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"This is not unexpected" She indicated the design on the paper
Theyou for some time now that Tria is ready to come over"
"She&039;s trouble," Jedrik said
"But Gar"
It was the wo, but Jedrik cut her off
"I know: Gar does whatever she tells hihter runs the father He thinks she&039;s thethat ever happened, able to"
"Her abilities are not the issue," the erly
"Yes, it&039;s her influence on Gar that"
"Neither of them anticipated my moves," Jedrik said, "but I anticipated their moves"
The man leaned across the table, his face close to Jedrik&039;s He appeared suddenly to McKie like a large, dangerous anierous because his actions could never be fully predicted His hands twitched when he spoke
"We&039;ve told you every detail of our findings, every source, every conclusion Now, are you saying you don&039;t share our assessment of"
"You don&039;t understand," Jedrik said
The woman had drawn back Now, she nodded
Jedrik said:
"It isn&039;t the first time I&039;ve had to reassess your conclusions Hear me: Tria will leave Broey when she&039;s ready, not when he&039;s ready It&039;s the same for anyone she serves, even Gar"
They spoke in unison:
"Leave Gar?"
"Leave anyone Tria serves only Tria Never forget that Especially don&039;t forget it if she comes over to us"
The ht about what Jedrik had said Her words were another indication that soht have other than personal aims Jedrik&039;s tone was unmistakable: she censured and distrusted Tria because Tria served only selfish ambition Therefore, Jedrik (and this other pair by inference) served some unstated mutual purpose Was it a form of patriotisents were always alert for this dangerous form of tribal madness, not necessarily to suppress it, but to make certain it did not explode into a violence deadly to the ConSentiency
The white-shts, spoke:
"If Tria can&039;t be enlisted forwhat Ito hold her" She corrected herself "Unless you believe we cannot convince her we&039;ll overcome Broey" She chewed at her lip, a fearful expression in her eyes
A shrewd look came over Jedrik&039;s face
"What is it you suspect?"
The woman pointed to the chart on the table
"Gar still shares in the major decisions That shouldn&039;t be, but it is If he"
The erness
"He has some hold on Broey!"
The woame other than the one we anticipated"
Jedrik looked at the woh to McKie, but McKie realized she was addressing the air
"It&039;s a specific thing Gar has revealed so to Broey I knohat he&039;s revealed Nothing else could force Broey to behave this way" She nodded at the chart "We have them!"
The woman ventured a question
"Have we done well?"
"Better than you know"
The man smiled, then:
"Perhaps this is the tier roo the furniture We bump"
"Not now!"
Jedrik arose McKie followed her example
"Let me see the children," Jedrik said
The man turned to the open portal
"Get out here, you! Jedrik wants you!"
Three children ca from the other room The woman didn&039;t even look at thelare He spoke to Jedrik
"They&039;ve brought no food into this house in almost a week"
McKie studied the children carefully as he saw Jedrik was doing They stood in a row just inside the room and, from their expressions, it was impossible to tell their reaction to the suirls and a boy The one on the right, a girl, was perhaps nine; on the left, another girl, was five or six The boy was somewhat older, perhaps twelve or thirteen He favored McKie with a glance It was the glance of a predator who recognizes ready prey, but who already has eaten All three bore more resee was obvious: the eyes, the set of the ears, nose
Jedrik had coestured to the boy
"Start sending hi team"
"About tiet hi, McKie"
In the hall, Jedrik said:
"To answer your question, they&039;re pretty typical"
McKie, who had only wondered silently, sed in a dry throat The petty goals of these people: to get a bigger roo into furniture He&039;d sensed no affection for each other in that couple They were companions of convenience There had been not the smallest hint of emotion for each other when they spoke McKie found it difficult to i love, but apparently they did They had produced three children
Realization came like an explosion in his head Of course they showed no emotion! What other protection did they have? On Dosadi, anything cared for was a club to beat you into somebody else&039;s line And there was another thing
McKie spoke to Jedrik&039;s back as they went down the stairs
"That couple - they&039;re addicted to soly, Jedrik stopped, looked back up at him
"How else do you think I hold such a pair? The substance is called dis It&039;s very rare It comes from the far mountains, far beyond thefar beyond The Rim sends parties of children as bearers to obtain dis for me In a party of fifty, thirty can expect to die on such a trek Do you get the measure of it, McKie?"
Onceshe&039;d taken the time to teach him another lesson about Dosadi, could only follow, stunned, while she led him into a room where technicians bleached the sun-darkened areas of his skin
When they ema of Pylash Gate