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  She spent the next three hours, until Geena came down, contentedly drinking the hotel’s coffee and analyzing Urania’s material. From time to time, she keyed a question on the pad’s virtual keyboard about something that wasn’t clear and Urania responded over the comm. Since Lexi was in a relatively crowded public place, she couldn’t speak out loud to her friend.

  When Geena stood next to her table, Lexi said, “I’m reviewing Urania’s data. I’ll fill you in on the way to the Criminal Investigative Bureau. Do you want to get breakfast before we go?”

  “No, let’s go upstairs, shower and change. We can pick up a bag of pastries on the way. I’ve found that pastries are frequently as effective a technique as dressing in sexy outfits. Well, maybe not quite, but a disturbingly close second. Any word on Ron and Jis?”

  Lexi finished her third coffee and stood. “They had a slight hiccup docking at the station. Should be getting to their hotel in eighty or ninety minutes. I guess we’ll be at the bureau by then.”

  “Yes, we will. Let’s go change.”

  ***

  They spent over three hours of their morning at the CIB, drinking cliche-bad coffee and eating pastries from the large bag they brought while going through the reams of data-files collected on the E’Krets disappearance. Cade and Lawry, the two senior detectives on the case, were nothing if not methodical, interviewing close to two hundred people, most of whom where merchants in the shopping district. In fact, they interviewed practically everybody Geena wanted to talk to and then some. The hotel staff had been questioned, as had embassy staff, concessionaires at the lake and restaurant employees.

  Those interviews resulted in copious notes, all indexed and cross-referenced to still more copious notes from a spate of other kidnappings with a similar modus operandi. The evidence that Naragene Nine was in the midst of a minor crime-wave was overwhelming. In none of the cases were the victims or their bodies ever recovered. No demands, for ransom or otherwise, were ever received by the victim’s families.

  Only one other victim had business at the Talmon embassy. Three, not including the E’Krets, stayed at the Elegan, the premier hotel in the city. Half visited the aquarium. Most took a sailboat excursion, but not necessarily on the same boat. All spent hours shopping in the city’s immensely popular shopping district. Their visit to the CIB left them with a lot of ground to cover. That was why the team brought bait.

  As they left the police station, picking up their checked weapons from the front desk on the way out, Lexi asked, “Geena, why were the detectives so open with us? I mean, I expected them to be polite, but I also expected them to pat us on the back and send us on our way without really cooperating with us.”

  Geena shook her head. “You’re kidding, right? Look at us. Look at how we’re dressed. I picked these outfits for a reason, darling. We’re hot. Might not have worked as well if the detectives on the case had been female, although you never know, but in any case they weren’t. So we had hormones working for us. Those men wanted to please us. Over and above that, we came across as competent. You did a good job with that too. We look confident. That’s at least as big a plus as stirring up hormones.” She laughed. “Besides, we brought pastries.”

  Somewhat amazed, Lexi said, “That’s all it takes?”

  Geena frowned. “Sometimes. I’ve never been in a situation where it didn’t at least help. These guys also knew we’re the team responsible for recovering the Rose of Light. I was taken off guard when Detective Cade mentioned that, but believe me, every police authority in the Accord knows it’s been missing for quite a long time. I don’t know if the information that it was us who brought it back came across from Jis or Jadkim, but it doesn’t matter now. My guess is one or the other of them assumed they were paving the way for us.”

  “There’s a third possibility,” Lexi said while looking introspective.

  “What’s that?”

  “Pete Isher. He’s the gun-shop guy I discussed this with. I think he’s run missions in the past. He probably still has contacts.”

  Geena frowned. “It doesn’t matter, but next time we’re home, talk to him about butting into our business. It’s more difficult for famous people to do the undercover bit. I would have preferred that information to be less public, but what’s done is done.”

  “I agree, whoever it was should have discussed it with us first. The more I think about it, the more I think it was very likely Pete. Just a feeling, though.”

  Geena nodded. “Admittedly, it may have helped smooth the way with the cops this time. Still, we don’t have the kind of reputation that will have the bad guys quaking in their boots knowing we’re on the case.” She laughed. “It would be convenient if someone came up to us, saying, ‘Please don’t hurt us. Here are the three Grake you’re looking for.’ At any rate, both of us know that the truth of the matter is recovering the Rose came down to pure dumb luck. Still it’s a significant accomplishment and, at the moment, we’re surfing on that reputation. I don’t feel guilty about taking advantage of it when and where we can either.”

  Lexi nodded. “I imagine it’s easier, at least sometime, to work from the shadows.” She considered. “It’s interesting that the E’Krets aren’t the first to recently go missing. Jadkim didn’t mention that. Both you and Pete had the notion that was a possibility worth looking into.”

  “Jadkim may not have known, although his house investigators should have picked up on it and filled him in. But, yes, chronologically, the first kidnapping that fits the pattern was that pair of Xeason tourists twenty-six months ago. That trail has probably gone cold by now. Since then, our detective friends have had a few misplaced Naragene natives, all adult children of the corporate ruling families, to focus on. Trust me, Detectives Cade and Lawry are experiencing a lot of pressure from above to solve those cases.”

  Lexi nodded. “They must want the criminals at least as much as we do. High profile kidnappings should be bad for business here. I guess they’ll take any help they can get.”

  “Exactly. High profile criminal activity is bad for business everywhere. So, trainee, what do we want to do next?”

  Lexi smiled, “Trainee, is it? Fair enough. Let’s go to the Elegan, the E’Kret’s hotel, Obi-wan, and start interviewing the staff.”

  She paused. “You know, I find it strange that we’re allowed to walk around with guns and knives prominently displayed and no one cringes. A little boy was waving at us earlier. When his mother noticed, she smiled and waved too.”

  Geena laughed. “This isn’t New York City, darling. This is the Accord. Anyone we meet, unless they have a really guilty conscience, is going to assume that we’re some variety of law. In a sense, we are. Our licenses on Cardin cover that. Reciprocity grants us the same status on other Accord worlds. Besides, criminal elements don’t tend to walk about openly armed.”

  Weird since pirate ships apparently do, but otherwise non-military ships don’t. Despite her thoughts, Lexi just said, “Interesting.”

  With a smile, Geena said, “I think I want to go shopping.”

  “Instead of checking out the hotel? Why?”

  “First, we know, or are at least fairly sure, the shopping district is where the E’Krets, and a number of the other victims, were kidnapped. It wouldn’t hurt to have a sense of the area before we start interviewing people in case they tell us something that might mean something in a context which we would otherwise miss.”

  Lexi nodded. “OK, that makes sense. Does that happen a lot?”

  “No, not really. But it can, so it would be foolish not to allow for the possibility. My second reason is that I want to give Jis and Ron a chance to get settled at the Elegan. They can’t run around asking the kind of questions we can, but either one of them might notice something that we can follow up on.”

  Lexi was smiling now. “That makes even more sense. You are indeed Obi-wan. I think I want a light-sabre.”

  Geena shook her head, amused. “You’ll have to make your own. And the
third reason is I want to pick up a couple of toys for my niece and nephew while we’re here.”

  “Wait, you have other family?” Lexi asked, surprised.

  Geena laughed. “No, darling, I’m kidding. Just Ron. But I’m also thinking ahead. If we do this right, we’re going to wind up with both a four-year-old girl and a six-year-old boy to entertain. I want to be prepared.”

  Lexi laughed. “I do love you, Geena. Don’t forget, not all of my movies involve gunfire and explosions. I have some children’s movies too. Let’s not watch Swiss Family Robinson a third time, though.”

  ***

  Strolling through the shopping district with Geena during the afternoon and evening had been fun. There was so much to see. Lexi did her best to take it all in, to the extent where at one point, Geena stopped her and kissed her full on the lips. It was a long kiss. Clearly she meant it. “Do I have your attention, Lexi?”

  “Uh huh.”

  “You’re focusing too much, darling. Like a gawky tourist. That’s not the point of this. Try to take in the atmosphere, the bustle of the people moving around, the smell of the food the street vendors are offering. We passed a man doing street magic. You barely noticed him. He was pretty good, too.”

  “I’m sorry. It’s all kind of overwhelming. I want to learn how to do this job. Definitely. But this is all so amazing. I know we have places kind of like this on Earth, but I’ve never been to any of them. You’ve got handcrafts, fabrics like I’ve never seen in my life, foods I’ve never heard of, and technology that doesn’t even exist on Earth. All in shops next door to each other. I’m trying to absorb it all. Maybe I’m trying too hard.” She smiled. “You can kiss me again if you think you need to.”

  Geena did just that. “Why don’t we break for dinner, love. We’re near one of the restaurants we wanted to check out anyway. Afterward, we can do this for another hour or two. I really want to have time to make use of the hotel spa before bed tonight.”

  Chapter 14

  Meeting the Talmon

  While Geena and Lexi were meeting with the police at the CIB offices, Jis and Ron arrived at their hotel. The Ackalonian yacht was docked at one of the many orbital stations, each a small city in and of itself. From there, the two of them, along with Jis’s small entourage, boarded the private shuttle provided by their hotel to be taken down to the surface and whisked to their waiting accommodations at the ritzy Elegan. The courier dispatched from Borgol booked their suite at the same luxury hotel used by the E’Krets. He remained available at his embassy should they need anything else he could help facilitate.

  Check-in consisted of Jis fluttering her hand at the front desk as she passed, trailed by Ron and three aides. Four of the desk clerks rushed to catch up to show Jis to her suite and set the voice print access software for all five of them. That was normally done at the front desk. Jis alerted Ron while they were still on the yacht that she would be playing up her role of bait. Once he witnessed what she meant, she told him, “I don’t usually behave this way, Ron. Although, frankly, it isn’t unusual for some of the wealthy.”

  Before leaving the suite, the senior of the hotel’s helpful employees asked if there was anything Jis would like. She ordered several bottles of a chilled wine and a plate of canapés. The food and drink arrived within five minutes. Lexi would have been floored by the level of service. Even Ron was impressed.

  Ron commed the others as soon as they were alone in their suite. “Hey, guys, we’re finally in our rooms.”

  He heard Geena’s voice, relayed over the comm-gear, saying, “These people just don’t leave behind any evidence to track them with, do they?”

  “Got it, Mom. You’re not alone. We’ll touch base this evening. Be careful guys.” Turning to Jis, he said, “So, just over three hours until your meeting with the Talmon ambassador. Not enough time to really accomplish anything.”

  He ate one of the canapés and despite being on duty, sipped his wine. Considering his size, he knew he could down the entire bottle without being affected. “I have a question. You’re practically a head of state, meeting an ambassador. I guess I have two questions. Why don’t we have a Talmon head of state here? And don’t you have an ambassador from Talmon on Ackalon?”

  Jis was also relaxed, seated with a glass of wine. “Legitimate questions. The short answer is I came specifically to be your bait. I’m getting tired of that term, by the way. In the ambassadorial hierarchy, the man I’m meeting here, Dakman Drisson, greatly outranks the gentleman resident on Ackalon. By meeting directly with him, there is less room for interpretation of our conversation by intermediaries before it reaches a Talmon head of state, who declined to take the time to meet. We’re all busy, Ron. My father couldn’t have freed himself up for this. Travel time from Talmon is too long to justify a flight here, although a head of state would make time to meet with me if we were to arrive on Talmon. It’s the travel time that kills courtesy. That’s why they maintain such a large embassy here with very senior diplomats.”

  Jis smiled at him. “I need to check in with my embassy and let them know I arrived safe and sound. I also need my security, that’s you, to let the Talmon know I’m here and verify we’re still on for after lunch.”

  “OK,” Ron acknowledged. “I also need to get in touch with our Borgolian facilitator to verify the situation hasn’t changed. Then what? We can’t go around interviewing the staff here and maintain our cover. Lexi and Mom have to do that.”

  “Being optimistic that our plan works,” Jis said, “we shouldn’t expect to be here long. The Elegan is renowned for its spa. I wouldn’t mind being pampered for an hour or so before lunch. I’m afraid you’ll have to stand around and watch.”

  Ron shrugged and ate another canapé. “I can think of worse things.”

  ***

  At the last minute, the Talmon ambassador bowed out of his scheduled meeting with Jis, leaving her instead to meet with one of his senior deputies. The woman, Sori Kane, was pleasant and soft-spoken. She was about the same height as Jis and probably carried an extra twenty pounds on her larger frame. Like Ron, she had black hair, which, today at least, she wore in a bun. Her professional attire looked good on her.

  She apologized that Ambassador Drisson had an emergency situation come up, assuring Jis that she was fully qualified to discuss what, as she put it, “we all agree has again become a ballooning problem, one we need to start planning on how to deal with.”

  Basically, the Talmon stance was that although one of the piracy hot spots certainly overlapped their space, it could not be assumed to be solely their problem.

  Jis assured her that was understood. Sori nodded and went on to say her government was studying the situation. She was informed by Ambassador Drisson that Talmon would shortly propose a plan of action which could be expected to include participants from several other affected planets.

  According to Sori, the Talmon just did not have sufficient resources to make an impact without considerable outside support. Jis suspected that while that observation was doubtlessly true, it was a canned response. Jadkim briefed Jis concerning his meeting with the Talmon ambassador before she left Borgol. Sori’s words matched almost exactly those Jadkim reported. Jis didn’t fully believe her, but more to the point, Sori at least discussed the piracy topic intelligently when Jis forced her off-script.

  Jis smiled and nodded her head. “Of course, Sori. None of us have the resources individually. I certainly don’t. That’s why we have these meetings when the issue heats up. It’s the best any of us can do. My people patrol the space around Ackalon with some success, but fortunately we’re not one of the current hot spots.”

  Sori volunteered that Talmon was in conversations with Borgol, adding, “I’m sure you must already be aware of that since Borgol set up your meeting with us. You may not be aware that a delegation from Helga was here three weeks ago, broaching the topic as well.” Sori chuckled, “Of course, that is good news for all of us. We all know how amazingly effective Helgans
are when it comes to boarding other ships, swinging those frightfully primitive swords of theirs.”

  Jis had been of the same opinion until Lexi filled her in on exactly how effective Helgan warriors weren’t. That didn’t really matter. If nothing else, everyone was terrified of their alleged prowess. Despite Lexi’s experience with them, for the most part they were a decent and honorable people.

  Helga was as opposed to unbridled piracy as the rest of the Accord. Frankly, even if they weren’t as good as everyone believed with their swords, they were good enough as long as they didn’t run up against anyone else like Lexi. Based on impressions both she and her father already had from meditations with the Rose of Enlightenment along with the team’s recounting of recovering the Rose, Jis suspected there wasn’t anyone else like Lexi.