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*Until then, Thakur.* The contact ended, and Nevan grinned up at his captor. "Satisfied, Major?" "Perfectly, warrior. And I will accept your offer of a ride." Owajima holstered his gun, then undid Nevan's bonds. "I have wished to meet you for some time; I regret only the circumstances." Nevan sat up, rubbing his wrists. "Same here, maybe more so.
I could've used that quite a few times." Owajima became noticeable again. "It is less effective against a number of people, particularly when as you did they know I am present. But against few, or those who have not already seen me when I begin using it, you are quite correct; it is most effective." "Too bad you can't teach it to all the agents."
"DarLowrie went to the open house, Colonel and one of those on the destroyer static display recognized him. His name is Nevan, and he has accepted an invitation to visit the ship." "Nevan!" Owajima exclaimed. "What clan, do you know?" "It was not said, but the largest clan group aboard is from Leras." "Ah." Owajima was silent for several seconds, absorbing that.
He barely had time to spot a stunner muzzle in the opening and start reaching for his needler before his ambusher fired and he slumped to the airlock deck. Owajima was a little surprised at the ease of his success, though there was no way even one as skilled as DarLeras was reputed to be could have detected any sign of his entry.
The security chief smiled. "Of course, Colonel. We will keep you informed at all times. Will you need any further assistance?" "I do not believe so, but if I should, I will ask." Nevan had to land at the New Tokyo civilian spaceport, but he was likeliest to be able to get current information about Owajima at the nearby Imperial Navy base, so he rented a car and drove the twenty kilometers north.
Curious, Nevan walked around the ship until he found its ID and then he sent another caustic comment to one of the newest gods. *Dammit, Kelly, if you want me to deliver your blades to Owajima, how about some cooperation instead of all these problems?* The destroyer was the IHD Warleader Riordan, a ship from the Fiftieth Fleet, which meant it was crewed primarily by Sandemans.
So far he'd had to resort to nothing more drastic than reading and casual conversation, but learning he was after Owajima left him both disgusted at the gods' whimsical ordering of things and positive that things would be getting unpleasant rather shortly.
It would be safest, Owajima thought, to operate on the worst-case assumption that DarLowrie had learned most, if not all, of an agent's skills. He would need them, if he had any intention of assassinating Owajima on his home territory and then escaping. Should he simply eliminate DarLowrie, or would it be better to capture and question him? The second, Owajima decided almost immediately.
Nevan scowled at that; he hated having to depend on rumor. Doing that tended to get agents killed but unless you worked in the classified section of Personnel Records or knew the agent personally, rumor was all you'd have on one. And in Owajima's case, as in Nevan's own, there wasn't even much rumor. Kiyoshi Owajima concealed a scowl when he finished decoding his informant's message and read it.
He hadn't had the opportunity to really use his abilities in longer than he cared to think about. Owajima answered his phone, to see the chief of spaceport security. "Yes, Captain?" "The Last Resort just called for landing, Colonel. Do you want us to detain DarLewies?" "No, thank you. Permit him to land and do as he wishes, but keep him under close surveillance. Discreetly, of course."
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