"He's back in the office." The fat thug exchanged a look with his companion. Shed figured one would run for help.

He started moving. His frog-faced companion said, "I'll just stay out here."

Shed pushed into Gilbert's office. The moneylender had a sack of leva on his desk, was weighing coins one at a time on a fine scale, sorting out those that had been clipped. He looked up angrily. "What the hell is this?"

"Couple of friends wanted to stop by with me and watch how you do business."

"I don't like what this says about our relationship, Shed. It says you don't trust me."

Shed shrugged. "There's some nasty rumors out there. About you and Sue working on me. To do me out of the Lily."

"Sue, eh? Where is she, Shed?"

"There is a connection, eh?" Shed let his face fall. "Damn you. That's why she turned me down. You villain. Now she won't even see me. That ape at the door keeps telling me she isn't there. You arrange that, Mister Gilbert? You know, I don't like you much."

Gilbert gave the lot of them a nasty one-eyed stare. For a moment he seemed to consider his chances. Then the small man ambled in, leaned against the wall, his wide mouth wrinkled into a sneer.

Gilbert said, "You come to talk or to do business? If it's business, get at it. I want these creeps out of here. They'll give the neighborhood a bad name." Shed produced a leather bag. "You have the bad name,

Gilbert. I hear people saying they won't do business with you anymore. They don't think it's right you should try to screw people out of their property."

"Shut up and give me some money, Shed. You just want to whine, get out."

"Sure talks tough for being down four to one," one of the men remarked. A companion admonished him in another language.

Gilbert glared in a way that said he was memorizing faces. The little man grinned and beckoned with one finger. Gilbert decided it could wait.

Shed counted coins. Gilbert's eyes widened as the stack grew. Shed said, "Told you I was working on a deal." He tossed in Sue's jewelry.

One of his companions picked up a bracelet, examined it. "How much do you owe this character?"

Gilbert snapped a figure, which Shed suspected to be inflated.

The sailor observed, "You're shorting yourself, Shed."

"I just want quit of this jackal's lien on my place."

Gilbert stared at the jewelry, pallid, stiff. He licked his lips and reached for a ring. His hand shook.

Shed was both fearful and filled with malicious glee. Gilbert knew the ring. Now maybe he would be a little nervous about messing with Matron Shed. Or he might decide to cut a few throats. Gilbert had some of the same ego problems Krage had had.

"This should more than cover everything, Mr. Gilbert. The big, too. Even with the extra points. Let's have my lien back."