buildings against a darkening sky. “That’s an awful lot of smoke over there.”
“A fire?” Syfax turned to look. “It’s a bad one. But it’s not in the factory area, it’s near the city center. Damn. You know what that means?”
“Riots?”
“Riots.” Syfax turned back to the train and a moment later he nodded at a group of people just stepping out onto the platform. “How about them? They look like suspects.” The marshals watched as Lady Sade led her entourage across the platform and formed a tight-knit circle next to the first class car just behind the staff car. Their number included several women wearing too much jewelry, a pair of men with unusually large upper arms, an Espani in a wide-brimmed hat, a girl in a feathery coat, and a handful of children carrying small bags.
“I don’t recognize any of them, except the governor.” Kenan kept his voice low and his eyes on the train.
“I recognize one of them.” Syfax turned his back to the group. “The one in the blue dress and the tall hair is Fariza Othmani.”
“Friend of yours?”
“Recent acquaintance. She lives in Khemisset. Chaou went to see her, but when I questioned her she denied having any connection to Chaou. She said she was retired. Apparently, retirement leaves her free to come to the city at a moment’s notice. She must have one hell of a steam carriage.”
Kenan nodded. “So, not a coincidence.”
“We don’t believe in coincidences, Kenan. I’ve told you that.”
“Yes, sir.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Someone just joined the party. Someone in a dress, but with a scarf and a hood. I can’t see her face, but she’s short. Could be Chaou.”
“It probably is.” Syfax kept his eyes on the opposite end of the platform. “What are they doing now?”
“Talking. Waiting.”
Syfax nodded. “How’s the arm?”
Kenan rolled his shoulder. “Better. I think I can live without this for a while.” He tugged the sling off his shoulder and slipped his arm slowly into his jacket sleeve with a slight wince. “Yeah, I’m all right.”
“Good. Now get the chip off that shoulder and we’ll be back on track.”
“Sir?”
“Kid, when I left you in Chellah you were all nerves and energy and sharp salutes. We’re separated for a day and now you’re a pile of sulk.”
“Sorry, sir.” He straightened up.
“Relax, corporal. We’re alive, we’ve got two people in custody, and we’ve got a handful of suspects in sight. This investigation may be a bit of a mess, but it’s coming together. In a few hours, it’ll all be over and you’ll have one hell of a story that you’ll never be able to tell anyone.”
Kenan sighed. “Because it’s all going to go in a classified file?”
Syfax nodded.
Kenan grinned. “Good to have you back, sir.”
A few minutes later, the train conductor emerged and declared that boarding would now begin. Everyone on the platform lifted their bags and politely converged on the train’s doors, where they funneled inside. Syfax led Kenan into the thick of the crowd and they entered the train two cars back from first class. Despite the press around the doors, the evening’s collection of travelers was well below capacity and the marshals found themselves in a sea of empty seats.
“Not a lot of cover, is there?” Kenan shifted about, looking up and down the aisle. “Should we move?”
“No. Just put your jacket under your seat. They may send their people back to check the train and we don’t need any extra attention before we’re ready.”
“Right.”
“And go sit over there. Spread out and keep your eyes on both doors.”
“Right.”
With their red coats stowed, they settled into their seats and watched a handful of stragglers board the car and find their seats. The conductor came through to check their tickets and comment on the lovely weather, and cluck her tongue at the riots. A few minutes later, the train whistle blew and the doors closed. The low growl of the engine rose in pitch and a deep huffing and thrumming shuddered through the car, and then they were rolling. Central Station crept away, and then a series of warehouses glided by. Moments later the walls of Arafez vanished and the world spread out to the horizon above wide fields of tall green grass and the occasional cluster of junipers and pines. In the fading light, Syfax spotted a lone oryx grazing on a hillside, its long antlers spearing the evening sky. It raised its head and stared back at the train. Then two dozen more trotted up over the crest of the hill and they all dashed away across the highlands.
Half an hour after leaving the station, the Atlas Mountains loomed along the eastern horizon, a jagged black shape against a violet sky. Kenan moved up the aisle to sit in the row behind Syfax. “Major? Want me to take a look around up there? See what we’re up against?”
“No, I want you take a stroll to the back of the train. Take a look around for anyone alone or out of place. Too young, too alert, too well dressed, too poorly dressed, anything. Make sure the governor doesn’t have any extra security looking over our shoulder.”
Kenan said, “You know, there’s an old woman with a cane just a few rows back who keeps staring at us. Could it be someone in disguise?”
The major shrugged. “Who knows? But for right now, you’re looking for gunmen, not old ladies with bad hips.”
“Yes, sir.” He stood up. “You’ll be here when I get back, right?”
Syfax thumbed his nose. “That depends on how long you take.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll be quick.”
The moment the rear door closed behind the corporal, Syfax was on his feet. He reversed his coat to hide its characteristic red beneath the charcoal gray lining, and then sauntered up the aisle and through the car’s front door. The space between the train cars was windy, loud, and cold, but a moment later he was in the warm, quiet confines of the next car. It was identical to the one he had just left. Even the number and scattering of passengers appeared the same. He walked the length of the car and stepped out its front door. Again, the whirling night howled around him as he crossed the gap and hugged the rear door of the first class car. Through the small window in the door, she could see Lady Sade’s companions sitting on long, plush couches drinking tea. He noted the woman in the hood as well as the younger lady with the feathers and the Espani in black. The children all sat together to one side, sitting quietly with hands folded in their laps. The two men with the bulging arms had taken up positions near the doors at either end of the car.
Syfax lingered only long enough to scan the interior of the car and then pushed away from the door, leapt lightly across the gap and re-entered the passenger car he had just left. He made his way back to his own car and his own seat and had some time to study the swiftly changing landscape before Kenan returned and sat in the row behind him. “Major, I didn’t see any obvious security back there. Very few people by themselves, and most of them seemed to be sleeping. I don’t think we’ll have any trouble.” He paused. “Did you reverse your coat?”
Syfax continued staring at the rippling waves of grass and the islands of trees dotting the highland meadows. “You were right about the person in the hood. It is Chaou.”
“What? You went up there? Without backup?”
“Just long enough to see her face. I doubt they plan to do anything on the train or in the Lower City. There are too many factors in play. The army, the Royal Guards, the foreign diplomats, and all the local police and marshals. Lady Sade might have a lot of powerful friends, but she can’t possibly be in control of everything, everywhere. Not yet. Nah, whatever they plan to do, they’ll do it in the Upper City where there are fewer people to interfere.”
“The Upper City?” Kenan asked. “I’ve never been in the upper half of Orossa. I’ve never been higher than the Shrine of the Mother.”
“Most people haven’t. Security is tighter than a drum. The Royal Guards take their jobs pretty seriously.”
“The Royal Guards.” Kenan leaned forward and spoke lower. “Is it true they still maintain the castes in the Upper City? Arranged marriages, family trees, secure bloodlines?”
