Free The Return of the Emperor by Chris Bunch; Allan Cole Page A

the AM2 source," Kyes said. "This may or may not be the case. But I know how we can be more certain."
    "Yeah? How's that?" Lovett asked.
    "I have a new mainframe about to go on-line. My scientists have been working on it for a number of years. We developed it specifically as a tool for archivists."
    "So?" That was the fat Kraa, the blunter of the two—if that were possible.
    "We plan to sell it to governments. It should reduce document search time by forty percent or more."
    There were murmurs around the room. They were catching Kyes's drift, and all he was saying was true. If there was a lie, it was only in his real intentions.
    "I propose that Sr. Lagguth and I join forces," Kyes said, "assuring us of meeting his stated goal. What do you think? I am quite open to any other suggestions."
    There were none. The deal was done.
    As for the other matters—the blown Mantis mission to capture the admiral, the terrible conditions Kyes had witnessed on the streets of Prime World—they were left untouched. Kyes had gotten what he wanted.
    Only one other thing came up, and this fairly casually.
    "About this clottin' two-year supply business," the skinny Kraa said.
    "Yes?"
    "Me 'n Sis, here, think we oughta try and stretch it."
    "More rationing?" Lovett asked. "I think we've just about—"
    "Naw. Don't be puttin' words in me mush. Drakh on that."
    "What then?"
    "We take it."
    "From whom?" Kyes could not help but be drawn in by the fascinating discussion.
    "Who gives a clot?" the fat Kraa said. "Somebody that's got a whole lot of it, that's who. Can't be that many."
    "You mean steal it?" Malperin asked, also fascinated. "Just like that?"
    "Why not?" the skinny Kraa said.
    Yes. They all agreed. Why not, indeed?

    CHAPTER SIX
    S ten's first step, once clear of Smallbridge, was to go to ground. Mahoney had a planned refuge—which Sten rejected. Sten had his own very secure hideout. Where—he hoped—Kilgour, if he had been warned in time, would meet him.
    The hideout was Farwestern, and there Sten saw firsthand the effect the dwindling of AM2 and the privy council's incompetence at managing what fuel there was.
    Farwestern had been—and to a degree, still was—a shipping hub near the center of a galaxy. At one time it had provided everything a shipper could want—from shipyards to chandleries, recworlds to warehousing, hotels to emergency services, all cluttered in a system-wide assemblage of containers. "Containers" was about the most specific description that could be used, since the entrepreneurs who had gathered around Farwestern used everything from small asteroids to decommissioned and disarmed Imperial warships to house their businesses. Almost anything legal and absolutely anything illegal could be scored in and around Farwestern, including anonymity.
    Years earlier Sten and Alex, on one of their Mantis team missions, had run through Farwestern. They found its cheerful anarchy to their liking. Most especially, they fell in love with a small planetoid named Poppajoe. Poppajoe was jointly owned by a pair of rogues named Moretti and Manetti. Having acquired fortunes elsewhere under almost certainly shadowy circumstances, they had discovered Farwestern and decided that there was their home. The question was: what service could they provide that wasn't available? The answer was luxury and invisibility.
    They reasoned that there would be beings passing through who would want to be well taken care of and might prefer that their presence not be broadcast. This applied to criminals as well as to executives on their way to make a deal best kept secret until the stock manipulations were complete.
    Moretti and Manetti had thrived in peace. In the recent war they had doubled their fortunes. Now times were a little hard. Not bad enough to drive them under, but ticklish. They survived because they were owed so many favors by so many beings, from magnates to tramp skippers.
    There were still people who needed the shadows. Moretti and Manetti