Could it all be taken away again…??

Ako, keeping watch in the recovery room, gave him a friendly nod from her chair. Jin heard voices out in the corridor, and went to see who it was.

He shut the door behind him to find Vorlynkin-san, looking startled, confronting Raven-sensei and two new people. Jin's mouth, too, fell open as he stared at the couple.

The man was almost another Miles-san-same height, same looks-except twice as wide, and with no gray in his hair. He wore a sharply-cut suit in black on black with more black that somehow made his girth look trim. The woman was even taller than Jin's mother, with bright blond hair swept back in a cool knot, and eyes almost as blue as Consul Vorlynkin's. Her suit was more flowing, in soft gray, with a silky white top and a glint of gold at her throat and ears. Her outfit reminded Jin of Miles-san's shirt, simple yet somehow extra… extra-looking. Her smile down at him made him feel warm all over.

"Jin," said Consul Vorlynkin. "I was just coming to find you. I was about to run back to the consulate for a bit, but…" He stared at the new not-Miles.

"Mom and Mina fell asleep," said Jin.

"Ah, good," said Raven-sensei. "I'll just go check on them, and have a word with Ako, and be right with you all." He slipped into the recovery room.

The blond lady's eyes glinted merrily at Jin, like sunlight off a lake in summer. "And who's this, Consul?"

Vorlynkin seemed to pull himself together, though why the arrival of this pair should have scattered his wits Jin was not quite sure, well, except for the short man's surprising looks. "This is Jin Sato. He's the son of the woman the Lord Auditor and Dr. Durona have just revived here. Lord Vorkosigan met him, well, I'll let him tell it when he gets back. Jin, this is Lord Mark Vorkosigan and his partner, Miss Kareen Koudelka. From Barrayar."

Miss Koudelka held out a slim hand for Jin to shake, just as if he were a grownup, and the man, after a beat, followed suit. Jin wondered if partner meant girlfriend or, like, coworker. The pretty woman seemed like she ought to be a corp executive, the expensive-looking bag slung over her shoulder sized for business gear, not cosmetics.

"Are you Miles-san's brother?" Jin asked. Like Tetsu and Ken? Jin stood, he realized, eye-to-eye with the man just as he did with Miles-san, but somehow the extra bulk made Lord Mark seem taller. And his smile didn't lurk in his eyes the way Miles-san's did.

"Twins, born six years apart," the man said, sounding bored and rehearsed. "It's a long story." Clearly, not one he was about to tell Jin.

"You don't look, um…?exactly alike," said Jin. Lord Mark also lacked Miles-san's cane, and he seemed to move more fluidly. Maybe he was the younger brother.

"A distinction I go to some trouble to maintain," said Lord Mark.

Raven-sensei let himself back out of the recovery room. "I think you should meet Madame Suzuki first, Lord Mark."

"Must we deal with her? This Ted Fuwa fellow is the sole owner-of-record."

"Only of the physical plant. For our purposes, the physical plant is-well, not nothing, but interchangeable. It's the human liabilities-and opportunities-it contains that made it worth dragging you here for a closer look. And Madame Suze is unquestionably the mistress of that particular court of chaos."

Lord Mark gave a short nod-listening, not arguing.

"Did your brother know you were arriving, Lord Mark?" asked Vorlynkin. "He hadn't mentioned it to me. Nor had Dr. Durona." His glance under his lashes at Raven-sensei was not very friendly.

"We caught an earlier ship than expected," said Miss Koudelka.

"I actually haven't any interest in impinging on whatever hornet's nest Miles is presently poking," said Lord Mark. "We don't normally comment on each other's enterprises. Think of it as the parallel-play stage of siblinghood."

His partner-lady put in smoothly, "Actually, I understand one of the functions of the consulate is to assist Barrayaran business people on Kibou."

Vorlynkin nodded warily. "Although the Auditorial investigation naturally takes precedence, just now." He added under his breath, "Whatever the hell he thinks he's doing…"

"Of course." Miss Koudelka's smile grew blinding; Vorlynkin blinked. "Perhaps, Mark, Raven, the consul should come along? Then we'll only need to explain things once."

Vorlynkin looked nonplussed. "Jin, do you mind?"

"Oh, Jin is welcome, too," said Raven-sensei airily. He added aside to Miss Koudelka, "Native guide and all that."

She nodded agreeably, and favored Jin with another sunny look.

Raven-sensei led off, Jin tagging along in silent wonder, down and under and through and up to Suze-san's door. Lord Mark and Miss Koudelka looked all around as they walked, very keenly, the blond lady taking vid scans on the way with a tiny hand-held.

At the corner suite, Raven-sensei knocked briskly. The door was opened surprisingly soon not by Suze-san, but by Tenbury-san. "What's all this?" He peered suspiciously through his hedge of hair. "You've gone and brought new people in without asking!"

"Asking is just what we came for," said Raven-sensei. "I'm glad you're here. May we come in and talk to Madame Suze?"

"I suppose." Tenbury squinted down at Lord Mark. "God, it's another one. How many of these sawed-off galactics do you have up your sleeve, Raven?"

Lord Mark's eyebrows twitched, but Raven-sensei replied soothingly, "Just the two," and Tenbury gave way.

Suze-san was sitting by her window playing mah-jong and drinking something that probably wasn't tea with Medtech Tanaka; Tenbury had apparently just risen from the third seat. Their eyes opened wide at Lord Mark's party.

"Now what, Raven?" said Suze-san. "I thought I'd settled with you. When do I get my two revivals, eh?"

"We're considering changing the Deal," said Raven-sensei.

Suze-san's scowl deepened.

"Instead of two, how would you like two thousand?"

Her brows went up, though her frown still bent down; but she waved a wrinkled hand, and the whole mob filed in and pulled up seats around her. Raven-sensei first introduced Consul Vorlynkin, who, indeed, had been running in and out of her facility for the past several days, as she likely knew perfectly well. Jin cast her a nod, trying to say, This one's all right. Tenbury half-sat on the wide windowsill, frowning and pulling on his beard.

Raven-sensei repeated his introductions: "Madame Suzuki, may I present my employer, Lord Mark Vorkosigan-he's also Lord Auditor Miles Vorkosigan's younger brother-and his partner, Miss Kareen Koudelka. Lord Mark is a co-owner of the Durona Group, my clinic on Escobar."

"Who's the other co-owner?" Suze-san asked, staring hard at Lord Mark.

Lord Mark bowed slightly and said, "Dr. Lily Durona. Who is also founder and clone-progenitor of the original Durona Group of Jackson's Whole. I acquired my interest a decade ago when I helped expedite the group's removal from the ownership of Baron Fell, there, and emigration to Escobar."

"You a doctor, too? Researcher?"

Lord Mark shook his head. "Entrepreneur. My primary interest in the Durona research is to support development of an alternative to the clone-brain transplant method of life extension that will knock it out of business."

"That technique's illegal!" said Medtech Tanaka.

"Not on Jackson's Whole. Unfortunately."

Jin tugged Vorlynkin's sleeve and whispered, "What are they talking about?"

He whispered back, "Some bad rich people try to get young again by having their brains transplanted into the bodies of clones, purpose-grown to match them. Very dangerous operation, and the clone's brain always dies."

"Eew!"

"I agree." His brows drew down as he frowned anew at Lord Mark. He made a hand-down motion to Jin, Be quiet and listen, and set the example.