+oaf. He's for real." and Santorini turned back to the table.
+
+==== Harlan: Thief, Resistance Operative ====
+
+Domosky and Harlan returned to their table where the younger man sat
+staring at his hands silently. Domosky waited.
+
+Finally, Harlan looked up at the big man. "Sorry. I'm a bit pissed."
+He looked at the barkeep. "Even the bartender knows more than I do."
+
+He rose from the table and headed for the door.
+
+Domosky stood up and followed. He caught up with Harlan in a few of
+his long strides. "If you go to the roofs, we won't be able to talk."
+His breath streamed out on the cold night air. "No one knows more than
+they need to. You are entering a new phase. And you need more
+information now. So you're getting it."
+
+He rubbed the back of his head. "I felt much the same as you do last
+week when they filled me in on a lot of minor details. Like Behan and
+Murphy."
+
+Harlan snorted. "Behan doesn't seem like a minor detail to me." He
+looked at Dom. "Who's Murphy."
+
+"The guy sitting across from the Boss at the table. He's an assistant
+to the President."
+
+"The President? The pirate President? Mahoney? That President?"
+
+"Yes. That President."
+
+"Jesus H. Christ on a hofsteader." Harlan stood for a long minute, his
+mouth hanging open. Then he shook his head vigorously. "I don't
+believe that. I don't believe any of those bastards could be turned."
+
+"He wasn't turned. He contacted us."
+
+"That proves it. He's a mole. He joined the Resistance to get
+information on us to pass on to his boss. He needs to be eliminated."
+He looked back at the tavern as Domosky turned him around and they
+walked back.
+
+"His wife would shoot you just for saying that." said Dom as they
+entered the pub.
+
+Harlan's head came up. "Who's his wife? And why should I care?"
+
+"Her name is Silver Santorini. She's the Boss's daughter." He leaned
+forward, scrutinizing the crowd. "In fact, that's her. Over by the
+bar. The one with all the panting men around her."
+
+Standing next to the bar was one of the most beautiful women Harlan
+had ever seen. Her hair was almost pure white, hanging loose and
+tumbling down her back like a waterfall. But she wasn't an albino. Her
+skin had a healthy pink tinge, especially on those high cheekbones.
+Her eyes were light although he couldn't see what color they were from
+this distance. Her rosebud mouth opened as she laughed over perfect
+white teeth. Her neck...
+
+Harlan forced his attention back to Domosky. "Holy shit!" he said.
+"That's the Boss' daughter?"
+
+Domosky had been watching Harlan's reaction to the woman. "Yep. Lots
+prettier than her daddy."
+
+Harlan snorted. "You're a master of understatement."
+
+Then he deliberately turned his back on the very distracting woman,
+shifting so that he faced Domosky. "Do you know what the high
+muckety-mucks have ordered me to do?"
+
+The big man grinned. "As I understand it, you volunteered to serve in
+whatever capacity they needed."
+
+"That was before I heard what the assignment was." He shook his head,
+taking a quick glance at the Boss' daughter. "They want me to organize
+the thieves, destroy the Syndicate, and bring any left alive into the
+Thieves' Guild." Shaking his head again, he asked "How in Hell am I
+supposed to accomplish that? Behan says I have friends who will be
+there for me." He took another quick look at Silver. "As far as I
+know, you're the only person I can call a friend. And you might not
+feel that way."
+
+Domosky chuckled. "You will probably be surprised when you find out
+how many friends you actually have." He leaned back in his chair,
+possibly to cut off the view of Silver Santorini, which was just as
+distracting to him. "And, yes. I am your friend."
+
+Harlan looked at the big man for a moment with a slightly crooked
+smile. Then he realized that Silver Santorini was standing next to
+them. Both men nearly fell as they hurriedly stood up.
+
+Silver's lips quirked. "May I join you?" she asked.
+
+"Of course." said Dom as he grabbed a chair from a nearby table,
+dumping the previous occupant.
+
+"Our pleasure." said Harlan as he moved his chair over to make room.
+
+Silver was chuckling as she stooped to assist the man who had been so
+unceremoniously deposited on the floor. Dom's face went pink and he
+lifted the man to his feet, apologizing.
+
+Silver offered her hand to both of the men. "Hello. I'm Silver
+Santorini. I believe you know my father."
+
+The two men had difficulty letting go of her hand, but she was able to
+extricate it.
+
+She accepted their offer of a brew as the waiter came over.
+
+Once they were alone, she leaned forward and spoke softly. "I have
+been assigned to your team, Harlan. It will be you and me and Dom."
+
+For the first time, Harlan was not pleased to see Mellie walk in the
+door to the tavern.
+
+==== Mellie: Detective, Resistance operative ====
+
+She really didn't expect to find Harlan in the Black Chaupoo. She
+certainly didn't expect to find him with a gorgeous woman with pure
+white hair and green eyes. She felt her own eyes narrow as she walked
+toward them. Harlan had turned and was looking at her. His eyebrows
+were raised as if he were puzzled. Or maybe anxious.
+
+He stood and reached for her as she came up to the table, but Mellie
+ignored his outstretched hand and smiled down at the woman.
+
+"Hello, Dom." she said without so much as glancing at him. "Hello,
+Harlan. Who's your friend?"
+
+The woman's perfectly arched eyebrows also rose and a little smile
+played around her lips.
+
+Harlan sighed. "This is Silver Santorini, the Boss' daughter." he
+said. "She's married to a guy named Murphy who's with the Boss in the
+back room."
+
+Now Mellie did look up at Harlan. Briefly. "I've heard of you." she
+said to the woman. "Everyone talked about how beautiful you are. I
+didn't believe them until now."
+
+Silver smiled again. "Thank you, Detective." She stood. "I had heard
+much the same about you. I see that the gossip was also true."
+
+They stood staring at each other for a moment. Then Mellie offered her
+hand and Silver took it. Their handshake lasted a bit longer than one
+between two men would have and seemed much more intimate. Harlan had
+the distinct feeling that they were saying things to each other
+without words.
+
+The women sat down and the men followed suit.
+
+Mellie stared at Harlan for a long minute, markedly increasing his
+anxiety. Finally she smiled at him and reached out and took his hand.
+Turning to Silver, she asked "Is that Liam Murphy you're married to?"
+
+Silver nodded. "That would be the man. We've been married for three
+years. He's a good man."
+
+"Except that he's a pirate and the President's assistant. That makes
+him a little bit suspect on this side of town."
+
+"I know. I've lived with those suspicions for years now." She
+grimaced. "But I know this man. I know him well. He is sincere. He
+wants to overthrow the tyranny and free the people of Agalder. He has
+the courage and brilliance to do it."
+
+Mellie raised an eyebrow. "Why would he betray his comrades?"
+
+"Because they are wrong and cruel and basically evil." Silver said as
+she took a sip of her brew. "There are another half dozen crew members
+who think like Murph does. They'll join him when it's time. But the
+majority of the crews are only interested in making their fortunes.
+This is supposed to be the last gig. When they leave here, they're
+supposed to split up and head for different parts of the galaxy to
+retire." She snorted. "I'll believe that when I see it."
+
+"What will you believe?" asked Harlan. "That they won't head off to
+different ends of the galaxy? Or that this is their last gig?"
+
+She smiled and Harlan couldn't help it. His heart beat a little
+faster. "Oh, I wouldn't be surprised to see them split up. They all
+detest each other. There is no honor among thieves." She shook her
+head. "No. What would surprise me is if this is their last gig. They
+are all the greediest of pigs. They might split up, but they would
+find another way to make money by harming and killing and raping and
+maiming anyone they can."
+
+Mellie shook her head and spoke - so softly that Silver almost missed
+it. "It will be their last gig all right. They will be much too dead
+for another."
+
+Silver met her eyes, green staring into blue, and she nodded.
+
+==== Silver Santorini: Resistance Operative ====
+
+Silver Santorini and Liam Murphy had been married over three years and
+were very much in love. Yet they had never lived together, never
+shared the small joys of preparing meals together, of planning
+vacations, of sharing their days at work and little triumphs with each
+other. They met every few weeks to report to each other and share a
+couple of hours of steamy sex. It was all they had at the moment. But
+they thought they could see the light at the end of the wormhole and
+prayed that it was not the inside of a star.
+
+They couldn't think about that future now. That could lead to
+inattention and carelessness and they couldn't risk that. They had to
+stay focused. That's why Silver only glanced at Murphy when the door
+opened and the men came out of the back room. He didn't even look at
+her. Behan had slipped out a window, the same way he had come in.
+Santorini came over and pulled up a chair at the table.
+
+"I see you've met my daughter." he said, looking at Mellie.
+
+"Yes. We were just getting acquainted." replied Mellie, her gaze
+steady.
+
+The Boss stared at her for a moment, then nodded. "Don't worry about
+Murph. He's a good guy and dedicated to our cause."
+
+His eyes flicked from Harlan to Mellie and back.
+
+Harlan said "If you say he's ok, I'll trust him."
+
+Santorini stood and smiled. "He's ok, Harlan. You can trust him." He
+kissed Silver and left.
+
+Silver turned to Mellie. "Dad's assigned me to Harlan's team. It'll be
+Harlan and Dom and me." She waited for a reaction.
+
+The churning in her stomach didn't show on her face as Mellie said
+"Sounds like a good team." Then she looked at Dom. "Actually I came
+here to see you, Dom. I'm going to need some help when the time comes
+to take over APD headquarters. And I've already decided that you would
+be perfect in that role."
+
+"What about me?" Harlan's voice was just a little bit whiny.
+
+Mellie began to giggle and Dom and Silver joined in the laughter.
+Harlan looked indignant for a few moments and then chuckled. "That did
+sound petulant, didn't it?"
+
+"Yes." Mellie reached out and took his hand. "Two things, my love.
+First, you're going to be too busy for this. And second, I don't want
+you anywhere around when the time comes. You would be too distracting
+for me and vice versa. Neither one of us will be able to afford
+distractions then."
+
+"Dom's going to be busy, too." said Harlan, still not happy.
+
+"Not like you are. He should be able to help me then. I am going to
+need the second best thief in Crater City for a few hours."
\ No newline at end of file
projects / universe.git / blobdiff