The Lost Plot

They blew up a library. A library, Kai. They haven’t just offended me, they have attacked and insulted every single citizen of this place who used that library, who contributed to it, who even so much as might have used it someday in the future.

“What business is it of mine if they should want to kill each other? I’d say they both show excellent judgement.”

“Sounds about right to me,” Evariste said harshly. “Not my circus, not my monkeys. If they want to tear each other to bits, they can get on with it, and good luck to them.”

She’d thought the situation couldn’t get much worse. She’d been wrong. The situation could always get worse.

There were clear class divisions among the protestors: the upper-class ones stood back and gave the orders, while the lower-class ones did the actual work. Some things didn’t change, no matter how many worlds you visited.

“I dislike the fact that she treated you like a servant,” Kai commented. His voice had an undertone to it that promised reprisals.

“Leave it for the moment,” Irene said wearily. “I’m not going to waste my time feeling insulted. And don’t you think we’ve got more serious problems to consider? Much more serious problems?”

She was trying to work out who these men were working for. Were they Qing Song’s minions, random gangsters, specific gangsters, or undercover police? So many enemies, so little time.

The news was highly coloured, even if the print was black and white.