Chapter 29: Elik

In her borrowed office, Pru called Luther on her wrist com.

"Luther, I need two things. First, update me on Maeve O'Leary."

"She's on her way. She should be there in a couple of hours."

"Thanks. Fast work."

"People like Maeve know how to jump, Pru. She's excited to work with you again. What else?"

"Get me a personnel file on Captain Jiang Lia-Chu. She's the OSG force commander here. I need some background."

"On its way."

Pru spent several minutes going over the file of the hostages. She called up the personal files of each individual and made a number of notes. She scanned Captain Jiang's file and noticed little she did not expect.

Eventually, she turned to the office's com screen and called the CID of the hostage contact. In due course, the screen lit with a Voice Only display.

"What do you want? Are you willing to agree to our terms?" The man spoke in Mandarin.

Pru listened to the voice as it spoke, thinking 'Neo-Tantra sensitivity doesn't work very well on the com'. She had set her com for Voice Only as well.

"Hello, I am called Kanar." She, too, spoke in Mandarin, but the name was Uighur. It was just a hunch. "I speak for the OSG. I will be your contact from now on. What is your name?

"You are a woman. I will not deal with you. Put your guardian on the com."

"Don't be silly. Do you think that would change anything? You're part of the same world I am and I've been put in charge of these talks. I am the one you will deal with; there is no choice. What is your name?"

"My name does not matter. You must agree to our terms. If you attempt to attack us, we will kill the hostages without delay."

"Now, look. I'm the one ... If I am to talk with you over the next few days, I must have a name to call you. That just makes sense, doesn't it? I mean, what if I call you and you aren't there and I don't know who to ask for?"

"No one will answer this ID but myself. You infidels must leave our land. You have only nine days left."

Pru had it now. "Your voice sounds like that of someone I once knew." She switched to the Uighur language. "What is it you really want?"

The man was silent for a moment. "What is this? You speak our language? An infidel?"

"I told you I am called Kanar. You know as well as I do that there are some Uighur who are what you call infidels, who do not follow Al'lah, but there are many who do. Islam is not a matter of identity, but of belief. How many of your captives are Muslim?"

"They are Han. They are infidels. We will kill them if you do not agree to our terms."

"So, you don't know if they are Muslim or not? Did you even ask? Would you kill another Muslim? Al'lah forbids that."