“Proof of what?” Kendi asked.
“The blackmail plot. The markers on the file tell where it came from. Ben said he wanted to have a hold on the blackmailer, threaten to take the disk to the Guardians or the police unless they dropped the whole issue.”
“Blackmailing the blackmailers,” Kendi muttered. “Except Ben said he didn’t want the Guardians involved.”
“He doesn’t,” Lucia said. “But he said the blackmailers wouldn’t know that.”
Kendi gave a snort of admiration. “Sounds like something I’d do.”
The front door opened and shut. “No sign of the sack,” Ben reported. “Lars is still looking, but it’s gone.”
“Perhaps it was a simple robbery,” Harenn said. “The thief took the money and the disk without realizing what it is.”
“It’s possible,” Lucia said.
“The
disk?
” Ben said, face pale. “The disk is gone too?”
Lucia’s face reddened. “I’m afraid so.”
“So there’s a mugger out there who knows who I am?”
“Not necessarily,” Lucia said. “It would take a certain amount of reading and interpretation to understand what the file means.”
“Finn and Helen Day figured it out,” Ben pointed out.
“I have a theory about that,” Lucia said. She sat up with a slight wince and waved away Kendi’s offer of help. “I’m feeling better.”
“What’s your theory?” Kendi asked.
“Finn Day has—had—contacts with Foxglove’s Federalists, remember. I wonder if Foxglove used Finn and Helen to get access to the
Poltergeist
when we got back.”
“What for?” Kendi said, puzzled.
“Trolling for random dirt. It isn’t unheard of for politicians to dig around for scandal that might discredit their opponents. Ben is Senator Salman’s grandson, and he spent considerable time on the
Poltergeist
. What if Ben did something scandalous and left a record of it on the ship? It would have been worth it to look around and find out.”
“Seems like a real long shot to me,” Kendi said. “It’d be expensive to arrange, for one thing.”
“And Foxglove is poor?” Lucia said. “At any rate, it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest to learn that Mitchell Foxglove arranged for Finn Day—one of his secretaries, remember—to be hired at the shipyard. It’s entirely possible Finn knew about the
Poltergeist
from his sister and put the idea to Foxglove himself. Helen had access to the ship, Finn had the computer knowledge. She sneaks him on board during the refit to look for dirt and he finds gold. But instead of turning the information over to Foxglove like they’re supposed to, they figure they can squeeze some money out of Ben with a little blackmail.”
“So Foxglove found out about it and murdered them?” Ben said. “That’s seems...extreme.”
“This is Bellerophon’s first gubernatorial election since it joined the Independence Confederation, and our first governor will be in a position to dictate policy and custom for centuries to come,” Harenn said. “There is considerable power at stake, and the murder of two low-level workers does not strike me at all extraordinary.”
“But why kill them?” Kendi said. “If Foxglove—or whoever he hired for it—were caught, it would destroy his campaign. “And they’re his own people. It’d make more sense to discipline them or fire them.”
“Not so,” Harenn countered. “The information they possessed would only hurt Foxglove if it were released—Salman’s popularity would increase if her grandson turned out to be Irfan’s child. If Foxglove angered the Finns, they might release the information just to spite him. Foxglove is better off with them dead.”
“So is Ched-Pirasku,” Lucia added. “It’s possible that Foxglove’s Federalists uncovered the information but Ched-Pirasku’s Populists worked to suppress it—for the same reasons.”
“The women in this room are certainly bloodthirsty,” Kendi remarked.
“The women in this room are realistic,” Harenn corrected. “Do you think Salman is any less so?”
“She’s my grandmother,” Ben said.
“Has your grandmother ever been a wrinkled old lady who bakes blue cupcakes for the “wakening Festival and spoils her grandchildren on weekend visits?” Harenn said.
Ben snorted. “Hardly. She’s been a Grandmother with the Children of Irfan for as long as I can remember. Her idea of a relaxing weekend was serving on only two committees instead of four. Sometimes I think Mom went so big on field work because Grandma was such a heavyweight at the monastery—it gave Mom a chance to do something Grandma wasn’t involved with.”
“So Salman is driven to succeed just like Foxglove and Ched-Pirasku,” Harenn said. “Bloodthirsty or practical?”
“This is all speculation,” Kendi said. “And it’s too complicated. I think someone mugged you, Lucia—possibly that girl you talked to—and took both the money and the disk. End of story.”
“Someone should tell the authorities about the Days,” Lucia said. “Anonymously. They live—lived—outside the monastery, so it’ll have to be the police, not the Guardians.”
“I will do so,” Harenn said, rising.
Kendi noticed Ben was still looking pale. He put an arm around him. “The mugger will just throw the disk away, Ben. I promise. We don’t have anything to worry about here. Really. Let’s go to bed and forget about it.”
They did. But Ben tossed for much of the night.
In the morning, Kendi woke with the feeling that he was forgetting something important. He sat up and looked down at Ben, who in the manner of insomniacs everywhere, had managed to fall asleep just before it was time to get up. His red hair was sleep-tousled and the sheet had slipped down from his upper body, displaying smooth skin and hard muscle relaxed in sleep. The bruises from Kendi’s rescue were already fading, thanks to Harenn’s ministrations, and he wouldn’t need the sling anymore. Kendi ran a dark finger along the underside of Ben’s raspy jaw. Ben didn’t stir, though his chest and stomach rose and fell with steady breathing. Kendi was going to have a child with this man. They were going to be parents. The idea filled him with—
Parents. Children. Ched-Hisak.
That’s
what he had been forgetting. Ched-Hisak’s children were Leaving today, and he and Ben were supposed to be there.
Kendi slid out of bed, wrapped a robe around himself, and headed for the bathroom. On the way he pressed an ear to the closed guest room door. Silence. Lucia must still be—
“She is fine,” Harenn said behind him. Kendi jumped.
“I’m combat-trained, you know,” he growled. “I could have killed you where you stand, woman, mother of my child or not.”
“The male ego,” Harenn remarked, “continues to be a mystery. I have already checked on Lucia, and she is fine.”
“You went home last night, didn’t you?”
“Of course. But now I have returned to visit my patient—and make her a decent breakfast. One of you two bachelors must one day learn to cook.”
Kendi shook his head and wandered into the kitchen. He smelled toast, hot rice cereal, honey, and butter. Bedj-ka was sitting at the table, digging into a steaming bowl with a spoon. A data pad on the table in front of him showed a feed story about a boy who had gone missing on a solo nature hike. The boy was a few years older than Bedj-ka.
“Shouldn’t you be in school?” Kendi asked.
Bedj-ka swallowed a mouthful of cereal. “They’ve shortened the school week because of money. We’re supposed to study at home on the computer. I’m doing current events.”
“Are you going to study all day?” Kendi rummaged through the cupboards.
“Mom’ll make me,” Bedj-ka said. “It’s not fair. School gets canceled but we have extra homework.”
“Suffer, kid,” Kendi said heartlessly, still searching the shelves. “When I was your age, things were a lot harder. We didn’t have these sissy walkways and monorails to get to school. We had to swing from tree to tree on vines. In the rain. Against the wind. And we
liked
it.”
“If you are looking for coffee,” Harenn said behind him again, “we are out. The grocer also has none. Have some tea.”
Kendi groaned. “I wanted coffee.”
“Wow,” Bedj-ka said around a mouthful of toast. “You
do
have it rough.”
“Your son,” Kendi said, “is turning into a smart aleck.”
“He does not get it from
my
side of the family,” Harenn said. “How did you sleep, Bedj-ka?”
Bedj-ka shrugged. “Okay, I guess. I had a rigid dream! I was racing flitcars through the woods. It was like riding a roller coaster. I was dodging through the trees and branches and one time I almost crashed. When I woke up, I was shaky—way better than a sim-game.”
“Good. Then you will not miss the sims while you are doing your homework today.”
Bedj-ka turned morosely back to his cereal and Kendi took a quick shower. Afterward, he was heading back to the bedroom to get dressed when he ran into Lucia in the hall. Her complexion was back to its usual olive coloring and she managed a smile at him.
“I feel fine,” she said, forestalling his question. “Physically, at any rate.”
“Physically?”
“I’m still upset about losing the disk.”
Kendi patted her shoulder. “I’m not worrying about it. You shouldn’t either.”
“I’ll try.” She sniffed the air. “Did Harenn come over and make breakfast?”
“How do you know it wasn’t me?”
Lucia didn’t deign to reply and disappeared into the bathroom. Kendi entered his own room, and Ben stirred, only half awake. Kendi slid back into bed next to him and gave his ear a long, languorous lick. Ben shuddered sleepily and opened blue eyes. Kendi ran his hand over Ben’s warm chest and stomach.
“Once we have kids,” he said, sliding his hand even lower, “you’ll have to start sleeping in pajamas in case they walk in.”
A pause. Then Ben whispered, “Don’t start something you aren’t willing to finish.”
“How do you know I’m not willing?”
Kendi’s hand moved under the sheet. Ben gasped, then gently pushed him away. “Not with Lucia and Harenn in the house.”
“How did you know Harenn’s here?”
“I smell rice cereal.”
“Then we’ll have to be quick and quiet,” Kendi said roguishly. “Good practice for when we have kids in the house.”
Some time later, Kendi was dressing and Ben was rifling the messy closet, looking for his bathrobe. In the end, he gave up and pulled on a pair of shorts and an old shirt. His hair stuck out in all directions, giving him a rumpled, boyish look.
“Is that what you’re wearing to the Leaving this afternoon?” Kendi said.
Ben’s eyes widened. “God, I’d forgotten all about that. It’s today?”
“At noon. I’d forgotten, too.”
Harenn knocked on the door. “Even I cannot keep breakfast warm forever, gentlemen.”
A few hours later, Kendi stood with Ben outside the home of Ched-Hisak’s family. The house was larger than a human dwelling, and the corners were rounded. Other Ched-Balaar houses sat on the branches around them, connected by the ever-present walkways. The day was bright, sunny, and unseasonably warm. Ben and Kendi both wore short pants, sandals, and simple shirts in muted colors. Kendi’s had a tear near the collar. Ben carried an enormous loaf of bread stuffed with fragrant herbs—Lucia’s handiwork.
“So we don’t do anything special or different,” Kendi said.
“Right,” said Ben.
“Are you completely sure?” Kendi asked.
“I’ve lived on Bellerophon all my life,” Ben reminded him, “and I’ve heard about Leavings, even if I’ve never been to one. When Ched-Nel and Ched-Pek emerge from the den, act as if it’s nothing special. Talk to them as if you’ve met them before. Ched-Hisak and Ched-Miran will have shown them images of us, so they’ll know who we are. Remember, as far as we’re concerned, they’ve always been around. And for heaven’s sake, don’t say the word
child
. Not here.”
Kendi nodded. “I still feel like I should bring a present.”
“
No!
That would make it seem like a special occasion.”
“It
is
a special occasion.”
“Not one we’re supposed to draw attention to,” Ben said. “We can bring food because that’s for everyone, but we can’t bring anything that’s just for Ched-Nel and Ched-Pek.”
“It still doesn’t make sense,” Kendi said.
“It makes perfect sense,” Ben insisted. “The Ched-Balaar hide their children to keep them safe from predators or enemies. It’s probably an evolutionary thing that turned into strict custom. Now that the kids are old enough to join society, we don’t want to draw attention to the fact that the family can reproduce in case there are any other children still hidden away.” He shook his head. “You’re thinking too much like a human, Kendi.”
“A true failing,” Kendi said.
“And don’t forget about their names when we’re in their house.”
“I’m not a total ignoramus,” Kendi said. “I’ve lived on Bellerophon for a while, too, you know.”
“Sorry,” Ben said. “I just don’t want to make a mistake. Let’s go in.”