vague wave that bordered on a nervous tick, I motioned for Nunzio to show the visitors in.
As expected, it was the same delegation of four from the Devan Chamber of Commerce who had originally hired us to work for the Bazaar, headed by our old adversary, Hay-ner. Last time we dealt with him, we had him over a barrel and used the advantage mercilessly. While he had agreed to our terms, I always suspected it had hurt his Devan pride to cut such a generous deal and that he had been waiting ever since to pay us back. From the smile on his face as he entered our reception room, it appeared he felt his chance had finally come.
'Aahh, Master Skeeve,' he said. 'How good of you to see us so promptly without an appointment. I know how busy you are, so I'll come right to the point. I believe there are certain individuals in residence here that our organization is most anxious to speak with. If you would be so kind as to summon them, we won't trouble you further.'
'Wait a minute, Hay-ner,' Aahz put in before I could respond. 'What makes you think the people you're looking for are here?'
'Because they were seen entering your tent less than an hour ago and haven't come out yet,' said the largest of Hay-ner's back-up team.
I noticed that unlike Hay-ner, he wasn't smiling. In fact, he looked down-right angry.
'He must mean the ones who came in earlier,' Nunzio suggested helpfully. 'You know. Boss, the two guys with the broad.'
Aahz rolled his eyes in helpless frustration, and for once I was inclined to agree with him.
'Umm, Nunzio,' I said, staring at the ceiling, 'why don't you and Guido wait outside while we take care of this?'
The two bodyguards trooped outside in silence, though I noticed that Guido glared at his cousin with such disdain that I suspected a stern dressing-down would take place even before I could get to him myself. The Mob is no more tolerant than magicians of staff members who say more than they should in front of the opposition.
'Now that we've established that we all know who we're talking about and that they're here,' Hay-ner said, rubbing his hands together, 'call them out and we'll finish this once and for all.'
'Not so fast,' I interrupted. 'First of all, neither of us have laid eyes on those folks you're looking for, because, second of all, they aren't here. They took it on the lam out the back door before we could meet them.'
'Somehow, I don't expect you to take our word for it,' Aahz added. 'So feel free to search the place.'
The Deveel's smile broadened, and I was conscious of cold sweat breaking out on my brow.
'That won't be necessary. You see, whether I believe you or not is of little consequence. Even if we searched, I'm sure you would be better at hiding things than we would be at finding them. All that really matters is that we've established that they did come in here, and that makes them your responsibility.'
I wasn't sure exactly what was going on here, but I was sure that I was liking it less and less with each passing moment.
'Wait a minute, Hay-ner,' I began. 'What do you mean 'We're responsible'? Responsible for what?'
'Why, for the fugitives, of course. Don't you remember? When we agreed to let you use this place rent-free, part of the deal was that if anyone of this household broke any of the Bazaar rules, and either disappeared off to another dimension or otherwise refused to face the charges, that you would personally take responsibility for their actions. It's a standard clause in any Bazaar lease.'
'Aahz,' I said testily, 'you cut the deal. Was there a clause like that in it?'
'There was,' he admitted. 'But I was thinking of Tananda and Chumley at the time… and we'll stand behind them anytime. Massha, too. It never occurred to me that they'd try to claim that anyone who walked through our door was a member of our household. I don't see how they can hope to prove…'
'We don't have to prove that they're in your household,' Hay-ner smiled. 'You have to prove they aren't.'
'That's crazy,' Aahz exploded. 'How can we prove…'
'Can it, Aahz. We can't prove it. That's the point.
All right, Hay-ner. You've got us. Now what exactly have these characters done that we're responsible for and what are our options? I thought one of the big sales points of the Bazaar was that there weren't any rules here.'
'There aren't many,' the Deveel said, 'but the few that do exist are strictly enforced. The specific rule your friends broke involves fraud.' He quickly held up a hand to suppress my retort. 'I know what you're going to say. Fraud sounds like a silly charge with all the hard bargaining that goes on here at the Bazaar, but to us it's a serious matter. While we pride ourselves in driving a hard bargain, once the deal is made you get the goods you were promised. Sometimes there are specific details omitted in describing the goods, but anything actually said is true. That is our reputation and the continued success of the Bazaar depends on that reputation being scrupulously maintained. If a trader or merchant sells something claiming it to be magical and it turns out to have no powers at all, that's fraud… and if the perpetrators are allowed to go unpunished, it could mean the end of the Bazaar as we know it.'
'Actually,' I said dryly, 'all I was going to do was protest you billing them as our friends, but I'll let it go. What you haven't mentioned is our options.'
Hay-ner shrugged. 'There are only three, really. You can pay back the money they took falsely plus a twenty-five percent fine, accept permanent banishment from the Bazaar, or you can try to convince your fr-aahh, I mean the fugitives to return to the Bazaar to settle matters themselves.'
'I see… Very well. You've had your say. Now please leave so my partner and I can discuss our position on the matter.'
Aahz took care of seeing them out while I plunged into thought as to what we should do. When he returned, we both sat in silence for the better part of an hour before either of us spoke. 'Well,' I said at last, 'what do you think?'
'Banishment from the Bazaar is out!' Aahz snarled. 'Not only would it destroy our reputations, I'm not about to get run out of the Bazaar and our home over something as idiotic as this!'
'Agreed,' I said grimly. 'Even though it occurs to me that Hay-ner is bluffing on that option. He wants us to stick around the Bazaar as much as we want to stay. He was the one who hired us in the first place, remember? I think he's expecting us to ante up and pay the money. That way he gets back some of the squeeze he so grudgingly parted with. Somehow the idea of giving in to that kind of pressure really galls me.' Aahz nodded.
'Me too.'
There followed several more minutes of silence.
'Okay,' Aahz said finally, 'who's going to say it?' 'We're going to have to go after them.' I sighed. 'Half right,' Aahz corrected. 'I'm going to have to go after them. Partner or not, we're talking about hitting a totally new dimension here, and it's too dangerous for someone at your level of magical skill.'
'My level? How about you? You don't have any powers at all. If it's too dangerous for me, what's supposed to keep you safe?'
'Experience,' he said loftily. 'I'm used to doing this, and you aren't. End of argument.'
' 'End of argument' nothing! Just how do you propose to leave me behind if I don't agree?'
'That's easy,' Aahz grinned. 'See who's standing in the corner?'
I turned to look where he was pointing, and that's the last thing I remembered for a long time.
Chapter Three
'Reliable information is a must for successful planning.'
'HEY! Hot stuff! Wake up!! You okay?'
If I led a different kind of life, those words would have been uttered by a voluptuous vision of female loveliness. As it was, they were exclaimed by Massha.
