"Both are the sons of Count Aral Vorkosigan.  Your, er, friend Miles-san is Lord Vorkosigan because he is his father's heir.  Lord Mark, as the younger brother, has a courtesy title with no direct political duties."

"Oh."

The consul had a very thoughtful look on his face as he followed Tenbury and the new Barrayarans.  Jacksonians.  Whatever.  So if Lord Vorkosigan and Lord Mark were brothers, how come they'd been raised on different planets?  Did all that creepy clone history have anything to do with them?  And was that five-year-old boy, the one with all the confusing names his own parent couldn't remember, lord anything?

Jin thought of Miles-san's story about being allowed to sit in on his father's conferences, if he was quiet and useful, so shut his mouth and hurried to keep up.

#

Two hours later, Jin was yawning.  He wondered if Miles-san had ever fallen asleep at any of those old meetings.  Maybe his dad's business, whatever it was, had been more interesting than this.  They'd trailed Tenbury-san all over: up and down and through parts of the facility even Jin had never seen.  The talk was all boring grownup stuff about finances and drains and regulations.  It never did get back to more strange stories about cloning and medical murders.  Tenbury showed off his shop and tools and tricks, Lord Mark taking it all in expressionlessly, Miss Koudelka outright encouraging the custodian to drone on forever with way too many questions.  Jin thought of abandoning them and going back to the recovery room to see if his mom and Mina were awake yet.  He was getting hungry.

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.