'Guess what?'
Zen gazed at him bleakly.
'I've made Questore!' Fabri crowed in a triumphant whisper.
He extended the forefinger of his right hand and poked Zen in the chest.
'To be fair, I suppose you should take some of the credit, as you said this morning. But it's results that count in the end, isn't it? Bari or Ferrara seem the most likely prospects at the moment, unless I decide to take a few months' leave and wait for something better to come up. They say Pacini won't last much longer in Venice. Now there's a thought, eh? Well, I must circulate. See you at the Ministry. I'll be in to clear my desk.'
Zen knew he had to leave quickly, before he said or did something unforgivable. As he pushed through the crowd, he felt a grip on his arm.
'Wherever are you going in such a hurry, dottore? I was just about to, ah… that's to say, I was on the point of, ah, bringing your presence to the attention of someone who has taken a very close, very personal interest in the events of the past few days.'
The young secretary steered Zen towards a distinguished-looking figure in his mid-sixties who was holding court in the centre of the room, where the throng was thickest. Zen recognized him immediately.
Unlike the other celebrities, whose fleshly reality often jarred uncomfortably with their etherealized media image, this man's appearance coincided perfectly with the photographs Zen had seen of him. Elderly without frailty, experienced but not resigned, he gave the impression of just having reached the prime of life.
'We were talking about you earlier,' the young man resumed, effortlessly inserting himself and Zen into the inner circle of initiates. 'Indeed, I trust you will not think me indiscreet if I mention that 1'onorevole was pleased to remark how deeply indebted we are to you for your, ah, effective and timely intervention.'
The distinguished figure, deep in conversation with two younger men whose enthusiastic servility was embarrassing to behold, paid not the slightest attention.
'It would be no exaggeration to say that the Party has been spared a most trying experience as the result of your, ah, initiative,' the young man went on. 'It's true that we were at first somewhat surprised by the choice of… that's to say, by the fact that this woman, ah, proved to be the guilty party. However, on mature consideration we unreservedly approve of this solution, more especially since it allows us to retain the Padedda option as a fallback position should any further problems arise. We are really most grateful, most grateful indeed. Isn't that so, onorevole?'
For a second, the elder man's eyes swept over Zen's face like the revolving beam of a lighthouse.
'If there's ever anything you need…' he murmured.
Zen made the appropriate noises, then gracefully withdrew. As he headed towards the door, towards his evening with Tania, the words were still ringing in his ears. 'if there's ever anything you need…' Better than money in the bank, he thought. Better than money in the bank!
