They were crossing the parking garage under the old patient intake building, when everyone's heads turned at the sound of pounding and muffled yells coming from a door marked No Admittance.

"Hadn't someone better let that person in? Or out?" asked Miss Koudelka.

"Out, and no," said Raven-sensei. "They're Lord Vorkosigan's prisoners. They must have woken up. I hadn't wanted to give them too much sedative, atop the fast-penta and the stunner hangovers."

Lord Mark held up his hands, palm out. "No affair of mine, then." He didn't sound surprised that his brother went around drugging and detaining people, but merely asked, "When is he thinking of removing them? I expect my deal to be moving rather quickly."

"Don't know." Raven-sensei shrugged. "They're his puzzle-pieces." As the pounding continued, he added, "All the same, I'll wait till Roic comes back to go in and settle them. They're a nasty pair."

Jin tilted his head and ventured nearer to the door. "Hey! That's old Yani's voice!"

"Who?" said Raven-sensei, and "Are you sure?" said Tenbury.

"Hey, Yani! Is that you in there?"

The pounding stopped. A quavery voice cried, "Jin? Is that you? Unlock the door and let me out!"

"Where are the two guys?" Jin yelled back.

"I heard someone thumping and carrying on and went to go look," Yani returned, muffled. "What call they got to go locking people up around here?"

Raven-sensei threw up his hands and clenched his teeth. "Oh, my Lord Auditor will not love this." He bent to the lock.

Lord Mark stood back, drawing a businesslike stunner from his black jacket. Miss Koudelka didn't get behind him, but rather, circled to cover another angle, hitching her shoulders and flexing her hands and suddenly looking very athletic.

A tense pause, and the door fell open.

Yani stumbled out, swearing. He looked rumpled and wild, with a big bruise on his forehead and dried blood around his nose.

Raven-sensei peered within. "Crap. Gone!"

Chapter Seventeen

As Roic drove them into the underground garage, Miles flinched at the sight of the mob clustered around the open door of the office where they'd left their prisoners. His eye skipped to the empty space across the concrete where the captured NewEgypt van had been parked-and widened, when he spotted the sleek blond head bobbing above the dark ones. He didn't even need to look down to know who he'd see standing level with her shoulder.

"What t' hell?" said Roic, pulling to a halt. "What's Miss Kareen doing here?"

"Trailing my brother, no doubt. What I want to know is what the hell Mark is doing here."

They disembarked, and Miles shouldered swiftly through the gawkers to stare into the barren office. But even his best Auditorial glare couldn't make Hans and Oki magically reappear. Not that he wanted them, exactly… He turned to sort out Tenbury and Raven, Mark and Kareen, Consul Vorlynkin, Jin jittering at his elbow pouring out the escape tale in a rapid high voice, and battered old Yani, looking something between irate and contrite. But no worse, thank God, and by his complaints still oblivious to his close encounter with one of Kibou-daini's shadier death angels.

"How long ago did this happen?" Miles tried to cut to the essentials.

"Very soon after you left, at a guess," said Raven ruefully. "I'm afraid I under-medicated. Sorry…"

Miles waved a hand, in understanding if not absolution. "So they've been gone at least two hours, maybe almost three. Plenty of time to get home. Or somewhere."

A tactical tree began to sketch itself in his mind. If the pair had bugged out intending only to save themselves, they might be anywhere, but were unlikely to come back, and certainly not with reinforcements, the police and their own bosses being equally dangerous to them in such a flight. If they'd dutifully returned to NewEgypt…?the possibilities grew more complex. I wonder if we passed them on the road? Too late… The two goons had gained a good look at Roic, might have glimpsed Raven, had not yet seen the memorable Miles, but Roic was pretty remarkable all on his own; and once he'd been identified, the trace back to Miles could be swift, if rather baffling from NewEgypt's point of view.

And NewEgypt now knew the location of Suze's facility, and they had to be pretty sure Leiber, their original target, had come here, though they couldn't be sure if he was still here. Had NewEgypt figured out yet that their employee-former employee, by now, no doubt-had absconded with Sato's cryo-corpse? And if so, would they imagine she'd been revived already, or would they still picture Leiber carting her about in a cryochamber like some especially awkward souvenir? Could they track back to whatever security vids they maintained from the day Miles and his strike force had liberated her unfortunate substitute Chen? And what would they make of it if they did? And… "Damn," Miles muttered. "I have to talk to that idiot Leiber again." If he was to second-guess their thinking, he wanted more details on those key NewEgypt execs. He sighed and raised his voice. "And hello, Mark. Why are you here? And so unexpectedly, too."

Mark tilted his head in un-apology, smirking a bit.

Miles eyed Raven. "I thought we'd had an understanding about such surprises."

Looking faintly guilty, Raven shrugged and mumbled, "Earlier ship."

Miles abandoned the unfruitful point. "Hi, Kareen."

She glinted back at him, reassuring in a way. Sort of. "Hi, Miles. How's it going?"

"Not as well as I thought, evidently." He peered one last time into the drab little office-still empty-and turned away. Tenbury, bless him, was soothing Yani and ushering him off to visit Medtech Tanaka.

A penetrating yowl rose from the back of the consulate van. "Aowt! Aowt!"

Vorlynkin's brows rose. "Have you kidnapped someone else?" His tone seemed more resigned than disapproving. Miles thought of those tales about water wearing away stone; the consul's edges were growing more rounded, at least.

"Not this time. Jin, Armsman Roic has a present for you. Live cargo."

"Really?" Jin was instantly diverted; Miles jerked his head at Roic, who led the boy out of earshot to meet his new pet. Good with kids, Wing's secretary had promised.

And you trust those people, why? Kareen, curious, followed Roic.

Miles lowered his voice to Vorlynkin and Raven. "Raven, how soon could Madame Sato be moved out of medical isolation?"

"To the consulate?" said Vorlynkin.

Miles nodded. "If secrecy, which was our first defense, has failed, then the consulate would be a better location for fending off legal attacks. Granted it hasn't much advantage for illegal, physical attacks. I have some help on the way for that, but they're not here yet."

Raven's lips pressed together in medical reluctance. "Tomorrow? Not that her bio-isolation isn't compromised already, with those kids in and out. Little vectors that they are."

"Well, load her up with every immune system booster in your arsenal-"

"I already have."

Miles made a thumbs-up gesture. "Then plan to decamp as early as possible tomorrow. In fact, Vorlynkin, if you could stay here tonight, and be ready to move her and her kids out at a moment's notice, that might be, um, prudent." He added reluctantly, "Leiber, too."

"Do you think NewEgypt will react that quickly?" asked Vorlynkin.

"I truly do not know. My impression of all these cryocorp chiefs so far is that they'd rather hunker down behind a wall of lawyers than, say, hire mercs, but this crew has already shown it can move fast at need. And, despite the lethal screw-ups, their actions eighteen months ago must have seemed successful at the time. I wish them a distraught and sleepless night figuring it all out, anyway."