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your mind?"
"I keep thinking of something you said to Bros Sperin. That going to Rohan was
to a trader the equivalent of a virgin entering a whorehouse. It is a good
analogy, Joat, and it troubles me."
Joat leaned back in her chair, eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"Go on," she said.
"It is not simply your reputation with Central Worlds that concerns me. You
are known as a captain who keeps her hands clean. Will they not wonder why you
have come to them? As well, your association with the SSS-900-C is widely
known. As the adopted daughter of a shell-person you became quite famous for a
while. To those guilty of aiding the Kolnari your name will surely set off a
train of associations which could result in considerable danger for you."
She folded her hands on her stomach and nodded slowly.
"You're right. I will need a reason for going there that's completely
dissociated from Amos or the
Kolnari. You know, I have this sneaking suspicion that Mr. Sperin wanted me to
be under suspicion.
So that it would be easier for someone else say, Bros Sperin to slip in
himself while everyone worried about me. Hmmm."
"Perhaps if you were to take on smuggled goods," Joseph suggested tentatively.
"New Destinies has a reputation for looking the other way in such matters, so
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having this as your last port of call would lend credibility."
"I'd need to justify that," Joat said thoughtfully. "I'm the first to admit
that I bend the rules till they scream for mercy, but seriously criminal
behavior is something I've managed to avoid so far."
She tapped her fingertips together and stared into space for a moment. Then
she smiled.
"Rand," she asked, "do we have a recording of that little walk I took
earlier?'
"Yes Joat I saw no reason not to make one."
"Can you adjust it to make it look as though it had been recorded by someone
else?"
"I can."
"Do it. Then transmit it anonymously to Station Security." She winked at
Joseph. "I took an unau-
thorized space walk and entered the station illegally. They'll hit us with a
wonking great fine and I can use that as an excuse for needing fast and dirty
credits." She grimaced. "It may take us there round about, but I think the
added safety margin should be worth a small delay."
"But Joat, the fine will be real," Joseph objected. Frowning he asked, "What
if you cannot pay it?"
"No problem." Joat grinned at him. "CenSec will pay at least, I think I can
thumbscrew any reasonable amount out of them. We'll just put it under
expenses. Might come to four, five thousand credits; even ten thousand. Enough
to make the treasurer wince. Can't be much more than that."
Joseph laughed. Bethelites tended to be straightlaced, but Joseph ben Said had
the wholehearted love of a well-thought-out swindle natural to a Keriss wharf
rat. This would not only make CenSec cough up the money, but a certain Bros
Sperin would have to justify the expense.
"You are wicked! You have always been wicked. Why did I think you had outgrown
it?"
"Wishful thinking?" Joat asked, blinking innocent blue eyes.
A good notion, Sperin thought as he watched the clip of Joat breaking into the
station.
Getting herself into trouble with station security should give her greater
credibility.
He'd wondered how she managed to avoid the man they'd had waiting for her.
He's not the best that ever was, but he's not blind either.
Bros shook his head and smiled slightly.
Now how can benefit from this situation?
I
Sperin rubbed his upper lip thoughtfully. The little captain had been talking
about ditching her career as a courier, not something CenSec would like to
happen.
She's smart and she's reliable.
It was amazing how rare those qualities were.
Joat hadn't been invited to join CenSec because she was too independent, too
unpredictable. But it had turned out that in every way that it counted she was
a gem.
Be nice to have her beholden to us, Sperin mused.
She's the type that pays her debts.
He'd been given a name in the Bureau of Fines and Levies to contact if need
arose. Bros rubbed his palms together.
I believe I feel a need.
"Roses sweet and tender she has twined in her
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hair, and the scent of spring and roses is with her
everywhere."
Joat yawned and half-groaned as the baritone voice boomed through the sound
system.
"I take it Alvec is back," she said.
"Yes, Joat," Rand said.
She dumped a packet of sweetener into the coffee she could afford real sugar
now, but preferred the more familiar taste and said: "On display."
The viewscreen over the galley's preserver unit came live, showing a holo of
the deck outside the
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