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"Like him and a dozen more. He's furious with you for whatever you did to his men this morning, incidentally. You'd better stay clear of northwestern Denver."
"I'll keep that in mind," Lathe said. "Why doesn't the government do something about these organizations?"
Kanai eyed him. "You are new here. The roachmen don't do anything because they can't. Organized crime was entrenched in Denver long before the war, and it would cost billions to eradicate it."
"And the people as a whole can't do anything?"
"The people generally accept it." Kanai shrugged. "You have to understand that the bosses here are parasites but not bloodsuckers. They want long-term profits, not a dead city. Their payment scale runs lower even than the roachmen's taxes—which in turn are lower here than in a lot of other areas because there aren't as many official government services. In exchange the bosses provide protection for their clients, certain financial services, and other benefits. It really does qualify as an invisible government—and at ten percent or less of their income most people consider it a fair bargain."
"Reger's men were charging twenty-five percent," Skyler murmured.
"Spot-market rates," Kanai said. "Must have thought you were outsiders trying to move in."
"How long has this system been ru
"Openly, since the end of the war. Covertly, probably a lot longer. As I said, the people here generally accept the situation."
"Like they accept the Ryqril," Skyler said. "No wonder Torch can only draw the lunatic fringe."
"Torch?" Kanai's eyes narrowed. "Have you been in contact with them?"
"Not yet. But we've heard stories about them."
Kanai relaxed again. "Oh. Well, your stories are old ones, I'm afraid. Torch disappeared about five years ago. I thought for a minute they'd come back."
"Destroyed?"
"If so, it was done with remarkable finesse. We had some slight contact with them, and as far as we could tell they simply up and vanished."
Lathe stroked his dragonhead gently. "You were working with them before that?"
Kanai shifted slightly in his seat. "Not working, exactly. We occasionally exchanged information, but they were too radical for our taste."
"They believed in outmoded stuff like overthrowing the Ryqril?" Skyler asked coldly.
Kanai returned the other's gaze steadily, but there was tension around his mouth. "I know what you're thinking," he told Skyler quietly. "But you're wrong. We haven't given up the fight, just switched tactics. When the time is right, we'll make our move."
"Glad to hear it," Lathe said. "Because the time is right."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning we're on an important mission here, and we're calling on your squad to assist us."
Kanai stared at him—a long, measuring stare rich with conflicting emotions. "You'll need to talk directly to our doyen about that," he said at last.
"Fine. Where is he?"
Abruptly, Kanai twitched a smile. "At the moment, he's out looking for you." He glanced at his watch. "At any rate, I doubt he'd be willing to meet on such short notice."
"You did so."
"I'm the contact man," he said simply. "It's my job to be both visible and available. The rest of us can't afford that kind of exposure."
Lathe pursed his lips; but that was the only way a guerrilla force survived. "All right, then. Where and when?"
"Tomorrow night at nine, here," Kanai said. "I'll either bring him or else take you to him."
"Fair enough." Lathe stood up, Skyler following suit.
"It might help," Kanai said, "if I could tell him what exactly you want from us."
Lathe looked down at him, considering. The other had a point; but on the other hand the comsquare had no intention of saying anything important in a place like this. "For starters," he said, picking his words carefully, "I want the names and current locations of high-ranking military people who were stationed in the area during the war."
"Um." Kanai frowned thoughtfully. "That's a pretty big order. I don't know of anyone higher than colonel who's still here."
"A colonel might work. Just do what you can."
"All right." Slowly, Kanai got to his feet. "Comsquare... I have to be honest with you. Denver—and our position in the power structure here—is very stable. You're an intrusion, and an unknown one at that, and there may be some who won't like the risk you bring."
"Are you telling us your doyen might betray us?" Skyler asked.
"No, of course not. But he might decline to help you."
Lathe pursed his lips. "Let's face that possibility when we get there, all right?"
"Yes, sir." Kanai looked as if he wanted to say something more. But he merely nodded. "Tomorrow at nine, then. Good night."
Lathe nodded back and left the table, Skyler falling into step beside him. "What do you think?" the big man murmured.
"Rusty but willing," Lathe told him. "Let's hope his comsquare is equally tired of being a hired thug."
The little man and his two cohorts were nowhere in sight as the blackcollars crossed into the anteroom. The coatcheck woman was still at her window, though, and she looked up as they approached. "I saw Mr. Kanai come in a short time ago," she said.
"We had our talk," Lathe nodded.
She smiled. "I hope it was productive."
Something about the way she said that... and abruptly Lathe realized what it was. "I hope so, too," he said. "You work here every night?"
"Five nights a week, till three a.m."
"You handle anything besides coats?" he asked with a wink.
She seemed taken aback. "Sometimes they need an extra waitress."
"I was thinking more on the personal level." Lathe shrugged. "Never mind. We can go elsewhere for female companionship."
A look that was almost disgust crossed her face before she could cover it. "Good night, sir," she said, dropping her eyes from his gaze.
They left the building and headed west across the mall. Though it was nearly eleven o'clock, most of the stores lining the area were still open, and the pedestrian traffic was correspondingly heavy.
"Interesting," Skyler murmured, nodding to one of the shops. "High-class places, notice—jewelry stores, restaurants, import shops. You suppose the Shandygaff's a common meeting place because each of these places is owned by a different boss?"
"So that if anyone starts trouble, one of his own places is likely to get trashed in the process?" Lathe shrugged. "Makes sense. We'll ask Kanai about it sometime."
"Yeah." Skyler cleared his throat. "Incidentally, you mind telling me what that business with the coatcheck lady was all about?"
"Not at all. You notice anything out of character about her?"
"Aside from not mentioning her other second job is backup gun in case of trouble?" Skyler shrugged. "I don't know. She seemed maybe a shade too nosy about our talk with Kanai, but maybe she backs up the little guy in that post, too."
"Possibly. But I'm referring more to the fact that she's just about the first regular person we've met in this town who wasn't scared spitless of us."
"Mm. Interesting. Of course, she sees a lot of Kanai and his friends... but so does Mr. Charm, and he folded as fast as Reger's harmers did. Implication is she knows more about blackcollars generally than can be learned from the local representatives?"
"That was my thought. Hence the leering-soldier-in-search-of-random-female gambit."
"Totally out of character for you."
"For me and most blackcollars I've known, too," Lathe said. "And you saw how she reacted."
"Surprised," the other said thoughtfully. "Almost disillusioned, even. So you're right—she does know a fair amount about blackcollars. Government spy?"
"Could be. Laissez-faire attitude or not, I can't see them or the Ryqril failing to keep an eye on such an obvious meeting place as the Shandygaff. But she could just as easily be a war veteran who worked with the Aegis Mountain blackcollar contingent." He shrugged. "Or even a member of Torch."