Gateway To Xanadu (16 page)

“What do you mean, I warned you?” I asked with a frown I could feel, beginning to make my way over to the bar where he stood. “What was I supposed to have warned you about?”

“You warned me you would get even for my taking advantage of your problem,” he reminded me, watching as I took another glass and poured over about an inch and a half of the ambrosia he’d put into the first glass. “I thought I was on guard against anything you might do, but there are some things no man can guard against.”

I turned back to him to see that his eyes were still on me; and from that close the look in them was very unsettling. The civilized gentleman looking down at me was aroused by what I had momentarily forgotten I was wearing; if the primal hunter behind his eyes managed to get control away from him, I’d have a fight on my hands.

“I don’t believe in getting even that way,” I told him, sipping at my drink. “I’m not silly enough to believe that you’ll be doing without just because I kicked you out of my bed, so what would be the point in wiggling my backside in your face and then laughing? When the time comes for me to get even, you won’t be smiling. ”

“I see,” he said, sounding as though he didn’t believe a word I was saying. “You put that thing on just to have something to wear. It never occurred to you that with you wearing something like that to dinner, they could serve me roast asteroid dust and I would never notice. If this isn’t getting even, I don’t know what is.”

“Just stick around and you’ll find out all about it,” I assured him, swallowing a grin at the plaintive note he’d put in his voice, at the same time stepping back from the hand that had begun moving toward my waist. I would have been an imbecile to let him touch me, especially since there were things that needed doing. “I’m ready to go if you are.”

“I was ready to go about three seconds after I first saw you,” he said with a theatrical sigh as he put his empty glass back on the bar. “If you’re talking about dinner, though, I suppose we might as well get on with it. We can finish discussing getting even later, when we get back here.”

In a pig’s eye, I thought as I put my glass next to his, then let him head us both to the door out of the suite with a hand in my back. I knew how he discussed things, and wasn’t about to let him make me change my mind about sleeping arrangements. I needed that assignment to be over as soon as possible, and letting him distract me wouldn’t get it done.

We took the elevator up to the main floor of the Station, but I didn’t let Val head us immediately toward the dinner dining room. I pleaded an unexpected need for the ladies’ room that stood not far from the elevator bank, got his gallant and amused permission to take all the time I needed, then went inside with an innocent smile he would not understand till later on. There were half a dozen other women using the larger facilities, all of whom looked at me with the widest range of expressions I had ever seen; I hadn’t the time or interest to do more than ignore them as I appropriated and locked a private stall. There wasn’t room for much in the small silver bag I carried, but the computer tap I’d brought didn’t take much room, and was disguised as a cigarette case. The master files I had to check were on the opposite side of the wall I stood next to in that ladies’ room; waiting to do it the next Station day would have been a waste of time.

Getting through their security lock-out could have been a life-time project-if I didn’t already have their password and keys. The Station people would not have enjoyed knowing I had them, so I made sure to tap directly into the memory file without activating any of their terminals. My tap acted as the terminal, with the information forming in the air above it, a running list that continued on without the need for tabbing. I could have put a direct inquiry in about Radman instead of wasting time going through the alphabet, but all too often those lists are tapped, and I didn’t want anyone knowing who I was looking for. The name Richard Radman appeared in its turn, the non-resident designation showing right after it, and as soon as the next complete page formed itself in the air, I deactivated the tap, put it away, then got myself out of there. There was no way the Station computer could have kept me from tapping in, but that didn’t mean it had also refrained from signaling all sorts of alarms.

Val smiled at me when I came through the door, an encouraging sign in view of my recent illicit activities. If there had been any hullabaloo yet, he wouldn’t have looked so unconcerned.

“Well, that wasn’t bad at all,” he said with a grin as he walked up to me, pretending to look me over.

“And I can’t tell if there’s actually been an improvement, or if it’s just seeing you come back that makes this corridor brighter. ”

“You must really be desperate,” I remarked, keeping my voice as low as his had been as I looked up at him. “A line like that can’t have any justification but desperation, and that doesn’t make any sense.

Haven’t you noticed how every female in sight is looking at you? If you felt up to it, you could even get away with handing out numbers.”

He grinned deeply in acknowledgment of the truth in what I’d said, but he didn’t even bother glancing at the women and girls passing us in the corridor or standing at the various game machines the wide corridor held. Xanadu Station had a lot more people than Faraway had had, and most of the women were staring at Val openly, hunger and interest and availability clear in the stares. A single nod would have brought more than half of them to him, and that despite the tact that very few of them weren’t with men of their own.

“I don’t see you accepting the invitations of all those men,” he countered instead, gesturing very slightly with his head. “If they keep that up much longer, everyone in the Station will be covered in drool. If you’re not showing any interest in them, why should I feel any differently about their female counterparts?”

His comment about the men startled me, but one glance around showed that he was right. If the women were ready to drop at Val’s feet, the men were too busy gawking at me to notice. I could see I had made a mistake wearing that outfit after all; for two agents on an assignment that required a large degree of privacy, we were being noticed by more than three-quarters of the people in the Station.

“I like to take my time making a choice,” I told Val, giving him a small, faintly amused smile. “And I’m also not coming up with desperation lines. If you’re waiting for me to go first, I’ll let you know as soon as I’ve made a decision.”

“You do that,” he agreed, losing his grin as he wrapped my right arm around his left and began heading us toward the dining room. “And I’ll let you know whether or not your choice meets with my approval.

If it doesn’t, you might want to consider desperation lines of your own.”

I hadn’t understood his amusement until that very minute,. but once I did I would have pulled my hand and my arm away from him if he hadn’t been holding on tight against exactly that kind of move. The bastard had as much as admitted that he was going to keep me celibate with his authority as my

“guardian,” probably until I couldn’t take it any longer and had to go to him for what I needed. He didn’t yet know me well enough to know I would go up in flames before I did that, but he would sure as hell find it out. I closed my hand on his arm into a fist, deliberately crumpling his sleeve, and kept my eyes oar where we were going.

The dinner dining room wasn’t very far up the corridor, and was, of course, adjusted to major continent planetary time, as was the rest of the Station. People staying in the Station waiting for their liner to wherever they were going didn’t find it necessary to adjust whatever schedule they were following, but those going down to the planet found it easier doing the adjusting before they hit dirt. If it turned out that their destination planetside was half a world away from the designated major continent they’d have to adjust again, but more people went major than minor, so setting up alternate schedules was too much of a pain.

The maitre d’ greeted us with a smile then led the way to a table, taking us through a good portion of the elegant room. Lace and crystal and soft music and expensive wines set the mood of a formal dinner dining room, enhancing the splendor of the formal occasions.

Val played gentleman by holding my chair for me at the cozy table we were shown to, then sat down opposite me. A large number of eyes were on us again, male and female both, and that added to the overall annoyance I was feeling-until I caught a glimpse of the squad of security men going by out in the corridor. They were moving somewhat slowly and glancing at hand meters, and none of them looked at all happy. With my tap deactivated they had no way of tracing me through it, and that upset them. They would eventually consider the single computer null point in the area-the ladies’ room-but I hoped by then I would be gone from the Station.

“See anything that interests you, Jennifer?” Val asked in a distracted tone, clearly referring to the menu he was looking at, a second copy of which sat quietly in front of me. The menus on Xanadu Station were like the ones on the planet, fully holographic and smell-equipped, saving the diner from having to ask questions about any dish he was unfamiliar with. There was even a small tasting square next to each exotic main dish, and Val had made use of a couple of them.

“I’m not very hungry,” I answered, ignoring the menu. “As a matter of fact, I’m thinking about going straight back to the suite. ”

“You can think about it all you like,” he came back, throwing me a glance as the majority of his attention stayed on the menu. “I let you get away with not eating anything earlier, but you won’t be skipping two meals. We have things to do tomorrow, and you’ll need your strength.”

He let his eyes rest on me longer that time, reminding the unreasonable half of the partnership that there was a job to do. I refrained from laughing in his face, then shook my head.

“Making shuttle reservations doesn’t call for too much strength,” I said, looking casually around the dining room. “Our friend has already left, so we go down after him.”

“How could you possibly know that?” my partner demanded in a soft hiss, his black eyes suddenly looking annoyed. “You haven’t been out of my sight long enough to do anything on your own!”

“How long do you think it takes?” I asked with amusement for his annoyance, enjoying it the way he had enjoyed mine. “Couldn’t you see it in the brighter glow of the corridor? Or were you too busy with other, more interesting thoughts?”

“So you did it then,” he nodded, sitting back in his leather armchair, looking at me through lidded eyes.

“And he’s definitely gone off the Station?”

“No question,” I agreed. “Just remember to be curious about the squads of security people you see prowling this area when we leave here. If you’re not, they’ll think you’re guilty of something.”

“I am guilty of something,” he answered, still obviously annoyed. “I’m continually guilty of considering you like other women. Maybe if I really work at it, I’ll learn better. What do you want to eat?”

“I told you, I don’t want anything,” I said, leaning back in my own chair, my eyes still on him. “Hunger is well known for cutting down on the sexual urge, you see, and that should save you some trouble. If I don’t want any men, you won’t have the bother of passing on my choice.”

“You’re too considerate for words,” he said, his tone dry. “Although I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your offer, I’m afraid we’ll have to forget about it for now. You’ve been a busy little girl, and busy little girls need nourishment to keep them going. Unless you’ve decided not to be any busier.”

I stiffened in my chair at the threat, furious all over again at the way he was forcing me to do things his way, but there was nothing I could do to stop it. He was more than capable of leaving me on the Station and going after Radman alone, just as he was hinting he would if I didn’t listen to him. I didn’t realize I was sending a kill-stare again until I saw him grin, and that got me even more.

“You just wait!” I hissed through my teeth. “You have your fun now, but one day soon it’ll be my turn, and then you’ll learn the real meaning of fun! If I do nothing else in this life, I will do that!”

“I’ve always admired dedication and purpose,” he commented, the grin still there as he went back to checking the menu. “Now let’s see what we can find to strengthen those two admirable qualities. If you’re a good girl, I might even let you get a dessert.”

He seemed to have no trouble ignoring the way I was staring at him, so I gave it up and switched my stare to the delicate and intricate pattern of the Ilian lace cloth on our table. With Ilian lace no two patterns ever came out the same, and I tried concentrating on that fascinating bit of information to take my mind off what my emotions were doing. I was coldly furious and hopping mad and a dozen and a half other things including outraged-but I was also beginning to be very faintly intimidated. I hated the feeling even more than I hated what Val was doing to me, but I could no more stop it than I could stop him. A bad precedent had been set on Tildor when Val had pushed me around as Fallan, with Bellna doing the intimidated part. Since then I hadn’t been able to think about our time in the Paldovar Village without feeling strange, and it occurred to me that maybe Dameron’s people hadn’t removed Bellna’s persona from me as thoroughly as they’d believed. If that was true there was really nothing that could be done about it, with the possible exception of brooding. I turned to one side in my chair and folded a leg under me, then spent some time thinking about brooding.

I hadn’t used the two chances I’d been given to make a food choice of my own, so I wasn’t given a third.

When Val closed his menu a robot waiter glided up to our table, and in another minute it had been given an order for two tru-steaks with all the trimmings. It was also given our drink order, which consisted of two inches of ambrosia for Val and “something very mild” for the “young lady.” I flatly refused to look at him after that, not to mention refusing to respond to his attempts at light conversation. No man had ever dared treat me that way before, and especially not with that “no arguments” look in his eyes.