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Laidon smiled. With a thriving law practice, Tomar was always busy. “These monthly holo-comms were your idea.”
Tomar had the decency to cringe. “I had no idea you would be such a competent manager when we launched the joint venture. I thought you would require a lot my guidance.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” The joint venture started out as a bar renovation and gradually grew into Feran Entertainments, a multi-city chain of neighborhood pubs. Each site had its own management team, but Laidon oversaw the entire network, ensuring that everything ran smoothly. And profitably.
Laidon worked from home unless he was doing onsite inspections. His apartment was small, but a home office was a more cost-effective solution than leasing office space. He removed the bed and replaced it with a convertible sofa. A workstation now covered most of one wall and he spent much of the day in the self-adjusting chair that intuitively conformed to his movements.
“I’ll let you and Boslin finish up.” Tomar reached forward then looked at their younger brother. “Let me know when Puritta goes into labor. We are all a little concerned after the last one.”
Puritta and Boslin had been advised not to have more children after ‘the last one,’ but Puritta was determined to give Boslin the son he had dreamed of his entire adult life. Even Boslin was frustrated by her insistency, but she was nearing the end of her term now and there had been no complications. Best of all, the baby was male.
“I will notify everyone,” Boslin promised. “But everything has gone really well so far.”
Tomar acknowledged the promise with a quick smile then closed his end of the connection.
“Does he honestly believe that his schedule is fuller than yours or mine?” Boslin griped. “I would love to have him follow me around for a day or two.”
Laidon chuckled. “He’s a lawyer. What do you expect? They are all filled with self-importance.”
“I’m pretty sure Tomar possessed that trait long before he studied law.”
“I cannot argue with you there.” Laidon yawned and stretched out his back. “Did the shipment I arranged arrive on schedule?”
“As always.”
The shipment Laidon meant had nothing to do with Feran Entertainments, which was why he had waited until Tomar left to bring it up. He never mentioned names or specifics to anyone unless they utilized the virtual social club. However, Boslin had been an active participant in the rebellion almost as long as Laidon. Tomar helped out from time to time, but he preferred indirect involvement. Laidon understood his older brother’s concern. If Tomar’s reputation was sullied by scandal of any kind, he would quickly lose his prestigious clientele.
“Have you heard from the party girl?” Boslin smirked at the nickname. That was how he had referred to Shalia ever since he met her, so the moniker worked well now. “Has her scheme yielded any results?”
Laidon paused, considering his response. He couldn’t relay specific concerns, but he could speak in generalities. “She hasn’t accomplished anything significant, and I’m about to yank her out whether she likes it or not. The bastard she is living with has been known to turn mean when he loses interest in his lovers.”
All playfulness left Boslin’s expression. “Is she in danger?”
“She has been in danger since she moved in with him.”
“I know that, but has the danger escalated?”
Boslin was one of the few people Laidon had never lied to, never felt compelled to tell him what he wanted to hear. “I don’t know. Her messages are becoming less frequent and less informative. He is wearing her down.”
“Did you work out an exit strategy before she—”
Laidon’s forearm vibrated indicating an urgent message.
“Do you need to take that?”
Activating his subdermal control pad, Laidon accessed his comm-queue. His most recent message was from Olzoth Bekar. It was the fictitious name used by the palace courier. “It’s from the party girl. She must have sensed that we were gossiping about her.” He tried to use the jest to ease the building tension but it didn’t work. “Give me a few minutes then meet me in the social club.”
“Take your time. I need to check on the girls before I fire up Soza.”
Laidon nodded then ended the holo-comm. He opened the message and read it twice before allowing himself to react. Shalia had been convinced that a body slave was the perfect spy. Until this moment, he had been afraid that her sacrifice was in vain. The information he’d just received was thought provoking, but was it valuable?
There were holes in the information, details that needed to be answered before he could decide what needed to be done. He ran several quick searches, filling in a few of the holes. The others would require in-depth research, so the inquiries would have to wait.
Closing out his comm-queue and database access, Laidon relaxed in his chair and triggered the sensory implants linking him to the immersive environments. Soza was auto-selected so his digital self soon appeared inside one of the common areas. This one was a small park, complete with charming fountain and flower-lined walkways. He had selected the park because of its proximity to the private club’s nondescript entrance, but he enjoyed the tranquil environment and frequently lingered long after the other members of the Assembly departed.
The social club’s door only opened for approved members and the interior had been reinforced with multilayer encryption on top of the security features offered by Soza. The extra protection had been inserted into Soza’s programming by a talented hacker who sympathized with, but was not an active participant in the Assembly. The intricate patch would also alert Laidon instantly if anyone attempted to circumvent the augmented privacy shields.
Like the park outside, the club was small and cozy. An automated bar ran along the far wall. A large oblong table dominated the floor space, while small round tables had been scattered in the peripheries. Laidon pulled out one of the chairs, but was too anxious to remain seated.
