Part 14 (1/2)

”And money?” she added without thinking.

He c.o.c.ked an eyebrow. ”For someone who didn't think she was worth hiring, you know, you're

pretty sharp.”

Chandris bristled. ”Who said I didn't think-?”

She broke off as it suddenly hit her. ”You just changed the subject, didn't you?”

He grinned. ”Well, I tried.” The grin faded, and he grew serious. ”Gabriel treats its people more than fairly, Chandris, but this isn't something they can be expected to deal with. Unlike your stereotypical giant corporation, they run their operation right at the edge of break-even.” He grinned again, briefly. ”One of those wonderful balances you get when you work with angels. No matter how rare or valuable the things are, the people handling them don't line their own pockets at everyone else's expense.”

”What about your extra angel?” Chandris asked. ”Couldn't you sell that?”

He hesitated. Just a split second, but enough. ”It wouldn't be worth enough.”

”I thought Ornina said you never lie.”

He threw her a sideways look. ”You are sharp, aren't you? But that wasn't a lie, just a-well, a creative phrasing of the truth.” He took a deep breath. ”You see, Chandris, I'm the only family Ornina's got left. She's spent half her life taking care of me; first supporting me in school, then helping me adjust to my illness. Somehow, in all that, she never had the time or the money to have a family of her own.”

And suddenly it clicked. ”Is that why you invited me aboard the Gazelle?” Chandris demanded. ”So she can pretend I'm her family?”

”Does that bother you?”

Chandris bit down on her lip. ”I don't know,” she had to admit.

”She's not really pretending, you know,” he said. ”At least not in the sense that she's deluding herself. But it gives her the chance to care for someone else. Someone who-well, never mind.”

”Someone who desperately needs her?” Chandris finished for him, a slightly sour taste in her mouth.

”Don't be offended. If it helps any, you're in much better shape than most of the others have been. You at least had a marketable skill, even if it was just stealing.”

Another piece clicked into place. ”So that's why you need to keep the extra angel. Right? Because otherwise you might take someone aboard someday who'd knife you both in your sleep.”

He shrugged. ”Something like that. Though of course we do try to screen our guests a shade better than that.”

”The angel helps you there, too, I suppose?”

”Actually, no,” he shook his head. ”Angels don't seem to do anything quite that active.” He grinned lopsidedly. ”To tell you the truth, what's helped most was all the practical jokes I used to pull when I was younger. You learn how to read people when you're trying to rig a thimble on them. Don't tell

Ornina that, though.”

”Yeah, well, if you ask me your practical jokes sound just like scoring a track,” Chandris told him.

”Except that no one locks you up when you get caught.”

”Actually, all the best jokes are ones where no one would have grounds to lock you up anyway,” Hanan said. ”The kind where all you're doing is-oh, I don't know; putting a slight tilt on the universe. It's hard to explain.”

”So show me.”

He frowned at her. ”What?”

”I said show me,” Chandris repeated.

Hanan's lips puckered. ”All right. All right, I will. Let's see...” He patted his pockets. ”See what's in

that storage compartment,” he said, leaning over to study the floor.

Chandris popped open the indicated door beside her knee. ”Nothing but a map,” she reported. ”Oh, and a couple of candy wrappers and a piece of string.”

”Nothing useful on the floor,” Hanan grunted. He straightened up, a faraway look in his eyes, and for

a minute was silent. ”Okay,” he said abruptly. ”Give me the string.”

She dug it out from under the map. It was about thirty centimeters long, frayed at both ends, with

splotches of a tarry-looking substance at various points along its length. ”What are you going to do?”

she asked, handing it over.

”You'll see.” For a moment he worked at it with his fingers... ”Blast,” he muttered. ”Here-can you

make a little slipknot in it for me?”

”Sure,” she said, taking it back and making the knot.

”Thanks. Now watch carefully.”

Easing the loop over his right ear, he pulled it tight and then stuck the free end into the right corner

of his mouth. ”How do I look?” he asked.

”Ridiculous,” Chandris told him. ”What happens now?”