Free Teckla by Steven Brust

give him reports on all of the Easterners—their names, what they did, everything."
    "You had all that?"
    He nodded.
    Tasked, "Why?"
    "I've been here for most of the year. Herth heard rumors about this group and sent me to check on them. I've been keeping track."
    "I see. And then he tells you to give him the names, and two weeks later Franz is killed."
    He nodded.
    I said, "Well, why did he want someone killed, and why Franz?" He said, "I don't know."
    "Guess."
    "They were troublemakers. They interfered with business. They were always around, you know? And they were giving reading lessons. When Easterners—" He stopped, looking at me.
    "Goon."
    He swallowed. "When Easterners get too smart, well, I guess it doesn't help business any. But it might have been something that happened before I came. Herth is careful, you know? He wouldn't tell me more than he had to."
    "And Franz?"
    "He was just one of them."
    "What about Kelly?"
    "What about him? He never did much that I could see." I refrained from commenting on his eyesight.
    "Boss."
    "Yeah, Loiosh?"
    "Your hour is about gone."
    "Thanks."
    I said, "Okay. You get to live."
    He seemed relieved. I turned, walked out the door and down to the street and made my way through some alleys as quickly as I could. There was no sign of pursuit.
    "Well, what do you think, Loiosh?"
    "He wanted to kill one of them, and Franz was as good a choice as any."
    "Yeah. I think so, too. Why did he want to kill one of them?"
    "I don't know."
    "Well, what now?"
    "Boss, do you have an idea how much trouble you've gotten yourself into?"
    "Yeah."
    "I was just wondering. I don't know what to do now, boss. We're close to the Easterners' area, if there's anything you want there." I started heading that way as I thought about it. What was the next step?
    I had to find out if Herth was going to keep after them now, or if he had accomplished whatever it was he hoped to accomplish. If Herth wasn't going to do anything to these people, I could relax and only worry about how I was going to keep him from killing me.
    The street I was on dead-ended unexpectedly, so I backtracked a ways until I found one I knew. Tall, windowless houses loomed over me like gloating green and yellow giants, with balconies sometimes almost meeting above me, cutting off my view of the orange-red sky.
    Then, at a cross street named Twovine, the houses became older, paler, and smaller and the street widened and I was in the Easterners' section. It smelled like the countryside, with hay and cows and manure where they were selling cow's milk on the street. The breeze became sharper with the widening of the avenue, in swirls that kicked dust up in my eyes and stung my face.
    The street curved and twisted and others joined it and left it, and then I saw Sheryl and Paresh standing on a street corner, holding that same damned tabloid and accosting passers-by. I walked up to them. Paresh nodded coolly and turned his back to me. Sheryl's smile was a little friendlier, but she also turned away when two young Easterners came by, holding hands. I heard her saying something about breaking the Imperium, but they just shook their heads and walked on.
    I said, "Am I off limits?"
    Sheryl shook her head. Paresh turned and said, "Not at all. Do you want to buy a copy?"
    I said I didn't. He didn't seem surprised. He turned away again. I stood there for a few more seconds before realizing that I was making a fool of myself by standing, and I'd look stupid leaving. I addressed Sheryl.
    "Will you talk to me if I buy you a cup of klava?"
    "I can't," she said. "Since Franz was murdered we don't work alone." I bit my tongue when a few remarks about "working" came to mind, then got an idea.
    "Well, Loiosh?"
    "Oh, sure boss. Why not?"
    I said to Sheryl, "Loiosh can stick around." She looked startled and glanced at Paresh. Paresh looked at Loiosh for a moment, then said, "Why not?"
    So Loiosh hung around and got his revolutionary indoctrination while I led Sheryl