Principles of Angels Read Free Page A

the City’s rim, and she won’t hang around afterwards, so you are unlikely to see her, but you will be able to watch the crowd and check the reaction of the mark to the threat. I would also like you to note any unusual occurrences in the aftermath.’
     
    Should he tell the Minister about the unusual occurrence in his own life, the death of his line-mother? Surely he must know—No, let the Minister bring it up. Stick to the task at hand. ‘Nual’s one of the best, ain’t she?’ he asked.
     
    ‘She never misses,’ the Minister agreed. ‘She is also one of the most reclusive. I want to know anything you find out about her current activities downside. Quietly, and without attracting undue attention. I will expect full details after the removal, and updates every morning. You can make your reports from any public com booth in the Leisure Quarter. Just go in and ask to be shown the one who has everything . You’ll need this to get into the State Quarter.’ The Minister held out a small strip of pale grey plastic. Taro stepped forward, nervous of getting so close to this legendary figure, and took the credit bracelet. The Minister continued, ‘The ID is valid for 24 hours, and there is enough credit for the circle-car fare there and back, plus a little extra. There will be more once you start delivering useful information. Any questions?’
     
    ‘No, sirrah.’ He should tell him now, tell him what had happened to Malia.
     
    ‘Then go. I am a very busy man.’ The Minister nodded in dismissal and stepped back to let Taro pass.
     
    Taro had betrayed his line-mother. He had betrayed his City. He must confess.
     
    But he found himself already walking away from the Minister into an uncertain future.
     

CHAPTER TWO
     
    Elarn woke to silence. No, not quite silence; there was the near-subliminal hum of the life-support systems, a constant reminder that she was in space, a long way from home. Back on Khathryn she would wake to sea and wind, natural sounds, louder, more chaotic, but real, and comforting.
     
    She has been dreaming again, the ever-present nightmare at the edge of consciousness. In the dream, she is in her house, her lovely safe spacious house. But she is not alone. Her visitors have disabled her security and let themselves in, and now they are coming for her. She is hiding, crouched in a wardrobe like a naughty child, but she can’t hide from them forever. For years she thought she could, but they have finally caught up with her.
     
    She had always managed to wake herself before the sinister visitors found her, thank God, but she suspected that might not always be the case. Though she had risked spending the interstellar transits in stasis, rather than dealing with the reality-twisting horrors of shiftspace with drugs, the dreams had been getting worse ever since.
     
    She got up and dressed slowly, paying attention to the details: fair hair piled artistically, clothes smart and formal, cosmetics applied with caution to flatter the stern lines of her face. Must present a good impression. Confident, competent, but not to be approached too closely. Today, for the first time in her life, she would be walking on a new world - or rather, on a massive construct floating above an uninhabitable planet.
     
    As she got herself ready, she had the com-unit play back news-casts from Vellern. She had requested downloads as soon as the starliner emerged into Tri-Confed space three days ago, hoping to learn something more about her destination. Initially she’d had trouble finding anything useful among the welter of adverts, local scandals and unregulated mass entertainment, but digging revealed some in-depth political analyses, sufficiently sophisticated that she had trouble picking up the nuances, ignorant as she was of the background of the situations being discussed. The level of detail should not have been much of a surprise, given the bizarre and brutal process of government in the Confederacy of Three.