Read Online Expatria: The Box Set by Keith Brooke - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Keith Brooke
Ads: Link
from the young Hanrahan, keeping his shoulders square and proud. How could he say he had 'just played the game'? It was a blatant lie. No one could win like that without some sort of logical understanding of the game's dynamics. No one . Sukui paused to make a note in his book. A rational man could learn from any situation and Kasimir Sukui knew that there were few as rational as himself.
Calmer, he headed for the docks. MidNight was over and now he must return to his duties.
~
There was a stall on the Rue de la Patterdois that Kasimir Sukui had known for a long time. It was invariably in a different place, sometimes even on a side street, but he could always locate it. The proprietor, a bloated, red-faced woman by the name of Alya Kik, was Sukui's best contact in the port of Orlyons. If she had nothing of interest she knew it and did not waste his time in trying to sell him bric-a-brac; instead she would tell him where he might just find something he would wish to purchase. Even if she made a deal with him she would pass on this sort of information and Sukui treasured the relationship.
'Alya!' he called, spotting her among the stalls in the Playa de l'Or. 'Alya, you are trying to avoid me!' He had been walking with Sanjit Borodin and Egon Petrovsky, his two juniors, but now he gestured for them to stay in the background, ready to assist when details became tedious but out of his way all the same. That was how Sukui liked to work.
'Ah! Sukui-san, you old rogue. You've not been to Orlyons for a time, now. It's you who's doing the avoiding, you rogue.' The banter formed a framework to their communication. Sukui was never sure if he was putting it on for Alya, or she for him; either way, he was pleased to see her.
'What's this "Old Rogue" then? You're old enough to be my mother.' He laughed with the woman. 'To business, Alya. I have little in the way of time, on this occasion—my lord likes to keep his advisers by his side in periods such as these.'
'The conflict is serious, then?'
Alya was a tough and experienced trader; already she was probing for information, anything to boost her importance in her own circles. The border conflicts between clans supported by the Andricci and those supported by the Hanrahans were minor and seemingly interminable; Sukui did not think they would last. Fighting was primitive and, under his own guidance, Salvo Andric was leading Expatria away from such sources of waste. 'No, Alya,' said Sukui. 'My lord is merely prudent. Now, to business?'
Alya had little for Sukui and she knew it. He took some permi-bulbs and some documented microcircuits off her and paid with cash. She looked like she needed it. 'You might see Lui Tsang, on your way,' said Alya, as Sukui turned to leave. 'By the Leaning Arch. Tell him I say hello.'
Sukui muttered his thanks and left. Lui Tsang. After a few paces, he paused and noted the name down in his diary, along with the details of his deal with Alya Kik.
He found Tsang's stall in Greene Gardens, a good distance from the Leaning Arch. Sukui knew from experience that location was a fluid concept in Orlyons.
'Alya Kik said you might have something to sell me,' said Sukui, looking over the stall's wares and frowning. 'I fear she may have been playing a minor joke at my expense.'
'Sukui-san, right?' The young trader was not fooled by Sukui's attitude. 'She said you were in town. I have these...' He. gestured to a stack of circuit-discs.
'Plentiful.'
'These...' A selection of crudely ground lenses, clearly not the terran artefacts he was trying to pass them off as.
'Fake.'
'This...' An assortment of fibre optics set atop a large coil of heavy-duty power cable, something that interested Sukui.
'Commonplace.'
'These...' A good range of tools, including a soldering pen and a small TV unit that appeared intact.
'Hmmm. I would need to test it, before agreeing a price.' He knew it was not worth feigning indifference at these last offerings. 'But still I am
Calmer, he headed for the docks. MidNight was over and now he must return to his duties.
~
There was a stall on the Rue de la Patterdois that Kasimir Sukui had known for a long time. It was invariably in a different place, sometimes even on a side street, but he could always locate it. The proprietor, a bloated, red-faced woman by the name of Alya Kik, was Sukui's best contact in the port of Orlyons. If she had nothing of interest she knew it and did not waste his time in trying to sell him bric-a-brac; instead she would tell him where he might just find something he would wish to purchase. Even if she made a deal with him she would pass on this sort of information and Sukui treasured the relationship.
'Alya!' he called, spotting her among the stalls in the Playa de l'Or. 'Alya, you are trying to avoid me!' He had been walking with Sanjit Borodin and Egon Petrovsky, his two juniors, but now he gestured for them to stay in the background, ready to assist when details became tedious but out of his way all the same. That was how Sukui liked to work.
'Ah! Sukui-san, you old rogue. You've not been to Orlyons for a time, now. It's you who's doing the avoiding, you rogue.' The banter formed a framework to their communication. Sukui was never sure if he was putting it on for Alya, or she for him; either way, he was pleased to see her.
'What's this "Old Rogue" then? You're old enough to be my mother.' He laughed with the woman. 'To business, Alya. I have little in the way of time, on this occasion—my lord likes to keep his advisers by his side in periods such as these.'
'The conflict is serious, then?'
Alya was a tough and experienced trader; already she was probing for information, anything to boost her importance in her own circles. The border conflicts between clans supported by the Andricci and those supported by the Hanrahans were minor and seemingly interminable; Sukui did not think they would last. Fighting was primitive and, under his own guidance, Salvo Andric was leading Expatria away from such sources of waste. 'No, Alya,' said Sukui. 'My lord is merely prudent. Now, to business?'
Alya had little for Sukui and she knew it. He took some permi-bulbs and some documented microcircuits off her and paid with cash. She looked like she needed it. 'You might see Lui Tsang, on your way,' said Alya, as Sukui turned to leave. 'By the Leaning Arch. Tell him I say hello.'
Sukui muttered his thanks and left. Lui Tsang. After a few paces, he paused and noted the name down in his diary, along with the details of his deal with Alya Kik.
He found Tsang's stall in Greene Gardens, a good distance from the Leaning Arch. Sukui knew from experience that location was a fluid concept in Orlyons.
'Alya Kik said you might have something to sell me,' said Sukui, looking over the stall's wares and frowning. 'I fear she may have been playing a minor joke at my expense.'
'Sukui-san, right?' The young trader was not fooled by Sukui's attitude. 'She said you were in town. I have these...' He. gestured to a stack of circuit-discs.
'Plentiful.'
'These...' A selection of crudely ground lenses, clearly not the terran artefacts he was trying to pass them off as.
'Fake.'
'This...' An assortment of fibre optics set atop a large coil of heavy-duty power cable, something that interested Sukui.
'Commonplace.'
'These...' A good range of tools, including a soldering pen and a small TV unit that appeared intact.
'Hmmm. I would need to test it, before agreeing a price.' He knew it was not worth feigning indifference at these last offerings. 'But still I am
Similar Books
