The City & the City - China Mieville [83]
Buidze stared at me. He glanced at Nancy. He looked around the room. After long seconds he laughed.
“You’re joking. Okay then. Alright then, Officers. Yeah they’re scared alright, but not that someone’s breaching from fuck knows where to mess with them. Is that what you’re thinking?” He shook his head. “They’re scared because they don’t want to get caught.” He held up his hands in surrender. “You’ve got me, Officers. There is breaching going on that we’re not able to stop. These little sods breach all the damn time.”
He met our stares. Not defensive. He was matter-of-fact. Did I look as shocked as Dhatt? Professor Nancy’s expression was if anything embarrassed.
“You’re right, of course,” Buidze said. “You can’t avoid all breach, not in a place like this, and not with kids like these. These aren’t locals, and I don’t care how much training you give them, they’ve never seen anything like this before. Don’t tell me it’s not the same back in your place, Borlú. You think they’re going to play loyal? You think while they wander around town they’re really unseeing Besźel? Come on. Best any of us can hope for’s they’ve got the sense not to make a big thing of it, but of course they’re seeing across the border. No we can’t prove it, which is why Breach wouldn’t come unless they really fuck up. Oh it’s happened. But much rarer than you think. Not for a long time.”
Professor Nancy still looked down at the table. “You think any of the foreigners don’t breach?” Buidze said, and leaned in towards us, spreading his fingers. “All we can get from them’s a bit of politeness, right? And when you get a bunch of young people together, they’re going to push it. Maybe it’s not just looks. Did you always do what you’re told? But these are smart kids.”
He sketched maps on the table with his fingertips. “Bol Ye’an crosshatches here, here, and the park it’s in here and here. And yeah, over at the edges in this direction, it even creeps into Besźel total. So when this lot get drunk or whatever, don’t they egg each other on to go stand in a crosshatch bit of the park? And then, who knows if they don’t, maybe standing still there, without a single word, without even moving, cross over into Besźel, then back again? You don’t have to take a step to do that, not if you’re in a crosshatch. All here.” Tapped his forehead. “No one can prove shit. Then maybe next time when they’re doing that they reach down, grab a souvenir, straighten back up into Ul Qoma with a rock from Besźel or something. If that’s where they were when they picked it up, that’s where it’s from, right? Who knows? Who could prove it?
“So long as they don’t flaunt it, what can you do? Even Breach can’t watch for breach all the time. Come on. If they did, not a single one of this foreign lot would still be here. Isn’t that right, Professor?” He looked at her not unkindly. She said nothing but looked at me in embarrassment. “None of them mentioned Breach, SD Dhatt, because they’re all guilty as hell.” Buidze smiled. “Hey, don’t get me wrong: they’re only human, I like them. But don’t make this more than it is.”
As we ushered them out, Dhatt got a call that had him scribbling notes and muttering. I closed the door.
“That was one of the uniforms we sent to get Bowden. He’s gone. They got to his apartment and no one’s answering. He’s not there.”
“They told him they were coming?”
“Yeah, and he knew about the bomb. But he’s gone.”
Chapter Eighteen
“I WANT TO GO BACK AND TALK to that kid again,” Dhatt said.
“The unificationist?”
“Yeah, Jaris. I know, I know, ‘It wasn’t him.’ Right. You said. Well, whatever, he knows something and I want to talk to him.”
“You won’t find him.”
“What?”
“Good luck. He’s gone.”
He fell behind me a few steps and made a phone call.
“You’re right. Jaris is nowhere. How did you know? What the fuck are you playing at?”
“Let’s go to your office.”
“Fuck the office. The office can wait. Repeat, how the fuck did you know