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‘Be careful up there on that roof, Mirtai,’ Kring adreat deal of trouble winning you, and I’d hate to lose you at this point Oh, speaking of that, friend Stragen – and you too, friend Caalador – if anything happens to her, you do know that I’ll kill you, don’t you?’
‘We wouldn’t have it any other way, friend Kring,’ Stragen s hand over her beloved’s scalp Stragen had noticed that she did that quite often He wondered if the feel of the little fellow’s shaved headon her decision to iantess said ‘Re, and I’ll take care of it’
Then Stragen, Caalador and Mirtai, all dressed in close-fitting black clothing, slipped through the shadows of a grove of trees near the Ministry of the Interior ‘You’re really fond of the little fellow, aren’t you, Mirtai?’ Stragen ? He’s a suitable sort of man’
‘That’s a rather lukewar It shouldn’t be displayed in public’
‘Then you do have those feelings for him?’
‘I don’t really see where that’s any of your business, Stragen’
There was a fil on the lawns of the i crept in off the Ta The moon would not rise for hours yet, and all in all it was a perfect night for a burglary
Caalador was puffing when they reached the wall surrounding the Ministry of the Interior ‘Out of condition,’ he en told hi a heavy grappling hook in his hand He stepped back and began to whirl the hook in a wide circle, letting out more rope with each circuit Then he hurled it upith the rope trailing behind it It sailed up over the wall and fell inside, striking the stones with a ed down a couple of tirass
‘Aren’t we going up?’ Mirtai asked hiht have heard it We’ll wait until his curiosity’s had time to wear off’
‘Fellers what’s a-standin’ watch in the o lookin’ fer where it is ez noises is a-comin’ from, dorlin’,’ Caalador explained ‘It’s been ood watch, so they don’t go out of their way to investigate things As long as nobody sets the building on fire, they’re not overburdened with curiosity B’sides,’ he added, dipping once again into the dialect, ‘fellers ez gits chose t’ stand gord at night usual turns out t’ be drankin’ on er two, they can’t really hear hordly nuthin’ a-tall’ He looked at Stragen ‘Do you want to try the ground floor before we go up on the roof?’ he asked in clipped Elenic
‘No,’ Stragen decided ‘Ground-floor s are always double-checked when people lock up, and watch door handles and trying the s close to the ground I’ve always preferred attics myself’
‘What if all the attic s are locked as well?’ Mirtai asked hih enough so that a broken on’t be all that visible froen,’ Caalador cautioned hi back inside every night for the next week or two That’s a large building’
‘Let’s get at it, then,’ Stragen said, rising to his feet He looked out across the lawn The fog had grown noticeably thicker He tugged down on the rope a couple of tian to clio on up next, dorlin’,’ Caalador said quietly to Mirtai
‘Why do you call me that?’
‘Jist a-bein’ friendly-like It don’t ed beau He’s a likable sort, but he shore is touchy where yer concerned’
‘Yes,’ Mirtai agreed She went quickly up the rope and joined Stragen atop the wall ‘What now?’ she asked
‘We’ll go across to the roof and start checking attic s just as soon as Caalador clilars are about half-ape, aren’t they?’
‘We prefer to think of ourselves as agile Now then, if we run into anybody inside, we’ll try to hide first If that doesn’t work, we’ll rap hi a wineskin, and he’ll pour wine all over the man The smell of that should make him less credible when he wakes up Try not to kill anybody It takes all night to clean up, and we’d have to carry the body ae leave This isn’t an ordinary burglary, and we don’t want anybody to knoe’ve been here’
‘You’re repeating the obvious, Stragen’
‘I’ve seen your instincts in operation before, love If you do kill somebody, please try to leave ht in there with a mop inso affectionate tonight?’
‘I don’t think I quite followed that’
‘Caalador’s been calling " ever since we set out, and you just called nificance to that?’
He chuckled ‘A gang of burglars is a very close-knit group, Mirtai We depend on each other for our very lives That creates powerful ties of affection – which usually last right up until the point when the tis soly’
‘Let’s have it all in place before we make any overt moves, Sarabian,’ Ehlana counseled ‘The Interior Ministry knows that we’re up to so’s normal The customary approach is to have everybody in custody before you start issuing proclaovernreed They were standing atop the battle out over the city as the sun rose above the thick ground fog ‘That’s pretty, isn’t it?’ he observed ‘The color of the fog almost perfectly matches the mauve on the walls and domes’
‘You have a beautiful city’
‘With so to do for a police force after I dissolve the Ministry of the Interior?’
‘You’ll probably have to declare martial law’
He winced ‘The Atans won’t make me very many friends, I’m afraid They tend to have a very simplified concept of justice’