“Because he was too sure of himself.” That much of the old Derek, she’d recognized in the set of his lips, that almost-glow of satisfaction that reflected from his relaxed shoulders, the slight curl of his body. Even those now-alien eyes had gleamed in anticipation.

“The pus-sucker was going to break me with an impossible hand. From the very beginning, he played me!” She lifted her face to the rain, let it patter on her nose and cheeks. “If I could, I’d burn this misbegotten abortion of a world to slag! And Derek with it!”

“Lady?” Ednund called from behind. “Where are we going?”

“Where is there to go, huh?” Falise whirled on her heel, heedless of the water running down her face. “Perhaps Three Spires? Solar Elan? Tiboronne? Or were you thinking of the spa at the Heiman? Perhaps a relaxing evening at one of the Guild houses?”

“Lady,” Ednund began.

“Where the fuck were your eyes? Clarice? You’re the one with the data. Why the hell didn’t you see that coming?”

Clarice, her form upright in the wet darkness, said, “Lady, consider. It’s been thirteen years. Your brother has been genetically modified by an alien intelligence. That man . . . he was . . .”

“Unrecognizable,” Ednund finished. “You could not have known.”

She blinked, hating the water running down her face, at a loss like she had never been. “He claimed to have a half-metric ton of rhodium. All those jewels, the nuggets, those coins. Who knows what the worth of a Port Authority SDR is compared to the Corporate monetary unit? Clarice? Do you have any idea?”

“No, Lady. The Corporate SDR is a digital fiat currency. It’s only used for calculating credit and debt, which is why yuan are still in use among the lower classes. The value of the PA SDR would have to be calculated against the various metals and the worth of the gemstones. Diamonds have different value per carat than rubies. I cannot compute a reliable value without access to current exchanges in Solar System.”

“He said that his rhodium could buy Taglioni Tower.” She stared down at the dark puddle she was standing in.

“He might have been correct, Lady,” Clarice told her.

“I folded that hand while holding four jacks.” God, she closed her eyes, almost reeling at the implications.

“Was it because of us?” Ednund asked softly. “Because you would not risk losing us?”

Falise bit back the truth. Tried to think what to . . . But it had taken her too long. Screw vacuum, she owed them nothing. They belonged to her. Period. One didn’t spend time thinking up soothing words to reassure one’s property.

To herself, she said, “Derek played the game perfectly. Yes, I have the same implants. The difference is that he demonstrated a mastery gained by experience. Right down to using that fool Allenovich as a shill. He runs that game every week. I expected us to be equally matched.”