"I do not have access to those records. Would you like me to try to obtain them?"
"Maybe. Hold off for now." Ariel drummed her fingers on the edge of the console. She could not shake the feeling that she was missing something. "Rega Looms despises the whole idea of offworld colonization. So does the COS-now. I suppose it didn't then. "
"The Church of Organic Sapiens has undergone a number of fundamental changes in purpose in the sixty-eight years of its existence. The current one has been in place since Rega Looms became its director. "
"How long ago was that?"
"Eighteen years ago. "
"Display the exact dates. "
Numbers scrolled across one of Thales' screens. The settler colony of Nova Levis was established eleven years before Rega Looms took directorship of the Church of Organic Sapiens. Ariel could see nothing significant about that, but she felt certain she should.
"When was Nova Levis-the lab-incorporated?"
The date appeared between the first two displayed. Nova Levis Incorporated opened forty-two months after the colony.
"Closing date."
Fourteen months before Looms took charge of his church.
"There is a correlation," Thales said. "Rega Looms was one of the initial shareholders in Nova Levis Incorporated. Not in Kysler Diversified."
"All right…he couldn't possibly have maintained it and represented a church that condemns prostheses. When did he divest?"
"Four years after its incorporation."
"Did he start a panic?"
"Apparently not. Only three other shareholders divested in his wake: Kyas Vol, Tenebra Patis, and Gale Chassik. "
Ariel started. "Ambassador Chassik?"
"Yes, Ariel."
"Was he ambassador then?"
"No, Ariel, he was Chief Attachй to Ambassador Masmo Pedesor."
Ariel frowned. "Do you have those lists of shareholders?"
"Yes, Ariel. "
Another screen filled with names in three columns. The one for Nova Levis, Inc. was the shortest, the one for Kysler Diversified the longest. Names were highlighted in bright blue.
Ariel raised an eyebrow. "Well, well. Some people just turn up everywhere, don't they?"
Glowing brightly in all three columns were the names of Alda Mikels, Gale Chassik, and former senator Clar Eliton.
"Thales, get Coren Lanra for me, would you? I think we need to talk before this goes much further."
Thirteen
Coren knocked on the office door labeled KELVY TORANS, ACCOUNTS EXECUTIVE. When the woman behind the large desk looked up, he smiled and waggled his fingers at her.
"Coren!" Her grin dazzled. "Come in! You actually caught me with time on my hands. "
"I couldn't be that lucky, could I?" He sat down across from her.
She touched a button, closing her door. "Yes, you could." She gazed with mock seductiveness at him until they both laughed. "What can I do for you, Coren?"
"A little inside information."
"Nothing that will get me in trouble."
"I don't think so. What do you know about Myler Towne?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Chairman protem of Imbitek?"
"The very same. "
She closed her eyes for a few seconds. Her face, still and framed by a close-cut helmet of black hair, seemed almost childlike. When she opened her eyes, she drew a deep breath. " Joined Imbitek eleven years ago, New Accounts, and worked his way into Mergers and Acquisitions. Three years ago, he was on the Logistics and Projections board. The assassinations last year opened a position on the board of directors. He was nominated and elected within two weeks. After Alda Mikels received his sentence, Towne campaigned for the position of chairman, but it was given by the board reluctantly, and with the proviso that it was temporary, ending upon Mikels' release."
"How good is he?"
"Not bad, considering that he's spent most of the past year fending off lawsuits and dealing with TBI investigations into the company. He's actually turned Imbitek around in the last few months, so I'm beginning to recommend it again as a primary investment. They're not as robust as they once were, but given this I can't wait to see what they do when Mikels is back at the helm."
"I knew Imbitek had taken a tumble-"
Kelvy grunted eloquently. "They very nearly dropped out of the Primary Three Hundred. Within three weeks after Mikels was sentenced to prison, Imbitek stock fell eighty points. Towne has it back up forty-eight points."
"How?"
She shrugged. "Wish I knew. They've gone through a big restructuring, a lot of positions terminated, and he's trimmed off some of the fat Mikels kept on as pet projects. But a big part is that Imbitek is buying back its own stock."
"It had the revenue for that?"
"Apparently from the sale of offworld holdings."
"Why 'apparently'? Wouldn't it be in their shareholders' report?"
"Of course. But the convenient fact about offworld holdings is that local laws are flexible and there are a thousand ways to funnel money that can't be traced. I say 'apparently' because you can never be sure if a holding on, say, Revis Logandi is real or just a fiction to hide funds."
"So they sold holdings…no other way they might get the money?" Coren asked.
"Sure. The easiest way would be to borrow it. But they've made no loans for it and according to their reports over the last few years, their credit has been limited. Banks aren't quick to count those offworld holdings I mentioned as reliable collateral, so credit is based mainly on available Terran assets and so on. According to that, Imbitek was overextended. Not dangerously so, but enough to limit them. If they were hiding collateral, well…I'm sure it would have angered shareholders to know the company had that available credit hidden from them, but under the circumstances no one complained. The policy kept those shareholders who had remained faithful from losing everything and even gaining a little. "
"So he's a bright boy. What happens when Mikels gets out?"
"That's what we're all waiting for," Kelvy said. "Already there's been nervous trading. Towne might have to pull another magic trick to keep the company from devouring itself in a proxy war if he decides to fight Mikels. He has managed to replace two of the board members with his own supporters. The others…well, you just never know how these people will jump. Towne has proven himself. Mikels is bringing a lot of baggage to the table and may be unable to reclaim the chair."
"Do you think there will be a war?"
"Towne is ambitious, Mikels is the old bull. You tell me. The psychology is certainly volatile. "
Coren considered. "So how far has Imbitek stock fallen since Mikels' release was announced?"
Kelvy grinned at him appreciatively. "Eighteen points. Not a disaster. Yet."
"Still. Is Towne buying?"
She shook her head. "Not that I know of. Imbitek has started slowing down some its outside investment, too. Odd. As of a month ago, their regular cash allocations for new stocks virtually dried up. If I didn't know better, I'd say they're having serious cash flow problems."
"Why do you know better?"
"Two months ago, Imbitek sold off one of its subsidiaries for an enormous profit. They haven't paid a dividend on it yet because it was the beginning of the quarter, so all that money is just sitting somewhere. Towne gave himself and everyone on the board merit increases-modest ones, not the sort you see when a company is in trouble and the management is salting away the spoils before the end."
"In other words, their expenses haven't risen substantially."
"Right. So I doubt they actually have a problem with cash. They even paid back a couple of longterm loans. "
"War chest."
Kelvy frowned.
"Myler Towne wants to keep his new position, " Coren said. "He's preparing for a war. What are Alda Mikels' people doing while all this is going on?"
"A lot of them left the firm. A lot of them were asked to leave. Those who left have been drumming up support among the shareholders, advocating Mikels as the better choice as Chairman."