"Because moving this much coral at once implies it's going somewhere important," I said. "It's possible he's started some new campaign and decided he needs a bigger baseline presence there."
Bayta was silent a moment. "We know where the crates are headed," she said slowly. "We could stay with Mr. Stafford and send word ahead to the Spiders to watch the crates. They could let us know whether they leave the Tube and go into the system or whether they're transferred onto a different Quadrail."
"Actually, we don't know where they're headed," I said. "That's the point. All we know is what their current labels say. Unfortunately, there's nothing to stop the Modhri from sending a team of walkers back there the minute we're off this train and changing the labels, maybe even moving the crates somewhere else in the car. No, if we want to see where the coral's heading, we'll have to sit on it the whole way."
"So what do we do?"
I shrugged. "I don't think we've got a choice," I said. "Finding out where they're moving this outpost would certainly be interesting. But if the Modhri's got a trick of his own up his sleeves I don't want to be the one to tell Stafford that his girlfriend has slipped through our fingers again."
"His fiancée."
"Whatever." I glanced at my watch. "I need to find Fayr and bounce this latest change of plans off him. Any idea where he's sitting?"
Bayta shook her head. "Second class somewhere," she said. "I didn't spot him when I was heading back to third to get you."
"He's probably changed his facial stripe pattern again," I said, standing up. "I'll find him."
"There is one other possibility," Bayta said from behind me as I turned toward the door. "Instead of starting a new campaign, it could be the Modhri has found a new prospective homeland and is starting to move his coral there."
"That's definitely a possibility," I agreed.
"I just wanted to make sure you understood the full implications here," she said.
I turned back to face her. "Are you suggesting we just throw Penny to the wolves?" I asked.
Her lip twitched. "I'm still wondering how your feelings for her might be affecting your judgment."
Somehow, I'd never noticed before how much quiet pain there was behind her eyes when she talked about Penny. It sent a ripple of guilt through me. "Any feelings I might or might not have for Ms. Auslander have nothing to do with my decision," I said. "Okay?"
"If you say so."
"I say so," I said. "I'll be back later."
I headed out into the corridor, some lingering guilt and shame heading out with me.
Because I'd lied to her. My feelings for Penny did indeed have a lot to do with the new plan.
In fact, in a way, they had everything to do with it.
The next two and a half days went by slowly. Stafford and Bayta stayed mostly in their compartments, while Morse and I suffered, mostly in silence, through the boisterous company of our first-class car. I could tell that Morse was now looking at our traveling companions with wary eyes, wondering which of them might be Modhri walkers.
If he believed my story, that is. The other possibility was that he was simply wondering which of his fellow passengers he might be able to call on for assistance if and when the time came for pinning me to the floor and fitting me with a straightjacket.
I didn't see Fayr at all after that single talk with him. Presumably he was having a fine time of his own back in second class. Though of course not quite as good a time as the first-class crowd was having.
I did have a couple of long conversations with Stafford in the privacy of his stateroom. He still blamed me for losing his fiancée at the Ghonsilya transfer station, and in general didn't seem to like me very much. Fortunately, he seemed able to put those feelings aside while we discussed possible strategies for getting her back. If Künstler had been grooming him to take over his business empire, I reflected, he'd chosen his successor well.
As for the Modhri, whatever mind segment he had aboard stayed quiet and kept to himself.
Trivsdal, like Homshil, was a node station where several Quadrail lines came together, and as Bayta, Morse, Stafford, and I trooped off the train we found ourselves amid a teeming crowd of interstellar travelers. "What now?" Stafford asked as we found a relatively safe corner off the main walkway beside a waist-high planter filled with aromatic flowers.
"Bayta will go and get our tickets," I said. "You and Agent Morse will stay here and watch the luggage."
"What about you?"
"I'm going to look around," I told him. "We've got three hours before the next Claremiado Loop train, and it's possible Ms. Auslander and her escort will arrive here before then."
"If she does, we'll do the trade here," Stafford said firmly, sliding his backpack off his shoulder and onto the ground. "Frankly, I think this new plan of yours stinks. There's no reason for all of us to go all the way to Laarmiten."
"Objection noted," I said. "And we do the trade where I say we do it. Watch the luggage closely."
"Don't worry, we will," Morse assured me.
I made my way into the crowd, watching for the fancy or official clothing that was most likely to mark Modhran walkers. Two platforms away I spotted a pair of Halkas dressed in their Peerage's distinctive tricolor layered robes and headed over. "Message for the Modhri," I murmured as I walked past them. "Message for the Modhri."
Neither of them so much as looked at me. Shifting direction, I made my way toward a group of well-dressed Juriani a dozen meters away. "Message for the Modhri," I murmured again. "Message for the—"
I broke off as a sudden hoarse cheer came from behind me. I spun around just in time to see a group of Shorshians hoist a flailing and clearly protesting Morse and Stafford up onto their shoulders and march off in an impromptu parade across the station.
I hurried toward them, dodging between and around the other passengers, many of whom had paused to watch the spectacle. But the Shorshians were moving briskly, and by the time I reached the planter where I'd left them the whole crowd had traveled another twenty meters onward.
And all our luggage had disappeared.
"The Shorshians do so love a parade," a voice said from beside me.
I turned. It was one of the two Halkas I'd tried my telegram-boy routine with a few minutes earlier. Only now his eyes and expression were those of the Modhri. "Nicely done," I complimented him. "How'd you get that many walkers here so quickly?"
"Oh, only two are my Eyes," the Modhri said, nodding toward the procession. "The others are merely bystanders caught up in the excitement of the moment."
"Leaving the rest of your walkers to make off with our luggage," I said. The Shorshians had finished their tribute now and were lowering Morse and Stafford back to the floor. "What exactly was this moment of excitement, if I may ask?"
"You may," the Modhri said magnanimously. "An elderly Shorshian walking stiffly with a cane dropped his ticket. One of your fellow Humans reached down and picked it up for him."
"A simple thank-you would have been sufficient."
He shrugged. "As I say, Shorshians enjoy a parade."
"So I see," I said, watching Stafford and Morse trying to force their way through the still lingering crowd of onlookers. Clearly, both of them knew a setup when they'd been caught in the middle of it. "So much for you keeping your word."
"The Human female will be delivered to you here once my Eyes have left with the Lynx," he assured me. "I have no further need of her."
"Actually, you might as well have her delivered to Laarmiten," I said. "That's where we're going next."
I turned to find the Halka staring hard at me. "Laarmiten?" he asked almost casually.
"Regional capital of the Nemuti FarReach," I said helpfully. "Population eight hundred million, major exports foodstuffs, gemstones—"
"I know of it," he interrupted. "The Lynx is not in your carrybags."
It was a statement, not a question. Apparently, his walkers had finished their search of the stolen carrybags. "That's right," I confirmed anyway. "Never was, actually. I trust you'll be returning the luggage to us, by the way. It's four more days to Laarmiten and a couple of changes of clothing would be nice to have."