It was a dumb idea, so I needed to quash it immediately. I’d already secured a private feed connection between the four of us and now I sent my annotated station map into it. “The problem isn’t that GrayCris’ corporate headquarters is in the upper torus.” I sent the image to the room’s display surface, then had it zoom out and plot the route between here and there. I had all the security checkpoints light up, annotating the ones that barred entrance to anyone with a non-station citizen ID, which was all of them. “It’s that we would be leaving territory controlled by neutral TRH security and entering GrayCris’ corporate jurisdiction.” I didn’t know what they’d do to me, now that my data port was nonfunctional and they couldn’t take control of me. There was a long list of alternatives, including just shooting me until I ceased to function and various other things that would seem sensible and practical to them and like torture to me. Whatever, it wasn’t a good idea to get caught, basically. “In this lower ring, GrayCris has to negotiate with and pay off TRH, and any private security service or entity who has jurisdiction, for each operation, which gives us a slight advantage.”

“Oh.” Ratthi sat back in his chair, dismayed. “Even with support from the bond company gunship? I mean, the company said they won’t violate the TRH edict to come aboard the station, but they are out there, with big guns…”

Frankly I hoped they stayed out there. I said, “If GrayCris can’t make you disappear, they want to delay you. They’re probably raising the money to buy off the company. The gunship is also here to exert pressure on GrayCris while the company is negotiating with their reps back on Port FreeCommerce. That ransom GrayCris asked for Mensah’s return will probably go straight to the company, as part of the pay-off.”

Ratthi was clearly shocked. Pin-Lee let out a frustrated breath and said, “That’s what our diplomatic corps on Preservation thought.”

Ratthi turned to her. “You didn’t tell us that!”

Gurathin folded his arms. “I knew it.”

I couldn’t let that one go. I turned and gave him my best skeptical stare. Surprisingly, it worked. He admitted, “I suspected it.”

Pin-Lee was asking Ratthi, “Did you want to know? I was hoping to get Mensah and get out of here before GrayCris managed to negotiate the payoff.”

Ratthi groaned. “No, I didn’t want to know. What happens to Mensah and us if GrayCris makes a deal with the company while we’re here?”

Pin-Lee lifted a hand helplessly and Gurathin looked more sour. He said, “Guess.”