“And I just need one simple reason: why do you want this information?”
He sighed. “Okay,” he said. “He offered me – tentatively, mind you – a very interesting investment opportunity. It would involve a large sum of money. There is an element of risk, as in most ventures involving new companies in a highly competitive area, but the possible returns do make it tempting.”
I nodded.
“And you want to know whether he’s honest.”
He chuckled.
“I don’t really care whether he’s honest,” he said. “My only concern is whether he can deliver a product with no strings on it.”
Something about the way this man talked reminded me of someone. I tried, but couldn’t recall who it was:
“Ah,” I said, taking a sip of beer. “I’m slow today. Sorry. Of course this deal involves computers.”
“Of course.”
“You want to know whether his present employer can nail him if he goes into business out here with whatever he’s bringing with him.”
“In a word, yes.”
“I give up,” I said. “It would take a better man than me to answer that. Intellectual properties represent a tricky area of the law. I don’t know what he’s selling and I don’t know where it comes from-he gets around a lot. But even if I did know, I have no idea what your legal position would be.
“I didn’t expect anything beyond that,” he said, smiling. I smiled back.
“So you’ve sent your message,” I said. He nodded and began to rise.
“Oh, just one thing more,” he began.
“Yes?”
“Did he ever mention places,” he said, staring full into my eyes, “called Amber or the Courts of Chaos?”
He could not have failed to note my startled reaction, which had to have given him a completely false impression. I was sure that he was sure I was lying when I answered him truthfully.
“No, I never heard him refer to them. Why do you ask?”
He shook his head as he pushed his chair back and stepped away from the table. He was smiling again.
“It’s not important. Thank you, Mr. Corey. Nus a dhabzhun dhuilsha.”
He practically fled around the corner.
“Wait!” I called out, so loudly that there was a moment of silence and heads turned in my direction.
I got to my feet and started after him, when I heard my name called.
“Hey, Merle! Don’t run off ! I’m here already!”
I turned. Luke had just come in through the entrance behind me, hair still shower-damp. He advanced, clapped me on the shoulder, and lowered himself into the seat Martinez had just vacated. He nodded at my half finished beer as I sat down again.
“I need one of those,” he said. “Lord, am I thirsty!” Then, “Where were you off to when I came in?”
I found myself reluctant to describe my recent encounter, not least because of its strange conclusion. Apparently, he had just missed seeing Martinez.
So: “I was heading for the john.”
“It’s back that way,” he told me, nodding in the direction from which he had entered. “I passed it on the way in.” His eyes shifted downward.
“Say, that ring you have on-“
“Oh, yeah,” I said. “You left it at the New Line Motel. I picked it up for you when I collected your message. Here, let me . . .”
I tugged at it, but it wouldn’t come off.
“Seems to be stuck,” I noted. “Funny. It went on easy enough.”
“Maybe your finger’s swollen,” he remarked. “It could have something to do with the altitude. We’re up pretty high.”
He caught the waitress’s attention and ordered a beer, while I kept twisting at the ring.
“Guess I’ll just have to sell it to you;” he said: “Give you a good deal.”
“We’ll see,” I told him. “Back in a minute.”
He raised one hand limply and let it fall as I headed toward the rest room.
There was no one else in the facility, and so I spoke the words that released Frakir from the suppression spell I had uttered back aboard the Shuttlejack. There followed immediate movement. Before I could issue another command, Frakir became shimmeringly visible in the act of uncoiling, crept across the back of my hand and wound about my ring finger. I watched, fascinated, as the finger darkened and began to ache beneath a steady tightening.