Robert Asprin – Tambu

“Speaking of Egor, where is he?” Whitey interrupted, peering at the door. “Shouldn’t he be back by now?”

“Don’t worry about Egor. He can take care of himself. He’s just not particularly good at keeping timetables. Except for that, he’s dependable to a flaw.”

“If you say so. There! You did it again!”

“Did what again?”

“Convinced me not to worry with just a few words. That’s what I’m talking about. You could calm a cat in the middle of a dog show.”

“Not any more than anyone else could. Sometimes I can, sometimes I can’t. It’s no big thing.”

“You don’t believe that any more than I do.” Whitey snorted. “If you didn’t think you had an edge on most people, why did you come along specifically to handle the negotiations on this deal?”

“Because I’m a little better with numbers than most. Except for that…”

“And you talk a lot better than most. You know when to push and when to back off. That counts for a lot.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Tambu admitted. “But why make such an issue out of it? You have a feel for the mechanics of a ship that makes me feel like a kid. Each of us has something we can do better than someone else. So what?”

“The difference is I work with machines and you work with people,” Whitey said. “I know what I’m doing and what to expect in the way of results. I don’t think you do.”

“Probably not,” Tambu admitted. “But I still don’t see why you should get upset about it.”

“Because it’s dangerous! You think you’re only doing what people want you to do, and never stop to think you’re actually calling the shots. Just because we agree with you when you ask the final question doesn’t mean we agreed with you when you started-“