Read Online Dragonback 01 Dragon and Thief by Timothy Zahn - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Timothy Zahn
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there," Jack explained, a twinge of conscience
poking like a thorn into his side. "A con man uses words and schemes to
talk people out of their money."
Draycos's green eyes were gazing at him with an uncomfortable
intensity. "You were thieves."
"That's putting it a bit unkindly, sir," Uncle Virge protested.
"Shut up, Uncle Virge," Jack said tiredly. "Yes. We were thieves."
"And your society permits this?"
"Our society tries very hard to stop it," Jack conceded. "But
Uncle Virgil was good at what he did, especially the safe-cracker part.
One of the real experts in the field. The cops knew all about him, but
they never caught him in the act or had enough evidence to arrest him."
"What was your part in his activities?"
"I was his helper," Jack said. "I distracted people, or played
foil or backstop. He had me crack some simple safes, too, and he was
starting to teach me some of the fancier tricks when he died. I think
he was training me to follow in his footsteps."
"Cops," Draycos said thoughtfully, as if finally finding a jigsaw
puzzle piece he'd been looking for. "That was the word. You said our
attacker on the Havenseeker might be a cop. Are the authorities
still seeking Uncle Virgil?"
"Actually, they're more likely seeking me," Jack said. "The funny
part is that, for once, I didn't do anything."
"Explain."
"I don't steal or con anymore," Jack said. "I never really liked
it, and I quit after Uncle Virgil died. But like you said, I have to
eat. So I do odd jobs or hire the Essenay out for short-range
transport work."
"There cannot be very much cargo space aboard this spacecraft,"
Draycos pointed out.
"There's enough for small jobs," Jack said. "Anyway, I was on the
Vagran Colony when I heard that Braxton Universis was moving its
assembly plant there to Cordolane and needed extra freighters for
one-time transport jobs. I applied, they gave me ten sealed crates, and
off I went."
"Who is Braxton Universis?"
"It's a what, not a who," Jack told him. "Braxton Universis is one
of the biggest megacorporations in the Orion Arm. You know what a
megacorporation is?"
"No."
"The Essenay is like a normal business," Jack said, waving
a hand around him. "That ship of yours, the Havenseeker? That was like a megacorporation."
"I see," Draycos said. "It is a matter of size."
"Size and power both," Jack said. "Anyway, I spent the next four
days on ECHO traveling to Cordolane."
"What is this ECHO?" Draycos asked. "You have mentioned it before."
" 'ECHO' stands for Extra-C Holologic Overdrive," Jack told him,
"where 'C' is the symbol for the speed of light. It's the system
everyone in the Orion Arm uses to get back and forth between the stars."
"I see," Draycos said. "So you traveled to Cordolane?"
"Right," Jack said. "And when I got there—" he grimaced "—one of
the boxes was empty."
The tip of Draycos's tail was making slow circles in the air. "Did
you stop along the way?"
Jack shook his head. "I went straight from Vagran to the delivery
point on Cordolane."
"Then there are only three possibilities," Draycos said. "The
first is that an error has taken place."
"Not a chance," Jack said. "They weighed the crates right beside
the Essenay , and I stood there and watched them load 'em
aboard."
"I see," Draycos said. "Then the second possibility is that this
was deliberately arranged to implicate you in theft."
"I'd sure like to know how," Jack said glumly. "I'd also like to
know why."
"You said you and Uncle Virgil had cheated others," Draycos
reminded him. "Could one of them be seeking revenge?"
"I suppose so," Jack conceded. "But then why not just have me
arrested?"
"Maybe they think you still have something valuable stashed away,"
Uncle Virge put in. "Getting you arrested wouldn't get that back for
them."
"But framing me might?" Jack shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know how
any of Uncle Virgil's pigeons could have gotten access to sealed
Braxton Universis cargo, though. Or how they could pull off this
vanishing act, for
poking like a thorn into his side. "A con man uses words and schemes to
talk people out of their money."
Draycos's green eyes were gazing at him with an uncomfortable
intensity. "You were thieves."
"That's putting it a bit unkindly, sir," Uncle Virge protested.
"Shut up, Uncle Virge," Jack said tiredly. "Yes. We were thieves."
"And your society permits this?"
"Our society tries very hard to stop it," Jack conceded. "But
Uncle Virgil was good at what he did, especially the safe-cracker part.
One of the real experts in the field. The cops knew all about him, but
they never caught him in the act or had enough evidence to arrest him."
"What was your part in his activities?"
"I was his helper," Jack said. "I distracted people, or played
foil or backstop. He had me crack some simple safes, too, and he was
starting to teach me some of the fancier tricks when he died. I think
he was training me to follow in his footsteps."
"Cops," Draycos said thoughtfully, as if finally finding a jigsaw
puzzle piece he'd been looking for. "That was the word. You said our
attacker on the Havenseeker might be a cop. Are the authorities
still seeking Uncle Virgil?"
"Actually, they're more likely seeking me," Jack said. "The funny
part is that, for once, I didn't do anything."
"Explain."
"I don't steal or con anymore," Jack said. "I never really liked
it, and I quit after Uncle Virgil died. But like you said, I have to
eat. So I do odd jobs or hire the Essenay out for short-range
transport work."
"There cannot be very much cargo space aboard this spacecraft,"
Draycos pointed out.
"There's enough for small jobs," Jack said. "Anyway, I was on the
Vagran Colony when I heard that Braxton Universis was moving its
assembly plant there to Cordolane and needed extra freighters for
one-time transport jobs. I applied, they gave me ten sealed crates, and
off I went."
"Who is Braxton Universis?"
"It's a what, not a who," Jack told him. "Braxton Universis is one
of the biggest megacorporations in the Orion Arm. You know what a
megacorporation is?"
"No."
"The Essenay is like a normal business," Jack said, waving
a hand around him. "That ship of yours, the Havenseeker? That was like a megacorporation."
"I see," Draycos said. "It is a matter of size."
"Size and power both," Jack said. "Anyway, I spent the next four
days on ECHO traveling to Cordolane."
"What is this ECHO?" Draycos asked. "You have mentioned it before."
" 'ECHO' stands for Extra-C Holologic Overdrive," Jack told him,
"where 'C' is the symbol for the speed of light. It's the system
everyone in the Orion Arm uses to get back and forth between the stars."
"I see," Draycos said. "So you traveled to Cordolane?"
"Right," Jack said. "And when I got there—" he grimaced "—one of
the boxes was empty."
The tip of Draycos's tail was making slow circles in the air. "Did
you stop along the way?"
Jack shook his head. "I went straight from Vagran to the delivery
point on Cordolane."
"Then there are only three possibilities," Draycos said. "The
first is that an error has taken place."
"Not a chance," Jack said. "They weighed the crates right beside
the Essenay , and I stood there and watched them load 'em
aboard."
"I see," Draycos said. "Then the second possibility is that this
was deliberately arranged to implicate you in theft."
"I'd sure like to know how," Jack said glumly. "I'd also like to
know why."
"You said you and Uncle Virgil had cheated others," Draycos
reminded him. "Could one of them be seeking revenge?"
"I suppose so," Jack conceded. "But then why not just have me
arrested?"
"Maybe they think you still have something valuable stashed away,"
Uncle Virge put in. "Getting you arrested wouldn't get that back for
them."
"But framing me might?" Jack shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know how
any of Uncle Virgil's pigeons could have gotten access to sealed
Braxton Universis cargo, though. Or how they could pull off this
vanishing act, for
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