“Got two,” Talina said. “Tagged the first one in front of the Jewel. Popped the second down in the lumber yard after the lines started to close. Marines got one just inside the gate, and Step and his team took out the fourth back of the assay office.”

“When I came through the gate, Finnegan told me Whitey wasn’t one of them.” Kalico waved to get Inga’s attention, made the sign for the special. She had the distinct impression there was going to be way too much quetzal on the menu in the coming days.

“Nope.” Talina pursed her lips. Kylee was watching carefully from where she’d pulled up a chair at the end of the bar.

“New tactics,” Dek said. “They got Sczui. Roughed him up and sent him staggering up to the gate.”

“Yeah, I heard. What about Mother and the kids?” Kalico asked.

“No word yet. That’s next on the list. As soon as the all-clear’s sounded.” Talina gave Kalico a dark look. “Thought we’d eat before we go out to the Sczui place. Drones don’t show anything. But we’re going to be tracking that snot sucker. Put an end to this, once and for all.”

“Where’s your shadow and his four human robots?” Dek asked.

“Headed to Freelander.” Kalico sat straighter as Inga set a plate of broccoli, beans with garlic, and mashed purple sweet potatoes in front of her. Kalico tossed out a five-SDR coin and picked up the fork sticking out of the potatoes. “I’ve got a planet to run. Soukup doesn’t need me chauffeuring him from one mine to the next. Bogarten, Ghosh, and Shimodi can do a hell of a lot better job. And they won’t be tempted to strangle his chapped ass every couple of hours like I was.”

Talina shot a warning look. “Isn’t that a bit dangerous? Letting a Corporate quetzal like Soukup out of your sight?”

With the first mouthful, Kalico exhaled in delight. She loved the way Inga cooked the purple potatoes. “I’ve been thinking a lot about why he’s here. My take is that we’re too dangerous for The Corporation to leave alone. We’re worth too much, and we’re too destabilizing to the status quo. The Corporation was established by the mega-corporations in the middle of the twenty-first century and built on the Chinese model of population control. Conformity and uniformity were the key to keeping the masses in line. Punish individuality. Abolish personal wealth, provide the baseline needs, and direct the whole process through the algorithms. Manage humanity with the same principles you would if they were sophisticated livestock.”

“But for the few mega-rich and powerful at the top,” Dek reminded.