Firefly - Carnival, page 11
part #6 of Firefly Series
“If I can’t trust my preacher not to cheat me at games, what’s the ’verse comin’ to?”
He gave her a sly smile. “Have you checked the windows yet?”
“Yep. Nothing there.” She went back and rapped the barrier again to show him.
“Huh. Nor through the door. I guess we’ll be waiting here a while yet.”
“Might be worth hearin’ what Roberts has to say,” said Zoë.
“Maybe.” Book pushed out a breath. “There are worse dungeons, I suppose.”
“You been inside many dungeons, Shepherd?”
“I was thinking of Adelai Niska,” he replied. “I’d rather not find out whether Jacob Roberts is in possession of any similar facilities.”
The door opened.
“Speak of the devil,” muttered Book, as Roberts came in, two men bearing arms right behind him. He was wearing a red patterned robe, as if he’d been interrupted halfway through getting changed.
“Well,” he said, looking past them both toward the window, “this is a most unwelcome complication to my day. I’m about to receive guests. It’s First Night. I always have guests on First Night.”
“We’re mighty sorry to interrupt your celebrations,” said Book. “Perhaps the simplest thing all round would be to let us go on our way and let you get back to your party—”
Roberts shook his head. “That isn’t possible. I know that the job went wrong—”
“Ah,” said Book.
“And now we must work through the consequences. For one thing, that shipment needs to be found.”
“Maybe if those lawmen had left us alone,” said Zoë, ever so gently, “we might have caught up with them as stole it.”
“I have my own people on that. People upon whom I can rely completely.” He pursed his lips. “I should have known better than to use outside contractors. But there we are.”
“Mr. Roberts,” said Book, “we’re none of us happy at the way this job has turned out. If you let us back to our ship, then we— and Captain Reynolds—will surely be able to make amends in some way. At the very least, perhaps we might speak to him—”
“Captain Reynolds knows you’re in my custody. And he’s busy—”
“Busy?” said Zoë. Didn’t sound like Mal. If she knew Mal— and nobody knew Mal as well as Zoë Alleyne—he’d be trying to work out a way to get them back. If he knew where they were. A mite too easy to picture the captain trying to break them out of Roberts’ empty office.
“I’ve explained to Reynolds that he owes me for the shipment you lost,” said Roberts. “That’s five hundred platinum, in case you weren’t sure. And I’ve explained that I expect to be paid in full by tomorrow evening.”
Zoë, who was working very hard not to show any response to this, saw Book making much the same effort.
“Your task now—Shepherd, miss—is to sit and wait. When Reynolds delivers my platinum, you’ll be free to go.”
There was a pause as Zoë (and Book, she guessed) contemplated the likelihood of Mal doing such a thing. “Far be it from me to imply that Mal won’t come good,” said Book, “but what happens to us if for some reason he can’t or don’t deliver?”
Roberts looked at them with his very pale, very blue eyes. “Then you’ll both be shot. I’ll have your bodies returned to your ship.”
“Ain’t no call for that,” said Zoë.
“I thought this was a law-abiding world,” said Book. “More like the Core than the Rim.”
“This is Bethel,” said Roberts. “I’m the law here.”
“In the end,” said Book, “we must all of us answer to God’s law.”
“I’ll take that risk,” said Roberts. He blinked. “I must continue getting ready for the evening.” He gestured round. “I hope this room is comfortable enough.”
“Oh, it’s charming,” said Book.
“Good,” said Roberts. He left, and Zoë heard the barrier fields hum behind the door as they were raised again.
“Well,” she said. “Can’t complain about his briefings.”
“Yes indeed,” said Book. “Concise. Clear. Convey exactly the information needed.” He walked across the room to examine one of the bookshelves.
“Is this the time to be catchin’ up on your readin’, Shepherd?”
“You heard the man. We’ve got until tomorrow evening.” He plucked a volume from the shelf, took it over to one of the chairs, and took his ease. “In the meantime,” he said, “a little research surely won’t do any harm.”
* * *
“Well,” said Simon, staring down the barrel of Katarina’s gun, “this is… awkward?”
“School reunions,” said Inara, in a pleasant voice. “They can be so very fraught.”
“You haven’t answered my question,” said Katarina. “Why are you here, Simon? Why the fake name? And why the companion?”
“Well,” said Simon, taking a deep breath. “It’s all very complicated…”
“Keep it simple,” Katarina replied.
Not for the first time, Simon wished for some of River’s speed, or Book’s smarts, or even Jayne’s ability to punch someone out. His mind raced, and he tried to think of a convincing answer. He was fairly certain that she didn’t know that there was a warrant out for him—she would have called for security by now if that was the case—and in fact now that he thought about it, she was looking pretty jumpy too… He knew a little of her background—comfortable, Core world, not fabulously rich—and he doubted she was all that used to guns either…
“I’ll answer your question,” said Simon, “if you tell me why you’re using a fake name.”
The barrel of the gun twitched up, ever so slightly.
“Simon?” said Inara, in some alarm. “What do you mean?”
“It’s… It’s just that the director of the clinic said that we’d be meeting Dr. Nolan,” said Simon. “That wasn’t the name you had at medical school, and while I know some people do still change their names when they get married, I don’t see a wedding ring, and while you might take that off while you’re in surgery, there’s usually a mark on the finger where the ring would be—” Cut the gorram crap, doc, he heard Mal snap into his ear. “—and besides…” Simon jerked his thumb behind him. “The name on the door said ‘Dr. Karolina Nolan. But this is your office, isn’t it? Katarina Neilsen. So that suggests to me… fake name.”
“Oh, very good, Simon,” said Inara. She might sound a little less surprised, thought Simon, with some irritation.
Katarina, pursing her lips, said, “You always were annoyingly smart.”
“Yes, I know,” said Simon. “I’m sorry about that. I know this doesn’t look good, me here not using my name, but there’s a perfectly straightforward explanation, and I’d like to have the chance to tell you what it is. But… well…” He nodded at the gun. “Do you think you could possibly see your way to putting that down?” He held out his hands, an open gesture. “It’s just me, Kay. Simon Tam.”
There was a moment when nobody moved and then, slowly, Katarina lowered the gun. “All right,” she said. “But you’ve got some explaining to do. Not least what you’re doing on Bethel. Last I heard, you were pulling down a fortune at that hospital on Osiris. What’s brought you out to the border?”
Simon released a quiet breath. So she didn’t know that he was on the run. Perhaps out here on the border worlds the news didn’t get around so easily. It would surely be very different back home. He wondered what story had been passed around. There’d need to be something, given that the authorities could hardly let the truth get out. They would have tried to discredit him. I heard Simon Tam got himself in trouble with a patient and now he’s under investigation for assault… well, you know, he always was weird around girls… Or maybe his father had pulled some strings, covered some of it up for the sake of the family reputation. Did you hear about Simon Tam? Went postal and tried to jump off the Two-Mile Bridge. They’ve locked him up for his own good. What would their friends have said, hearing whatever lies being spread about him. Probably tried to get his job. They were pretty cut-throat, some of them.
“I…” Simon went for the sympathy vote. “I burned out,” he said. “It all became too much, and I had to get away. From the hospital, from Osiris, from everything, really. The new name… It lets me get some distance from who I was back there.”
Was that even remotely plausible? Apparently so, since Katarina was looking at him such real compassion that he began to feel bad for lying.
“Simon,” she said. “I’m really sorry to hear that. You were a great doctor—”
“He’s still a great doctor,” said Inara.
“It… it wasn’t medicine that was a problem,” said Simon, “it was everything else.”
“I understand,” said Katarina. “Tough world. And not a nice set of people. D’you remember Will? Will Carlsen?”
“Yes!” said Simon. Wā, it was good to talk about home again. Talk about people he’d known, who’d known him before all this…
Katarina was shaking her head. “Did you know that the whole time we were dating, he was sleeping with Annette Stern? Annette Stern of all people! That laugh…”
“Oh,” said Simon. “I… I didn’t know that…”
“No, you wouldn’t. Ugh, he was such a jerk.”
“I guess he was…” Simon considered these revelations. Now that he thought about it, Will had been something of a jerk. Laughed, once, to hear that Simon wrote twice a week to his little sister. So much for the happy memories. “So, Kay… what’s been going on in your life?”
“What’s my good reason for using a fake name, do you mean?” Katarina sighed. “It’s complicated.”
“Yes,” said Simon, “it usually is.”
“I’m here undercover.”
“Sounds… important?”
Katarina put the gun down on the table. Simon saw Inara’s shoulders relax. Katarina said, “After I graduated, I took a job with the police in Capital City. Forensic medicine.”
“You always did have a thing for corpses,” said Simon.
“Well, they don’t talk back!” laughed Katarina.
“No need for bedside manner,” agreed Simon.
“If this is doctor humor,” said Inara, “I’m happy not to hear any more.”
“I did that for a while,” Katarina went on, “and then a friend who’s on the board of trustees at St. Freda’s got in touch to ask me to come out here. That was about a year ago.”
So well before his warrant was issued. Simon relaxed a little more himself. “Go on.”
Katarina glanced at Inara. “I trust your friend here will be discreet?”
“Whatever is said in here remains between us,” said Inara.
“It’s just that St. Freda’s is owned by the local Guild House—”
“I won’t breathe a word,” said Inara. “Although I didn’t know that the Guild had such a presence on Bethel.”
“Oh yes,” said Katarina. “They got here immediately after the war ended. Snapped up some of the main real estate. I think they saw that the border worlds were opening up and that Neapolis was heading for a boom. They weren’t wrong. They’re one of the biggest employers around here, as a result. And not just companions.”
“All the dependent businesses,” said Inara.
“St. Freda’s alone must employ several hundred people,” said Katarina. “The Guild’s very powerful here.”
“But what’s your investigation?” asked Simon. “What’s going on?”
“Someone has been organizing the theft of various drugs and other supplies. Selling them off world to Rim planets for profit.”
“Stealing medical supplies from a hospital,” said Inara, shaking her head. “Isn’t it terrible, Simon, what some people will do for money?”
“Yes,” he murmured. “Appalling.”
“Do you think someone at the Guild House might be involved?” said Inara.
Katarina seemed to consider her answer. “Yes, we do,” she said, at last. “My friend asked me to look into it, so I came here about a year ago, under a different name. But the Guild’s a hard nut to crack.”
“If there’s anything I can do to help,” said Inara. “It’s alarming to think that anyone at the Guild might be responsible and, really, even the suggestion of corruption is unacceptable. I’m very familiar with Guild governance, doctor. I might be able to spot irregularities that an outside eye would miss.”
Katarina looked at her thoughtfully. “You know, I wouldn’t mind an expert opinion on the set-up here,” she said. “Someone who knows the Guild, but isn’t connected to the local house…”
“I’d be more than happy to oblige,” said Inara.
Katarina sat for a while in thought. Simon and Inara gave each other relieved looks. Eventually, Katarina seemed to come to a decision. “All right,” she said. “There’s a party tonight at the Guild House. Hosted by the head of the house. Her name’s Hilde Becker. It’s a big event—one of the biggest private parties during Carnival. Tickets are like gold dust. I’ve been more or less instructed to attend. One reason I’m short-staffed,” she said, bitterly. “But I don’t have a guest.”
“As luck would have it, I’m not engaged this evening,” said Inara. “If you would like some company, and, perhaps, some insider information, I’d be glad to join you and see if there’s anything you might have missed.” Pointedly, she added, “Anything to help a friend of Simon’s.”
“In which case,” said Katarina, “I see no reason why I should draw attention to the more creative aspects of your resume, Simon. Not least because I’m desperate for staff.”
“And I see no reason why I should draw attention to yours, Kay. Not least because… well. Sounds like you’re doing important work.”
“Yes, it is important. Good. That’s settled.” She relaxed, ever so slightly. “You know, it’s nice to see you again, Simon. I’m really sorry to hear about the burnout. You must miss Osiris. Very different out here.”
“Yes,” said Simon, unhappily. That, at least, wasn’t feigned. He’d loved his job and would go back there in a shot, if the ’verse could somehow be rearranged to make that possible.
“You always seemed so on top of things!” said Katarina. “And you weren’t competitive like the others. You weren’t like the others at all.” She turned to Inara. “Do you know, he was the only man in our year group that we didn’t have to warn each other about?”
Simon hadn’t known that and in fact wasn’t sure he knew what she meant. “Warn each other?”
“You know,” she said. “You weren’t handsy like the others.”
“Simon’s practically a saint,” agreed Inara. Simon looked for the glint of sarcasm in her eye but couldn’t spot it. At least, he didn’t think so. “We were very grateful he agreed to fly with us on board our ship.”
“I can’t quite picture him flying round the Rim,” said Katarina.
“I think he’s adjusted to the life very well—”
“This is actually painful,” said Simon. “Can you let me get to work now, please?”
The two women exchanged amused looks. Katarina, coming round the desk, squeezed his arm. “It’s good to see you again. And it’s relief to think that there’s someone of your caliber here this weekend.”
Simon sighed. Like old times again. Maybe, for a while, he could pretend that the ’verse hadn’t taken this awful sideways shift. That everything was back to normal, and his life had stayed on course, and he was home, doing what he loved to do best.
Katarina nodded at his glasses. “You won’t need those, by the way. They’ve fixed the boxes on the walls here so that people think there’s retinal scanning throughout the building, but they never installed the technology. That’s this planet in a nutshell. Nothing’s what it seems, and everything’s done on the cheap.”
“Not in theater, I hope?” said Simon.
Katarina smiled. “Anyone else would have asked whether or not that meant they’d get paid—but not you, Simon. The hospital’s well enough equipped. Not by the standards of Capital City, but better than most border worlds.”
And certainly better than stitching people together again in the medical bay on Serenity. “And I will get paid?”
“You’ll get paid,” said Katarina. “I’ll make sure of that.”
At the door to the office, she turned to Inara. “Ms. Serra,” she said. “Thanks for agreeing to come along. If you let me know where you’re staying, I’ll bring a car over to collect this evening you. Around six thirty?”
Inara bowed her head with exquisite and precise courtesy. “That will be perfect. Have fun, Simon, if that’s the right thing to say. And… do take care.”
* * *
Back in her shuttle, Inara confirmed the engagement that evening with Kay, and then sent a wave back to Sihnon. Having made the decisions that had brought about her departure from House Madrassa, she didn’t, in general, like to call on her old friends, but sometimes there were questions she could not answer alone. She needed her sisters.
“Guanyin,” she said, smiling. “I hope this finds you safe and well. I’m… I’m well. I’m on Bethel right now, on the border, and there seem to be some question marks over the local Guild House. Some irregularities in how they are running a local hospital. Is there anything I should know? Is there anything you can find out for me? It would help the friend of a friend… Oh,” she laughed, “you know how these things work! The head of the House is named Hilde Becker, if that helps at all. Thank you, mei mei. And it’s been too long. We should try to speak properly, next time I’m near the Core.”
She blew her friend a kiss, finished the call, and pushed aside the melancholy that always threatened whenever she interfaced with her old life. Instead, she began to prepare for the evening. Something to impress upon the members of the local House that she was from the central worlds. Something that made them understand the kinds of connections she had and, perhaps, send the signal that the House here on Bethel was coming to the attention of some powerful people back in the Core.
It was troubling, to say the least, to think that a Guild House might be involved in some ongoing corruption. Even small lapses threatened the integrity of the institution. The whole idea of Guild was built on trust. Clients needed to know that they were safe in these intimate spaces; that they could speak openly to their companions and not find themselves betrayed. Passing on information revealed in such a space; that was truly unforgivable. What Katarina had described—financial irregularity—was a different category of betrayal, and perhaps whoever was involved believed they had good reason to be diverting medicine off world. Since coming on board Serenity, Inara had seen much more of life beyond the Core, and she had come to understand that things were not so clear-cut out here. Still, there was no harm in some closer observation of how the Guild was operating here, and if it protected Simon, that was a good enough reason in itself. If the attendees were as high profile as Katarina said, she would surely learn something to help… not Mal, but Zoë and the Shepherd. Inara drew the line at helping Mal.
