It did seem that Looms was unpopular with Mikels and the others in the consortium. Nothing Lanra had been able to find told anything about the meeting or what it was Mikels had proposed that had so disturbed Looms.

But he noted that a politician had been in attendance. He had been unable to learn which one, only that it had been a high-ranking person, maybe a senator or vice-senator.

All right, Coren, let's take it as given that Looms had nothing to do with this… Mia thought.

Then the fact that none of DyNan's people had been injured looked very much like a set-up.

It occurred to Mia that someone would have to know who they were in order to make sure they would not be hurt. A list had to have gotten to the assassins, but the final list had not been completed till the day before. Last minute changes were even expected that morning. Who got the lists? Who made them? Who would have been in a position to get that information to the assassins?

And on the Spacer side? Had those been random or had there been a list for that, too? She remembered that on the morning of the Incident, Mattu, Gel, and she still had no idea how many Spacers were coming down from Kopernik. They would not have known till the Spacers walked out of the concourse…

Ariel's friend, Aspil. Was the corpse the real Aspil? If there had been an informant in their midst to send down the list just before they descended…

"Just how many people are involved in this?" Mia groaned. She looked down the alleyway and wondered where Bogard was.

Take it logically. It was beginning to appear that ten, twenty-a hundred?-people were involved. Perhaps there were a lot of bodies concerned-nine assassins at the very least, someone in the civic morgue, newsnet people maybe-but did they know anything about the larger conspiracy? Not necessarily. How many people need be involved? There must be a coordinator, someone to find the right people, the right data, and monitor everything. There must be a resource, for money, equipment, transportation. There must be a killer. Three people. The conspiracy looked manageable at that level.

Who would fill all those requirements, though?

Someone leaked the list of guests. Someone subverted the RI and otherwise circumvented security. Someone hired, prepared, and unleashed a team of assassins. Someone led those assassins.

And afterward? Someone was cleaning up loose ends. Could be the same someone who had leaked the list…

Movement attracted her attention and she looked down the alley.

The service door opened and an oversized drone rolled out. It was little more than a collection of boxes on tracks, moving in fits and starts. It seemed confused, almost comical. Then it came trundling down the alley toward her. Mia's pulse picked up.

Ten meters from the transport, the drone began to change. As Mia watched, it liquidly unfolded, rising in stature, slimming, losing the treads, becoming recognizably Bogard. She opened the back door and the robot slipped into the transport.

"Car, resume to fourth destination," she said.

The transport started up and backed down the alley, to the main corridor, and pulled into the light midaftemoon traffic.

"Hi, Bogard," Mia said pleasantly.

"Hello, Mia," Bogard replied evenly.

"How did you do?"

"I believe I have acquired everything requested." Bogard paused. "There is a problem, however. Derec has been abducted."