Page 13 of Skinwalker's Bane
Just how many more surprises was Lincoln going to hand him, now he was dead?
* * * * *
When the shift was over and Adam had tiredly showered and changed, he headed for the Institute to log his report.
The Second Wall Institute was in full swing. Years ago, permanent railings had been erected around the islands of desks and screens and workbenches that were the center of the Institute, which left the people working there available to talk to anyone who cared to lean over the rails and tap them on the shoulders. It had been Noa’s idea to build the Institute right in the heart of engineering territory. It had endeared the skinwalkers to the Capitol more than any other gesture.
Adam spotted Noa standing next to one of the admin people, looking over his shoulder at the screen he was using. Even standing up, she wasn’t much higher than the guy sitting down, although her short cap of black hair was distinctive.
He leaned over the rail and tapped her shoulder.
She looked up, a frown creasing her forehead. “That was a fine mess you landed me in this morning, with that Trapani woman.”
“Sorry. Didn’t mean it to screw up your day.”
“Oh, it’ll screw up more than a day or two,” she assured him. “Hop over. Let me explain.”
He stepped over the rail and she moved along beside it to where her big desk was located at the top end of the enclosure. There was a privacy screen behind it so passersby couldn’t see her screens. There were three screens open on the desk and she put two of them away, leaving the third to expand. “I had a conversation with Tineke Trapani. She knew Lincoln well enough to correctly answer questions about him and the thumbprint is authenticated.” Noa glanced around for eavesdroppers, then lowered her voice. “I put an anonymous announcement on the Forum, calling for any of Lincoln’s creditors to contact a drop-code I set up.”
“More people came forward?” Adam asked, as little fingers rippled down his spine.
Noa nodded. She unblanked the screen. It showed a spreadsheet, with Trapani’s outstanding balance at the top. There were ten other figures—not all of them as large as Trapani’s. Two, though, were even larger.
Adam looked at the bottom line. His guts squeezed and he sank down onto the stool next to Noa’s desk. “No one could pay that off, not in a single lifetime.” His voice came out strangled and weak.
Noa nodded. “I’m going to have to contact the Bridge for clarification on how to proceed. You’re right. No one could service this. Not even the Bridge. Cai says that to try would trigger an economic depression. I had to look that up. TheEndurancewouldn’t survive a depression. We’d have to stop using money, go back to basic energy rations...”
“That would be setting theEnduranceback centuries!” Adam protested.
Noa nodded again. “That’s why I’m going to talk to the Bridge. I’m going to propose we convert anything of value Lincoln owned into energy credits and disperse them in proportion to the debt owed. That way, only a few shady creditors have to bear the load, instead of the debt impacting the whole ship.”
“Do you think they’ll go for it?” Adam asked. “The creditors have a right to their money. They’d be losing most of it.”
“Just notallof it, if they agree to the terms.” Noa brushed at her hair with a worried gesture. “I’ve never heard of anyone doing anything like this. It was something Cai dug up from his archives. Although if the Captain agrees to it, the creditors have no one else to appeal to.”
Adam stared at the screen. “We shouldn’t talk about this to anyone else,” he said slowly. “If it gets out, people will start thinking it’s fine to run up debt and not pay it back.”
“Exactly,” Noa said. “I’m going to emphasize that to Zsoka—well, Haydn will, because she likes him and he can talk under pressure.” She grinned, for her habit of throwing up when having to make a public appearance or give a speech was well known. Her grin faded. “I’m also going to tell her we’re looking into this, to find out why it happened in the first place, so we can make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Adam met her gaze. “You want me to find out.”
She nodded. “You lived with him. You, out of everyone, knew him best and can figure out where to start.”
Adam stared at the monstrous figure at the bottom of the screen. “I’m starting to feel like I never knew him at all.”
* * * * *
When Devin arrived at the office the next morning, she found Adam Wary in the corridor, apparently waiting for her, for he straightened from his lean against the wall when he saw her. His blue eyes were no longer bloodshot, yet he still looked tired.
Her chest constricted at the sight of him. “What are you doing here?” she demanded.
“Being a fool, mostly.”
She halted in front of him, three steps away from her office. “I don’t believe we have anything to talk about, especially out here in the corridor.”
“Your assistant is inside.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t want to bother her.”
Devin recognized the lie easily. He didn’t want Nichola to know he was here. That was why he was lingering in the corridor. His caution increased her wariness. She discarded the small talk and pleasantries that were almost automatic for her, these days. “You have no qualms about bothering me, though?”
