The Third Lynx

Because I'd lied to her. My feelings for Penny did indeed have a lot to do with the new plan.

In fact, in a way, they had everything to do with it.

The next two and a half days went by slowly. Stafford and Bayta stayed mostly in their compartments, while Morse and I suffered, mostly in silence, through the boisterous company of our first-class car. I could tell that Morse was now looking at our traveling companions with wary eyes, wondering which of them might be Modhri walkers.

If he believed my story, that is. The other possibility was that he was simply wondering which of his fellow passengers he might be able to call on for assistance if and when the time came for pinning me to the floor and fitting me with a straightjacket.

I didn't see Fayr at all after that single talk with him. Presumably he was having a fine time of his own back in second class. Though of course not quite as good a time as the first-class crowd was having.

I did have a couple of long conversations with Stafford in the privacy of his stateroom. He still blamed me for losing his fiancee at the Ghonsilya transfer station, and in general didn't seem to like me very much. Fortunately, he seemed able to put those feelings aside while we discussed possible strategies for getting her back. If Kunstler had been grooming him to take over his business empire, I reflected, he'd chosen his successor well.

As for the Modhri, whatever mind segment he had aboard stayed quiet and kept to himself.

Trivsdal, like Homshil, was a node station where several Quadrail lines came together, and as Bayta, Morse, Stafford, and I trooped off the train we found ourselves amid a teeming crowd of interstellar travelers. 'What now?' Stafford asked as we found a relatively safe corner off the main walkway beside a waist-high planter filled with aromatic flowers.

'Bayta will go and get our tickets,' I said. 'You and Agent Morse will stay here and watch the luggage.'

'What about you?'

'I'm going to look around,' I told him. 'We've got three hours before the next Claremiado Loop train, and it's possible Ms. Auslander and her escort will arrive here before then.'

'If she does, we'll do the trade here,' Stafford said firmly, sliding his backpack off his shoulder and onto the ground. 'Frankly, I think this new plan of yours stinks. There's no reason for all of us to go all the way to Laarmiten.'

'Objection noted,' I said. 'And we do the trade where I say we do it. Watch the luggage closely.'

'Don't worry, we will,' Morse assured me.

I made my way into the crowd, watching for the fancy or official clothing that was most likely to mark Modhran walkers. Two platforms away I spotted a pair of Halkas dressed in their Peerage's distinctive tricolor layered robes and headed over. 'Message for the Modhri,' I murmured as I walked past them. 'Message for the Modhri.'

Neither of them so much as looked at me. Shifting direction, I made my way toward a group of well-dressed Juriani a dozen meters away. 'Message for the Modhri,' I murmured again. 'Message for the—'

I broke off as a sudden hoarse cheer came from behind me. I spun around just in time to see a group of Shorshians hoist a flailing and clearly protesting Morse and Stafford up onto their shoulders and march off in an impromptu parade across the station.

I hurried toward them, dodging between and around the other passengers, many of whom had paused to watch the spectacle. But the Shorshians were moving briskly, and by the time I reached the planter where I'd left them the whole crowd had traveled another twenty meters onward.

And all our luggage had disappeared.

'The Shorshians do so love a parade,' a voice said from beside me.

I turned. It was one of the two Halkas I'd tried my telegram-boy routine with a few minutes earlier. Only now his eyes and expression were those of the Modhri. 'Nicely done,' I complimented him. 'How'd you get that many walkers here so quickly?'

'Oh, only two are my Eyes,' the Modhri said, nodding toward the procession. 'The others are merely bystanders caught up in the excitement of the moment.'

'Leaving the rest of your walkers to make off with our luggage,' I said. The Shorshians had finished their tribute now and were lowering Morse and Stafford back to the floor. 'What exactly was this moment of excitement, if I may ask?'

'You may,' the Modhri said magnanimously. 'An elderly Shorshian walking stiffly with a cane dropped his ticket. One of your fellow Humans reached down and picked it up for him.'

'A simple thank-you would have been sufficient.'

He shrugged. 'As I say, Shorshians enjoy a parade.'

'So I see,' I said, watching Stafford and Morse trying to force their way through the still lingering crowd of onlookers. Clearly, both of them knew a setup when they'd been caught in the middle of it. 'So much for you keeping your word.'

'The Human female will be delivered to you here once my Eyes have left with the Lynx,' he assured me. 'I have no further need of her.'

'Actually, you might as well have her delivered to Laarmiten,' I said. 'That's where we're going next.'

I turned to find the Halka staring hard at me. 'Laarmiten?' he asked almost casually.

'Regional capital of the Nemuti FarReach,' I said helpfully. 'Population eight hundred million, major exports foodstuffs, gemstones—'

'I know of it,' he interrupted. 'The Lynx is not in your carrybags.'

It was a statement, not a question. Apparently, his walkers had finished their search of the stolen carrybags. 'That's right,' I confirmed anyway. 'Never was, actually. I trust you'll be returning the luggage to us, by the way. It's four more days to Laarmiten and a couple of changes of clothing would be nice to have.'

'We were to make the exchange at Terra Station,' the Modhri reminded me.

'And I've changed my mind,' I said. 'Now we'll be doing it at the Laarmiten transfer station.'

I could see the wheels turning behind those dark eyes. Once out of the Tube and in the transfer station, we would have access again to weapons and any other Spider-forbidden items I might want to bring to bear. 'You plan something foolish,' he said. Again, it wasn't a question.

'Maybe,' I said. 'But that's not your problem. Your problem is that you want the Lynx, and I still have it.'

He hissed softly, an eerily chilling sound I'd never heard a Halka make before. 'Very well,' he said. 'The Laarmiten transfer station.' His eyes glittered. 'Make very sure you have the Lynx.'

He turned and strode away. I watched his back, and caught the moment of subtle change of stance as the Modhri relinquished his control. I wondered how the Halka would rationalize this particular blackout.

A moment later, Stafford and Morse made it through the last line of people. Stafford looked flushed and anxious, Morse looked just flat-out furious. 'Bloody hell,' he said as he looked at the spot where the luggage had been. 'Bloody, bloody hell.'

'Relax,' I calmed him. 'It'll all be returned.'

'Except the Lynx, of course,' he bit out. 'I imagine they'll be keeping that.'

I looked at Stafford. His face was still flushed, but I could also see a hint of grim satisfaction there. 'Oh, I don't think so,' I said.

'What are you talking about?' Morse asked, looking around as if the thieves would have been stupid enough to be still hanging around.

'He means he called it, straight down the line,' Stafford told him. 'Right down to them hitting us here in the station. I hate to admit it, Compton, but you're not bad at this.'

'You mean, for a washed-up has-been?' I suggested.

'Something like that.'

'Wait a minute,' Morse said, frowning. 'If the Lynx wasn't inside that log sculpture—' He broke off, a flash of sudden understanding on his face. 'It is inside the sculpture, isn't it? It's that—what did you call it? That chameleon effect.'

'Actually, the sculpture is what we call the diversion effect,' I said. 'We pulled the Lynx out of the log before I had Mr. Stafford recarve the surface.'

'So where is it?' Morse asked, looking at Stafford.

Stafford shrugged. 'No idea,' he admitted. 'For all I know it could still be somewhere on Ghonsilya.'

'Don't worry, it'll be at Laarmiten in time for the exchange,' I assured him. 'Anyway, I hope you enjoyed your