Pilot

  Chapter 16

  "I suspect Smith will come back with a list of what is needed from us," Peter said with a smile. "My apologies for monopolizing the conversation." Elena turned towards him.

  "I didn't really have anything much to add," she replied, and then caught the twinkle of amusement in his eyes. "You're enjoying this," she said incredulously. She shook her head. "How could you be enjoying this?" She asked. He chuckled softly.

  "How could you enjoy outrunning a Matoveran raider?" He countered. She smiled back at him.

  "Adrenaline high." She answered. He laughed and shook his head. The door opened and they both turned. Instead of Smith rejoining them, the young man from the front desk wheeled a cart in. On it was coffee, mugs and all of the accoutrements one would assume would come with a coffee service, sugar packets, creamer and little red plastic stirring sticks.

  "We are sorry for the interruption to your meeting. It may be a little while before your meeting can resume. We thought you might enjoy some refreshment." He turned and exited the room, closing the door behind him. The coffee smelled great and Elena realized how draggy she was after the long trip and the nerves. She eyed the tray dubiously, remembering the fuzzy feeling around her brain from her last visit.

  "I doubt they would poison it," Peter said "Go ahead and have a cup. If you start looking crazy, I'll know." She turned towards him and saw his smile was slightly mocking. She frowned at him but decided to have a cup anyway.

  "They might not poison it, but I have no doubt that they would have no qualms about slipping something into it." She crossed the room to the coffee service and picked up a mug. She peered inside the mug and then wiped it out with the tail of her shirt. Peter laughed outright at her behavior, his laughter echoing in the small room. Elena felt the heat rise to her face.

  "You wouldn't be laughing if you were the one they drugged on the street in broad daylight," she replied grumpily. Peter stopped laughing.

  "Perhaps not," he conceded. Elena poured the coffee into the mug and avoided the sugar and creamer packets. "I thought you usually added something to it," Peter commented, indicating the cup. She grimaced.

  "Usually all but the first cup has sugar and cream." She resumed her seat.

  "Ah," Peter replied. She could tell from the amusement in his eyes that he still found her behavior funny. Personally she thought that given the circumstances she was being quite practical. She resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him with a Herculean effort and sipped her coffee in silence. Elena was halfway through her cup when Smith returned, a folder in his hands. Elena could feel the amusement drain from Peter and felt him focus. Smith ignored the coffee and sat back down at the table. He cleared his throat as if calling their attention to him, which Elena found ridiculous since they both turned towards him as he entered.

  "We would like you to tell us everything you know about the Channels." Even though she had expected something of that sort of request she burst out laughing and Peter smiled. Smith scowled at them both. "I fail to see the humor of my request." He said dryly.

  "I'm sorry," Elena said. "But do you know how many years that would take? And that is only the bare surface of things." Smith pressed his lips together in a thin white line.

  "You are determined to continue with this project then?" Peter asked.

  "Of course," Smith answered stiffly.

  "Very well," Peter replied. "We can obviously not allow you to go off with misinformation. Why don't you share with us all you know of the channels and we will correct your information? We would of course request compensation for such an act as private contractors." All thoughts of humor left Elena in a flash at Peter's words.

  "Compensation," Smith practically spit out. "I suspect it should be expected from people like you. I don't suppose you would do anything for the good of your nation." Elena snorted.

  "The best good I could do for my nation is to walk out of here and not tell you a blessed thing," Elena retorted. "A few of the military may be killed, but it would leave the mass of my nation in tact." Smith stared at her and she realized he had mostly dismissed her and had been talking to Peter.

  "And I am not an American," Peter replied calmly. Smith opened and closed his mouth a few times. Elena could see he was trying to control his temper. She realized he had been told he had a mission and an objective to complete and he was not about to let it go undone even if it meant reigning in his temper.

  'Interesting,' Elena thought. She and Peter sat quietly while Smith calmed down.

  "And exactly what sort of compensation would be required." Elena was actually curious as to this point as well since they had only talked about how far the Guild was prepared to go and not what they would ask in return. She had no clue what they would ask.

  "What the Guild would ask for such a service would be quite simple," Peter replied, knowing everyone listening was his eager audience. "We request that Ian Jensen be turned over to the Council for questioning." Smith narrowed his eyes.

  "Why that would be your request?"

  "He has given the military obviously false information that has lead to the deaths of several military personnel. The council wishes to find out the motivation behind these actions and to determine the extent of the damage done."

  "What would be done with Ian?" Smith asked.

  "Ian will be allowed to speak on his behalf in front of the council and provide information about his motivation. If he believed the truth of the information then he will merely be chastised and his information corrected. If he did so with a malicious intent he would of course be sent to a disciplinary hearing." Peter paused and smiled at Smith. It was a cat in the cream smile. "At such a hearing the military would of course be allowed to send a representative, since it was their personnel who were killed." Smith was momentarily non-plussed.

  "That actually sounds decent and very un-like what we know of your Guild."

  "And what you know of us comes primarily from Ian, who we have already established as a faulty source of information at best," Peter answered. Smith blinked hard a few times and sort of cocked his head to the side a little. Elena noticed that he now had a small earpiece in his ear and was no doubt listening to instructions from the other side of the glass.

  'I wonder if he will repeat it verbatim or translate it into something of his own?' Elena wondered.

  "How are we supposed to know that the information provided by you is correct and Ian's information isn't?"

  "A very good question and as one would not expect the military to work on faith, we are prepared to take up to two people of your choice through the channels on a trip so that they can see exactly what is truth and what is not." Peter stated. Smith's eyes opened wide and his eyebrows shot up nearly to his hairline.

  "You would be willing to do this? Smith asked. Elena could hear a slight buzzing and she realized that some one was talking very rapidly into Smith's ear. She could almost feel the waves of greed pouring off him. The offer was much more than they had expected to get from Peter and Elena or the Guild in general and she imagined they were somewhat at a loss as to how to deal with it.

  "Why would you do this?" Smith asked, his natural suspicion rising to the surface.

  "The reasoning is again simple. We would be willing to take the two people you designate on an excursion since that is the easiest way to convince you that the channels are not a military concern and not a matter of national defense." Peter gestured to Elena. "Ms. Calabrese would of course be your pilot. We feel that you will be most comfortable with her at the helm." Smith's gaze turned towards Elena and he studied her as if she were a bug.

  "Is this true," he asked.

  "Yes," she answered.

  "You would be willing to take us through the channels? In your ship?"

  "I am a pilot, not a captain so the ship won't be mine, but I would be willing to pilot the ship the council provides for the trip under
the direction of whatever captain she sails under," she replied. Elena sensed the approval of her words from Peter and figured letting the military believe she did not have access to a ship on her own was a good thing.

  'It helps that it is also true,' she thought.

  "When," he asked, the word barked out more as an order and less like a question.

  Luckily, Elena had been prepared for the question. She figured there was no harm in answering it.

  "As soon as the channels have opened again for the season," She answered. Smith snorted.

  "So the channels are like amusement parks?" He asked sarcastically. Elena looked over to Peter.

  "They have not agreed to the terms, but I do not suppose this bit of information will harm them," Peter told her. She nodded and turned back to Smith.

  "The channels vary in depth from season to season. During much of the winter they are of too shallow a depth to allow passage for even the smallest ship. Some of the channels are really only passable for a few short months out of the year." She explained. "They don't all close down at once but from Mid October to the end of January the channels are all more or less impassable. There is nothing we can do about that."

  "So February we would be able to go out with you?"

  "Yes, if the council has a ship available," she replied. "During the off months most of the ships are hauled out for repairs anyway. And time is needed to prepare for a trip of any length." She added. Smith nodded and tapped his fingers on the desk thoughtfully. He tilted his head sideways again and they waited while he received instructions.

  "And in the intervening months you would work with us. Correcting Ian's information?" he asked. The question didn't sound like something he would say and Elena guessed he was simply repeating questions verbatim. Elena turned to Peter. He nodded.

  "Yes I would," she answered. "However you must realize I have a business to run and would have to do it in the evenings." Elena didn't mind working with the military but she was not about to let her own business suffer. Peter smiled and she knew he understood exactly what she was thinking.

  "Piloting is your business Ms. Calabrese." Elena shook her head.

  "It was," she told him. "I retired. Now I run a business and have several people counting on me for their paychecks. I will not dismiss them just to assist you in correcting your information when I can just as easily do so after business hours." Smith sat quietly listening for a moment, a frown creasing his face in heavy lines. He sighed as if accepting the inevitable and then nodded.

  "I suppose this could be arranged," he conceded.

  "And Ian?" Peter asked.

  "Much of our designs come from him so he will have to assist in going over them with you so that you understand what we are doing."

  Elena realized the military did not want to turn Ian over to the council. They may have gotten some misinformation from him but without him they would not have known of the channels. They would not want to have to give up what might be perceived as their one advantage and a practical resource. Elena thought they would probably get over it since Peter was offering them so much more.

  'But that is Peter's fight,' she thought. 'And not one he intends to lose.'

  "I agree that he should be able to go over his designs and explain himself here, however the fact of the matter is that his actions have lead to the death of several good men and women and that must be explained to the Council." Peter stated. Smith listened for a very short while and then nodded again.

  "Very well. We will have Ian explain his concepts and ideas to you and then agree to send him temporarily to the Council." Peter looked at Smith squarely.

  "I believe we have an understanding. You may have a contract drawn up to firm up the deal. Both of us have had a long journey today and would appreciate a fuller discussion tomorrow. As there will no doubt be much to discuss, perhaps Ms. Calabrese can be persuaded to take one more day away from her business and agree that all future meetings will take place after business hours?" Peter turned towards Elena.

  "I can accept that for one day."

  "Thank you," Peter said and then turned back to Smith. "Ian will explain all of what he has designed for you and explain his concepts. At the end of the meeting, he will leave with me and accompany me back to the Council where he will explain his actions. In the event a disciplinary hearing is deemed necessary, you will be informed and be allowed to send a member of your organization to represent your interests. Is that acceptable?"

 

  "Yes that sounds acceptable," he replied. Peter stood and Elena followed suit.

  "I would also expect you to bring a calendar to the meeting. Ms. Calabrese will do so as well and arrangements will be made for future meetings as well as a trip through the channels scheduled. You will of course understand that the holiday season is a busy one for those with businesses such as Ms. Calabrese's and a schedule will assist greatly for planning purposes." Peter reminded Smith. Smith stood to face Peter. Elena was both impressed and flattered that Peter had thought of her schedule by giving her business equal importance with both the needs of the military and the needs of the council.

  Elena glanced at Peter. She was beginning to realize that she was now considered as once again part of the Guild. This was not the kind of consideration that one gave to an outsider. It was something that you only gave to a member of one of the families. She was a little unsure about how she felt about being automatically welcomed back in but over all she suspected that given the situation it could have been a lot worse.

  Elena and Peter made their good byes and to Elena's relief they were allowed to leave with no problems. The military agreed to the terms at the start, but she wondered how long this condition would last.

  'Probably just until after the trip through the channels,' she guessed. 'I suspect my world is going to be a lot more interesting than I bargained for.'