She’d either be offended—or she’d laugh. He thought she’d laugh, and dared a direct look.
He got nothing back. Atevi reserve, he said to himself. Guild discipline, and just—that she was atevi.
Forget thatfor a starting point and, God, couldn’t one get in a great deal of trouble?
She probably wasn’t even interested any longer. Probably had a new hobby.
“One hears,” Banichi said, “that Jase-paidhi has had unhappy news given him by improper channels.”
“True,” he said. Banichi had a very incisive way of summing things up. And, summoning up the fragments of his wits at this hour, dismissing the question of Jago’s reactions, and meanwhile trying to be as concise: “I’m concerned for three things, one, his human feelings, two, his isolation, three, the way atevi minds might expect him to act. I asked Tano and Algini what was ordinary reaction for an ateva, and it didn’t seem far off the way humans react.” He let that echo in the back of his mind two seconds, added, recollected, revised, definitely under the influence of the shibei, and said: “Four, sometimes when the difference between ship-humans and Mospheira isn’t that apparent, it surprises me. And, felicitous five, complicating things, Jase is trying to restrain his reactions in front of atevi.”
“How is his fluency lately?” Banichi asked.
“Improved just enough that he can get out of the children’s language and into serious trouble. He’s learned the words that pertain to this apartment and to the space program and engineering. His vocabulary is quite good for ‘where is?’, ‘bring me food’ and ‘open the window,’ and for ‘machining tolerance’ and ‘autoclave.’ Still not much beyond that—but acquiring felicitous nuance.”
“One would be hard pressed to join these items in conversation,” Banichi said dryly. “Even with nuance.”
“One would.” He was amused, and felt the unwinding of something from about his heart. Tano didn’t tend to catch him up on the daily illogics of his trade, but Banichi would jab him, mercilessly. So would Jago. He had to revise the rules of his life and go on his guard all the time, or be the butt of their humor. And he enjoyed it. He fired back. “So what didbefall lord Saigimi?”
“One hears,” Banichi said, “someone simply and uncreatively shot him.”
“So. Doubtless, though, it was professional.”
“Doubtless,” Jago said. “Though late.”
So Tabini didn’t trouble to make it look accidental, was his private thought: more dramatic effect, more fear on the part of those who should be afraid.
“Is it quiet in the south?”
“The south. Oh, much more so. But quiet often goes between storm fronts.”
A warning. A definite warning, from Jago. “Is there anything you wish to tell me, nadiin-ji?”
“Much that I would wishto inform you,” Banichi said, with the contrary-to-fact wish, “but essentially, and until we know the outcome of yesterday’s events, please take no unnecessary chances. The situation is quite volatile. Lord Saigimi of the Hagrani had acquired allies, more timorous or more prudent than he, but should any of thoselords fall within their houses, and some more radical members within those same houses rise—times might become interesting. In most instances, understand, the replacements for any of those persons would not lead with Saigimi’s force of will; but one of the lot is worth watching, Saigimi’s daughter Cosadi—a bit of a fool, and an associate of Direiso— femaleconspiracy, entirely impenetrable.”
Jago made a face and shot her senior partner a look. And knowing these two, Bren recognized a tossed topic when it sailed by him. “A woman may be more in Direiso’s confidence. Naturally.”
“I don’t think the junior member of the Hagrani clan is on Direiso’s intellectual level,” Banichi muttered. “And she will see herself eaten without salt.”
Quickly, that idiom meant. The two had fallen to discussion in front of him, but played it out forhim, quite knowledgeably so.
“But considers herself to be Direiso’s intellectual heir-apparent,” Jago said.
“Oh, small chance.”
“An earnest student—capable of flattery.”
“I thought discerning women saw through such frivolity.”
Clearly it was a jibe. Bren failed to know where. But Jago wasn’t daunted.
“They receive thatkind of flattery so rarely, nadi.”
Banichi’s brow lifted. “What, praise? Admiration? I pay it when due.”
Banichi evidently scored. Or came out even.
Jago shot him a sidelong look, and was otherwise expressionless.
“Jago believes she saved my life,” Banichi said. “And will notdecently forget it.”
“Is thatit?” Bren asked. “I at least am grateful, Jago-ji, that you saved his life. I would have been very sad if you hadn’t.”
“I did raise that point,” Jago said, still straight-faced. “He of course was in no danger.”
“None,” Banichi said with an airy wave.
“Guild etiquette does not permit me to state he is a fool, Bren-ji, but he risked himself attempting to preempt mein a position of better vantage.—And I did notrequire help, nandi!”
A wise human sat very still. And ducked his head and bit his lip, because he knew it was a performance for his benefit.
He was appalled to think, then, like a lightning-stroke, that he was hearing details from this morning, regarding a death for which, dammit, yes, these two were directly responsible.
So who had fired? At whom?
Jago? To save Banichi? Jago had killed someone?
Lord Saigimi?
Or his security? That would lack finesse. Banichi would never joke about such an event as that. And did Tabini want such matters communicated to him?
Banichi took a casual pose, legs extended, and had a sip of the liqueur.
“Bren-ji, just take care.”
“I am very glad you’re both safe.”
“So are we,” Banichi said, and gave a quiet smile. “We only said to ourselves, ‘What does it lack now?’ And Jago said, ‘Our lives are too quiet. Let’s find nadi Bren.’ So we climbed back over the wall and took the first plane to Shejidan.”
Not from the Marid airport, Bren was willing to bet.
“One is very glad,” Bren said, “to have you both back. One hopes you’ll stay a while.”
“One hopes.” Banichi kicked a footstool into reach and propped his feet toward the fire, then leaned back, glass in hand.
“They won’t—come after you here, will they?”
A totally innocent look, from golden atevi eyes. “Who?”
“The—” One was being stupid, even to ask. “The owners of the wall.”
“Ah, that.”
“No,” Jago said primly. “One cannot file Intent on the Guild, Bren-ji. Certain privileges the Guild reserves for itself.”
“Needless to say, however,” Banichi added, “if one isone of those points of stability on which other stability rests, it’s always well to take precautions.”
Him, Banichi meant. Or Tabini.
“The project.” He could only think of those remote, scattered facilities. “Has one accounted the safety of that? Even my eyes see possible vulnerabilities in the small plants.”