Transformation Space - Marianne de Pierres [56]
Fariss O’Dea would stand out in any crowd, on any world, thought Mira. Something the soldier must’ve found a mixed blessing.
But who was the man at the table? Mira observed his aquiline nose, large ears and smooth complexion. Something about his looks stirred her memory. She’d never seen him before, but …
‘Excuse me,’ she said to the attendant in crisper, more authoritative tones. ‘I believe I know the gentleman on the far table. I’ve forgotten his name. Would you by any chance be able to tell me what it is?’
The attendant blinked at her, taking a moment to make sense of her words and assimilate them into his thoughts.
‘You callin’ him a gennelm’n means you can’t know him too well, missus.’ He began to stack cups into a washer.
‘His name, prego!’ Mira snapped. Insignia’s need for urgency crawled along her skin. She didn’t have time to stop for this, but something told her it was important.
The attendant shot her a glowering look. ‘It changes all the time. You want somethin’ or what? I’m busy.’
Mira glanced behind her. A queue was starting to build. She moderated her tone. ‘Please. I think he might owe my husband money. Just tell me his name, and I’ll go.’
The attendant glanced at the newborn baby in her arms and relented. ‘Gutnee’s a common name he uses. But, like I said, it changes. Now move. Please.’
Mira nodded her thanks and stepped away from the counter. Her stomach churned. She knew that name; Thales Berniere had said it to her many times. Gutnee Paraburd was the man who’d duped him.
Nova began to cry, a gentle but insistent hunger noise.
Our child is hungry, Mira.
Si. I am close.
Then why do you stop?
I’ve seen the man who duped Thales. He is watching the soldier Fariss.
Insignia made a harsh sound in her mind. You’re being distracted again. Bring Nova to me.
Mira deliberately shut the biozoon’s voice out of her mind and used the cover of passers-by to move closer to Fariss without being seen. The soldier appeared to be loitering, chewing open-mouthed and surveying the patrons from under half-closed lids. She seemed neither threatening nor alert.
Mira glanced at Paraburd. There was no doubt the man was watching Fariss. But where was Thales? Mira had seen him taken by the politic guards. So why was Fariss here?
I should tell her that she’s being watched.
Mira swivelled back towards the soldier, but she’d gone. Impossible!
Joining the flow of traffic, Mira walked past the spot where Fariss had been standing and could see nothing save a narrow corridor peeling off from the main thoroughfare.
Jiggling Nova against her shoulder, she stepped into the corridor and sagged against the wall. At the other end was a service door. Fariss must have gone through there, but the door appeared firmly locked. Maybe she’d gone elsewhere? Further into the main station?
The nervous energy that had sustained Mira through the birth and the AiV trip down Mount Clement had completely drained away. Her legs and arms trembled. Tears threatened. She needed to feed Nova.
Slipping her overall off one shoulder, she lifted Nova to lie against her. The baby latched on and suckled without fussing. Mira’s whole body relaxed with the movement of her tiny mouth, but with the release came an overpowering need to rest.
She set her feet and fought the sensation. There was no chair or ledge, and she would not sit on the filthy floor. O’Dea had gone. She would feed Nova and continue on to Insignia. It was all she could do.
Nova finished quickly and fell straight to sleep. Mira lifted her back up onto her shoulder and wriggled back into the sleeve.
As she pressed the seal on the overall back together, the service door burst open. A red-robed politic guard staggered out holding his head, blood running from a wound on his temple.
Mira pressed against the wall, out of his way, and he barely spared her a glance as he lunged past. Through the doorway, she saw fallen