But he would do it. And Gin-nandi would do something to be sure they were safe. He had every confidence she would.
He just had to plan how to get to talk to her.
When she came, Bren-nandi would not have to stand guard in Central. But she would be there, and Mospheiran Central was on the Mospheiran side, where he was not supposed to be.
Maybe, however, mani would ask her to dinner.
That was likely. If Gin-nandi came to dinner, then when mani was talking to somebody else, he could get a quiet word with Gin-nandi, lean close and say, really fast, My associates are trapped. Please get them out!
That was about as fast as he could say it, in as few words as he could say it, and it would make mani really mad.
But sometimes one just had to go ahead anyway.
And a whole lot of things were bound to happen to occupy mani’s attention before they all got home.
When they did get home, however, as surely as the sun rose, mani would not have forgotten: she would find some way to make him remember he had gone against a promise to her.
He was too old now for her just to thwack his ear and tell him to mind.
And if he was wrong—if something went badly wrong because of it—
Mani had given him an order. She was not going to discuss it. Not likely. He could ask, but he was upset, and that was never going to go well, if he began talking to her.
Nand’ Bren was the one who would talk to him, and tell him things.
That was who he had to talk to.
As soon as he could get to nand’ Bren. Which was not easy, not being able even to leave the apartment.
There was a stir in the house. He listened to it, wondering if perhaps something had happened to get Guild attention. Or maybe nand’ Bren or Lord Geigi had finally come back home, across the hall, or down. When nand’ Bren got home, Cenedi at least would want to talk with Nawari, who had been out all day with nand’ Bren, where he was.
Then there was a stir in the back of the apartment.
And a light went on under the door of his bodyguards’ rooms. His aishid had waked. He heard them stirring, and he sat up in bed, shoving his hair out of his face.
“Nadiin-ji,” he said, as their door opened, no longer with the light on. “Is something going on?”
“I shall go see.” Jegari had hoped to slip out, clearly. A message had come through. All his bodyguard was up and dressed. And Jegari left to go ask questions.
It was probably just nand’ Bren, who would send Banichi over, likely.
But Jegari came back with somebody who turned the room light on. Cenedi himself had come, and that was scary.
“Is mani all right?” was Cajeiri’s first thought.
“She is,” Cenedi said. “But, nandi, one of your young associates is in custody of ship security. Lord Geigi is going there.”
“I shall go!”
“No, young aiji. Not without your great-grandmother’s order. She is dressing. She will be in the sitting room shortly.”
Mani would never permit his going. He was sure of that.
“Which of my associates, nadi? Who has escaped? Is this person all right?”
“As yet there is no word of the circumstance, young gentleman. One expects it momentarily. Will you come to the sitting room?”
He had to. If he was to gain anything, he had to dress, and go wait, and stay calm.
He felt a shiver coming on in the cool air. But he tried not to let Cenedi see it.
18
A child had crossed the line from section 23. It was possibly one of the young aiji’s guests, Geigi’s second-in-command had said, but they were not sure. Jase had gotten a call, given orders in ship-speak, and Geigi and Jase had left Central together in haste.
“They will contact us when they know,” Bren said, scanning the room full of anxious Mospheiran techs and Mospheiran security.
Calling Gin to take over seemed the only help. And that took a process. He asked for that connection, stood patiently, waited until Gin came on, a thin, remote presence in the headset.
“I’ve got a call from Lord Geigi,” Bren said into the mike. “Something’s evidently happened with one of the kids, one of the three who visited the mainland. One may have ended up outside confinement. But no one’s sure. Captain Graham has gone to investigate. I’d like to. Can you take over with Mr. Harris?”
“No difficulty,” Gin said on the link. “I’ll handle whatever needs handling. Put Mr. Harris on.”
“Mr. Harris,” Bren said, and handed him the headphone.
Harris took it, settled it on, gazing into the distance. “Yes, ma’am,” Harris said. “I’m here. We’ll stay on. Yes, ma’am. —She wants us to stand by. She says she wants a report when you can, sir.”
“I’ll give it as soon as I have it,” Bren said. “Thank her.” He was anxious about leaving the situation and withdrawing from hands-on control of the area. But it was Gin’s job. Gin’s authority, now.
They did need him wherever the child was. Something had happened, involving a Reunioner kid. Something needed to be found out. Questions needed to be asked. Fast.
“We shall go,” he said in Ragi, and a second thought said maybe he should talk to Mospheiran security as he left, but, no, that was Gin’s job, too. He wasn’t operating as a Mospheiran official. Not once Gin took over.
He walked toward the door with his aishid forming up around him. The others came right behind them, and Guild talked to Guild in a quiet mutter of relayed queries, finding out locations, whatever details they could get.
The lift system was the first thing they needed. They reached it, and there Geigi’s man, Sakeimi, on the verge of pushing buttons, stopped and took on a preoccupied look for a moment, listening to something remote, then said: “There is word from Jase-aiji, nandi. Jase-aiji ordered the child brought out. Ship-folk security delayed long enough to query Ogun-aiji on the matter. Ogun-aiji has now set the child in Jase-aiji’s hands, and says, nandi, as Jase-aiji translates, Please deal with this urgently.”
One strongly suspected that was a very loose translation of what Ogun had actually said.
“Where shall we find him?”
“Jase is going to the main interface. He has ordered the child brought there.”
That was the central and largest of the three lift stations that had, on one side, the atevi side of the station, and on the other, the Mospheiran area. One passed through it, going in either direction, to deal with the other side. But getting off there—there was a very small shared zone. Administrative and shipping offices that had their backs to each other. And a checkpoint.
“Then we shall go there,” he said. It was not a place most people saw, except shuttle crews and people employed in cargo. “Tell him we’re on our way. Which child?”
“I shall ask, nandi.” Sakeimi punched the lift call. It arrived fairly quickly. They all entered, and Sakeimi quickly put in the numbers.
“We are in communications silence,” Sakeimi noted. But that was no news. Guild communications, not going through Central, was an issue in certain places, and the lift system was one such. Sakeimi had asked. But there would be no answer until they actually arrived.
It was a dogleg turn and ascent before it slowed and stopped. The door opened in the human zone, beyond which was a simple security gate of rotating bars, and a window on either side that gave a panoramic view of the other side’s offices.
There was, uncommonly, an atevi presence on this side besides their own: Lord Geigi had arrived with Jase, both with their bodyguards.