“Look—I’ve spent the last five hours helping the shipping department trying to track down a missing animal that was supposedly flown in from the Antares Sector. I can find out what you want to know, but I’ll have to check with security and maintenance and whoever the hell else is likely to have his work order on file.”

“Do so immediately,” said the Angel. “Then check with his employer and see if they’ve ever heard of him. And then get a mechanic that you can personally vouch for and have him check my ship over from top to bottom.”

“Where can I reach you?” asked the security officer.

“I’ll be in the restaurant, waiting for your report.”

“It may take a while.”

“See that it doesn’t.”

The Angel headed off down the corridor, followed by Virtue. They passed several souvenir shops and a pair of alien restaurants and finally came to a large restaurant that catered to Men. The bounty hunter looked around, then walked past a number of empty tables until he came to one in the corner of the room that suited him.

“Why here?” asked Virtue, sitting down opposite him.

“Somebody sabotaged my ship,” he said. “I feel more comfortable sitting with my back to the wall.”

“But you don’t mind having my back facing a doorway?” she demanded.

“Not in the least,” he replied.

“Were you always this considerate of others, or did it just come with maturity?” she asked sarcastically.

“Sit anywhere you want,” he said, indicating a number of empty tables. “It makes no difference to me.”

She sighed. “Let’s change the subject. Did you learn anything useful this morning?”

“I learned the name and location of the next world we’ll be visiting.”

“Would you care to share that little tidbit of information, or are we going to play guessing games?”

“I’ll tell you once we’ve left Sunnybeach.”

“This is silly!” she snapped. “Even if you tell me what planet we’re going to, I don’t know who or what you’re looking for there. Do you really think I’ll book passage out of here while you’re waiting for the mechanic to check out your ship?”

“No.”

“Then why are you being like this?”

“Because for a man in my profession, the most important single virtue is not the mastery of weapons or physical combat, but meticulous attention to detail.”

“What has that got to do with what we’re talking about?”

“Listen carefully, because I’m only going to explain it once,” said the Angel, lighting up a thin cigar. “If I tell you the name of our next port of call, there are only two things you can do with that information: ignore it or use it. If you ignore it, as you almost certainly will, you didn’t need it in the first place—but if you use it, you will use it to my detriment.”