”A thousand dollars? To tell me where a worthless gate leads?” Kit swore savagely. “Where is that miserly little prick now?”
”The Down Time. He’s telling everyone about his adventures in the sultan’s harem.”
Kit rolled his eyes. “Good God. What an idiot. Okay, Malcolm. Thanks. Maybe this’ll be worth it. God knows I haven’t had any other clues worth following. I’m afraid she’s wandered through one of the question gates without filing proper paperwork with Bull and if she’s done that…”
Malcolm nodded. “You may be right.” He hesitated. “Margo … Well, she wasn’t in any mood to wait any longer. Something awful happened to that kid before she came here. I’m not sure who she’s trying to prove herself to, but it’s riding her harder than we ever did.”
Kit didn’t answer. He’d spent a lot of sleepless hours doing exactly what Malcolm had been doing: blaming himself.
”That doesn’t matter, does it, if she’s wandered down a gate without telling anyone. She shouldn’t have shadowed herself already,” he said raggedly, drawing a flinch from Malcolm, “but if she’s actually gone down a question gate secretly, she might as well have.”
The legal consequences of stepping through an unexplored gate without filing proper forms were minuscule, a mere fine if you actually made it back alive, but the practical consequences …
If no one knew which gate you’d gone through, no one could even mount a rescue attempt.
Kit tracked down Ripley Sneed at the Down Time Bar & Grill. Malcolm, to his surprise, followed doggedly. Kit ordered a Kirin, offered to buy one for Malcolm, then shrugged and settled into an empty chair at Ripley’s table.