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“No apologies are necessary, Mister Reyes,” T’Pry
Clearing his throat as he made a surreptitious visual scan of the bar to ensure no one at least appeared to be paying him undue attention, Reyes said, “Well, I guess I meant before all of that happened. I understand you felt you had to keep your condition a secret, and I can’t imagine what it must have been like to carry the burden you endured all those years.”
“I understand and appreciate the emotional sentiment you are attempting to convey,” T’Pry
Seeing her point and agreeing with it, Reyes started to reply, but checked himself when one of the bar’s exotic and rather scantily clad servers chose that moment to approach his table. Though she was Orion and quite beautiful, Reyes did not for one moment believe that she was a lowly employee—not when she eyed him with an openly solicitous expression, and certainly not when she bent forward and allowed him an unfettered view of her ample cleavage.
“Something to drink?” she asked, her tone soft and alluring.
Nodding, Reyes said, “I’ll have a brandy, whatever brand you recommend.” In actuality, he had no real desire for the drink, but had decided that acting as much like a regular bar patron as possible would only help to mask his deception.
The server smiled at that. “Are you sure? Some of the labels are rather expensive.”
“I’ve been lucky at the tables,” Reyes replied, forcing a grin. “So, I figure why not celebrate a little?”
His answer seemed to please the Orion even further, as she leaned closer and lowered her voice almost to a whisper. “Well, if you’re looking to spoil yourself, I think I can help with that. Of course, I’m rather expensive, too.”
T’Pry
“I don’t doubt it,” Reyes said, smiling again for the Orion’s benefit. “Let’s just start with the drink, and see where things go from there.”
Affecting a mock pout, the Orion pursed her lips. “Well, if that’s the way you want to play it. I can be patient, but not for too long.” When she turned to leave, presumably to fetch his drink, she made a show of swinging her hips as she headed toward the bar, and punctuated the less than subtle invitation with a seductive glance over her shoulder.
“Though I ca
Reyes grunted in agreement. “You have no idea.” During his stay aboard the Omari-Ekon, he had been confronted with all ma
“Listen,” he said after a moment, “can we get on with this? I feel naked out here.” He began tapping selections on the gaming console, calling up an Orion variant of poker he had come to enjoy during his stay aboard ship. “I don’t know how long I can sit here before someone starts getting suspicious.”
“Understood,” T’Pry
“Was that you?”
“Affirmative. I have forged a co
Frowning at the explanation, Reyes said, “I don’t understand. If you can see what I’m doing, why can’t you access the logs directly?”
“Such activity likely would trigger security alerts,” T’Pry
“Well, that’s encouraging,” Reyes said, looking once more about the bar. If T’Pry
Suddenly, that drink he had ordered was sounding pretty good.
“I am ready to proceed,” T’Pry
Without answering, Reyes did as instructed and entered a bet for the next poker hand. In the screen’s lower left corner, a new window appeared. Unlike the rest of the screen, it contained only a prompt and a blinking cursor. He was able to hide that portion of the screen from casual view by resting his left arm on the table. “Okay, now what?”
“Using the manual interface,” T’Pry
By the time the fourth string of characters was entered, Reyes could feel sweat beneath his arms and down his back, and his anxiety only worsened when he detected movement to his left and looked up to see the Orion server once more approaching his table. She was carrying a tray on which sat a glass of dark liquid, which she set down on the table before him. Doing his best to present a casual demeanor, Reyes smiled as he rested his left forearm across the table, concealing most of the gaming console’s screen.
“Will there be anything else?” she asked, leering at him.
Shrugging, Reyes replied, “I’m thinking about di