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“Thank you all for co,” it said “I will be brief”
That was unexpected Judging froh the roo birds on Earth, that was
“I’ for an object,” the bird said “I will need help taking it from its present owners”
The bird’s glossy feathers shone darkly in the glow of the hanging lights Its voice echoed in the half-empty stockroom It was a soft, mild-mannered voice, not hoarse at all like you’d expect froruously hu to do with its actual vocal apparatus But that was ic for you
“So stealing,” an Indian guy said Not like it bothered him, he just wanted clarification He was older than Quentin, fortyan unbelievably bad multicolored wool sweater
“Theft,” the bird said “Yes”
“Stealing back, or stealing?”
“What is the difference?”
“I would uys Which of you has a rightful claim on the object?”
The bird cocked its head thoughtfully
“Neither party has an entirely valid claim,” it said “But if it makes a difference our claim is superior to theirs”
That seeh Quentin wondered if he would have had a problem either way
“Who are you?” sonored that
“What is the object?” Plum asked
“You’ll be told after you’ve accepted the job”
“Where is it?” Quentin asked
The bird shifted its weight back and forth
“It is in the northeastern United States of Aht have been a bird-shrug
“So you don’t know,” Quentin said “So finding it is part of the job”
The bird didn’t deny it Pixie Cut scooched forward, which wasn’t easy on the broken-backed couch, especially in a skirt that short Her hair was black with purple highlights, and Quentin noticed a couple of blue star tattoos peeking out of her sleeves, the kind you got in a safe house He wondered how many more she had underneath He wondered what she’d done to end up here
“So we’re finding and we’re stealing and I’ in between What kind of resistance are you expecting?”
“Can you be more specific?”
“Security, how h?”
“Yes We are expecting two”
“Two icians?”
“Twoout of the ordinary, as far as I know”
“As far as you know!” The red-faced uffawed loudly He seemed on further examination to be a little insane
“I do know that they have been able to place an incorporate bond on the object The bond will have to be broken, obviously”
A stunned silence followed this statement, then somebodyfor greeting cards snorted as if to say can you believe this shit?
“Those are supposed to be unbreakable,” Plum said coolly
“You’re wasting our time!” Iridescent Glasses said
“An incorporate bond has never been broken,” the bird said, not at all bothered—or were its feathers just slightly ruffled? “But we believe that it is theoretically possible, with the right skills and the right resources We have all the skills we need in this room”
“What about the resources?” Pixie Cut asked
“The resources can be obtained”
“So that’s also part of the job,” Quentin said He ticked the the object, breaking the bond, taking the object, dealing with the current owners Correct?”