Read Online Vietnam and Other Alien Worlds by Joe Haldeman - Free Book Online Page A

smell of rancid fish oil burning drifted up to us.
    Lafitte managed to get the inside lane of the staircase. I tried to keep my eyes on him and the wall as we negotiated the high steps.
    â€œBelieve me,” he said (a phrase guaranteed to inspire trust), “it would make both our jobs easier if I could tell you who I’m representing. But I really am sworn to secrecy.”
    An oblique threat deserves an oblique answer. “You know I can put you in deep trouble with the Standards Committee. Poisoning a Guild brother.”
    â€œYour word against mine. And the bellbot’s, the headwaiter’s, the wine steward’s…you did have quite a bit to drink.”
    â€œA couple of bottles of wine won’t knock me out.”
    â€œYour capacity is well known. I don’t think you want a hearing investigating it, though, not at your age. Two years till retirement?”
    â€œTwenty months.”
    â€œI was rounding off,” he said. “Yes, I did check. I wondered whether you might be in the same position as I am. My retirement’s less than two months away; this is my last big-money job. So you must understand my enthusiasm.”
    I didn’t answer. He wasn’t called Rabbit for lack of “enthusiasm.”
    As we neared the bottom, he said, “Suppose you weren’t to oppose me too vigorously. Suppose I could bring in the contract at a good deal less than—”
    â€œDon’t be insulting.”
    In the dim light from the torches sputtering below, I couldn’t read his expression. “Ten percent of my commission wouldn’t be insulting.”
    I stopped short; he climbed down another step. “I can’t believe even you —”
    â€œ Verdad. Just joking.” He laughed unconvincingly. “Everyone knows how starchy you are, Dick. I know better than most.” I’d fined him several times during the years I was head of the Standards Committee.
    We walked automatically through the maze of streets, our guides evidently having taken identical routes. Both of us had eidetic memories, of course, that being a minimum prerequisite for the job of interpreter. I was thinking furiously. If I couldn’t out-bargain the Rabbit I’d have to somehow finesse him. Was there anything I knew about the !tang value system that he didn’t? Assuming that this council would decide that land was something that could be bought and sold.
    I did have a couple of interesting proposals in my portfolio, that I’d written up during the two-week trip from Earth. I wondered whether Lafitte had seen them. The lock didn’t appear to have been tampered with, and it was the old-fashioned magnetic key type. You can pick it but it won’t close afterward.
    We turned a corner and there was the Council Building at the end of the street, impressive in the flickering light, its upper reaches lost in darkness. Lafitte put his hand on my arm, stopping. “I’ve got a proposition.”
    â€œNot interested.”
    â€œHear me out, now; this is straight. I’m empowered to take you on as a limited partner.”
    â€œHow generous. I don’t think Starlodge would like it.”
    â€œWhat I mean is Starlodge. You hold their power of attorney, don’t you?”
    â€œUnlimited, on this planet. But don’t waste your breath; we get an exclusive or nothing at all.” Actually, the possibility had never been discussed. They couldn’t have known I was going into a competitive bidding situation. If they had, they certainly wouldn’t have sent me here slow freight. For an extra fifty shares I could have gone first class and been here a week before Peter Rabbit could have sewn up the thing and been headed home before he got to Armpit.
    Starlodge had a knack for picking places that were about to become popular—along with impressive media power, to make sure they did—and on dozens of worlds they did have literally exclusive