Alan Dean Foster Sagramanda

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"Is it such an unusual thing to ask, when a man looks at silver and amber
jewelry for almost an hour without inquiring about anything?"
Sanjay had a smile that was all the more winning for being genuine, instead of
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manufactured like that of some of his fellow shop owners. It relaxed his edgy
visitor a little.
"No, I suppose it is not. I am not here shopping for a woman. I am, in a way,
shopping for myself." He glanced significantly at the door. "Would it be
possible for us to have some privacy?"
Sanjay hesitated only briefly. He had owned his business long enough to
recognize a potential robber on sight, and this peculiar visitor was not one.
The man's look, his voice, even his clothing were all wrong. Sliding his
fingertips over the appropriate contacts on his gold bracelet, Sanjay locked
the door, darkened the windows, and activated the shop's security bubble.
"There," he announced when he was done. "No one can see us; no one can hear
us." He indicated the window. "We are safe from infrared scopes, directional
microphones, and all manner of eavesdropping equipment. Is that enough privacy
for you?"
Tension leached out of the man like steam from a safety valve. "My friend was
right. You are as vigilant as he claimed."
"Please, have a seat." Directing his guest to the chair opposite, Sanjay sat
down behind his counter. Without thinking and despite his preliminary
appraisal of the visitor, he made sure that the safety was off on the drawer
that concealed the loaded pop-up gun. "What friend was that?"
"No need to bring his name into this." Taneer had to fight not to keep
glancing in the direction of the door. The shop owner's assurances
notwithstanding, the street, after all, was still very close. "Or mine."
Sanjay shrugged. Whatever game his visitor was playing, the rules would no
doubt eventually be spelled out. "As you wish. What shall I call you?"
"'Mohan' will do."
Sanjay had a quick response. "But you're not, are you?"
It brought the first hint of a smile, which did not linger long. "My friend
told me that you have many interesting contacts on the street, and that you
sometimes deal in items not usually found in tourist gift shops." When Sanjay
started to reach for the relevant hidden sample drawer, Taneer raised a hand.
"That's not what I'm interested in. I need an intermediary. An honest broker."
The intensity in his voice matched that of his stare. "The most important
thing is, my friend said you were discreet and reliable."
"I am very much flattered, sir. I come from a small, poor village where
sometimes all a man has to offer are such intangibles." He indicated their
surroundings. "I am convinced it has helped me to get where I am today. So. I
take it, then, that you are not here to buy, but that you have something you
wish to sell?"
Taneer nodded.
"Can I see it?" Sanjay prompted him. "What is it? Gold? Jewels?
Pre-nineteenth-century artifacts? Please be at ease. I assure you that I can
be most conveniently ambivalent where provenance is concerned." He hesitated
only momentarily. "Drugs? Restricted pornography?"
His visitor took a deep breath. Bending over in the chair, he reached down and
removed his right shoe. The heel, interestingly, rotated sideways beneath his
fingers to reveal a hidden compartment from which "Mohan" withdrew a tiny
metal case. Utilizing his own control bracelet, he entered a combination that
unlocked this. It contained a single molly-sphere. A small one, no bigger in
diameter than the tip of Sanjay's little finger. The man handled it as if it
were a flawless hot pink diamond.
"That tells me nothing." When it came to business, Sanjay could be disarmingly
direct. "I surmise it most probably contains information you desire to sell."
His visitor nodded confirmation. "I am sure you will tell me how and to whom
you want it offered. But first you must tell me what you want for it. Your
asking price."
Taneer held out the molly. "Before we get to that, you need to know that this
is a copy. Not to insult you, but without periodic electronic reactivation by
me, the information it contains will simply evaporate. So there's no point in
anyone trying to take it by force. As to potential buyers, I'll give you the
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names of several companies with offices or representatives in the city who I
think will be interested in what I am offering.
"Your task will be to find a safe and respected means of engaging them through
a third party. You will act as my primary agent in this. No one else is to be
involved except yourself and whoever you choose to use as your own
intermediary. That way, you will be in contact with me and this other
individual, while they will have contact only with you and the eventual buyer.
As I will never have any dealings with this third party, they will not be able
to identify me to anyone else who might be looking for me. While I realize
this arrangement is slightly cumbersome, it will put another level of
separation between myself and the final purchaser. It will be more
time-consuming, and will cost me more because two commissions will have to be [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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