Oscar accepted another refill from the waitress, smiling in gratitude. The cafe owner might have cajoled her to serve him, but she certainly didn't have to smile back as she was pouring. 'So what now? he asked Tomansio as the woman stomped off and the privacy shield shimmered on around their table.
'Information is the key, as always, Tomansio replied, trying not to frown at the food piled up in front of Oscar. For himself he'd ordered a smoked gruslet and cream cheese sandwich to go with his green tea. 'We know without any doubt that the Second Dreamer was in that apartment block. Which means either the welcome team have him, and major Honilar will find that out for sure in the next six hours, or he escaped before we got there.
'We were there fast, Beckia said. 'I don't think I could have got out, not without a lot of fuss.
'This man is smart, Tomansio said. 'Using Danal's apartment was a superb misdirection.
'But how could he have got out? Oscar asked. 'They would have seen any capsule lifting from the apartments.
'Stealth? Beckia suggested. She wrinkled her nose in dissatisfaction. 'But if he's got a stealth capsule why would he actually commune with the gaiafield from Danal's apartment? That doesn't make any sense.
'The only practical escape route would be some kind of tunnel not on the city plans, Tomansio said. 'And the apartments are being refurbished by a whole load of different developers. That would give him plenty of scope for such an activity.
'That presupposes he knew he'd need an escape tunnel, Oscar said. 'How would he know Ethan was going to annex the whole planet and flood the city with paramilitaries?
'Connections in Living Dream, Beckia said with a baffled tone. She shook her head. 'That doesn't make any sense either. If you have those kind of connections, why go on the lam like this?
'You don't suppose this is Inigo, do you? Oscar suggested.
Tomansio pulled a breath through clenched teeth. 'I'd hate to rule it out, but this simply isn't Inigo's way of doing things. Hi' doesn't need to sneak around. For a start, his word alone is the only thing which could stop Ethan's insane Pilgrimage.
'Not so insane, Beckia muttered. 'And not so easily stopped. Not any more. The whole of the Greater Commonwealth just watched Justine's ship go through the barrier. The Second Dreamer can get the Pilgrimage inside. That's a phenomenal boost to Living Dream's credibility.
'It also secures Ethan's leadership, Tomansio said. 'Even if Inigo did turn up now, he might not have the authority to pull it off.
'Wouldn't be the first time a religion outgrows its messiah, Oscar said.
'No indeed. So… we're left with the same problem everyone else has: finding this extremely slippery Second Dreamer.
'I don't believe in secret tunnels, Oscar said. He drank some of his coffee, enjoying the bitter liquid burning its way down his throat. It had been a long time since he'd got some sleep. 'There's something about this which isn't right.
'Care to elaborate?
'I can't, unfortunately. I'm just not convinced that the Second Dreamer is some kind of supersmart covert operative. Living Dream had to out him in the first place, now he's communing with a Skylord, which is something Inigo never managed. That doesn't come over as someone who's thought out the consequences of their actions.
'He managed to elude us, Tomansio said reasonably. 'That takes a lot of talent and thought.
'Does it? No offence, but we were rushed, as was the welcome team.
'The welcome team has spent months training for this.
Oscar gave the bottom of his coffee mug a miserable glance. 'I don't know. I just don't get what his long plan is. Everything he's done says to me that he's reacting to events, not controlling them. What we have is a normal bloke caught up in monstrous events and doing his best to keep afloat.
'He could be getting help from some Faction, Beckia said.
'From what my source tells me, he hasn't, Oscar said. 'But we can't rule it out.
'Okay, enough, Tomansio said. 'It's pointless to argue this. Once we find him, we can ask him. In the meantime, we have ourselves the mother of all shadow operations here. He opened a secure link to Liatris. 'Have you located Araminta for me yet?
'No. Sorry, boss. She's disconnected her u-shadow from the Unisphere. Hardly surprising after the apartment raid. I've got monitor programs loaded into every node in the city ready for when she comes back on line. Interestingly, so do a number of other people. And I'm also watching her credit account, but until she comes back out of the Stone Age she's invisible to me.
'All right, what about her history? Anything there to clue us in? Boyfriend? Girlfriend? Someone she'll turn to?
'She's an interesting girl. Recently divorced.
'Husband's location?
'On Oaktier, and migrating inwards.
'Ozzie! Okay, give me something in the city, even if it's just which salon she uses.
'She doesn't have a regular salon.
'Liatris!
'Don't panic, I've got some nuggets for you. And trust me, this took some serious reference matching on her data patterns.
'Go.
'Her cousin, who handled the divorce, is Cressida, a very senior partner in the best law firm in town—extremely well connected locally. And, incidentally, she and a whole group of friends are just about to mug Ethan. Get this, they've hired a passenger ship from Dunbavand lines, one with full diplomatic status to evacuate themselves.
'Really? Tomansio's mind popped a burst of mischievous delight into the gaiafield.
'Relevant? Oscar asked.
'The Dunbavand family is a major Far Away political force. God help Living Dream if they try and interfere with their ship's flight schedule. Forget diplomats squabbling in the Senate; the original Dunbavand patriarch was a Starflyer War hero, which gives his descendants a certain kind of very stubborn mindset. They really would consider dispatching a warship into Viotia orbit to enforce their right of passage. Smart lady, this Cressida.
'One of the tickets she booked is for Araminta, Liatris told them. 'She's also trying to find an offworld investment consortium to buy Araminta's apartment development project.
'Then we watch Cressida.
'Already set up. I've got more scrutineers and monitors surrounding her than Living Dream have followers.
'Excellent. Until Araminta makes contact with Cressida we concentrate on our original objective, riding the welcome team's data wave. Anything from Cheriton?
'No. He's gone down to the docks with Mareble to try and get Danal out of major Honilar's clutches. Once he's done that, we'll have us a very strong ally among the confluence nest technicians.
It might have been the lack of sleep this morning, or the really very strong coffee numbing his synapses, but Oscar was slow mulling over their discussion. Why is she hiding? The welcome team raid was scary, sure, but that wouldn't make her do this, unless she was in the apartment block. And if she was there…
'Araminta also spent a weekend with Likan, Liatris said.
'No shit? Tomansio said.
'I'm not sure it's significant. Likan normally works his way through two or three women a week in addition to his harem, and Araminta seems to have been playing the field since her divorce.