The Diamond Deep (41 page)

The next morning, Onor attempted to work the groggy feeling out of his head by wiping down the chairs and tables in the bar. Robots had cleaned the floor after closing, so Onor was trying to get all of the crumbs and bits swept into his hand so they wouldn't land on the floor.

Haric and Allen stood together, washing glasses in the bar sink. As Onor worked closer to the dishwashers, he asked, “So what did we make last night?”

“One thousand three hundred credits.”

More than he'd thought. “Profit?”

“Well, not from outside. One hundred ten came in from outside, so if I listen to SueAnne, that's the most we could make.”

At least they'd made something.

Onor glanced over at Haric. The boy had hardly said a word to him this morning. Maybe he was still smarting from Ruby's refusal to take him on the tour. “Want to go see the birds today? I'm sure you earned that much of the credit—transportation's only five for both of us.”

“Take me to a bar?”

“You don't drink.”

Allen laughed and addressed Haric. “You drank a little last night.”

Haric's cheeks reddened.

Onor frowned. Ruby had told Haric not to drink. “Why a bar?”

“I want to get a job. So I can learn how to earn more credit.”

Onor blinked at him.

“And I want to learn my way around.”

So he could find Ruby? Poor kid had lost Colin to the spiders and now Ruby had left him. “Now?”

Haric's steady gaze said
yes, please
with no words.

“Can I show you the birds first?”

An hour later, they stood inside the aviary Naveen had shown Onor. Haric stared for a long time, entranced and puzzled. “I didn't know they'd be so much better than the picture you sent.”

“Pretty cool, huh?”

“Can we have one? Can we take one back?”

Onor laughed. “Can you imagine SueAnne's face if we bring home another mouth to feed?”

Haric let out a long sigh and sat down on one of the benches, his eyes tracking a small, bright orange bird. “We're not learning fast enough. We need more than a job for me. We need jobs for a thousand people.”

“You're starting to remind me of SueAnne.”

Haric frowned.

“Start with your own job. Let's go.” They started at the bar just outside the aviary. This was Haric's idea, so Onor stood outside and let him go in. Haric returned in ten minutes, a dejected look on his face. “They want experience.”

“You have experience. In our bars. Lie a little, and count the time you were in the cargo bars.”

“They want ten years.”

“Oh. Maybe the others will be better.”

They inquired at six bars—all they could reach without taking another train. By then, Haric looked so tired his feet dragged and his shoulders slumped, so he looked his age. He wasn't going to get any kind of job offer while he looked that that.

“Maybe we can talk to Naveen,” Onor said. “He might have some connections. In the meantime, it's opening time for our own bar.”

Haric had started dragging a few hours before closing time, so Onor had sent him home to dream of birds. With so few people, the robots had been left turned off and Onor and Allen were managing the whole bar, which had stayed pretty calm. It probably didn't hurt that Onor was known as one of Joel's bodyguards, and thus someone who could fight.

Allen went to encourage the locals home and Onor approached the only table with off-site patrons, where a man and a woman were deep in conversation. He'd noticed them earlier. Apparently new to the bar, they'd been pointing out details about the construction and the art on the walls to each other when he served them.

The woman was the taller, with a thin face. She reminded him of Marcelle, although she was lighter in coloring. The man was a stockier and shorter version of the woman; they could be brother and sister. She held up a hand in greeting as Onor approached.

“We're about to close.”

The man looked around. “Can we talk to you?”

“Of course. About what?”

“Your losses,” he said.

Onor gestured Allen over to the table. Allen stopped by the bar on the way and grabbed a pitcher of water and four cups. As he poured he eyed the newcomers curiously. “Do you like the bar?”

The man seemed mildly surprised by the question. “Well, sure. It's simple.”

Onor downed half his water. “I'm Onor, and this is Allen.”

The woman's voice sounded soft and full of backbone. “And we have chosen to be friends of the
People of the Fire
.”

Onor frowned. “You asked me about our losses. Do you mean the ship?”

“Sort of.”

He didn't like secrets. “So tell me what you did mean.”

The man sat back. “Can you get Joel?”

So they knew something about the community. “Why?”

“We need a decision maker.”

Onor used his slate to send Joel a message. Then he sent a separate note to SueAnne, hoping Joel wouldn't mind.

Allen offered to break his after-closing rule. “Would you like a real drink?”

“No.” The woman's fingers went to her neckline, and he realized she was wearing one of Ruby's necklaces. Or a replica of one. It looked like all of the beads were stone, which they hadn't had on the
Fire
. The gesture looked natural, but he wondered if she were sending a signal the way players messaged their teammates in a game of Planazate. “We enjoyed Ruby's concert the other day very much.”

“Thank you. What did you like the best?”

The man answered, “Her voice.”

The woman's answer was more emotional. “The song for Owl Paulie. The way it had layers, love and revolution all lined up. It must have been terribly romantic to have to fight your way to equality. Your story sounds like an adventure video, and Ruby looks like a real heroine. It must have been so—intense.”

Allen looked unhappy with the conversation. “Have you ever seen anyone killed?”

“No, but we've known people who died.”

“Of disease?”

“Or who were killed—like in accidents. It doesn't happen much. We don't see death.” She paused uncertainly. “Or at least I haven't.” The woman reached for the pitcher and refilled everyone's glasses. “I admit that part must have been hard.”

Allen—out of view of either of them—shook his head in disbelief. Onor managed to keep a straight face. “I was there when Owl Paulie told us all to rebel.”

“I thought Ruby led the rebellion,” the man mused.

“Oh, she did. Owl Paulie was dead by then. But it wouldn't have started without him.”

“Do you have any pictures of him?” the woman asked. “We have pictures of you and Ruby and Marcelle and The Jackman and others, but I don't think we have any of Owl Paulie.”

Joel walked in, pushing SueAnne.

The couple refused to give their names to Joel and SueAnne as well, which Joel took with a sour face. SueAnne looked like she had been dragged out of bed. She wore no jewelry and her gray hair flowed wispy and loose around her shoulders and touched the edge of her chair. She started the conversation. “What can we do for you at this hour?”

“You should look into how your cargo was sold.”

“On the Exchange?” Joel asked.

“There are records of every transaction that happens there. Your AI must know where to look.”

“What AI?” Onor asked. No one was supposed to know they had a copy of Ix.

SueAnne reacted smoothly. “Our community net here is not at an AI level.”

“We have looked up some of the information.” The man sounded hesitant. “Maybe we can share some of it with you.”

“What did you find?” Joel asked.

“Do you know everything that was in your cargo bays?”

Onor could see Joel hesitate. Eventually he said, “We have some records. We also have our memories.”

“Do you remember a series of rocks from Gaither's World? The first place you went?”

Allen had been silent, but now he said, “I played with them once, I think. They were heavy, right? And mostly black.”

“They were geodes. That means they had crystals in them. The chemical makeup is very different from anything in our system, and the colors are pretty. One of Koren's companies is creating a demand for jewelry made from these crystals. That's a beginning.”

It dawned on Onor what they meant. “So we should get paid a part of what she makes off of everything?”

The woman smiled. “We believe the cargo was legally yours. She should not be getting anything for it.”

“Even if it's salvage, you should have far more than she gave you. Hundreds of times more.”

“Okay. But why do you care?” Onor asked.

“Perhaps we share the same enemies.”

“Koren?”

“Not only Koren. Others. We might be allies.”

SueAnne said, “Really? Why? We hardly know our way around here at all. I'm not even sure we can find a privy outside of this area yet. Why do you think we have anything to offer to you?”

“Didn't you see how many people watched the concert?”

Onor bit his lip, immediately even more distrustful.

Joel said, “The
Deep
is nothing like the
Fire
. There, we knew who our enemies were and how to hide.”

“You know some of your enemies. Koren. Anyone with power. Your coming and your story is a threat to the power structure here.”

“Really?” Joel asked. “We don't appear to have much power.”

The man laughed. “Stories of revolution have more power than you think. Especially when they have a flesh and blood avatar.”

Joel sat back and stayed quiet for some time. Then he looked at the man and asked, “Would it put Ruby in danger if we help you?”

The woman appeared to be affected by Joel's concern. She smiled softly at Joel and said, “She's already in danger. You all are.”

The man leaned forward and looked from Joel to SueAnne. “It will serve both of our causes if you can question Koren in the Court of the Deeping Rules. We will help you to the extent we can—we can't get caught. But we will be working to weaken her in other ways. We can't allow the
Fire
's cargo to be a fortune machine for her. Why not help yourselves and attack the woman who stole from you?”

SueAnne pursed her lips and looked at Joel, shifting the burden of choice to him.

He simply said, “We'll consider what you've shared with us.”

The couple stood. “We can ask for nothing more. Good luck. Don't underestimate Koren or anyone else currently in power.”

Satyana gave Ruby's outfit a doubtful look. “Can you belt that shirt? You really won't want anything flowing.”

Satyana wore a form-fitting green jumper. Her shoes appeared to blend into the outfit, although when Ruby looked closely they were separate. The tops closed perfectly around the base of Satyana's calves and the tight-fitting pants slid over them. A small but bulging-full pack hung over one shoulder.

“I don't have anything like that,” Ruby said.

“I'll see that Naveen knows where to get you one. They're great under pressure suits.”

Ruby realized she'd missed the connection. “Hold on. Let me find a better outfit.”

“Tell your people I'll have you half the day. At least.”

“Okay. Come in?”

“I'll wait.”

Ruby went back into their rooms and dressed a second time. Jali, who shared a room with her, rolled over and opened her eyes. “Noisy girl.”

“I need something tighter to wear. Come look at what Satyana's wearing.”

“Now?”

“Well, maybe when we get back. It's kind of like our old uniforms only so tight it's like wearing skin.”

“Is uniforms all you think about? Why do I keep dressing you up?”

Ruby laughed. “I really do need that jumpsuit. The one for the stage. To go with the microphone gun.”

“You brought that damned thing from the ship?”

“Yes.”

“It's not exactly in context here.”

Ruby grinned. “I know.”

Jali sat up and raked her fingers through her hair. In the mornings, she looked almost like a normal human being instead of a goddess of fashion. She narrowed her eyes and looked closely at Ruby. “Are you feeling better this morning?”

“As long as I don't think about it.”

“You need a few days' rest.”

“I'll sleep when we get back to Ash.”

Jali looked more worried than she should. Ruby was tired, but she'd driven herself through it yesterday at the concert with no problem. She'd get herself through today just as well. “I'll be all right. Whatever it is, it will get better.”

Jali looked sour, but she said, “Bring us back tales.”

Satyana looked at the tight gray pants and close-fitting purple shirt Ruby wore. “A little fancy for our trip, but much better.” She led Ruby back to the
Star Bear
.