time allows. You will think upon the uses of courtesy among and between all peoples, and you will have an accounting of yourself and your actions to lay before me when you arrive. Have you understood all that I have said to you?"

  "Yes, T'carais." Watcher's voice was barely audible.

  "And will you obey?"

  "Yes, T'carais," Watcher replied even more softly.

  "I leave you then to the care of Elder Xavier Ponstella Ing, to remove you to me within his own customs and traditions. Goodbye." This last had apparently been meant for both. The screen went suddenly dark.

  The kid looked decidedly shaken, Ing thought. "Okay, Watcher, why don't you have a seat while I arrange transportation? We'll have you on-world within the next day."

  No matter what other punishment awaited him should he show further lack of courtesy, Watcher could not bring himself to thank Elder Ing for this consideration of him.

  EDGER CERTAINLY HAD an amazing number of books, even granting that fewer than a third were written in a language that Miri could read. A brief search among those produced The Young Person's Book of Space Drives, by Professor Thos. Swift, and A Beginner's Course in High Liaden, by Anne Davis.

  Anne Davis? The name was vaguely familiar. Miri scouted up a reader, curled up comfortably on the upholstered ledge that seemed to be the Clutch's answer to overstuffed chairs, and fed that tape in first.

  "Anne Davis," the bio at the beginning told her, "was a Heidelberg Fellow and respected comparative linguist. Her work included compilations and cross-checks of the major Terran dialects, and is considered a touchstone of contemporary linguistic research. However, she is best known for her in-depth study of High Liaden, as well as the several grammars and self-paced study texts of this complex and beautiful language. A manuscript outlining the grammar and following the structural shifts of Low Liaden was left uncompleted at the time of her death. She is survived by three natural children: Shan, Nova, and Anthora yos'Galan; and a fosterchild: Val Con yos'Phelium."