instead take the ship by force, Todd would be in the position of 'agent who needed rescue.' If Mr. Roon accepted Todd's plan, Todd would be in the position of 'agent who came up with a brilliant idea.' The latter meant gratitude and a bonus. The former meant the recycling vats or worse.
'All right,' Mr. Roon said at last. 'We'll try it your way. Check in with me every two days at this time, sooner if something's going to break. Meanwhile, I'll step up security around the Collection.'
'That would also be a mistake, sir,' Todd said with an internal sigh of relief. 'If anything, you should ease up a little.'
Mr. Roon considered this. 'Because it will make it easier for the Children to get inside where we want them. I see your point.' He eyed Todd skeptically. 'You're adept at turning your position around, Mr. Todd. I'll be watching you carefully.'
And with that, he broke the connection. The hologram vanished. Todd let out a long, heavy breath. Then, whistling a little tune, he replaced his finger.
CHAPTER NINE
'Call an elephant a rabbit only if it makes you feel better to say you got trampled by a rabbit.'
The parade was enormous, with elephants. Kendi leaped and capered and skipped, sometimes tripping over his enormous purple shoes and landing flat on his face, to the great merriment of the assembled crowd. At the very front of the parade marched Valeta Kalopolis, her long dreadlocks piled under a tall red hat. She wore the traditional scarlet tuxedo of the ringleader, and she often twirled her gold-topped cane like a baton. Behind her came a pair of elephants. Old-fashioned flat signs on their sides spelled out 'Kalopolis Intergalactic Traveling Emporium of Wonders' in large, important letters. Then came Kendi, mixed in with a group of a dozen other joeys that included Ben and Gretchen. Ben was made up as a sad-looking hobo while Gretchen sported a fluffy green wig and a bright blue smile. Kendi wouldn't have thought that Gretchen would make a very good clown, but she was making a surprisingly fine job of it. She skipped and waved and at one point blew up a long, thin balloon. With a few expert twists, she transformed it into a dog, handed it to a small child, and continued on her way.
'I didn't know you could do that,' Kendi murmured to her.
Gretchen waved cheerily at the crowd, her face unrecognizable under white and blue makeup. 'There's a lot you don't know about me.'
Kendi grinned and decided to lose himself in his current role. Hidden beneath the bright, happy makeup, he could pretend that his family wasn't imprisoned, that he didn't have a slaver imprisoned on his ship, even that the Despair had never happened. His only purpose was to make people laugh and forget their troubles like he was forgetting his.
Behind the clowns hovered a broad platform on which acrobats of three different species-none of them human-performed graceful gymnastics. Horse riders came next, leaping on and off steady equine backs in their bright, glittering costumes. A short, squat humanoid who bulged with muscle performed feats of strength while an animal trainer herded a troop of house cats. Calliope music from a real calliope hooted cheerful music. Acts and riders stretched farther back than Kendi could see down the wide street corridor. Even the crowd itself was a riot of color and species that almost rivaled the Emporium itself. Pnebran, the gallery curator, had been correct-the idea of a circus was something almost all species seemed to enjoy. The whole thing was glorious.
And then he caught sight of Edsard Roon. The man was standing, face rapt, in front of the crowd with his wife Annalies and three pale children under the age of ten. Kendi stiffened, then caught himself and waved as if they were any other family in the crowd. The Roon children were quieter than the ones around them, almost subdued, and they didn't dive for the candy Ben tossed their way. Kendi felt a little sorry for them as he passed.
The Emporium wound its way through the station, passing through wealthy and poor sections alike. The poor sections wrenched Kendi's heart. The wide corridor was grimy, the buildings had few windows, and the air smelled stale. Noisy machinery clanked in the background, and small scavenger animals rustled in alley shadows. Family clusters crowded the walkways, both at ground level and above, all of them determined to get a glimpse of the Emporium. Tickets, Kendi knew, would be too expensive for almost everyone who lived here. Val, bless her heart, slowed the parade down to allow them to get a good, long look. Kendi and the joeys, for their part, worked extra hard to touch the crowd before moving on.
Just over an hour later, right about the time Kendi's feet were getting sore, the Emporium arrived at the entertainment coliseum where the circus would perform. The wide corridor dove straight into a long tunnel that opened directly into a cavernous performance arena. A trio of wooden rings made circles on the floor, and an impressive array of rigging for the flyers and acrobats made a network high above them. Rows of numbered bleachers rose high on all sides, and extra seats had been placed so luckier patrons could sit mere meters from the actual performers. People already crowded the seating areas, and more were streaming in.
The Emporium parade glittered like a dancing rainbow as it cut through the arena to a matching exit tunnel on the other side. Valeta waved, and the gathering crowd cheered. Kendi found a few reserves of energy and turned a cartwheel. Hobo Ben plodded sadly along beside him. Down near the floor in the seat Kendi knew to be A7 sat Edsard Roon, his family beside him. The children were munching candied apples. Mrs. Roon sat with her hands in her lap. Roon himself sat staring at the arena with the same rapt look on his face Kendi had seen earlier at the parade. Kendi smelled fried food and animal manure.
The elephants, followed by the group of joeys, passed out of the arena and into the performer's tunnel. The area under and behind the coliseum was a gray warren of dressing rooms, storage areas, holding pens, offices, and other facilities. The Emporium had taken over the entire thing for a week at tremendous cost. Valeta Kalopolis had groaned that she was going to lose money on this run but hadn't tried to back out of the agreement.
The elephant riders turned the animals down a side tunnel to a holding area where they would await their cue. Kendi dashed ahead of them so he could catch up to Valeta. Her scarlet tuxedo glittered with gold sequins.
'Roon's here, Val,' he told her. 'You remember what to do?'
Valeta turned and gave him a hard look over the golden head of her cane.
'Sorry. I worry.'
'Don't,' she said, and linked arms with him. 'We're show people from a long line of show people, dearest. Roon won't suspect a thing.'
Kendi nodded, feeling suddenly silly in his clown outfit. 'I appreciate this, Val. You have no idea what this means to me.'
'I'd say it was no trouble,' Val replied, 'except I'd rather save my lies for Roon. Keep in mind that after this'- she wagged a warning finger at him-'our debt is clearly and carefully paid. Don't even ask for tickets the next time we're in the neighborhood.'
'I won't,' Kendi promised.
Val squeezed his arm and left. Kendi rejoined Ben, who was waiting in a performer's alcove that gave them a view of the main ring. Gretchen had already gone down to the clowns' dressing room.
'We're all set, Ben,' Kendi said. 'I guess we have a few minutes to sit back and enjoy the show.'
A few moments after the Emporium parade had wound its way through the arena, the coliseum went dark. The murmuring crowd quieted, and Kendi imagined Roon leaning forward with anticipation. A single shaft of light stabbed down to the exact center of the middle ring. There stood Valeta Kaloplis, resplendent with her top hat and cane.
'Ladies and gentlemen!' she cried. 'Children of all ages! Welcome to the Kalopolis Intergalactic Traveling Emporium of Wonders!'
The crowd cheered its enthusiasm before the echoes died away. Kendi's mouth, however, was dry and his gaze wandered toward Roon.
