Chapter 5

Eva: I don't know how long time is on Chaos. Taking the Portal in the Bankers office at the bank on Chaos and emerging in a 'bus stop' ... a shielded room in the middle of the enclave of houses, I called security on my phone.

I was told to stay away from the house of William Banker. Help was en route and I could join them after they had the subject under control.

En route is a police term for eventually.

Eventually, the Portal having provided transportal service to the transients working in assorted areas ... Chaos bankers finished for the day; Hero Caretakers successful or forlorn; Crossroads monitors changing shifts, secretaries and their executives either staying or switching locals; the odd Cassandrian undercover Chaos armorer; contractors building new Chaosian banks and finished for the day and their laborers; brick masons, electricians, plumbers, materials specialists and portal installers; inspectors, general and specific ... the police passed through the 'bus stop', assaulted the wrong house, apologized prolifically, and rechecked the location, got it right, subdued the culprit and summoned me.

The trial was lengthy ... since William Banker was already serving a term on Chaos, the court was at a loss as where to put him when he was proven guilty. That he was guilty was not in question but the forms must be observed.

The Head of Banking Incarceration had to be summoned to report on Mr. Banker's bookkeeping skills ... that took weeks, the Head was on vacation hunting in the mountains of Cassandra.

There is very little contact between the coastal millions and the sparsely populated hinterlands ... by their own request.

Eventually, the miscreant was declared guilty and sentenced to banishment to Chaos ... a death sentence ... since Cassandrian males were extremely unsuited for survival on that rustic and violent planet.

Return and distribution of his embezzled gold took most of a Cassandrian year and I was back in the bank ... just in time to admonish Cassie.

"Eva? Eva Hero Caretaker Coordinator? Mistress Eva? Shit. I'm so fired." Cassie moaned, "I liked my job."

"You haven't done anything for the last ten years," I said over Sultry's shoulder. I scared her and she jumped.

"It's not my fault Jack hasn't come back!" Cassie said hotly. You could tell she was fixing to wind up and I ignored her.

"Sultry," I said. "Here's your money back." I handed Sultry a bag with 12 Conches. Then I explained.

"William Banker was arrested on Cassandra for bank fraud here on Chaos. His home was filled with Chaos gold. Now there's an investigation underway to see if the Government can discover how he brought the gold to Cassandra. That's been added to your case."

"My case?"

"How you can use the Portal without a sapphire." I said to Sultry.

She asked me, "They having any luck?"

"No." I said. I walked out in the lobby. There were all these children pressed against the glass watching us. I was thinking that Chaos must be singularly lacking in entertainment if the little drama in the bank drew so much interest.

Cassie looked miserable in her Chaosian clothes ... If any one was less suited for an adventure, I don't know who it would be. The only thing she had going for her was a deep abiding knowledge of Chaosian fighting and her years of practice of the martial arts.

Seeing her, I was recalled to my duty.

"Cassie?"

Cassie's face brightened.

"You're staying."

Cassie's face fell. "Shit!"

"It's not a punishment, child. The Powers that Be..." I started.

The Seven in One looked up.

"Not you ... our Powers that Be..."

The Seven in One went back to what they had been doing.

They were fairly noisy about it. "And you can shut up and listen," I admonished.

They quit, got quiet quickly and paid attention.

I took Cassie back to the office, "Cassie, the Powers that Be want a first hand report on this adventure. It could mean a huge raise and advancement."

Back to the Lobby:

I was curious, "Which one of you gods has the sapphire?"

Seven hands went up. They looked at each other and broke out laughing.

"You ALL have sapphires?" Good Lord! Cassie's reports on the actions of the Earth Powers that Be had always been construed as poetic license. I wondered what other mischief they possessed.