“So when is this supposed to happen?” I asked.
“Tomorrow morning,” Applegate said. He looked questioningly at Losutu, got a microscopic shrug in reply. “Would you be interested in joining us?”
“Actually, afternoon would be better for my schedule,” I said.
Losutu rumbled something under his breath. “We’re already set up for morning,” Applegate said, warning me with his eyes not to be difficult.
But I was nowhere near his little fiefdom, either. “In that case, enjoy yourselves,” I said, taking Bayta’s arm. “And have a pleasant evening.”
We retraced our steps back through the lounge and were nearly to the elevators when I heard a set of rapid footsteps coming up behind us. Turning, I saw Applegate, the dark look of an approaching storm on his face. “Damn it all, Compton,” he snarled. “Anyone ever tell you what a flaming uncooperative son of a mongrel you are?”
“Once or twice,” I said. “Is this one private citizen to another, or UN flunky to private citizen?”
He glared at me, but his heart clearly wasn’t in it. “Look. I know you don’t like Losutu, but he really is looking out for the Confederation’s best interests. Isn’t there some way you can rearrange your schedule to come with us tomorrow?”
I shook my head. “I want to take one of the tours out to the Balercomb Formations, and the bus leaves in the early morning. Did you read about the formations?”
He snorted. “We’re not here on vacation.”
“They were formed a hundred years ago when a fragmented comet slammed into the surface about forty kilometers from here,” I told him. “Between the multiple impacts and the resulting shock waves, they shattered and boiled off a lot of the ice, which naturally started refreezing almost at once. The result was a dozen square kilometers of pitted landscape with lots of hills, caves, and weird formations.”
“Fascinating,” he growled, clearly not interested in the slightest. “What if we can arrange to drop you there after we look at the fighters? You could do your exploring and take the bus back with the rest of the group.”
“I don’t know,” I said, thinking hard. With the new toboggan tunnels at the top of tomorrow’s itinerary, the last place I had actually planned to be was on a tour bus. But unless I came up with something quick, my bluff was going to be called right out from under me. “They’re supposed to give you a lot of the historical background on the ride there. I really ought to go along to see what that’s like.”
He exhaled loudly in exasperation. “Will you at least give me a chance to talk you into it?”
“I’m listening.”
“I meant over dinner,” he said. “I’d like you and Bayta to join us.” He managed a faint smile. “On the UN’s credit tag, of course.”
“Better check with Losutu first,” I warned. “Anyway, Bayta wouldn’t be able to join us. I have a research project for her to do in our room.”
“Well, just you, then,” Applegate persisted. “And don’t worry about Losutu. I can handle him.”
I shrugged. “If you can persuade him, why not? Where do you want to meet?”
“Let’s make it the Redbird Restaurant on the fourth level,” he said. “Say, in two-thirds hour?”
“Fine,” I said. “By the way, you said one of your contacts suggested you come here to Modhra. Which contact was it, exactly?”
“I don’t know his name,” Applegate said, frowning slightly. “One of the Halkas. Why?”
“Just curious,” I said. “Two-thirds hour in the Redbird, then.”
He turned and headed back to the lounge, and I touched the button to call the elevator. “What is this research you suddenly want me to do?” Bayta asked suspiciously.
“Something I should have thought of days ago,” I told her. The elevator arrived, and we got aboard. I focused my attention briefly on my watch; no tingling. “If the Bellidos were taking a later torch-liner from the Quadrail, they should have been here by now. The fact that they’re not implies they went to Sistarrko after all. Right?”
“If you’re right about them not being here,” she agreed cautiously. “So?”
“So why go to the inner system?” I asked. “Answer: Either they needed to do some prep work away from Modhra, or they needed to take something there or pick something up.”
“Okay,” she said, still sounding puzzled. “Again: So?”
“Remember what the Spiders said about the Bellidos who followed us onto the Sistarrko train? The third-class group were in the last coach, the one right in front of the baggage car. I never got around to telling you, but the ones who jumped me in the Jurskala Quadrail also seemed to have been in the very back, too, the seats just in front of the baggage car. You seeing a pattern?”
“But all the cargo back there is unsecured,” she said. “If they had something valuable to transport, shouldn’t they have put it in the secured cargo areas instead?”
“Normally, yes,” I agreed. “But secured cargo automatically gets more attention, official and unofficial. Maybe they preferred to go low profile, trusting in their own ability to protect it if necessary.”
“All right,” she said slowly. “What do you think they were transporting?”
“No idea,” I said. “That’s where you come in. I want you to send a message to the Spiders and get a list of all the cargo and baggage that came off our Quadrail. I presume you have an encryption you can use?”
“Well… yes,” she said. “But I’m only supposed to use it for emergencies.”
“Close enough,” I said. “And get everything, not just stuff coming in under Belldic registration—they might have used a dummy name. And don’t forget about the bugs in the suite.”
We arrived at the suite, and Bayta got started on her message while I took a quick shower and chose some nice semi-formal clothing from the closet. One other chore and I was gone, feeling a little guilty at leaving Bayta alone with the room service menu.
I needn’t have rushed. Losutu and Applegate, as befitted their high-level bureaucrat and high-level bureaucrat flunky status, were nearly fifteen minutes late. “Compton,” Losutu greeted me curtly as they sat down at the table I’d procured for us. “Got us something not too close to the damn coral, I see. Good.”
“You don’t like Modhran coral?” I asked, focusing for a moment on the decorative waterfall/coral arrangement in the center of the room. It wasn’t as impressive as the display in the casino, but of course the Redbird wasn’t as large and impressive a place to begin with.
“Hate the stuff,” he declared as he punched up the menu. “I will never understand the obsession the rest of the galaxy seems to have with it. It’s not particularly attractive in the first place, and after a few bumps it’s going to look like a badly trimmed hedge.”
“It’s also apparently the Halkan equivalent of cuddlestuff animals,” Applegate added. “You talk with anyone here long enough, and sooner or later he’ll try to get you to go over and touch it.”
“Yes, I’ve had one or two such invitations myself,” I said. “I can’t say I see the attraction.”
“Coral’s such rough, pointy, scratchy stuff,” Applegate agreed with a grunt as he studied the menu. “Someone really needs to introduce these people to satin and velvet.”
“Nice that we can all agree on something,” Losutu said, eyeing me. “Now convince me we can agree on something important. Applegate seems to think you can be helpful to the Directorate on this starfighter deal.”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” I said. “My primary obligations are still to my employer, but I should be able to take a quick trip to Modhra II with you and look at the Chaftas. Provided you can drop me off at the Balercomb Formations afterward.”
“The what?” Losutu asked, frowning.
“That’s where he was planning to go tomorrow morning on the tour bus,” Applegate explained.