Free Star Risk - 03 The Doublecross Program by Chris Bunch Page B

Saleph's hesitation.
    "Do you think we're ready?" the king said. "The Alliance advisors�the gods rest their souls�seemed to think we were at least a year distant from any significant attacks on Shaoki."
    "As, no doubt," von Baldur replied, "did the mercenaries we have replaced. Star Risk, unlike governments and firms that are first interested in building their bank account and secondarily in the needs of their client, believes in solving a problem as soon as possible. Therefore, we shall swing into action immediately."
    "And what's this?" M'chel Riss asked as she yawned, very early, into the main Star Risk suite.
    "This" was an ornately wrapped package with Riss's name on it.
    "A bomb?" she asked.
    "No," Jasmine said. "We've swept it."
    "And?"
    Neither of the other two responded.
    "Awright," Riss snarled; tore the package open. It held a surprisingly tasteful bracelet, with gems worked in strange shapes. There was a note:
    Perhaps we might see each other again without the confines of duty.
    Wahfer
    "How nice," Jasmine said.
    M'chel put it on. "I guess so," she said. "I suppose it would be a good idea� professionally� to accept."
    "Is he good-looking?"
    "That has nothing to do with it!" Riss snapped.
    She finally met Jasmine's eyes, and the two of them broke into laughter.
    ***
    The call did come, and M'chel accepted.
    The prince arrived in a long, dark lifter, with two bodyguards and a pilot.
    He asked if she wanted to eat "real Earth food," and Riss declined, suppressing a shudder. She'd been trapped into real Earth food on too many worlds, always wondering why anyone bothered. The only people on Earth who ate well, as far as she could tell, were the French and the Chinese.
    She said she was curious about the Khelat diet. Wahfer took her to an ostentatiously expensive restaurant. Haute cuisine consisted of many, many dishes on small plates, surprisingly spicy, eaten with the fingers.
    Wahfer said it was customary to honor a guest by feeding him or her, and Riss, lying, said it was forbidden on her own worlds.
    Wahfer, as the first course arrived, accompanied by a spiced wine that M'chel just sipped at, asked what she thought of his worlds.
    "Why is it everyone here on Khelat always asks that question?" M'chel said.
    Wahfer thought.
    "I could be honest and say that it's politeness to care about the opinion of visitors, but honestly, it's because, I suspect, we are so far from the center of things that it really matters."
    Riss nodded. That sounded honest, and she said that so far she found things interesting.
    "One question, though," she said. "With all of the princes in your family, isn't there a certain amount of� let me call it competition?"
    "Of course," Wahfer said. "That is the way the universe is designed, is it not? Each man strives to succeed, and it is not enough just for your own success, but you must have an equal or better's failure to compare it to."
    "Ah," Riss said.
    Two waiters changed their plates.
    "By happenstance," she said, "did you have any dealings with the Alliance advisory team that was withdrawn?"
    There was just a moment of hesitation, then Wahfer said, "No, not really."
    Riss caught that moment, filed it.
    The evening continued on an amiable note, if not, at least on Riss's part, with any romance.
    Wahfer and one bodyguard escorted Riss to the Star Risk suite, and they were not invited in.
    So, she thought as she rinsed her mouth of the spiced wine's taste with a shot of clean brandy, then poured herself a small decanter for a nightcap, Wahfer knows something was wrong with things.
    That could be a contact worth developing.
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    TWELVE � ^ � Jasmine King wandered through the shopping district. Part of her mind was looking for something; another part was giggling gently about the way the romances portrayed "going undercover."
    Certainly, she thought. Easy. Not a problem. Except when everybody around is dark