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No legal systeisters, prosecutors, Legums, defendants, witnesses, all - risks life itself in whatever dispute co must be risked in the Courtarena If any element remains outside the contest and without personal risk, justice inevitably fails
- Gowachin Law
Near sunset there was a fine rain which lasted well into darkness, then departed on the gorge hich cleared Dosadi&039;s skies It left the air crystalline, cornices dripping puddles in the streets Even the omnipresent Warren stink was diluted and Chu&039;s inhabitants showed a predatory lightness as theyto headquarters in an armored troop carrier which carried only his most trusted Gowachin, Broey noted the clear air even while he wondered at the reports which had brought hi from the Council Hills When he entered the conference roo with his back to the dark hich looked out on the eastern cliffs Broey wondered how long Gar had been there No sign of recognition passed between Gowachin and Hu separation of the species They&039;d both seen the reports which contained thatof a Huent under circumstances which pointed at Broey himself
Broey crossed to the head of the conference table, flipped the toggle which activated his communicator, addressed the screen which only he could see
"Assemble the Council and link for conference"
The response cah scramblers and suppressed by a privacy cone Gar, standing across the roo from the communicator
While he waited for the Council members to come on the conference link, Broey seated himself at the communicator, summoned a Gowachin aide to the screen, and spoke in a low voice masked by the privacy cone
"Start a security check on all Huht threaten us Use Plan D"
Broey glanced up at Gar The Human&039;s mouth worked silently He was annoyed by the privacy cone and his inability to tell exactly what Broey was doing Broey continued speaking to his aide
"I&039;ll want the special force deployed as I told you earlier Yes"
Gar pointedly turned his back on this conversation, stared out at the night
Broey continued to address his aide in the screen
"No! We must include even the Humans in this conference Yes, that&039;s the report Gar made to me Yes, I also received that information Other Huhbors, and there&039;ll be retaliations Yes, that was ht when I saw the report"
Broey turned off the privacy cone and scrambler Tria had just co the conversation with his security aide She spoke in a low, hurried voice with only a feords intelligible to Gar across the roo obvious He heard Tria out, then:
"Yesit would be logical to suppose that such a killing was made to look like Gowachin work for I see But the scattered incidents whichIndeed? Well, under the circuht incomplete, but his words drew a line between Huhest levels of his Advisory Council
"Tria, I must , Gar brought up a chair and placed it near the communicator, then sat down Broey had finished his conversation with Tria and restored the privacy circuits, however, and even though he sat nearby Gar could not penetrate their protective screen He was close enough now, though, to hear the buzzing of the privacy system and the sound annoyed Gar He did not try to conceal his annoyance
Broey saw Gar, but gave no indication that he approved or disapproved Gar&039;s nearness
"So I understand," Broey said "YesI&039;ll issue those orders as soon as I&039;ve finished here No Agreed That would be best" He closed the circuit The annoying buzz stopped
"Jedrik ainst Gowachin," Gar said
"If so, it&039;s been a long time in secret preparation," Broey said
His words is: that there was conspiracy in high places, that the situation had achieved dangerousdetected, that all of the inertial forces could not now be anticipated
"You expect it to get worse," Gar said
"Hopefully"
Gar stared at hi period, then:
"Yes
It was clear that Broey wanted a well-defined condition to develop, one which would provide clear predictions of the major consequences He was prepared for this When Broey understood the situation to his own satisfaction, he&039;d use his own undeniable powers to gain asa period of upset
Gar broke the silence
"But if we&039;ve misunderstood Jedrik&039;s intent -"
"It helps us when the innocent suffer," Broey said, paraphrasing part of an old axioht for him
"But who&039;s innocent?"
Before Broey could respond, his screen caht with the assembled faces of his Council, each face in its own little square Broey conducted the conference quickly, allowing few interruptions There were no house arrests, no direct accusations, but his words and h, Gar iht then in Chu while the powerful asse how he sensed this, Gar felt that this was exactly what Jedrik had wanted, and that it&039;d been aoff the coreat care
"Tria tells me that Jedrik cannot be found"
"Didn&039;t we expect that?"
"Perhaps" Broey puffed his jowls "What I don&039;t understand is how a simple Liaitor could elude my people and Tria"
"I think we&039;ve underestimated this Jedrik What if she coward
Broey considered this He&039;d been supervising the interrogation of Bahrank at a secure post deep in the Council Hills when the summons to headquarters had interrupted The accu reports indicated a kind of trouble Chu had known at various tinitude And Bahrank&039;s infor He&039;d delivered this Rim infiltrator named McKie to such and such an address (Security had been unable to check this in time because of the riots) Bahrank&039;s beliefs were obvious And perhaps the Ri to build their own city beyond the ht this unlikely His sources in the Rienerally trustworthy and his special source was always trustworthy Besides, such a venture would require gigantic stocks of food, all of it subject to exposure in the regular accounting That, after all, was the Liaitor function, why he had No, that was not probable The Ris and whatever could be wrested from Dosadi&039;s poisonous soil No Bahrank rong This McKie was peculiar, but in quite another way And Jedrik must&039;ve known this before anyone else - except himself The paramount question rehed
"We have a long association, Gar A person of your poho has worked his way froh the Warrens"
Gar understood He was being told that Broey looked upon him with active suspicion There&039;d never been any real trust between the openly spoken, nothing direct or specific, but theclear It was not even sly; it was merely Dosadi
For a moment, Gar didn&039;t knohich way to turn There&039;d always been this possibility in his relationship with Broey, but long acceptance had lulled Gar into a dangerous dependency Tria had been his most valuable counter He needed her now, but she had other, , duties at this juncture
Gar realized now that he would have to precipitate his own plans, calling in all of the debts and dependencies which were his due He was distracted by the sound ofpast in the outer hall Presu to a head faster than expected
Gar stood up, stared vaguely out the s at those dark shadows in the night which were the Ri for Broey, Gar had watched darkness settle there, watched the spots of orange appear which were the Rim&039;s cookfires Gar knew those cookfires, knew the taste of the food which ca dullness which dominated existence out there Did Broey expect him to flee back to that? Broey would be astonished at the alternatives open to Gar
"I will leave you now," Broey said He arose and waddled from the room What he meant was: "Don&039;t be here when I return"
Gar continued to stare out the s He seery reverie Why hadn&039;t Tria reported yet? One of Broey&039;s Gowachin aides came in, fussed over papers on a corner table
It was actually nothus He shook himself presently, turned, and let himself out of the rooe than a troop of Broey&039;s Gowachin shouldered their way past him into the conference roory with himself for what he knew he must do, Gar turned left, strode down the hall to the room where he knew he&039;d find Broey Three Gowachin wearing Security brassards followed hiuarded Broey&039;s door, but they hesitated to stop hi And Broey, not expecting Gar to follow, had failed to issue specific orders Gar counted on this
Broey, instructing a group of Gowachin aides, stood over a table cluttered with charts Yellow light fro shadows on the charts as the aides bent over the table and made notes Broey broke off at the intrusion, his surprise obvious
Gar spoke before Broey could order hi the worst htened, did not speak, but the invitation for Gar to continue was there
"Jedrik&039;s playing you like a fine instru precisely what she wants you to do"
Broey&039;s cheeks puffed The shrug angered Gar
"When I first came here, Broey, I took certain precautions to insure ainst This was all so mundane Why else did this fool Human continue alive and at liberty?
"You&039;ve never been able to discover what I did to insure ainst you," Gar said "I have no addictions I&039; before your experts on pain could overcos youyou now need desperately to know"
"I have my own precautions, Gar"
"Of course, and I admit I don&039;t knohat they are"
"So what do you propose?"
Gar gave a little laugh, not quite gloating
"You know my terms"