Mark Tiedemann - Chimera

"It had the revenue for that?"

"Apparently from the sale of offworld holdings."

"Why 'apparently'? Wouldn't it be in their shareholders' report?"

"Of course. But the convenient fact about offworld holdings is that local laws are flexible and there are a thousand ways to funnel money that can't be traced. I say 'apparently' because you can never be sure if a holding on, say, Revis Logandi is real or just a fiction to hide funds."

"So they sold holdings…no other way they might get the money?" Coren asked.

"Sure. The easiest way would be to borrow it. But they've made no loans for it and according to their reports over the last few years, their credit has been limited. Banks aren't quick to count those offworld holdings I mentioned as reliable collateral, so credit is based mainly on available Terran assets and so on. According to that, Imbitek was overextended. Not dangerously so, but enough to limit them. If they were hiding collateral, well…I'm sure it would have angered shareholders to know the company had that available credit hidden from them, but under the circumstances no one complained. The policy kept those shareholders who had remained faithful from losing everything and even gaining a little. "

"So he's a bright boy. What happens when Mikels gets out?"

"That's what we're all waiting for," Kelvy said. "Already there's been nervous trading. Towne might have to pull another magic trick to keep the company from devouring itself in a proxy war if he decides to fight Mikels. He has managed to replace two of the board members with his own supporters. The others…well, you just never know how these people will jump. Towne has proven himself. Mikels is bringing a lot of baggage to the table and may be unable to reclaim the chair."

"Do you think there will be a war?"

"Towne is ambitious, Mikels is the old bull. You tell me. The psychology is certainly volatile. "

Coren considered. "So how far has Imbitek stock fallen since Mikels' release was announced?"

Kelvy grinned at him appreciatively. "Eighteen points. Not a disaster. Yet."

"Still. Is Towne buying?"

She shook her head. "Not that I know of. Imbitek has started slowing down some its outside investment, too. Odd. As of a month ago, their regular cash allocations for new stocks virtually dried up. If I didn't know better, I'd say they're having serious cash flow problems."

"Why do you know better?"

"Two months ago, Imbitek sold off one of its subsidiaries for an enormous profit. They haven't paid a dividend on it yet because it was the beginning of the quarter, so all that money is just sitting somewhere. Towne gave himself and everyone on the board merit increases-modest ones, not the sort you see when a company is in trouble and the management is salting away the spoils before the end."

"In other words, their expenses haven't risen substantially."

"Right. So I doubt they actually have a problem with cash. They even paid back a couple of longterm loans. "

"War chest."

Kelvy frowned.

"Myler Towne wants to keep his new position, " Coren said. "He's preparing for a war. What are Alda Mikels' people doing while all this is going on?"

"A lot of them left the firm. A lot of them were asked to leave. Those who left have been drumming up support among the shareholders, advocating Mikels as the better choice as Chairman."

Coren tapped his fingers on the armrest. "What subsidiary did they sell off?"

"Captras Biomed."

"Who bought it?"

"A consortium of private investors. I'd have to do some prying to find out who. They bid anonymously. "

"Could you, please? I'm very interested."

Kelvy nodded, frowning.

"One more thing. Do you remember a bio research company called Nova Levis?"

"Sounds familiar. Old, gone now?"

"Yes. It shut down several years ago. I wondered if it might be possible to get a list of its investors."

"That would be a matter of public record."

"Not the real names," Coren said. "A lot of investors go on record through a front. The fronts are public. I want to know who really owned shares."

"All right. How soon do you need it?"

"Same time I need to know who bought Captras."

Kelvy smiled. "Ah-hah. Yesterday. Do we have time, then, for dinner?"

"I'd like that…"

"…but not tonight." She shrugged. "Oh, well. I'm just your broker, not anyone special. Your future lies in my hands every day, but you shouldn't be over-felicitous on that account. "

"Have I ever pointed out that you use a very questionable technique?"

"Several techniques, under the proper circumstances. I hope to show you more of them sometime." She smiled. "It'll be worth the wait. I'll get you this information by tomorrow morning. Soon enough?"

"That will do nicely. Thank you."

Kelvy pointed a finger at him. "We have plans?"

Coren grinned. "We have plans."

"Shoo, then. I have work to do."

Coren left her office. The plaza fronting the brokerage was filling up with second-shift on its way to work. Coren crossed to the walkways and stepped smoothly to the third lane.

He commed his office.

"Has Jeta Fromm contacted me yet?"

"No," replied the Desk.

Damn! "Any other messages?"

"Ambassador Ariel Burgess wishes you to call her as soon as possible. Mr. Doppler from Data Recovery Systems wishes you to contact him at your convenience."

Doppler…? Data Recovery Systems was the clearing house that had originally supplied him with Jeta Fromm. Coren closed the link to his Desk and tapped in Doppler's code.

"This is Lanra. "

"Mr. Lanra, forgive the intrusion," replied a smooth, androgynous voice. "There has been a…complication with our recent service. We've been trying to repair any possible harm that has resulted." Doppler's hesitancy made it clear that he felt embarrassed. "I wish to confirm that our service to you was acceptable. The operative your office has been attempting to locate-"

"Jeta Fromm."

"Yes, sir. Um…this is quite awkward…"

"You haven't been able to find her," Coren guessed.

"In fact, we haven't even tried. She has become no longer available, having ended her association with us three months ago. We are trying to determine a chronology so that service to our clients is not compromised. "

"Three months. That was before I retained her."

"Yes, sir," Doppler confirmed.

"You 're telling me that she wasn't even working for your company when she initially responded to my commission. And no one thought to inform me?"

Doppler seemed to clear his throat. "Regrettably so. I realize that excuses fail to compensate in this circumstance, but our system suffered an…intrusion…which kept us from monitoring certain files adequately. It wasn't until recently that we were able to restore the data and determine the nature of all the errors. I hope you understand."

Coren briefly felt cold. "I do, indeed. Am I the only person she contacted after she broke her ties with you?"

"No, sir, there were several others. I am not, of course, at liberty to discuss their files. "

"Of course not. Discretion is your reputation."

"Something like that. I also wanted to warn you that, under these unusual circumstances, whatever data you received from Ms. Fromm would be highly questionable. Our usual reimbursement policy is in effect, of course, but we will not guarantee the quality of the product."

"That's…problematic. Thank you for the call, Mr. Doppler."

"I hope this will not put you off using us in future."

"Of course not."

The link broke. Coren pocketed the comm. Jeta Fromm was dead. The question was when. Had he even met with her to begin with?

He watched the warrens pass by-shops, offices, home kitchens, girders, plazas, balconies. Block upon cube upon struts, mounding up to a hazy murk high above. The lights shone brilliant blue-white through the mists that formed near the upper elevations, delimiting the volume by showing everyone the ceiling of the cave. Inside. Tunnels, corridors, a maze of interconnected structure, involuted and self-cannibalizing over time, filling and refilling, home to billions, contained, giving the illusion of safety and accessibility. So easy to get from one place to another, it was all In Here, and the ways all clearly marked. No part of the world was cut off from any other. You could in principle reach anyone, anytime, by any of ten or a hundred pathways.