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"As far as you know, you mean."
Jame set his mug down carefully and lowered his voice. "All right, Jonny; you don't have to prod around the edges like that with me. What's on your mind?"
Jonny pursed his lips. "I expect you've heard by now that we killed a berserk gantua southeast of here today." The other nodded. "You may also know that in t...
Gwen inhaled sharply. Jame's eyes narrowed. "Drugged how?"
"A potent hallucinogen-stimulant chemical had been sprayed over the blussa reeds near where it attacked us. That's all the gantuas ever eat, so it was a perf...
"A perfect way for whom?"
Jonny hesitated. "I don't know, specifically. But I'll point out that it gave D'arl a lot of extra push in the vote today. And that it happened right after y...
Jame leaned back in his seat and regarded Jonny thoughtfully. "I could remind you that I've worked with the Committi and his staff for several years now and ...
Jonny exhaled through clenched teeth. "All right, then. Someone on your ship must have had an agent down here with the stuff all ready to spray."
"You only had a few hours' warning, though, didn't you?" Gwen spoke up. "Could something the size of a gantua ingest enough of the drug that fast?"
"It would probably have needed a massive initial dose," Jame agreed. "And in that case, why coat the blussa plants at all?" He frowned. "Though I'll admit th...
"How were they mentioned, specifically?" Jonny asked, leaning forward.
"Let's see. . . ." Jame stared into his cahve. "If I remember correctly, it was part of a strategic minerals study he was having us do. Something about Avent...
"And from this study he almost undoubtedly learned that gantuas are the only things larger than insects that feed on blussa plants," Jonny said grimly. "So h...
"Jonny, you're edging very close to sedition here." Jame's voice was barely audible, his hand rigid as it clutched his mug. "Even if what you're saying is tr...
"Not yet. But maybe you can get that evidence for me."
Jame's face seemed to become a mask. "What do you mean?"
"If anyone aboard your ship is involved in this, they'll almost certainly have had communication with their agents here. You can pull the radio log and look ...
For a long moment Jame locked eyes with his brother. "You're asking me to be disloyal now," he said at last.
"Am I? If D'arl's implicated, shouldn't that fact be brought to the attention of the entire Central Committee? And if someone's working behind his back-for w...
"And if the whole thing's some home-grown Aventine plot, wouldn't I be betraying the trust Committi D'arl's placed in me?" Jame retorted.
"Jame, you've got to help me," Jonny said carefully, fighting to keep any hint of his desperation from creeping into his voice. Jame was right: he hadn't any...
He stopped abruptly, embarrassed by his outburst. Jame ran his finger absently around the rim of his mug, then looked up at Gwen. "What are your thoughts on ...
She shrugged fractionally. "I've barely been here a day, Jame-I really can't say anything about the benefits versus drawbacks of this so-called Cobra factory...
Jame relaxed, smiling back. "That's only because he wasn't around during those critical formative years when you were busy fighting with me," he said.
"Jonny was doing a lot for the Dominion during those years," she replied softly.
Jame looked down at his cahve again. "He was, wasn't he?" He took a deep breath, pursed his lips. "All right," he said at last, looking Jonny in the eye. "I ...
Jonny nodded. "I understand. And I wouldn't be asking you to do this if there was any other way."
"Sure." Raising his mug, Jame drained the rest of his cahve and stood up. "I'll call you as soon as I have anything." He nodded to them both and left.
Jonny leaned back with a sigh of relief. If this worked . . .
"I hope you know what you're doing."
He looked over to find Gwen's eyes on him. "If it works, I should have at least enough indirect evidence to get Zhu and the council thinking about what they'...
"And if it doesn't," she rejoined quietly, "you'll have risked-maybe ruined-Jame's career for nothing."
Jonny closed his eyes. "Don't remind me." He sat like that for a moment, feeling the tension of the day turning to fatigue and soaking into his bones. "Well,...
"What about you?" she asked as they headed for the exit.
"I'm staying at the Dominion Building office tonight," he told her grimly. "It occurs to me that I've got information there that someone may think worth stea...
But the packet from the scientific team in Niparin was untouched when he arrived, and nothing but uncomfortable dreams disturbed his sleep.
* * *
It was quickly clear that, whether he'd intended such a result or not, Zhu had given Jonny the best opening he could possibly have come up with. The other sy...
"The important question, of course," he said when he'd finished, "is what could cause a gantua to behave like that. As of late yesterday evening we have the ...
He paused again, but the dramatic outburst he'd half expected never materialized. "That's ridiculous," Jor Hemner spoke up into the silence. "Why would anyon...
Jonny took a deep breath. This was it. "Perhaps," he said, locking eyes with D'arl, "to persuade us to accept a Cobra presence we don't really need."
D'arl returned his gaze steadily. "Are you accusing me of drugging your gantuas, Syndic?"
"And have you got any proof?" Zhu added tartly before Jonny could answer. "Because you'd damn well better not be even suggesting Committi D'arl has any conne...
The proof is on his ship, Jonny wanted to say . . . but until and unless Jame contacted him, he didn't dare invite any scrutiny in that direction. "I'm not a...
"What other facts do you expect to find?" an older syndic put in. "Or should I say hope to find? It seems to me you've got nothing but a soap-bubble of-"
"Gentlemen." D'arl's voice was quiet, but there was an edge to it that cut off the syndic in mid-sentence. "If I may make a suggestion, it seems to me you're...
"Natural phenomenon?" Jonny snorted. "If the Committi will excuse my skepticism-"
"Skepticism is a natural part of science," D'arl interrupted him calmly. "But before you announce your disbelief too loudly, I suggest you check on the follo...
"Of course, Committi," Zhu agreed quickly. "Thank you for coming today. Syndics: the meeting is adjourned."