himself. "He could not. I stood between him and his kaze. And I took considerable pains to conceal what I had done."
When Hashi had cast himself headlong down the tiers of frightened aides and Members, he had accumulated a number of bruises. His lean frame was unaccustomed to such insults.
"Finally," he told Koina, "you must understand that Cleatus Fane had not meant his kaze to be exposed. He intended to apply the signal which would inspire Captain Alt to release the triggering coenzyme while Alt was near enough to be a threat
but not near enough to harm Fane's own person.
"If indeed records have been prepared to show that Nathan Alt was fired six weeks ago, they only confirm that the First Executive Assistant is lying."
"Damn it." Chief Mandich was convinced. In two strides he reached the edge of Warden's desk. Pointing at the intercom, he said, "Director, with your permission, I'll call GCES
Security. Tell them to arrest that oily sonofabitch. Maybe we can't prove he set Alt off, but we can make damn sure"
Fane's words again
"he doesn't cause any more trouble."
Warden shook his head decisively. "No.
"As you say, we can't prove anything. And if we could, Holt would just disavow it
let us have Fane, and concentrate
on looking innocent himself.
"What we can do," the UMCP director added, "is avoid telling him we know what he's done. That might give us an advantage."
Hashi noted that Warden didn't specify what the advantage might be.
"Yes, sir." Scowling his frustration, the Chief retreated.
"I'm sorry." Koina leaned forward urgently in her seat.
Hashi suspected that only her professional poise kept her from rising to her feet. "It still doesn't make sense. There's something you seem to have forgotten.
"You're telling me Fane did all this to stop the Bill of Severance. You assume he knew Captain Vertigus was going to introduce that Bill. You might as well assume he knew what I was going to say when he asked us to support him.
"How did he know? How could he possibly have found out what Captain Vertigus had in mind?"
A frown concentrated her luminous gaze. "Captain Vertigus didn't ask for an extraordinary session and Member's privilege until after he was attacked. Why did Fane send a kaze to try to stop something that for all we know Captain Vertigus didn't think of until later?"
Chief Mandich's eyes widened. He appeared to shudder like a man who was being sickened by uncertainty.
Hashi pursed his lips as if to say, Good question. In fact, however, the swirl of inferences in his head had left such issues behind a while ago. He strove to appear noncommittal because he wanted to hear how Warden would reply.
Still the UMCP director exposed nothing; kept his game hidden. He acknowledged the importance.of Koina's question only by leaning back in his chair and folding his arms over his chest.
"You're the one with the answers here, Hashi," he said impersonally. "Go ahead. Tell Koina what you think is going on."
Hashi was glad that Warden no longer insisted on calling him "Director Lebwohl." On the other hand, he would have valued more highly some confirmation that he had indeed plumbed his director's intentions.
Obviously no confirmation was forthcoming. That in turn spun new implications which pushed Hashi's comprehension further.
Warden Dios needed help. Of course he did. Yet he preserved an essential distance from the very people who would be most inclined to assist him: Koina Hannish; Min Donner; Hashi himself.
He wished to protect his subordinates from sharing his fate if he failed. Or
Hashi went still further
from suffering
the consequences if he succeeded.
"Hashi?" Koina urged tensely.
"Ah, your pardon," the DA director wheezed. He fluttered his hands in front of his face to ward off emotions for which he had no use. "I fear my attention wandered."
His elation had gone sour, curdled by an unfamiliar pang of loss. He found that he did not want to lose Warden Dios.
Nor could he save