Steven Brust - Teckla

"Glad you suggested we protect them, Kragar," I said.

He mumbled.

"Something bothering you, Kragar?"

He said, "Hen. I hope you know what you're doing."

I started to say, "I always know what I'm doing," but that would have rung a bit hollow, so I said, "I think so." That seemed to satisfy him.

"Okay, then, what's next?"

I mentioned someone important in the organization, and what my next step was. Kragar looked startled, then nodded. "Sure," he said, "He owes you one, doesn't he?"

"Or two or three. Set it up for today if possible."

"Right."

-He was back in an hour. "The Blue Flame," he said. We shared a smile of common memories. "The eighth hour. He said he'd take care of all protection, which means he knows something of what's going on."

I nodded. "He would."

"Do you trust him?"

"Yeah," I said. "I'll have to trust him eventually, so I might as well trust him for this."

Kragar nodded.

Later in the day I received word that we'd torched a couple of buildings in South Adrilankha. By now Herth must be biting his nails, wishing he could get his hands on me. I chuckled. Soon, I told him, soon.

I felt a funny sort of mental itch, and knew what it meant.

" Who is it ?"

" Chimov. I'm near Kelly's headquarters ."

" What's up ?"

" They're moving out of the place ."

" Ah ha. Find out where they're going ."

" Will do. They have a whole crowd. It looks like they expect trouble. They're also posting handbills, and passing out leaflets all over the place ."

" Have you read one ?"

" Yeah. It's about a mass meeting for tomorrow afternoon in Naymat Park. The big print at the top says 'A Call To Arms .'"

" Well ," I said. " Excellent. Stay with it, and keep out of trouble ."

" Right, boss ."

"Kragar!"

"Yeah?"

"Oh. Get someone over to Kelly's headquarters. Make it four or five. As soon as it's empty, go in and trash the place. Break up any furniture that's left, smash up walls, wreck the kitchen, that kind of thing."

"Okay."

I spent the rest of the day like that. Messages would come in, about this or that work of destruction completed, or some attack by Herth foiled, and I'd sit there and snap out the response to it. I was operating efficiently again, and it felt so good I kept going far into the evening, tightening this or that piece of surveillance, adding this or that nudge to Kelly or Herth. Of course, the office was just about the safest place for me to be just then, which was another good reason for working late.

As evening wore on, I exchanged messages with an Organization contact inside the Imperial Palace, and learned that, yes, the powers-that-be had noted what was going on in South Adrilankha. Herth's name had come up, but so far mine had not. Perfect.

When it got near to the eighth hour after noon I collected Sticks, Glowbug, Smiley and Chimov and we made our way to the Blue Flame. I left them near the door, because my guest had already arrived and he had promised to handle protection. And, in fact, I noticed a pair of customers and three waiters who looked like enforcers. I bowed as I approached the table.

He said, "Good evening, Vlad."

I said, "Good evening, Demon. Thanks for coming." He nodded and I sat. The Demon, for those of you who don't know, was a big man on the Jhereg council—the group that makes decisions affecting the whole business end of House Jhereg. He was generally considered the number—two man in the Organization; not someone to mess around with. However, as Kragar had mentioned, he owed me a favor for some "work" I'd done for him recently.

We exchanged amenities for a while, then, as the food showed up, he said, "So, you've gotten yourself into trouble, I hear."

"A bit," I said. "Nothing I can't handle, though."

"Indeed? Well, that's nice to hear." He gave me a kind of puzzled look. "Then why did you want to meet with me?"

"I'd like to arrange for nothing to happen."

He blinked. "Goon," he said.

"The Empire may start to take notice of the game that Herth and I are playing, and when the Empire notices, the Council notices."

"I see. And you want us not to interfere."

"Right. Can you give me a week to settle things?"

"Can you keep the trouble confined to South Adrilankha?"

"Pretty much," I said. "I won't be touching him anywhere else, and I've shut down and protected everything I own, so it will be hard for him to hit me. There may be one or two bodies turning up, but nothing to cause great excitement."

"The Empire isn't too keen on bodies turning up, Vlad."

"There shouldn't be too many. None, in fact, if my people are careful. And, as I say, ft ought to be settled in a week."

He studied me. "You have something going, don't you?"

I said, "Yeah."

He smiled and shook his head. "No one can say you aren't resourceful, Vlad. All right, you have a week. I'll take care of it."

I said, "Thanks."

He offered to pay for the meal, but I insisted. It was my pleasure.

…brush, removing white particles.

I got the full escort home from my bodyguards. They left me just outside the door, and as I stepped past the threshold I felt the draining of a tension that I hadn't known had been building up. You see, while my office is very well protected, one's home is strictly inviolate by Jhereg custom. Why? I don't know. Perhaps for the same reason temples are; just a matter of you ought to be safe somewhere no matter what, and everyone is too open to attacks this way. Maybe there's another reason for it. I'm not sure. But I've never heard of this custom being violated.

Of course, I'd never heard of anyone stealing from the Jhereg before it happened, either, but you have to depend on something.

Don't you?

Anyway, I was home and safe and Cawti was in the living room, reading her tabloid. My heart skipped, but I recovered and smiled. "Home early," I remarked.

She didn't smile when she looked up at me. "You bastard," she said, and there was real feeling behind the words. I felt my face flushing, and a sick feeling started in the pit of my stomach and spread out to all salient points. It wasn't as if I hadn't known she'd find out what I was doing, or hadn't known what her reaction was going to be, so why should it come as such a shock when she did just what I'd expected her to?

I swallowed and said, "Cawti—"

"Didn't you think I'd find out what you were up to, beating up Herth's people and blaming it on us?"

"No, I knew you would."

"Well?"

"I'm working a plan."

"A plan," she said, her voice dripping contempt.

"I'm doing what I have to."

She managed an expression that was half-sneer and half-scowl. "What you have to," she said, as if she were discussing the mating habits of Teckla.

"Yeah," I said.

"You have to do everything you can to destroy the only people who—"

"The only people who are going to cost you your life? Yes. And for what?" , "A better life for—"

"Oh, stop it. Those people are so full of great ideals that they can't manage to understand that there are people in the world, people who shouldn't get tromped over without reason. Individuals. Starting with you and me. Here we are, on the verge of—I don't know what—on account of these great saviors of humanity, and all you can see is what's happening to them. You're blind to what's happening to us. Or else you don't care anymore. And this doesn't tell you that there's something wrong with them?"

She laughed, and it was a hateful laugh. "Something wrong with them ! That's your conclusion? Something wrong with the movement?"

"Yeah," I said. "That's my conclusion."