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.Obviously Castillo and his crony Melinda Ono were playing hardball.She didn’t have many options now.Only one desperate card she could still play, and there would be no going back from it.“Ambassador Lirzhan,” she said, turning toward him, her tone deliberately formal.Being Lirzhan, he picked up on her change in tone at once.“Ambassador Craig.”“I am hereby formally requesting asylum from the Zhoraani government.As a representative of that government’s diplomatic arm, you are legally able to provide this asylum.Do I have it?”“You do,” he replied quickly, as the guards appeared to at last understand what she was up to, and surged forward.“You can’t do that — ” began the one who had contacted Castillo through his uniform mic.“Yes, she can,” Lirzhan broke in.“And she has.And now that she is formally under the protection of the Zhoraani government, you have no legal jurisdiction.Any attempt to stop her now would be considered an act of aggression against the Zhore.Do you understand?”Clearly, they did.After shooting a disgusted look in her direction, they backed up toward the door to her apartment and resumed their positions.“Understood,” said the first guard.“But you have no place here now.Go back where you came from, and take that hooded freak with you.”Anger flared in her then, and she opened her mouth to protest, but Lirzhan’s gentle touch on her arm told her that to argue with them was useless.She subsided, and followed him back around the corner, retracing their steps.And that, it appeared, was that.The anger had not subsided during their walk back to his apartments, nor after she yanked off her crumpled business suit and shoved it into the trash bin in his bedroom.“I’m having a shower,” she said, and disappeared into the bathroom.He understood her anger.What he found far more intriguing was her complete lack of surprise, as if she had more or less expected something like this to happen.First things first.Since it was clear that they were not going to allow her back into her apartment to fetch any of her personal belongings, he had to procure some new clothing for her, and quickly.It was a simple enough matter to log into the PX’s intra-web storefront and choose a few outfits, selecting items like the fitted tunic and pants she had worn to the reception several days ago.A quick look at the tag on the inside of the suit she’d discarded told him her size, as did the bra and underwear she’d dropped on the bedroom floor.He paid for everything and put a rush on the order so it would be brought directly to his apartment rather than being kept waiting for him down at the PX.No doubt eyebrows would go up at such a request, but the thing was, for all intents and purposes, out in the open now.What Ambassador Trazhar might think of the situation, he had no idea.On the other hand, Nelazhar had more or less given her blessing to his and Alexa’s union, so he had to hope that Trazhar would understand as well.They obviously didn’t get many rush orders at the PX, as a young woman in the dark blue uniform of the station’s support staff delivered the bundle before Alexa was even out of the shower.Lirzhan thanked the woman — little more than a girl, really, probably no more than twenty standard — and went back into the bedchamber just as Alexa emerged from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her torso and another one twisted turban-like around her wet hair.“What’s that?” she asked, glancing down at the bundle he’d deposited on the bed.“A new wardrobe.It seems you were being denied access to yours.I hope you don’t mind — ”Apparently she didn’t mind at all, for she came to him at once and kissed him thoroughly, so thoroughly that he was of half a mind to pull the towel off her damp body and push her down on the bed.But, pleasant as that notion sounded, he knew now was not the time.Instead, he kissed her back, then pulled away.“You should get ready,” he told her.“I have a feeling — ”“That the shit’s really about to hit the fan.”Curious expression, although the resulting mental visual did seem to be an accurate description of the situation they were currently facing.“Yes, something like that.I — ” His handheld chimed, and Alexa shot him a rueful glance.“There’s some timing for you [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]