“Larga Ways is surely similar? It would have been built around Balcoan norms,” Trayla said.
“Probably, but artificial is artificial, I’m discovering. Nothing beats the real thing.” She wondered if Eazi could do something about that. But that was a problem for another day.
They got home, and found Natta already there, setting the table.
Fee poured water into a jug, and was putting out the glasses when Eazi pinged her ear piece.
“Can you talk?” he asked.
She waved to Natta, held up her hand to show she’d be five minutes, and then walked up the stairs to her bedroom.
The house had three, one on the ground floor, which Natta had taken, and two upstairs, each with their own bathroom, and with a comfortable lounge between them.
Trayla had taken the smaller of the two, which left Fee with the master, along with its balcony looking out over the river. She stepped out into the cool evening and pulled her jacket closer as she leaned against the railing.
“I’m alone. What’s up?”
“Things are interesting when you’re not here,” Eazi told her. “People don’t know what to do.”
Fee didn’t think she was a micro-manager, so that was surprising. “Like who?”
“Even though Tean Lee asked you to leave, he obviously wishes there was a way to get hold of you. He doesn’t like dealing directly with me.”
That had been clear to Fee for some time, and she didn’t know how to solve the issue.
“Then there’s Jaden Tris,” Eazi said.
Fee made a face, because she should have seen that one coming. “What’s he up to?”
She almost didn’t want to know.
“He’s actually way more subdued than I thought he’d be. You telling him I would be in charge has made him cautious, I think. He’s contacted me a few times to ask for permission to do something, but he’s less focused, that’s for sure.”
Fiona breathed out a sigh of relief. That was better than expected. “Has Tean Lee uncovered anything?”
Although Eazi would be working just as hard as he was, if she were to guess.
“Neither of us has. I don’t know if someone knew he was there, listening to the Garmman traders in the other booth, and decided to play a prank on him, or whether someone lied to the traders on Tecra, in order to stir up trouble.” Eazi sounded worried.
“It could be either,” Fee said. “So you think I can come back home any time?”
“I’d like a little longer to hunt through all the listening devices on the station. If they were speaking an obscure language, what they were saying might not be immediately apparent.” Eazi paused. “Unless you want to come back very badly?”
“Oh, no. The Grihan operatives Admiral Hoke assigned me are easy to get along with, and I spent a very pleasant afternoon in Distani. I’m happy to stay a little longer. Have you sent the message to Baruke, asking for a meeting yet?”
“I did it this afternoon. No word yet. I’ll let you know—” He cut himself off for a moment. “Hal has asked me to patch him through to you. We thought it was better for his comms to cometo the way station, then for me to route them down to you, given how much traffic there is between Larga Ways and Balco.”
“Thanks.” She leaned out a little further on the railings, waiting for the connection, and narrowed her eyes as she tried to make out what she was looking at in the sky.
“Fiona?” Hal’s familiar, deep voice filled her head, and she swallowed a sigh.
“Hey there. Guess what I’m looking at?”
“What?” He sounded amused.
“Larga Ways. I’m standing on a balcony in Distani, watching a beautiful lavender light move across the sky.” She had never thought about what Larga Ways must look like from the surface of Balco. Now she knew.
The sight alone was well worth the trip.
