Dragon in Exile - eARC by Steve Miller, Sharon Lee Read Free Book Online

knew that she could not prevail in a confrontation between us. It was necessary to her purpose that I not withdraw before the telling blow had been struck. She therefore needed to guide my responses, which she did, until there was only one choice possible. The Fist of Malann…” He took a hard breath.
    “It was well-chosen.”
    Silence fell again, though he seemed less…askew; more centered.
    That was a good thing. Good enough that she decided to push a tiny bit toward normal.
    “You want a glass of wine?”
    He smiled slightly.
    “A glass of wine would be pleasant. Shall we sit out?”
    “Why not? After all, it’s summer.”
    * * *
    “A joke’s all it was, Chief. Guy gives me twenty cash, says to rib the big port cop. Call ’er Yxtrang, he says, that always gets ’er laughing. She’ll know where it come from, that’s what he said. Ain’t my fault her partner’s got no sense o’humor. You don’t arrest a man for having a joke.”
    Port Security Chief Liz Lizardi considered the man in the orange coat as one might considered an insect found in a half-eaten ration bar.
    “I might not arrest a man for having a joke. But I do—and I require my security officers to—arrest people who are inciting to riot and disturbing the peace of this port.”
    “Riot! I wasn’t no such—”
    “Shut up,” Commander Lizardi told him.
    He did so, his red face getting redder.
    “The actions of my security officers aren’t in question. They saw a clear threat to the peace and security of the Bazaar and they acted to contain it. That’s their job, and they did just fine. You, on the other hand—you’re ass-deep in slush, friend. What was the name of this fella with the sense of humor?”
    He shrugged, and jerked his head at Hazenthull, where she stood at guard by his side, directly before the commander’s desk.
    “Ask her; she’s the one s’posed to know all about it.”
    Commander Lizardi glanced at her.
    “Security Officer? You know who this guy’s talking about?”
    “Commander, I do not,” she stated.
    “Nobody you got a standing joke with, about you being an Yxtrang?”
    Hazenthull shook her head, recalled herself, and stated, “No, Commander.”
    She hesitated, considering Troop wisdom with regard to volunteering, and decided that additional information would be helpful to this case.
    “I am not known for my sense of humor, Commander.”
    She heard a small sound from the other side of the prisoner, as if Tolly had sneezed. Commander Liz pressed her lips together firmly, and nodded.
    “Thank you, Officer,” she said gravely.
    “I believe my officer;” she said. “She served under my command in action, and I know her to be a truthful and stalwart soldier. You, though—” She glanced down at her screen—“you got quite a record on port, Mr. Kipler. Petty thievin’; havin’ a few too many beers and busting stuff up; decking security at the Emerald. Spent the night in the Whosegow for that one, I see, and paid the fine.”
    The prisoner laughed suddenly.
    “Is that what this is about? You want your piece? Why’n’t you just say so? The cash is in my left inside pocket. You can gimme change.”
    The commander sighed and shook her head.
    “You’re not getting it, Kipler. I’ve got you on conspiracy to start a riot in the Bazaar. That goes right up to the Bosses, on account the Bazaar’s counted as Surebleak turf, not port turf. Conspiracy to riot is something the Bosses take real serious, and unless you come up with the name of that free-spending fella, you’re gonna take whatever they dish out all on yourself.” She paused, head to one side, as if considering.
    “Seems a lot to take on, for twenty cash.”
    The prisoner’s shoulders tensed as he tried his strength against the cuffs, but they held firm.
    “I dunno who it was,” he said, voice urgent. “Some guy, is all. Twenty cash for doin’ nothing much—you don’t turn that down, now, do you?”
    “But it turns out not to be