“That never stopped any other bounty hunter,” said Yorick placidly. “So what if he’d have killed her? All the more reason for you to bring him in.”

“You let him go?” repeated the Swagman furiously. “That bastard killed two of my menials!”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Cain.

“You’re sorry? One of them had fifty thousand credits of my money!”

“But the hostage lived,” said Yorick.

“You see?” said the Swagman. “You go around letting hostages live and sooner or later it winds up costing a respectable businessman money!”

“I’ll keep that in mind next time,” said Cain.

“Who are you after now, Songbird?” asked Yorick. He paused. “I know where you can find Altair of Altair.”

“I already found her.”

“Was she human or not?” asked Yorick. “I could never quite tell.”

“Neither could I,” said Cain.

“Beautiful, though.”

“Very,” agreed Cain.

“How much did you get for killing her?” asked Yorick.

“Nothing.”

Yorick smiled. “Then you’re after Santiago.” He sucked contentedly on the seed. “It’s amazing how clear everything becomes after a minute or two, how absolutely pellucid. You killed her, and you talked to her ship, and now you’re here.”

“That’s right.”

“And now you want me to tell you where to go next?”

Cain nodded, and Yorick, not hearing an answer, cracked his eyes open.

“How are you going to kill him, Songbird?”

“I won’t know until I find him,” said Cain.

“What if he has a hostage?”

“Does he?”

Yorick laughed. “How would I know?”

“How would I?” answered Cain.

Yorick stared at Cain for a long moment. “You’re a good man, Songbird,” he said at last. “I think I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

“Thank you.”

“And I’m a good man, so I think you’ll pay me three thousand credits.”

“Fifteen hundred,” said the Swagman quickly.

“Shut up,” said Cain, pulling out a wad of bills and peeling off six five-hundred-credit notes.

“Thank you, Songbird,” said Yorick, looking for a pocket and then realizing that he was naked. He walked over to his dresser and tossed the money into the same drawer where he had deposited the two alphanella seeds. He then returned to his chair and sat down lazily. “The man you want is Billy Three-Eyes.”

“I’ve heard of him,” remarked Cain.

“Everyone out here has heard of him. There’s a lot of paper on him, Songbird.”

“What’s his connection to Santiago?”

“He works for him.”

“Directly?”

Yorick nodded. “When I forged a set of duplicate plates for New Georgia’s Stalin Ruble, it was Billy Three-Eyes who picked them up and delivered them to Santiago. And the last time Santiago had an assignment for Altair of Altair, I was the go-between.”

“Where is Billy Three-Eyes now?” asked Cain.

“On Safe Harbor. Ever hear of it?”

“No.”

“It’s a colony planet, out in the Westminster system.”

“How do I find him?”