Dynasty of Rogues by Jane Fletcher

Author:Jane Fletcher [Fletcher, Jane]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Mystery & Detective, Fiction, Women Sleuths, Lesbian, General
ISBN: 9781933110714
Google: exwnAAAACAAJ
Amazon: 1933110716
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2007-03-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven—Raising The Stakes

The window in Tanya's room gave a view mainly of the temple roof, with a selection of other roofs behind. However, if she hunched over the table and pressed her face on the glass, Tanya could also see a short section of the street in front of the temple.

Riki had just gone. Currently she would be exiting the sanctum, on her way to a meeting with Zelenski in the Corps headquarters. Tanya felt nauseous at the thought, but Riki clearly saw it as one big game. Her flippant attitude ought to be irritating—it always was in Westernfort. Yet now Tanya was finding it a source of comfort, and not just for humor. Riki did not have the first idea what fear was. She made incredibly reassuring company.

Even so, Tanya wondered why she was bothering to peer down at the road. The chances of spotting Riki were too small to consider. Tanya frowned. Just what did she think she would gain by it? Yet she remained in place, looking.

* * * * *

The room Riki was shown into was the same as before, but this time Colonel Zelenski was already there waiting, seated at the desk. Riki felt a hard knot of tension in her stomach and an uncomfortable prickling at her nerve endings. Taking risks for herself was fun, but this was different. The game was moving into its next phase, which involved Tanya's position becoming a lot more precarious. So far, Isabel Coppelli had been spot-on accurate in predicting how everyone would react. Riki prayed that she continued to be right.

Riki stared at the floor, almost as if hoping to see through to the cells and interrogation rooms beneath her feet. Riki remembered the catch in Tanya's voice as she said that she did not want to go back. Yet Tanya was not chickening out or whining for sympathy. Riki just wished there was some way she could be more support, or even swap places. She would happily face the risks on Tanya's behalf.

The colonel's chair creaked as she leaned back. "You got my message."

Riki hardened her expression and looked up. This was not the time to let her performance waver. "Yup. And I guess you got the guilty reaction from the Chief Consultant, like I said you would. So. You ready to strike a deal now?"

"I am. For the information you outlined before, I'm willing to offer one hundred dollars."

Riki shook her head, laughing. "Oh no. I'm not handing it over that cheaply." She drifted a few steps closer to the desk. "Look. We can do it one of two ways. I want a thousand dollars. Now, you can say one hundred, I can say five thousand, and we can spend the next half hour haggling it down to a thousand. Or I can say one thousand, you can say yes, and we can go and do something useful in that half hour. Which way do you want it? Because I'm not handing the papers over for a dollar less.

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