57
“What did he say?”Miranda whispered to Andi when she was finally released and returned to her chair.
The Brunei honor guard had appeared within seconds of Andi’s attack, but she’d stopped before they had restrained her. Miranda was surprised that Ru wasn’t dead after what Andi had unleashed on him.
Medics were called and had wheeled Zhang Ru away, much the worse for wear.
After that, half the honor guard continued to face outward along the walkway, to keep tourists away. However, the other half now faced inward and kept a careful eye on where Andi sat.
Andi shook her head and wouldn’t meet her eyes.
When Miranda leaned in to ask again, Susan stopped her.
“You’re in Brunei,” she whispered.
Andi looked upset.
Which Miranda’s mother had taught her meant that comforting was appropriate. An arm around the shoulders and a kiss on the temple. It was a gesture her mother had made often enough. But she did remember the rules, no displays of public affection between same-sex persons. They were lovers. That didn’t make them subhuman. The rules were most unfair. And by havingthatthought, she was breaking the other rule of not disparaging the Sultan. This was so hard.
“My colleague,” General Liú Zuocheng spoke softly to her, “was somewhat intemperate. Some other time I should like to hear why you anger him so. He is known for his, how do you say, ice-cold temperament during confrontations. The curse he uttered is exceedingly foul in our language, denigrating the last eighteen generations of your ancestors. I apologize on his behalf.”
“Oh,” Miranda wasn’t sure what else she was supposed to say. “Okay.” Perhaps that was sufficient. Eighteen generations would typically range from three hundred and sixty to five hundred and forty years ago. She didn’t even know who her grandparents were. To the best of her knowledge, her family tree included two people other than herself—and they were both dead.
The general squirmed briefly in his chair, as if it was made of the same stone as the rest of the barge, before turning to Drake. “You have no reason to take my word for it, General Nason, but neither did I shoot at your plane nor can I find evidence that anyone else did with our satellite.”
“Drake,” Clarissa spoke up. “Based on what I know of their command structure, it is possible that a firing could be made without General Liú’s knowledge, but it’s unlikely that he would not uncover it in a dedicated search. Such an action would require multiple control log entries and the like.”
“Very astute,” the general nodded.
“So, where does that leave us?” Drake asked. “I’m inclined to believe you, though I don’t trust you any more than you trust me.”
“Oh, but I trust you a great deal. One does not rise to our level, or even his,” Zuocheng nodded at Ru’s empty chair, “without a certain level of commitment and integrity. Precisely to what goal may vary, but it makes us predictable in many ways.”
Predictable?
Miranda looked again at the orbital mechanics of the ZY-2B. After thinking about it for a few moments, she leaned out from beneath the gazebo’s roof enough to look directly aloft.
The sky was a crystalline blue, atypical for a tropical country that would more typically be a hazy blue. She didn’t know if that was normal for Brunei or not, but it was existent now, which was all that mattered.
“What are you looking at?” Susan asked her quietly.
Miranda pointed upward. “Ideal conditions.”
“For what?”
She’d thought that was rather obvious.
“In twenty-seven minutes, the Ziyuan-2B will be passing directly overhead. It will be in the best position since our arrival if someone wants to cook us alive the same way they did the pilot.”
Everyone looked up except Andi, who still looked down.
“But we have a stone roof over our heads,” Susan nodded upward.
Miranda glanced at her watch, corrected for their relative position in the fifteen-degree width of an idealized Time Zone, and then pointed over General Liú’s shoulder.
“The sides of this stone gazebo, sorry, I don’t know the proper religious name for this hut-shaped structure, are open. In twenty-three minutes it could cook General Liú from behind. In, now twenty-six minutes,” she swung her hand up, past the roofline, and continued until she was pointing upward over her own shoulder, “it could cook us without harming him. The dark blue of the sky indicates low humidity at the moment. There are no clouds. It is an ideal shooting scenario for a high-power orbital laser.”
Susan stared at her blankly. Others were staring at her as well.
Perhaps she understood why Andi sat with her head down. Miranda didn’t want to look at anyone either.
“Simply an observation. Not a prediction.”
They kept staring.