Read Online Victory Conditions by Elizabeth Moon - Free Book Online Page A

peacekeepers here?”
    “I don’t know,” Zori said. “Maybe—”
    At that moment, the loudhorns the peacekeepers used blared from near the back door. “Everyone: hands on your heads. Stand where you are. Do not attempt to run.”
    “We aren’t standing,” Hordin whispered. “Can I just hold your hand?”
    Zori didn’t want to be seen any sooner than necessary; this was as good an excuse as any. “Lie down,” Zori said. “I’ll lie down with you.” With any luck, they’d think she was protecting the child, that both were hurt. Just how did someone feign unconsciousness, anyway? Her eyes kept opening as she heard the shuffle of feet, the voices demanding ID, the other voices trying to explain and being told to save it for the court. Customers and staff were being moved toward the front of the place, away from the back door.
    Very shortly, she was looking up at three peacekeepers in full riot gear, their face shields pushed back. “Are you hurt?” one of them asked her.
    “I—I fell,” Zori said. Always tell the truth when you can, her father had said. “I think I’m just…just bumped around…” She pushed herself up to sitting, and shook her head when he offered her a hand up, turning instead to Hordin. “Can you stand up now, Hordin?”
    “This your child?”
    “No, ser. I fell over her; I was worried about her. I don’t think she’s badly hurt, though. We tried to crawl into a safe place, but there wasn’t one…”
    The one with more marks on his riot vest sighed. “These two aren’t part of it, but we’ll still have to take ID.”
    “My name is Hordin Amanuse, and we live at 342-A, branch 3, twig 27,” the little girl said. She too was sitting up, her lower lip trembling. “I…I don’t mean to be impolite…” Tears tracked down her face, through the dust and streaks of food from the floor.
    Zori put an arm around her shoulders. “It’s all right, Hordin. No one’s blaming you.”
    “You know her, then?”
    “No, ser. I fell over her, when I was trying to get away, and then I thought she might be hurt, so…we introduced ourselves.”
    “I said I was scared, and she said I’m Zori, hello Scared, and then I said that’s silly and told her my name,” Hordin said. Her hand in Zori’s no longer trembled; her tears were drying. “She was nice to me. I didn’t want her to leave and she held my hand.”
    “That’s very good, serita. Can you stand if we help you?”
    “I think so.” With the peacekeepers’ help, both of them stood.
    Zori looked down at her clothes and shook her head. “What a mess. Hordin, we both need a change of clothes.”
    “And your name, sera?” The peacekeeper’s tone was perfectly polite, but implacable.
    “I’m Zori Louarri,” Zori said. “And when you’ve found Hordin’s parents or guardian, I need to talk to you.”
    He smiled down at her. “Surely you aren’t going to tell me you started this riot…”
    “No, ser. But I do know something which you should know, not for a child’s ears.”
    “I’m not just a child,” Hordin said, pulling her hand out of Zori’s.
    “Of course not,” Zori said, in concert with the peacekeeper. She went on, looking directly at Hordin. “But you know there are things that must be confidential. It is that kind of thing. It would be rude to speak it here.”
    “Oh.” Hordin looked thoughtful a moment, then nodded.
    “Were you here alone, serita?” asked the peacekeeper.
    “Yes, ser,” Hordin said. “Mama let me come to get a soda but I was supposed to come home right away. Only there were grown-ups who got angry and started a fight, and the lady who brought my soda said come with her, and she brought me here and was going to call my family, only then all these people came in the kitchen…”
    “We’ve contacted your family,” the peacekeeper said, tapping his head to indicate a skullphone. “Your mother is on her way. If you’ll just go out front with Willem…do you need Sera Louarri