Nau shrugged. "Of course. So did Vinh. So did a few others. And now they're known quantities."
"But—"
"Remember, Ritser, we agreed. We can't afford any more casual wet-work." His biggest mistake of this whole adventure had been in the field interrogations after the ambush. Nau had followed the disaster-management strategies of the Plague Time, the hard strategies that were shrouded from the view of ordinary citizens. But the First Podmasters had been in a very different situation; they'd had plenty of human resources. In this situation...well, for the Qeng Ho who could be Focused, interrogation was no problem. But the others were amazingly tough. Worst of all, they didn't respond to threats in a rational way. Ritser had gotten a little crazy, and Tomas hadn't been far behind. They had killed the last of the senior Peddlers before they really understood the other side's psychology. All in all, it had been quite a debacle, but it had also been a maturing experience. Tomas had learned how to deal with the survivors.
Ritser smiled. "Okay. At least he's good for comic relief. The way he tries to suck up to you and me—and pompous at the same time!" He waved at the racked corpsicles. "Sure. Wake 'em all per schedule. We've had to explain too many ‘accidents' as it is." He turned back toward Nau. He still wore a smile, but the bottom light made it look like the grimace it really was. "The real problem isn't with Watch A. Podmaster, in the last four days, I've discovered clear subversion elsewhere."
Nau stared at him with an expression of mild surprise. This was what he'd been waiting for. "Qiwi Lisolet?"
"Yes! Wait, I know you saw the face-off I had with her the other day. The pus-sucker deserves to die for that—but that's not my complaint to you. I have solid evidence she's breaking Your Law. And she is in league with others."
Nau actually was a bit surprised by this. "In what way?"
"You know I caught her in the Peddlers' park with her father. She had shut the park down on her own whim. That's what made me so angry. But afterwards...I put my snoops on her. Random monitoring might not have noticed it for several more Watches: the little slut is diverting the pod's resources. She's stolen output from the volatiles distillery. She's embezzled time from the factory. She's diverted her father's Focus to help her with private ventures."
Pestilence. This was more than Qiwi had told him about. "So...what is she doing with these resources?"
"These resources and others, Podmaster. She has a variety of plans. And she is not alone....She intends to barter these stolen goods for her own advancement."
For a moment, Nau couldn't think of what to say. Of course, bartering community resources was a crime. During most of the Plague Years, more people had been executed for barter and hoarding than had died of the Plague itself. But in modern times...well, barter could never be totally eliminated. On Balacrea, it was periodically the excuse for major exterminations—but only that, an excuse. "Ritser." Nau spoke carefully, lying: "I knew about all these activities. Certainly they are against the letter of My Law. But consider. We are twenty light-years from home. We are dealing with the Qeng Ho. They reallyare peddlers. I know it is hard to accept, but their whole existence revolves around cheating the community. We cannot hope to suppress that in an instant—"
"No!"Brughel pushed off the rack he had been holding, grabbed the railing next to Tomas. "They are all scum, but it is only Lisolet and a few aggravant conspirators—and I can tell you just who they are—who are violating Your Law!"
Nau could imagine how all this happened. Qiwi Lin Lisolet had never obeyed rules, even among the Qeng Ho. Her crazy mother had set her up to be manipulated, but even so the girl was beyond direct control. More that anything, she loved to play. Qiwi had once said to him, "It's always easier to get forgiveness than to get permission." As much as anything, that simple claim showed the gulf that separated Qiwi's worldview from the First Podmasters'.
It took an effort of will not to retreat before Brughel's advance.
What's gotten into him?He looked straight into the other's eyes, ignoring the baton in Ritser's twitching hand. "I'm sure you could identify them. That's your job, Vice-Podmaster. And part of my job is to interpret My Law. You know that Qiwi never shook off the mindrot; if necessary, she can be easily...curbed. I want you to keep me informed of these possible infractions, but for now I choose to wink at them."
