And Jase’s voice. “Drop the knife. Drop it! You’re under arrest! If you want to be under ship authority and not atevi, drop it now.”
One wouldn’t translate the reply to that. Bren stood still, holding his breath.
“You’re theirs,” Jase said, to which there was a stream of profanity, and something hit the wall.
“Two men are in custody, Braddock and one injured,” Cenedi’s voice said. “Irene-nadi’s mother is safe.”
Then a second voice, Nawari’s, Bren thought: “Unit in 112. We have two more in custody, one male, one female.”
“Search both premises for records,” Cenedi said. “Addresses and contacts. Take the prisoners to the tunnels.”
“What’s he saying?” an angry voice asked in ship-speak.
“Mr. Braddock,” Jase answered that, “he wants the location of those kids. And if you don’t answer him, I won’t be sympathetic. Where are they?”
A leather-clad arm reached past Jase, grabbed Braddock by the collar, and yanked upward. Braddock flailed, yelled, grabbed at an implacable grip and gained nothing.
“Where are they?” Jase asked.
“You want them, let me go!”
“Let him breathe,” Jase said. “Talk, Braddock!”
“The girl ran! Dammit, you’re choking me!”
“That’s one,” Jase said, dead calm. “Where are the others?”
“We don’t have them! We assumed you did!”
“The parents?”
“They’re under guard. Safe.”
“In their own premises? Or yours?”
“Theirs.”
Good and bad news. Jase translated, rapidly for Cenedi, which served for the dowager and for everyone in Central. The dowager said, quietly, into the unit she was holding. “We claim custody of them. Bring them.”
Cenedi said quietly. “Aiji-ma.” Then: “Take them to the tunnels and secure them. Wari-ji, if he will walk, let him walk. So with the others. But do not release them for an instant.”
“No!” came from Irene’s mother, several times repeated. “Let me go! No!”
The whole company began to move. A shriek. Several shrieks. Presumably Irene’s mother was moving with the rest, with no choice about it.
Curiously there had not been one question from the woman about her daughter. Not one query.
That was information, too . . . which he hoped not to mention to Irene.
“Nandi,” Geigi said. “We have an inquiry from Ogun-aiji.”
One was not entirely surprised. And Ogun would certainly not improve with waiting.
“Aiji-ma,” Bren said, excusing himself toward the indicated console. He took up the offered headphone, slipped it on.
“Captain? Bren Cameron.”
“I’m suddenly missing a captain, Mr. Cameron, and 24 and 23 are in the middle of an incident. Doors are locked with people wanting in and wanting out of their premises, and in a fair panic about it, including people we do communicate with off the main system, with a riot starting in the B24 barracks. Would you know anything about that?”
“The aiji-dowager has just extracted Braddock and several persons connected to him, without bloodshed. The operation is continuing. We’ve taken custody of one of the children Tabini-aiji asked be under special protection, with one of the parents, and we’re in the process of locating the others.”
“You didn’t rescue that kid. You got him from perimeter security!”
“Her, sir. Yes, we did.”
A moment’s silence.
“Mr. Cameron.”
“Sir.”
“Where is Captain Graham?”
Damn. Jase had apparently shed his locator. Or Jase was going to claim malfunction.
“A moment ago, within 23, sir, he was extracting Mr. Braddock and his aides. That group’s now gone back into the tunnel system to ask Mr. Braddock some questions. Three of the children are missing and presumed to be in danger from Mr. Braddock’s people, whether as hostages or attempting to hide from searchers. The aiji-dowager asks your cooperation in this action, Senior Captain. The loss of those children would have a severe effect on atevi relations.”
“Tell the aiji-dowager—” Ogun began. But he left it there for a long moment.
“Captain Graham has not wished to burden you with what could be a failed effort, sir. I believe that was his reasoning. If it goes wrong, you will be able to say it didn’t happen on your watch.”
“That, Mr. Cameron, is unmitigated crap.”
“In point of fact, sir, with the kyo heading toward us, this would not be a time to have ship command tainted with a failed operation and a breach with the aiji-dowager.”
“I told you I don’t take threats.”
“I assure you the aiji-dowager doesn’t issue them. We will not be in that situation, sir, since we intend to find the children and extract them and their parents to safe-keeping. We hope to have those locks reset within half an hour. A public announcement from ship-com that the lock reset process is now underway will calm the sections.”
“Mr. Cameron.” There was another lengthy pause.
“Captain. We protect our allies. This is why we will protect you.”
“Your planet-bound authority is making decisions with people the history of whom you damned well don’t know, Mr. Cameron.”
“An authority that’s spent two hundred years learning how to communicate with foreigners. With each other, sir. There have been tense moments, and there have been quarrels. There have been moments when we’ve each pursued our extreme self-interest, but if we forgive each other our necessities, sir, we do get along. I’m asking that. I am asking that wisdom of ship command right now, sir.”
Lengthy, lengthy pause. On the hanging screen, Banichi’s search was proceeding. A young girl’s voice continued to call, “Gene? Artur? Bjorn? Can you hear me?”
“Mr. Cameron, I’m going to go have my breakfast. When I finish my breakfast, I’d like to hear that the door locks on a major slice of this station are well on their way to a fix, that the riot in 24 is under control, and that Captain Graham has finished his foray into an area that is due to become a purely Mospheiran concern when the shuttle docks. I want the principal troublemakers isolated and I want those three locked sections to stay locked until I get the last of the problems off this station on a priority basis. Will you convey that request to Ms. Kroger when she arrives?”
“Thank you, sir. I will do exactly that, and I’ll recommend your advice.”
“Don’t mess this up, Mr. Cameron. You stirred this up. You fix it. And don’t push your luck!”
The contact clicked out.
“Is Jase-aiji in danger?” Geigi asked.
“One has offered Ogun-aiji the certainty he can collect credit if Jase-aiji succeeds,” Bren said. “He understands he can shed the ship’s responsibility for the children, succeed or fail, and he has been able to express his displeasure to me without involving Sabin. He is probably not entirely unhappy, at the moment. But I need the public address. I need to tell these people that the malfunction is in process of being fixed.”