officially, I’d guess there might be some bullet holes to patch up when it comes back. Plus we could hire my brother to help run it. You remember Alei … that was his boat you fell off of, the time we went fishing and you ended up as bait.”
“Let me ask you something,” Njangu said. “First, you can forget about that fishing trip we went on anytime you want to. You know of the Leeat Islands?”
“A little bit,” Milot said. “A bunch of islands way to hell and gone other side of Cumbre, isn’t it? Never fished there, but I know some people who did. Contract work. Fly over, work a season, come back. They did ‘kay. Didn’t get rich, but had some good stories to tell. Big fish in those parts.”
“I’ll want to talk to them,” Yoshitaro said. “Because we’re thinking about going for the biggest fish on the planet.”
Milot flickered his eyebrows.
“Good, boss. Very good story. Glad there’s no other reason you want to visit my village.”
“Goddammit, I’m telling the truth.”
“No question about that, boss. Good truth, too, huh?”
• • •
“I think,” Njangu said comfortably, “this is the sneakiest plan I’ve ever come up with.”
“Possibly,” Garvin agreed. “And don’t get a swole head, but it might even accidentally work.”
“So reward your fearless, peerless executive officer and open me a beer. I’m the poor sod who had to go spend the last two days in that backwater of Issus talking to fishermen to make sure my idea’d work.”
“I don’t guess,” Garvin said, “busy as you were, you found time to talk a walk in the moonlight with anybody?”
“Goddammit,” Njangu snarled, “does everybody know everything about my love life? And whether or not I did is none of your bidness. Now, boss, can I have my frigging beer?”
Garvin obliged, got another for himself, and examined the holo-projection table again.
“Lift the sucker in here,” he muttered. “A day’s sail from most of the activity … fish our way to here … and the py-rates hopefully jump out at us somewhere along the way and get shortened by a neck. Yer right, Yoshitaro. I don’t see anything that can go wrong.”
There was a tap at the door.
“Whozat?”
“Lir,” the first
tweg
said. “With a guest.”
“What kind of security clearance he or she got?”
“Higher one than you flipping do,” Hedley said, pushing his way into the company commander’s office. “Are you two through plotting your villainy?”
“Pretty close, Jon,” Hedley said. “You want a quick brief?”
“After I give you a small addition. Nothing that’ll worry you.”
“Uh-oh,” Njangu said.
“We’re listening,” Jaansma said suspiciously.
“Some observers want to come along.”
“Boss,” Garvin said, “come on! This is a for-real covert operation, dammit! We aren’t gonna have any place for a straphanger who maybe wants to see what a loud bang looks like up close.”
“Three straphangers to be precise,” Hedley said.
“Goddamned wonderful,” Njangu said. “Can’t you tell ‘em to pack their asses with salt and piss up a rope?”
“Nope,” Hedley said, holding back a grin.
“Ho-kay,” Garvin said. “So which one of the PlanGov twits has enough clout to shove themselves down our throats, and why?”
“Why is easiest,” Hedley said. “Our observers want to see the way we operate for real, not some kind of training exercise, and I&R’s currently the only game in town. As for the who … it ain’t flipping PlanGov.”
“Uh-oh twice,” Njangu said again.
“Make it thrice,” Hedley said. “Your observers, who as you correctly guessed, didn’t ask but told, are a being named Wlencing and two of his aides.”
“Aw fiddle,” Njangu said, collapsing back into his chair. “Howinhell are we gonna pack three frigging Musth on a fishing boat and look inconspicuous?”
“Damfino,” Garvin said. “But you’re the specialist in being sneaky.”
“Maybe one of them could
“Let me ask you something,” Njangu said. “First, you can forget about that fishing trip we went on anytime you want to. You know of the Leeat Islands?”
“A little bit,” Milot said. “A bunch of islands way to hell and gone other side of Cumbre, isn’t it? Never fished there, but I know some people who did. Contract work. Fly over, work a season, come back. They did ‘kay. Didn’t get rich, but had some good stories to tell. Big fish in those parts.”
“I’ll want to talk to them,” Yoshitaro said. “Because we’re thinking about going for the biggest fish on the planet.”
Milot flickered his eyebrows.
“Good, boss. Very good story. Glad there’s no other reason you want to visit my village.”
“Goddammit, I’m telling the truth.”
“No question about that, boss. Good truth, too, huh?”
• • •
“I think,” Njangu said comfortably, “this is the sneakiest plan I’ve ever come up with.”
“Possibly,” Garvin agreed. “And don’t get a swole head, but it might even accidentally work.”
“So reward your fearless, peerless executive officer and open me a beer. I’m the poor sod who had to go spend the last two days in that backwater of Issus talking to fishermen to make sure my idea’d work.”
“I don’t guess,” Garvin said, “busy as you were, you found time to talk a walk in the moonlight with anybody?”
“Goddammit,” Njangu snarled, “does everybody know everything about my love life? And whether or not I did is none of your bidness. Now, boss, can I have my frigging beer?”
Garvin obliged, got another for himself, and examined the holo-projection table again.
“Lift the sucker in here,” he muttered. “A day’s sail from most of the activity … fish our way to here … and the py-rates hopefully jump out at us somewhere along the way and get shortened by a neck. Yer right, Yoshitaro. I don’t see anything that can go wrong.”
There was a tap at the door.
“Whozat?”
“Lir,” the first
tweg
said. “With a guest.”
“What kind of security clearance he or she got?”
“Higher one than you flipping do,” Hedley said, pushing his way into the company commander’s office. “Are you two through plotting your villainy?”
“Pretty close, Jon,” Hedley said. “You want a quick brief?”
“After I give you a small addition. Nothing that’ll worry you.”
“Uh-oh,” Njangu said.
“We’re listening,” Jaansma said suspiciously.
“Some observers want to come along.”
“Boss,” Garvin said, “come on! This is a for-real covert operation, dammit! We aren’t gonna have any place for a straphanger who maybe wants to see what a loud bang looks like up close.”
“Three straphangers to be precise,” Hedley said.
“Goddamned wonderful,” Njangu said. “Can’t you tell ‘em to pack their asses with salt and piss up a rope?”
“Nope,” Hedley said, holding back a grin.
“Ho-kay,” Garvin said. “So which one of the PlanGov twits has enough clout to shove themselves down our throats, and why?”
“Why is easiest,” Hedley said. “Our observers want to see the way we operate for real, not some kind of training exercise, and I&R’s currently the only game in town. As for the who … it ain’t flipping PlanGov.”
“Uh-oh twice,” Njangu said again.
“Make it thrice,” Hedley said. “Your observers, who as you correctly guessed, didn’t ask but told, are a being named Wlencing and two of his aides.”
“Aw fiddle,” Njangu said, collapsing back into his chair. “Howinhell are we gonna pack three frigging Musth on a fishing boat and look inconspicuous?”
“Damfino,” Garvin said. “But you’re the specialist in being sneaky.”
“Maybe one of them could
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