Timothy Zahn - Cobra Bargain

Omnathi's lip twisted. "Hard though it may be for you to understand, city-bred prejudices are often as ridiculous as those of villagers," he growled. "At any rate, you'd do better to save your pride for more important matters-the safety and protection of your world, for example. Tell us what you know about the woman."

"She told me her name was Jasmine Alventin," Daulo said, again wishing he knew what they'd learned from his father. "We found her on the road, injured, and brought her into our house."

"And..."

"And she told us she was from Sollas and that she'd been in an accident. That's all."

"Didn't you think it advisable to press for further details?" Omnathi persisted.

"Or even to check up on her story?"

"Of course we did," Daulo said, trying to sound offended. "We sent men out to search the roads for her car and companions."

"Did you find them?"

"No." Daulo glanced at the other two men, looked back at Omnathi. "What is this all about, anyway? Is she an escaped criminal or something?"

"She's an offworld invader," Omnathi said bluntly.

Daulo had expected him to ignore or evade the question; the very unexpectedness of the reply startled him almost as much as if he were hearing it for the first time. "She's-what?" he breathed. "But... that's impossible."

"Why?" Omnathi snapped. "You said yourself the Yithtra family had found an offworld artifact. Didn't it ever occur to you that an offworld artifact might be accompanied by someone to use it?"

"Yes, but..." Daulo floundered, hunting desperately for something to say. Jin's words just before she'd left popped back into his mind: you have to make it a little hard for them, Daulo-everyone gets suspicious of prizes handed over on silver platters. "But it was Jasmine Alventin who told us it was an offworld artifact in the first place," he said. "Why would she do that if it were hers?"

Omnathi frowned. "What do you mean? Told you how?"

"Well, when I heard there was a truck bringing something unusual into Milika I drove off to take a look," Daulo explained, trying to keep his voice and face under control. "Jasmine Alventin was with me at the time, and at a slow section of the road she suddenly got out of the car and climbed in the back of the truck to see what it was."

Omnathi seemed taken aback. "Your father didn't mention that," he said.

Daulo took a deep breath. "Well, actually... I believe I told him it was I who looked into the truck."

Omnathi's eyes were steady on him. "You believe you told him?"

Daulo licked his lips. "I... suppose I wanted to... take the credit."

For a long moment the room was silent. Omnathi and the others just looked at him, contempt showing in varying degrees in their expressions. "You told us you didn't know where the woman was," Omnathi said at last. "Why not?"

"Because she left me just after sundown," Daulo said. "She said she was anxious to get back home and asked me where she could pick up a bus heading north. I took her to the waiting area at the city center and left her there."

"Did you, now." Slowly, Omnathi ran the tip of his tongue along his upper lip, gazing hard at Daulo. Daulo stared back, listening to his heart thudding in his chest. "Tell me," Omnathi said abruptly, "did you actually see her get on any of the buses?"

"Ah..." Daulo considered. "No, not really. She was walking toward the one for

Sollas when I drove away, though."

One of the other men cleared his throat. "Shall I have the bus intercepted?" he asked.

"No," Omnathi said slowly. "No, I think that would be a waste of time. She didn't take that bus. Or any of the others."

Daulo blinked. "I don't understand-"

"Tell me, Daulo Sammon," Omnathi interrupted him. "Where is your car?"

"Uh... just outside the building, in the parking area."

Omnathi shook his head. "No. In fact, it's nowhere for six streets around you.

We looked for it."

Daulo's heart skipped a beat. He and Jin had left the vehicle parked in plain sight only two blocks away... "That's impossible," he managed. "I left it right outsi-"

"Do you have the keys?" Omnathi asked.

No; he'd given them to Jin in case she had some need of the vehicle while she was out. "Of course," he said. "They're on the table over there."

One of the men moved over to look. "No, they're not," he reported, sifting through the personal items Daulo had piled there.

"Find them," Omnathi ordered. "Have you been gone from this apartment since she left, Daulo Sammon?"

"No." Daulo watched as the two men began searching the room, feeling the sweat begin to gather on his forehead again. It was all very well to ease them toward the conclusion that Jin had stolen his car, but they weren't going to believe it unless he came up with a plausible mechanism for that theft. "I was asleep when you arrived, though-"

"What's this," one of the searchers interrupted him, holding up a small black cylinder.

The signaller Jin had given him.

"I... don't know," he said through stiff lips. "It's not mine."

"Be careful with it," Omnathi said sharply, stepping over to the other's side and taking the signaller from him. He studied it for a moment, then carefully lifted the top cap. Push the button if you're in trouble, and I'll be there, Jin had said...

But Omnathi made no move to do that. "Interesting," he murmured. "Looks like a radio transceiver of some kind-here's the antenna." He looked back at Daulo.

"Did you tell her how to work the lock combination on the apartment door?" he asked.

"Uh... not directly, no. Though she might have seen me key it."

Omnathi nodded grimly. "I'm sure she did." He hefted the signaller in the palm of his hand, "Do you snore when you sleep, Daulo Sammon?"

The question took Daulo by surprise. "Ah... I really don't know. Perhaps a bit."

Omnathi grunted. "Doesn't really matter, I suppose. The sound of a sleeper's breathing is fairly distinctive to someone who knows what to listen for."

"Sir... I-"

Omnathi impaled him with a glare. "She planted this on you," he grated. "All she had to do was pretend to get on that bus, then follow you back and wait for you to fall asleep. Then she slipped in, took your keys, and left. Any idea how long you were asleep?"

Daulo shrugged, feeling a little dazed. They were practically writing his alibi for him. "An hour, perhaps. Maybe longer."

Omnathi muttered something under his breath. "An hour. God in heaven."

Daulo licked his lips. "Sir... I don't understand any of this. What is Jasmine

Alventin's interest in my family?"

"I don't think she has any interest in you whatsoever," the older man sighed.

"She's simply been using you: first to help her recover from her spacecraft's crash, and after that to create a diversion."

"A diversion?"

"Yes." Omnathi waved toward the northwest. "Once she realized her discovery was inevitable, she simply took charge of the timetable, letting your father know about the supply pod in Yithtra family hands and perhaps encouraging him to notify the Shahni before they did. Then, while the focus of our attention was on her spacecraft and your village, she persuaded you to bring her here, distracted you further with a feint toward the bus, and proceeded to steal your car." He paused, eying Daulo thoughtfully... and when he spoke again his voice had taken on a hard edge. "But innocent victims or not, the Sammon family nevertheless has aided an enemy of Qasama. It's possible that you may yet be punished for that."

Daulo swallowed hard. "Yet we did inform the Shahni about the offworld artifact as soon as we knew about it," he reminded the other.

"That may weigh in your favor," Omnathi nodded. "Whether it does or not will depend on how quickly we capture this Jasmine Alventin. And what we learn from her."