Protector

Meaning Cenedi, through his contacts, had arranged a problem on the rails, a move to isolate the local line and keep a bubble of vacant track available. He began to get the picture.

“The young gentleman,” Lord Tatiseigi said, “has not been informed of the action at Asien’dalun, nor will be until the last moment. We are telling none of the servants. We shall take all our detainees with us. We shall not put that burden on my staff, nor leave anything to draw an attack here. Go up to the main floor, nandiin. Take refreshment. There is tea in the breakfast room, and my staff will give you something stronger should you wish it.”

Tatiseigi waved his hand in invitation and was off, up the stairs at his best pace, with his aishid around him.

God. Back to the capital?

At Ilisidi’s direction?

He was exhausted. Drained. Mentally. He had looked to have a quiet hour to debrief with his aishid—which he had not been able to do, sharing a bus with Lord Aseida—then he had intended to see that Banichi had his injury looked at by the dowager’s physician, and then to take some critical notes—before he sat down with Tatiseigi and the dowager to find out what they knew. He had had his agenda all mapped, and thought it quite enough for a day.

Clearly not.

And Jase, standing near him, was looking a little distressed. He probably had gotten only half of Tatiseigi’s information.

“Jase. We’re heading for the train station. We’re being shunted straight to the Bujavid. The dowager’s ordering us all back to the capital immediately. I hateto ask your guard to stay in armor, but we’re going to be going back on the bus and making a run cross-country, and I’m a little anxious.” Another switch of languages, for his aishid. “Nadiin-ji, check in as you need to, find out what we have to do. Banichi-ji, please see nand’ Siegi about that shoulder. I shall be safe here with Jase-ji.”

“Algini,” Banichi said, just that. Banichi and Jago headed down the side hall, which could involve the security station. They were not leaving him alone, no, not even with Kaplan and Polano sticking close to Jase. Tano and Algini stayed right with him.

“Imminent attack here?” Jase asked.

“We’re the ones attacking,” he said, with fair confidence that was exactly the case. “Jase, I apologizefor this. It was not at all the plan. I’m sure it wasn’t the dowager’splan until those two turned up in the garage—but pieces are falling one after the other and we’re having to do something, before the other side reorganizes, I suspect. We can settle it. I swear to you—I personally swear it—no harm is going to come to you or those kids. Or if you think so—we can get you to the spaceport, and thatplace is a fortress. You could wait—”

“There’s a reason the Council sent me down here,” Jase said. “They wantthis venture with the young gentleman to succeed, if it cansucceed. For various reasons, they want to know nowif it can—or not; but no question they know things are unsettled. I hope to hell I’mnot what touched off this situation. And I hope what we did back there didn’t make it worse.”

“You’re not. And you didn’t. Listen. Basic atevi law—if you attack a person, that person is entitled to respond with his full force and all his resources. That’s exactly what you did. It’s what we’re doing now, going to Shejidan. If we let this slide—now that we know where the problem is—we’d not be supporting our people. And in the dowager’s case— our peopleincludes the aiji and the aishidi’tat. You don’t attack her, even by accident, and expect to get a free pass. That’s why she’s moving. That’s why she has to move. And she’s sure of her target. One man in a Guild office. And probably a very, very tough target to reach. It’s serious. But so is she. Absolutely serious.”

“I get your point.” Jase drew in a deep breath. “Hell of a birthday party you put on, friend.”

“Isn’t it? But, Jase, remember, too, it’s not a human war. This is about boundaries. This is all about boundaries. The opposition misjudged everything. Go down there and explain to the kids, would you? Reassure them. I think they’d like it to come from you, calmly, before we put them back on the bus.”

Jase nodded. “Good,” he said, and left, up the stairs, Kaplan and Polano staying with him.

Bren heaved a sigh and rubbed his cheek. Which hurt when he touched it. He hoped his own little medical kit hadn’t already gone into the general baggage. He wanted an aspirin.

And he looked at Tano and Algini, who were smudged with dust and who’d done the moving and fighting, and gotten the records out. “Well done, nadiin-ji. Very well done today.”

“Nandi.”

“At least we’ll get to sit down, on the bus.”

Nods.

“How bad is Banichi’s wound?”

“Considering,” Tano said, “not bad. It was close.”

“He knewthat man,” Bren said, trying for information.

Algini nodded—not forthcoming, no.

“I am at a loss,” he said, and pressed the matter. “Something is wrong, nadiin-ji. He is clearly upset. And Ica

Algini looked at the floor, then up, arms folded. “Haikuti was his first partner, Bren-ji.”

“God.”

“This was in training, understand, Bren-ji. Haikuti left him, in the field, in a very bad situation. Two others of the team died. Banichi hunted him down, they fought, associates separated them, and that partnership ended.”

One could only imagine.

“One had no idea,” Tano said.

“Before your time,” Algini said. “Banichi and I were in training together. Banichi and Haikuti came to blows over that matter, Bren-ji, against Guild rules, and in secret. Associates on Banichi’s side intervened to get them apart and no record was made of the incident. But from that time there was hostility. They avoided assignment together, thereafter, but Haikuti’s influence reached high places. Banichi did not get favorable assignments. Banichi found, but could not prove, that Haikuti had favored his clan with information that should not have left the Guild. He reported it, as he should have.” A group of servants passed, carrying down baggage, and Algini was silent for a time.

Then said, once the servant had reached the downstairs. “Matters came very close to Council action. Then Banichi was swept up into the aiji’s service, by the aiji’s order, not Assignments, and removedfrom that conflict. That did not please Haikuti at all. Almost immediately after that, he was assigned into Kadagidi.”

“Haikuti’s clan, Gini-ji. Wasit Kadagidi?”

A hesitation. “Ajuri,” Algini said. “He is our target’s nephew. Favored, at every turn. Haikuti and Banichi have had occasional encounters since. And Banichi was the person Haikuti least wanted to find on his doorstep this morning. There are many, many within the Guild who will be very glad to be rid of Haikuti and particularly glad to know who did it.”

Favored, at every turn. Close to the top. And evidently taking his orders from one man in Assignments, during Murini’s rise, during the coup, during the last year.

Bren nodded slowly. “I very wellunderstand, then. Take care of Banichi, nadiin-ji. Keep him safe.”

“Bren-ji,” Algini said, “we are entirely in agreement.”

19

There was permission for one brief trip out to the stables . . . with the bus sitting in the front drive. And Guild all about Cajeiri and his guests. They had to go out and come back quickly. Bad things had happened over at the Kadagidi estate. And the Taibeni were on high alert.

But they had pulled back from the stable area, so the grooms could let the mecheiti out into the pen. The doors opened, and they came out in a rush—the herd-leader, and two others, then the rest, pushing at the doorposts, as if they all could widen the door by shoving. Brass tusk-caps shone in the noon sun. Mecheiti snorted and blew and pawed the ground, maybe smelling the Taibeni mecheiti, or just because they had been pent up too long. The herd-leader had taken a noseful of black powder, but he was fine now: he had asked, and Great-uncle had said so—they had had the herd-leader breathing vapors, and he had coughed for a few hours, and his eyes had run, but he had come through very well.