Articles of the Federation - Keith R. A. DeCandido [101]
“Very true.” Ihazs took a seat on another crate. “You’ve been quite busy since you arrived on Deneva five weeks ago. Asking all sorts of questions. The last time you were asking questions about the Syndicate, of course, the end result was that lovely series of articles of yours. By the way, I wanted to thank you for those.”
That took Ozla aback. “Thank me?”
“Yes. It provided a road map to several hull breaches on our ship, as it were.” Ihazs waved his arms back and forth across his chest. “We were able to tighten up the organization and get rid of some people who were no longer of use to us-all the while providing the forces of law and order with some handy scapegoats whom we didn’t want around anymore anyhow. There was a short-term falloff, of course, but that’s to be expected. The price of doing business, and all that.” He indicated her with his hand. “And besides all that, it was a most excellent piece of reporting.”
Ozla said nothing, though she did contemplate whether or not Ihazs would be able to talk if someone tied his hands.
“And now you’re looking into some merchandise that we moved to Tezwa.”
“What makes you think that?” Ozla asked with a smile.
Ihazs’s polite smile fell. “Do not play stupid with me, Ms. Graniv. It makes me angry, and when I get angry, my guards shoot things. You spoke with Yntral, you spoke with Fiske, you spoke with Tanaa-and brava for being able to hold your breath while being in the same room with him, by the way-you spoke with T’l’u’r’w’w’q’a, and you spoke with Argenziano.”
Ozla had expected that one or two of her conversations would get back to Ihazs. She was distressed at the fact that all but one of them had.
Spreading his arms, Ihazs said, “I don’t know what they told you, and frankly, I don’t care, because I’m about to give you something.”
Blinking, Ozla said, “I beg your pardon?”
“Your presence on Deneva, Ms. Graniv, can only result in one of three things. One is that you continue your questioning, giving you the opportunity to expose more about the Syndicate. We’ve been dealt several severe blows of late, and I do not wish to add to them.”
Ozla had heard rumors that the death of a boss named Malic four years earlier had resulted in some problems for the Syndicate, but nothing that she had been able to verify. She wondered if that was what Ihazs was referring to.
Gesticulating as much as ever, Ihazs continued. “The second is that I have you killed. That causes more problems for me, however, as you are a prominent reporter who has already written one expose of the Syndicate, and who went on from there to being a reporter at the Palais de la Concorde on Earth. You’re high-profile, and high-profile deaths tend to bring out law enforcement. Whatever we gain by your death we lose by the subsequent legal scrutiny.” Pointing at her again, he said, “Which brings us to option number three. I will tell you what you want to know-or, perhaps, verify what you’ve already discovered-and then you go on your merry way. Yes, the Syndicate provided the nadion-pulse cannons to Tezwa.”
“That much has been public record.”
“Yes,” Ihazs said with a smile, “but not where we got those cannons. You see, Ms. Graniv, the person who commissioned me to have those cannons delivered some eight years ago was a gentleman named Nelino Quafina, who, at the time the deal was consummated, had just been appointed the secretary of military intelligence by newly elected President Min Zife.”
Ozla said nothing, refused to betray any emotion. Shortly after talking to Tawna, she had gone to Olorun Meboras’s widow, Yalno. She had already known about her husband’s infidelity but had said nothing, in part because she’d wanted to get on with her life, in part because of the good work Tawna was doing with the orphans of Alkam-Zar, who had enough problems without scandal falling down on their benefactor’s head. However, Yalno had been more than happy to let Ozla read her husband’s diaries, which verified his “pillow talk” with Tawna: As far as the major knew, the Federation