"When the Patthaaunutth promise friendship, that promise is always fulfilled," he said. "Your goodwill and assistance will be counted toward that end, nomatter what the final result."
"I see," I said, the hairs on my neck rising. Suddenly Nask's words and tonehad gone mechanical, his full attention riveted to the displays. Something washappening out there, something even more important than sweet-talking me outof the Icarus. "Suppose I can find a way to guarantee my silence in some otherway—"
"You must choose quickly," Nask interrupted me. "Tell me where the Icarus is, or the decision will be snatched from your hands."
"What are you talking about?" I demanded, the sinking sensation back in mystomach. "How could—"
I broke off at the sound of clinking from the door to my right. The sound of alock being keyed. "He is here," Nask said with a forlorn-sounding wheeze I'dnever heard a Patth make before. "The glory and profit now pass to theDirector General."
The door swung open. I turned to look—
And felt my breath catch like fire in my throat. Two figures were stridinginto the room, looking as if they owned the place and were about to raise the rent.
One was another robed Patth, the by-now-familiar starship-pilot implantstwinkling around his eyes.
The other was Revs Nicabar.
CHAPTER 20
IT WAS, ON stunned reflection, about the last sight I would have expected tosee. The last person in the Spiral I would have thought would be striding with such casual arrogance into a Patth den. I opened my mouth to saysomething—anything—but he beat me to the punch. "I see you've got him," hesaid to Nask. "About time."
"Yes, I have," Nask said, considerably less taken aback by Nicabar'sappearancethan I was. "And you are...?" he added as Nicabar crossed the room toward him.
"What do you mean, who am I?" Nicabar countered scornfully. "Weren't youwatching when Brosh held my ID up to the monitor?"
"Only the Director General's seal was clear," Nask said. "Not the number orrank designation."
With a supremely restrained sigh, Nicabar pulled an ID folder out of his innerpocket and dropped it on the desk. "Fine. Help yourself."
Nask did. For nearly half a minute he studied the folder, while the rest of ussat or stood where we were in silence. Nicabar sent his gaze around the room, pausing briefly and measuringly on each of the Iykams in turn, sent me a briefand totally impassive glance, then looked back at Nask.
Finally, almost reluctantly I thought, the Patth closed the folder and laid itback down on the table in front of him. "Satisfied?" Nicabar asked.
"Quite satisfied, Expediter," Nask said, his voice almost sullen.
"Good," Nicabar said, holding out his hand. "Then you can return the favor.
Brosh tells me you're the ambassador to Palmary. Unless you want to trytellingme this is an embassy annex, I'd like to see some proof of that."
"Of course this isn't the embassy," Nask said stiffly, reaching into his robeand pulling out his own ID folder. "I chose this place precisely because Ididn't want the encounter taking place on official Patthaaunutth soil."
"So where exactly are we?" I asked.
Nask glanced at me but didn't answer. Nicabar, studying Nask's ID, didn't evenbother to look at me. I looked around at the Iykams, but none of them seemedinterested in talking to me, either. After a moment, Nicabar closed Nask's IDand dropped it onto the desk beside his own. "Fine," he said. "Any progress sofar?"
"We have him," Nask said, gesturing toward me. "That's a start." He clearedhis throat. "You'll forgive me if I find myself surprised by your unexpectedarrival, Expediter. I was not informed of your presence on Palmary."
"You'll be even more surprised when I tell you the name of the ship I came inon," Nicabar said dryly. "A little independent freighter by the name ofIcarus."
It was as if all three Patth had simultaneously grabbed hold of the samehigh-voltage wire. "What?" Enig said, the sound coming out more as a gasp thana legitimate word. "The Icarus?"
"What, don't you read your own government's hot-sheets?" Nicabar sniffed. "Mypicture ought to be plastered all over the embassy identifying me as one ofthe Icarus's crewers."
"There have been no such pictures," Nask said. "We have only now begun topiecetogether the profile of the Icarus's crew from sifting through the variousreports, and there are no pictures or sketches as yet."
Nicabar grunted. "Sloppy."
"We are doing the best we can with what we have," Nask insisted, his voicestill civil but clearly showing some strain. "It was mere blind luck that one of Enig's defenders spotted McKell heading for that pharmacy and was able to seethrough his disguise."
"Enig's defenders?" Nicabar echoed, looking over at Enig.
"Yes," Nask said. "Enig and Brosh are the pilot and copilot of the freighterConsiderate."
"Civilians?" Nicabar demanded, his eyes blazing. "You brought civilians intothis?"
"I had no choice," Nask snapped back. "I couldn't involve my staff for thesame reason I didn't take McKell to the embassy. Besides, Brosh and Enig are nolonger precisely civilians. Their ship happens to be the only Patthaaunutthvessel currently on the planet, and once we have the Icarus we'll need someonewho can fly it back to Aauth. I've therefore commandeered both of them intoofficial service."
"I see," Nicabar said, glancing at me. "You know where the ship is, then?"
"Not yet," Nask had to admit. "I was just beginning negotiations when youarrived." He sent me a rather disgusted look. "Now, I presume, the question ismoot."
"Not quite," Nicabar said. "The rest of the crew know he's missing and are onthe alert. We have to be careful or we'll risk damaging the artifact."
"That would just be too bad, wouldn't it," I murmured.
Nicabar regarded me as if I were something he'd found on the bottom of hisshoe.
"Who are all of these?" he asked, waving at the assembled Iykams. "Moremerchant-ship conscripts?"
"They're my ship's personal defenders, Expediter," Brosh said, bristlingnoticeably at what he obviously took to be a slight. "They're more than equalto whatever task you require of them."
"I suppose we'll find that out, won't we?" Nicabar said, leaving the desk andmoving through the gathered Iykams, looking at each in turn with the piercingglance of military inspection officers everywhere. "Do I also assume you havecloaks of invisibility for all of them?"
"What?" Brosh asked, clearly startled. "Cloaks of what?"
"That's the only way they're going to get close enough to the Icarus to usethese," Nicabar said, lifting the nearest Iykam's gun hand and tapping thecorona weapon.
"Yes, I see," Nask said with a nod. "A good point. Brosh, do any of thedefenders standing guard outside have plasmics with them?"
"Some of them, yes," Brosh said, glaring from under his hood at Nicabar.
Apparently, he wasn't used to dealing with top-ranking Patth agents. Hecertainly didn't seem to care much for their style. "I'll call them and ask."
"No—no phones," Nicabar said as Brosh reached beneath his robe. "We don't wantanything going through the phone system that could be backtracked later. Youthree"—he jabbed a finger at a clump of Iykams—"go to the others and collectall their plasmics from them."