contrived to sow a discord between him and his brother-in-law. Should he not say anything? What if Kissur considers Shavash his friend and will be snared sooner or later?
Though, Kissur is hardly all that innocent. Bemish remembered how, despite being totally stoned, he was shocked by one of the Khanadar's songs about a battle with Akol people. A local tribal king dispatched his brother and other highly placed war chiefs to Kissur asking him not to attack the tribe. Kissur said, 'So it will be,' and showered the envoys with the gifts way more luxurous than customary. They couldn't refuse the gifts, of course, without insulting the Empire's most powerful military commander. So, they returned to the king and Kissur sent them letters in such a way that the king intercepted them. Kissur reminded in the letters that he promised not to touch their land in exchange for their king's head and he asked them when they were going to fulfill their part of agreement. The rich gifts were presented as a bribe for the king's head. The king, naturally, ordered the butchering of his brother and war chiefs, beheading the army leadership and arousing the tribe's discontent. After that, it took Kissur two days to finish him off.
And even though everybody agreed that Kissur was not even close to deceased Arfarra with the tricks of this sort — he still didn't resemble a guileless lamb.
Kissur, meanwhile, poured wine in the cups, covered them with the lacquered tops with straws going through, and offered Bemish a cup.
'You are driving,' Bemish reminded him.
Kissur grasped the straw imperturably and, seemingly, gulped all the wine in a minute. Anyway, he opened the cup immediately and started to pour more wine.
'Why are you so sad?' Kissur asked, 'was the bribe, Shavash demanded from you, too large?'
'No. It's just that I've never found myself in such a position. I don't know what to do.'
'You are doing great,' Kissur laughed, 'you have already fleeced Shavash for six million.'
'What?' Bemish was astonished.
'Didn't you know? The IC company gave Shavash six million so that it gets the spaceport. Shavash has to return money now as an honest briber.'
'It's impossible,' Bemish said, 'the auction takes a precedence over bribes.'
'How do you know that it all depends on the auction?'
'I came here,' Bemish said drily, 'only after I had learned the experts' names and met the other companies' representatives, for example, Eseko. None of them had any difficulties obtaining a permission to participate in the auction.'
'What about you?'
Bemish got a bit embarrassed.
'Well… small officials wanted small gifts…'
'It has nothing to do with gifts,' Kissur said, 'IC paid Shavash six million dollars so that not a single company, that could really compete with it, took part in the auction. This Eseko of yours could get all the permissions with no sweat, while you and some other folks were blacklisted.'
'Shavash is really afraid this Trevis of yours. He is nervous that Trevish will devour him whole.'
'What's he raving about?' a thought passed Bemish's mind. 'Where could this IC, a small and practically unknown company, scrape up such a bribe? And why? It's local mythology and tabloids.'
'I am sure,' Bemish said, 'that's you are not correct.'
Kissur burst out laughing and waved his hands.
'Yeah! Shavash has already started digesting these six millions and — kabloom! You get the company!'
Kissur laughed, happy with Shavash's failure.
'Hold on,' Bemish exclaimed, 'firstly, I didn't get the company, I just obtained a permission to take part in the auction. Secondly…'
Bemish wanted to say that, secondly, he wasn't all that hot about quarrelling with Shavash…
'But you will win the auction!'
'If my offer is better than the others,'
Here, Kissur slid his hand in the pocket and pulled out, to Bemish's astonishment, a small white box.
'What is it,' Bemish asked.
'It's a plasma bomb,' Kissur answered, taking it amiss that the Earthman has never seen such a commonplace invention of his own culture.'
'What?!! Why?!!!'
'Why what? We'll leave it under the IC representative's door and, if he doesn't get out of the planet then, we'll stick it under his pillow.'
Bemish was dumbfounded for a while and, then, he said drily,
'I will not do that.'
'Why? Are you afraid to get bagged?'
'Kissur, listen,' the Earthman asked, 'is it true that you engaged in a personal combat during your wars, with the enemy's commanders before the battles.'
'So?'
'Why wouldn't you, during the fight, order your archers to shoot your opponent?
'Are you nuts?' Kissur was astounded, 'all my troops would abandon me after such a base trick.'
'Was it the only reason?'
Kissur lowered his eyes. Of course, it was not the only reason.
Bemish sighed,
'You know, Kissur, we grew up in different worlds and, if I was a military commander, I wouldn't engage in a personal combat before a battle. But, when I participate in an investment auction, I will not slip a bomb to my opponent. You should have some decency.'
'I've always thought, ' Kissur said, 'that, when money comes into play, there is no place for decency.'
'It may be true on Weia,' Bemish said, 'but it's not true on Earth.'
Kissur put the bomb back in his pocket as casually as a pack of cigarettes.
THE THIRD CHAPTER
Where Kissur opens the Emperor's eyes to a foreign briber while Terence Bemish received a gift of a luxury villa
The next morning, Kissur was desperately bored. He called Bemish but Bemish was running around somewhere like a chicken with his head cut off. Kissur could find him but what was the point? The man is rushing from one office to another — you can screw a slut together — but bribing an official is a private matter; why would Bemish need Kissur as a witness? The other guy, Welsey, said that tomorrow they would go to the spaceport.
Kissur beat a servant with no reason — Kissur didn't beat him really, he just pushed him a bit, but the servant slammed into a bronze vase and hurt himself badly with the vase. Kissur ate goose and marinated liver pirogi for breakfast and went to a pub and, after that, to the fortune-tellers. All the damned fortune-tellers were familiar, however, with the sovereign favorite's mug and Kissur didn't learn anything interesting.
Finally, Kissur returned home, undressed and dived in a huge pond, inlaid with heavily veined Chakhar marble and surrounded by blooming trees, with an altar in the Western Gazebo hanging over the water.
Kissur was leisurely swimming in the pond, when a faraway car rustled behind the carved lattice. A door banged, voices clamored excitedly, a man from the car evidently shook the servants off and stomped down the garden path.
Kissur dived. When he got to the surface, shining leather shoes stood on the pond's marble edge. Excellent quality grey pants ascended above the shoes.
'Ok, how much do you want?'
Kissur raised his head — an unfamiliar Earthman, with a red and round, like a street light, face stood in front of him. The Earthman's eyes were crazed and his chin stuck out aggressively.
'How much do you need?' the Earthman repeated. Kissur got out of water unhurriedly and shook himself like a dog. The water drops from his blond hair splashed the Earthman's expensive suit. The Earthman was clearly
