> > > Looking over his shoulder he asks Ilane, "Would you care to join us > > > Sianna, or would you rather wait out here?" > > > > She smiles again, a bit more warmly this time. "Actually, I'd like > > to join you if I may. Shawn is sort of 'teaching me the ropes' of > > freight acquistion this afternoon." > > There is a change in Rosco's expression, Ilane can't tell if he's more > excited or more nervous, but Ilane joining them in his office seems to > have affected him *somehow*. > > "Yes, yes!" he says, "Hee, yes. Of course. Do come in, then." Shawn kept his merchant smile in place but his alarm bells were ringing. > Ollis's inner office is nothing special. It is just a cube of space with > a desk, computer terminal, filing cabinet, and stacks of papers on every > available flat space. There are no windows or any wall decorations, > except for a photograph of a ship. A ship that is clearly the /Mae Lee/. > There are three chairs on one side of the desk and one behind it. To the > desk's left there is a closed, unmarked, door. > > Ollis takes the chair behind his desk and says as he reaches out to lay > a framed photograph on his desk face down, "Please sit down. Yes, yes!" Shawn noted the picture as Rosco reached for it and it drew his artist's eye. He might not get a great look at it but he tried to see in general what it was. Pictures told a lot about people. > "Now!" he leans back and looks at Shawn, "Si Smith, didn't I see in the > vids the other day that you and your crew are the heroes of Sequi for > your exploits during the recent flooding?" Shawn pulled up a seat. "I don't know about that. We did what we could to help. I just wish I knew more about why it happened." Press a little and see if anything shakes loose. "How have you been, Si Ollis? I see that Ilane has the same effect on you that she has on all members of the male house. It looked like you thought you knew her." Shawn
