Coryn sighed.
“Look, I just brought Sarah into the city for her rest days. I have no intention of compromising her safety by leaving her in the city while I go away. And it's hardly fair to her to just make her turn around and go back to Ferhil Stones when she was looking forward to a couple of days away from there.”
“Don't talk nonsense, Coryn Leigh,” Marcues snapped. “I've heard the gossip. You're bedding that young woman; that's how you're looking after her safety! And you have a reputation when it comes to women!”
Coryn swallowed the scathing comment which was threatening to slip his tongue. It would have been nice if Marcues' concern for Sarah's well-being had truly been genuine!
He inhaled deeply. Then:
“I'll leave to come to Station ASC in two days time, after I've taken Sarah back to the Witches' Stronghold. Take it or leave it.”
He cut the connection.
He sat in his chair for a few minutes, bringing his anger under control. What was Marcues up to, he wondered. He was not a priest, responsible for Coryn's morals! Was he being intentionally irritating? If so, why? Was he trying to enrage Coryn to the point of resigning his post? Coryn knew that he and his Team had been doing good work; they, together with their Kordean allies had wrested from The Organization the Stone-energies which the Neotsarians had intended to use to shackle the known Galaxy to their authoritarian worldview. Also, the Kordean-Terran relations had much improved since he had organized the Liaison Office, and had taken on the role of the Chief Liaison Officer. He had been serious about the responsibilities involved. When, for example, he had absented himself for a while to head the rescue operation to pick up the men stranded on Altec III, he had left the Office in the capable hands of Fiana Marsh.
He gave his head a shake.
It appeared that he was going to have to ask the pregnant Fiana to stay on the job for a bit longer.
Marcues had sidestepped the issue of revealing his reasons for wanting a private, in-person conversation with Coryn. That would have worried the Agent, had the evasion come from anyone but Marcues. Marcues was the type of person who would hold back information merely to seem to be the one in control. There may well have been nothing more to this secretiveness than a fear on Marcues' part that an underling was eroding his power base.
The truth was, Coryn thought to himself, as he stood up to leave the inner office, that Marcues was exactly what most of the Agents considered him to be. He was only partially competent at his job. Many of the Confederation bureaucracies had, over time, grown tainted with ills such as cronyism and corruption. It had become obvious that certain of the moneyed clans had gained more influence in the corridors of power than was good for the smooth running of the bureaucratic machinery. Such deterioration usually showed up first in the top levels of officialdom, where, fortunately, it could exist for quite some time without affecting the work done on the ground by staff who knew what they were doing.
Coryn was not in a position to clear out the cobwebs from the Confederation government crevices. He merely had to deal, to the best of his ability, with the situation which faced him. Marcues could either accept the time frame for the visit as he had proposed it, or he could get on his high horse and punish Coryn for the insubordination. Rushing to the Space Station ASC really was not an option at the moment, regardless of what Marcues might insist.
**
“Your face is stormy, Coryn,” Jillian commented, when her superior returned to the outer office. “Was Marcues really bad? You're not one, normally, to lose your cool.”
“I did this time,” Coryn admitted. “I told him that I'd leave in two days for the Headquarters, to attend the one-on-one meeting which he is insisting on, and, then, just cut off the connection. I don't get what's with him. It's as if he was goading me, deliberately pissing me off. He maligned my relationship with Sarah, implying that I was an immoral bed-hopper. Even if that was true it wouldn't be any of his business, as long as it doesn't affect my ability do my job. And asking me to jump on the next ship heading in the direction of ASC just so he can talk to me is beyond absurd. I have responsibilities here, for Heaven's sake! I'm not free to just leave at a moment's notice! Surely he's aware of that!”
“Woo-hoo!” said Jillian. “He'll be screaming subordination at you next! Heck, maybe that's his idea—annoy you to where your usually placid exterior cracks, and he can claim that you're a difficult employee!”
“But why do that?” Coryn asked logically enough. “I'm valuable to the Agency exactly where I am. There is no suitable replacement for me as the Chief Liaison Officer, unless Fiana is willing to work through the rest of her pregnancy and childbirth, and, afterwards, willingly stays on Kordea while Steph works at the Experimental Craft Division on Mallora. I don't think that's going to happen.”
“Hm. And if he's angling to replace you, with all the interest now swirling around Kordea, the Diplomatic Corps will insist on having a lot of say in that,” added Jillian. “They're not just going to automatically accept Marcues' choice of an Agent; maybe they won't want another Agent in the position at all.”
“If he pushes you too hard, Coryn,” Sarah interjected, “you could always tell him to shove the Agency job, but keep the Liaison Officer's position. As long as Jill, and some of the others working in this office keep their Agency connections intact you wouldn't be out of the information loop totally.”
“That's maybe a possibility,” Coryn agreed, with a teasing grin in Sarah's direction. “It would mean a bit of a cut in pay, but the position of the Chief Liaison Officer is the more lucrative one.
“Maybe I'd have to be more careful with my money. Fewer expensive mornings out with my favourite woman.”
Sarah made a face.
“Like you've been in the habit of squiring me on expensive dates,” she protested. “But then, I haven't exactly been demanding that way.”
Jillian snorted at them both.
“Like either of you can be dragged to a bar fancier than the usual Port watering hole, The LockandKey,” she said. “Maybe, when Sarah's in town, the two of you should spend a little less time in that big, comfy bed in the Official Residence. She might, then, actually dress up in a pretty outfit sometimes, and show off that cute behind of hers. Has that thought crossed your mind, Coryn?”
Hoots of laughter, and giggles cascaded from the other desks in the office. Sarah's attractive backside, and her habit of casual dress were familiar facts to the workers in the Liaison Office.
“Throw down the gauntlet, Jillian, will you?” Coryn said, wrapping an arm around the giggling Sarah. “Just for that, Ms Ashton, I invite you, your husband Joe, and Texi, and his lovely wife, Nance, to join Sarah and me at the eating establishment in the Space Port's Palace Hotel, after work. That place ought to be fancy enough for you! Don't worry about the cost, I'll pay. But Jill, you and Nance will have to take Sarah shopping for a dress; I know that she doesn't own anything suitable.”
“And shoes,” Jillian added immediately. “Your tab?”
“Sure. I've still got two jobs at the moment. And Sarah's a student, with no money coming in.
“No arguments, sweetheart,” he added when Sarah tried to protest that she wasn't broke; she had funds left from her earlier employment stints. “This is my treat.”
Sarah desisted. It dawned on her that this was Coryn's way of celebrating their wedding, even if it had to be done with no acknowledgement of what he was doing. Besides, neither of them knew what Agency Head Marcues wanted with Coryn; possibly he would have to stay on ASC for a while. At present, Fiana was still available to substitute for him as the Chief Liaison Officer, even though the birth of her child was approaching.
**
“Sure, I can manage the job, for a few more weeks if necessary,” Fiana said when Coryn put the question to her.
She had hauled her ungainly body into the Office, and had stopped to listen to Jillian and Nance intently discuss the merits of various local women's wear stores. Nan
ce was championing a good, if moderately-priced, store in the Trahea Trade City, while Jillian, brandishing the credit chip that Coryn had handed to her, had loudly voted for the most exclusive ladies wear on the Port Promenade.
Once they, with Sarah corralled between them, had left, Fiana wrinkled her nose at Coryn.
“They'll be going to Nance's choice of a store,” she said in a tone of certainty. “Sarah is sensible, and will refuse to go to a fancy place where the sales agents overcharge while they fawn over her.”
Coryn burst out laughing.
“As would you, Fiana! One reason why you two get on so well!”
**
Meanwhile, outside the Office, Jillian was laughing, too.
“I knew you'd insist on the more modest place,” she said in response to Sarah's protests. “But I wanted to tease Coryn!”
“He'll probably say that it's why he gave the credit chip to you,” Sarah answered. “I bet that he and Fiana are having a good laugh about it. But he'll also tell her that regardless of which store we end up at, I'll be pretty as a princess tonight. He's aware that you know how to shop for clothes, Jill, whereas I'm hopeless, except for the most basic stuff.”
“Why is that?” Nance asked. “I mean, I know how to dress to look my best, even though I was always short of money, growing up.”
“My background in Laurentia, on Earth, is pretty modest, too,” Sarah said. “Things were often a bit tight after my mother was left to raise two girls alone. But it wasn't about money; it was more that I just never cared about clothes. I wasn't pretty enough to please anyone with my looks, so I guess I just figured that my appearance didn't matter. I had to prove myself worthwhile some other way, so when it turned out that I had the potential to be a very good space ship mechanic, it looked like I'd found my role.”
“Actually, finding one's worth somewhere other than looks is a good idea for even the best-looking woman in the Galaxy,” Jillian said. “Looking as pretty as possible is fun, and men love to admire comely women, but looks come with a best-before date for everyone. And when that gig's over, you need to have something to fall back on.”
“That's why I'm serious about going to Space Station ASC to train as an Agent,” Nance said. “Texi and I have been talking about it—he could, at the same time complete an apprenticeship in space ship mechanics—with our families, trying to get everyone used to the idea that we could stay off-world for a year without turning into weirdos.”
“Hey, if the families are not listening, get either Coryn or Fiana to talk to them!” suggested Jillian. “Either one of them can charm blood out of a stone, given a bit of time and a chance to wag their tongues!”
“Besides which, that would come under Kordean-Confederation Liaising,” Sarah laughed. “Within their job descriptions!”
“It may come to that,” Nance sighed. “Some family members can be pretty stuck-in-the-mud when it comes to change. It's one thing for Texi to work at the Port—the old aunts love the fact that he has a responsible job, and a steady paycheck. But going off-world for The Mission, and me going with him—that, apparently, was against family values. And now I'm working in The Liaison Office, too, and every time I see my father's sisters they want to know what I can possibly be doing there!
“You'd think that I was posing for nude vids all day long, instead of doing office work!”
“Heck, it was Fiana who asked that you drop your store clerking job and come and help at the Office!” Sarah said with a shake of her head. “Tell your aunties that the lovely Fiana will have nothing to do with nude vids! And Coryn can be a slave-driver when things need to get done, but he has a lot of respect for workers who get results!”
“Not to mention that the Second Liaison Officer, meaning me,” added Jillian, “is an annoying pest of a feminist! There aren't going to be any nude vids on my watch!
“But you know what, Nance? You could always bring a small cohort of your relatives—and Texi's relatives—to the Office to show them around. Sounds like they could use a demonstration of what we do!”
“Hm. Maybe I'll ask my parents what they think of the idea,” said Nance.
**
Sarah may not have eclipsed the beautiful Nance, or the elegant Jillian, that morning, but she did look exquisite in the dress and the heels that the two had helped her choose.
“My goodness,” Coryn said when she had put on the dress, and was teetering in the new shoes in front of the full-length mirror in their bedroom. “You're quite the butterfly, escaped from the cocoon of your usual shirt and shorts. Looks like I married a beautiful woman.”
“I do look pretty good,” Sarah conceded, “and to my surprise, this dress is not uncomfortable; it fits well. The shoes are a bit of a trial, though; I don't much care for tottering around in spiky heels.
“Jill raved about the store to which Nance took us: I think she's going to become a steady customer. It's sort of away from the beaten path in the Trade City, so she had not come across it before. Maybe that's why their prices were so reasonable; Nance said that she buys a lot of her clothes there.”
Coryn laughed.
“I glanced at my credit balance when she returned my chip, and was surprised at how little you women spent on your outfit. Obviously she didn't take you to the place in the Port that she was threatening to drag you to.”
“I absolutely refused to go there,” Sarah said with a grin. “Not my style, those places. Besides she was just teasing you; she knows that I don't like to play the grand dame with more money than sense.”
“And she's a feminist and a democrat, in spite of her love of dressing up in pretty clothes,” Coryn added. “I wasn't really worried about her trying to remake you. One of the reasons why I encourage her to be your shopping guide.”
**
Coryn was pleasantly aware of the surprised glances that the acquaintances they were greeting as they walked towards the Palace Hotel were giving Sarah. Most faces broke into approving grins; some of the young men from Port Security gave the Liaison Officer the sign for “Wow! Your girl is OK!” which he remembered from an earlier life. One of them, named Kyle, and known for having a mouth on him, actually wolf-whistled at Sarah.
“Man, Coryn!” he shouted as he passed. “Looks like she bedded into a looker! What's your secret?”
Coryn thought it best to ignore the sexual innuendo. Kyle liked to needle people.
“Simple,” he said with a shrug. “She went dress shopping with Jillian Ashton!”
“Poor Kyle is going to be disappointed the next time he sees me,” added Sarah. “I'll have turned back into the usual caterpillar by then.”
**
“I feel like a story-vid princess!” Sarah said as Coryn pulled out a chair for her at the upscale restaurant inside the Palace Hotel.
Nance was fingering the thin, electronic menu-tablet somewhat dubiously, while Texi and Joe tried to explain it's abundant features to her.
“A waiter will be with you in a few minutes,” the Host who was seating them told her kindly, as she groaned at their explanations. “There is no need to use the electronics if you're unfamiliar or uncomfortable with them.”
“In that case I'll join Nance in gadget-phobic behaviour,” Sarah said cheerfully, tossing her tablet aside. “It'll be nice to be served by a human being, instead of thumbing icons.”
“And story-vid princesses always get the service they ask for,” Coryn added, passing Sarah's menu-tablet to the Host. “I'll look at mine, though, at least to see the wine list.
“Who wants red? And white? Are we going for dry, or sweet, or semi-sweet maybe?”
“Perhaps the ladies are all story-vid princesses tonight?” the Host asked with a smile, and Jillian took Nance's tablet and her own, and passed them to him.
“Why not?” she said. “We've left all our problems at the Office! We're here just to enjoy ourselves!”
**
They were blissfully unaware of an elegantly, if conservatively, dressed threesom
e who sat a few tables away, and who had been covertly eyeing them ever since they had entered the room.
“Isn't this interesting,” one of the two men, grey-haired, and grey-suited, commented in a low voice. “The annoying Agent himself, escorting the very Stone-sensitive Mackenzie girl. The other four are some of those who took part in the raid on the Laboratory on Altec III. Pity that we can't just grab the girl and run. But we'd be fools to even try. This Port crawls with security.”
“Celebrating something, are they?” asked the second man.
“Probably having a last get-together before Coryn Leigh leaves to go to Space Station ASC, to meet with his Agency boss, Marcues,” the first man answered, with a smirk. “Our operative succeeded in goading Marcues into insisting that his underling come to the Head Office for a meeting. But Coryn Leigh put up an argument, and refused to leave immediately. He had said that he would see the girl back into the bosom of the Circle of the Twelve before he went anywhere. Now Marcues is hopping mad, so he ought to be easy to manipulate!”
The woman with them, a hard-faced creature for all her elegance, and the simpering tones with which she addressed her companions, stared at Coryn from under half-lowered lids.
“Coryn Leigh,” she said. “The male whore from Space Station RES. The last time we were there, I tried to book his services, but was told that he had retired. A whore retired? Come on, doesn't someone make sure that scum like that stays where it belongs, doing the work they're born to do?”
“I understand that these days he's limiting his services to the amarto-sensitive girl,” said the first man. “Apparently, she's gone quite gaga on him. The idea I have is that we should snag him. If we do that, she'll come looking for him. And when she does, we'll grab her.
“We'll have to play our cards very carefully, though,” he continued. “Marcues' spite and envy are useful to us. But the Witches will work against us. They like Leigh, according to the info we have gathered, besides, of course, wanting the girl's talents for themselves. We must not be obvious.”
Revenge of the Catspaw Page 4
