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.The man watched her nervously."Uh, yes, I had seen him before. Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlYvette cocked her head."Talking to you, tovarishch, is like pulling teeth.I think we'll add a new rule tothe game.It's called completeness of answer, and the way it works is that you try to answer eachquestion as fully as you can, without making me ask a dozen to get the whole story.Each time youranswer is not as full as I'd like it, I break one of your fingers.That's known as incentive.Now, would youlike to try that last answer one more time?.The poor clerk was sweating blood now."Yes, I'd seen him before.He comes in here fairlyregularly-two, three, sometimes four times a week.I don't know his name, though, honest."And does he always check other people out of their rooms?."Always," the man nodded."The first thing I know about it is when he comes down to the desk with alltheir luggage packed.He hands in the key and pays the bill in cash.The hotel doesn't care who checksout as long as the bill's paid."No, I don't suppose it does.He must be a remarkably friendly fellow to have so many people trustinghim with their belongings, don't you think? No need to answer that, it was just rhetorical.Tell me, though,don't you think it's strange that he does this so often?."Yes, I do.But I don't think it's any of my business." "How much is this friend paying you to think it'snone of your business?."Fifty rubles each time.But listen, I've got a wife and kids to support, I need."That answer is getting a little too full thank you.I'm not interested in your personal problems, although Iam interested in your morality." She stared straight into the man's eyes."You know what's happening toall these guests of yours, don't you? The ones who never check out for themselves?.The clerk took a long, deep breath.There was no point holding any more back-this woman obviouslyknew most of the story anyway.She was toying with him, seeming to enjoy every little twist of thepsychological knife she had stuck in him."Yes," he sighed."They're being murdered.It's a fact of life hereon Vesa, and most people accept it.It's only tourists who are killed, never us natives.We accept it. Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html"Accepting it is one thing, but you're actually helping it.How does that make you feel? How can you gohome to a wife and kids you supposedly love and yet know that you have a hand in killing innocentpeople? How can you face them?.The man shrugged as best he could while tied up."If I didn't do it, somebody else would.Why shouldn'tI get the money out of it?.Yvette sighed with exasperation.That rationalization had been in existence as long as moral cowardiceitself.There was probably at least one corrupt desk clerk in every hotel on Vesa.There was no pointarguing this matter further; to the best of this man's limited moral vision he had done no wrong.Shedecided to change her tack."Don't the police ever bother you about these disappearances?."No, why should they? They're under orders not to interfere.Under orders? That brought Yvette right back to the point that had initially been brought up in theHead's office."There's only one person who can give the police an order like that, isn't there? TheMarchioness."That's what I understand.Look, I'm not really a part of this whole thing, I'm only paid to look the otherway.I'm no murderer, I don't know anything about them.All I do know is what I hear gossiped around,and people say that the Marchioness has given 'hands off' orders.That's all I can tell you, honest.I don'tknow anything else.Yvette was inclined to believe him.This clerk was just a minor part of the operation; he wouldn't beprivy to the conspiracy's inner secrets.He had given her several leads and confirmed a lot of what she'dalready suspected.She shouldn't press him for more."All right," she said aloud."I'll tell you what I'm going to do.Because you've been so good at playing thisgame, I won't hurt you." The man's body visibly sagged with relief."I will, however, have to keep you outof the way for a while, so that you don't tell anyone about my visit here.I'm turning the setting on thisstunner down to seven; you'll be out for approximately thirty-six hours and groggy for a little bit after that,but there'll be no permanent effects.I'd suggest, though, that you move to some other planet and find anew job at once, if you know what's good for you-preferably an honest job. Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlThe man started to protest, but to no avail.Yvette was already squeezing the trigger.The clerk slumpedbonelessly in his chair and Yvette stood up, put the gun back into her purse and walked casually out ofthe office.Looks like I'll have to go right to the top, she thought.Flagging down a jit, she headed back for her hotelso that she could get some sleep before paying a call tomorrow on Marchioness Gindri.In most places, the social calendar of someone as high ranking as a marchioness would have made itimpossible for Yvette to get an appointment sooner than two or three days away.In the hierarchy ofnobility, marquises ranked just below dukes, who ruled individual planets.A marquis was the lord of acontinent-or, in the case of Vesa, a moon-and had a vast territory to oversee.The responsibility wasenormous, and the amount of time available for private audiences was therefore limited.Yvette knew well enough the weight of such nobility.Her father, Etienne d'Alembert, was the Duke ofDesPlaines; because he was usually busy managing the Circus-and its clandestine activities for theEmperor the planet was usually run by Yvette's older brother Robert who, as heir to the title ofDesPlaines, went by the honorific of the next lower rank, marquis.Robert was an anomaly amongd'Alemberts-a man who preferred the quiet harassment of running a world to the excitement of travelingwith the Circus-and the Duke was glad of the opportunity to dump the responsibility on the shoulders ofhis heir.Yvette knew bow strenuous the governing of a planet could be from having seen her brother inaction, and she fully expected Marchioness Gindri to be as busy.Instead, she found that-with the offer of a small bribe -she could convince the Marchioness'sappointments secretary to schedule her for that very afternoon.She was a little surprised, but pleasedwith the fast action.She told the secretary that she was interested in investing some of her considerablefortune on Vesa, and was informed that the Marchioness would be eager to hear her plans.When she arrived, Yvette found the palace gaudy and pretentious-but she had expected as much.Vesaitself was like that, so why should its ruler be any different? Precious metals, expensive woods andexquisite marbles comprised the setting, with gems inlaid into even the most trivial of objects.The displayof opulence and bad taste offended the SOTE agent, but she kept her feelings strictly in line.Noteveryone was raised in a tent, she reflected.Tastes differ.She found it harder to keep her emotions in check when she was finally ushered into the Marchioness'spresence.The meeting took place in the salon, a coo as ostentatious as any Yvette had seen.The floorwas an abstract pattern of inlaid tiles, the walls were of brown marble and the high-vaulted ceiling waspainted in an almost surrealistic design of a spaceship battle that had never taken place.The arched Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlentranceways were supported by pillars a full four meters tall.The room was cluttered with furniture, allof it upholstered in silver embroidered rose satin and wildly overstuffed.In the center of the room, draped in pearls, sat the Marchioness Gindri, all one hundred and fiftykilograms of her
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