Setzer heard the knock on his private office door and lowered his arm from where it covered his face. He stared at the door with tired eyes. The knock sounded again with an accompanying “Setzer, it’s Edgar”. Setzer forced himself to sit up, hanging his legs over the side of the couch as he laced the front of his shirt. He retrieved his jacket from where he’d shrugged out of it the night before and stood, slipping into it with rough movements as he strode to the door. He jerked it open and turned away, not wanting Edgar to see the tell-tale signs of no sleep and torturous thoughts of what couldn’t be.
But Setzer knew Edgar could feel it in the air. Who better than a man who suffered the same fate?
“I apologize for the sudden change of the evening’s plans yesterday,” Edgar began slowly, thoughtfully.
Setzer waved it aside, still not turning to face the man; the friend; the comrade. “Don’t trouble yourself. I understand how the dice can change from one roll to the next.” He gestured to the couch with an absent glance toward it. “Have a seat.”
“No time, I’m afraid. Busy day in preparation of my trip.”
Setzer nodded and finally turned to lean against his desk with crossed arms. His hard stare dared Edgar to mention anything about his appearance. “What did you find out?”
“Nothing of great interest,” Edgar said after a pause, “just enough to tweak curiosity.”
“The ship?”
“A cargo vessel, of a sort. No captain is listed, though. Tweak number one.”
“And the captain? Marée?”
“Yes. The captain.” Edgar rubbed the back of his neck and took a step further into the room. “From what I can discover, at one time she apparently contracted to work for the Empire.”
“Tweak number two,” Setzer said in a toneless voice. The Empire? Of course, a great many people had worked for the Empire. They hadn’t had any other choice. In order to survive, what would her choices have been? “Anything else?”
Edgar looked up, meeting Setzer’s eyes. “The manifests of the Ace of Diamonds and Captain Marée’s previous contracts for the Empire aren’t listed or known. Anywhere.”
Setzer pressed his lips together and lowered his gaze to the floor, staring at his crossed feet as he adjusted his arms. He frowned.
“Now, Setzer,” Edgar spoke up suddenly, “while it is definitely a puzzle, there isn’t proof that this newest intrigue of yours is in any way involved with negative dealings. Either now or then. Allow her the chance to disprove your suspicions before making harsh judgments.”
Setzer absently shook his head. When he raised his eyes to meet Edgar’s, the frown disappeared. “Harsh judgments? How can I make harsh judgments when all of us have done something in connection with the Empire that we should be judged for?” Setzer straightened, lowering his arms to his sides with another shake of his head as he turned from the desk. “No. It’s too convenient of a find for me to take what you’ve presented as fact. Yes, it’s a tweak to my curiosity, but I won’t judge her based on hearsay.”
“Here, here,” Edgar said with a smile on his face. “Good for you.”
Setzer fell back into his chair to kick his feet up onto his desk as he again met Edgar’s gaze. “But the mystery won’t be put away. I’ll keep at it until this blasted tickle in my craw is taken care of.”
“Has you by the throat, does it?”
Setzer retrieved his bladed cards from a reserved drawer of his desk, relishing the feel of them in his hand. He hurled one at the bull’s-eye across the room without raising his eyes from the others in his hands. It struck dead center. “With a tenacious hold.” And those aquamarine eyes wouldn’t let him go.
“I’d best be off,” Edgar said regretfully. “I should be back within a week, Setzer. If I’ve discovered anything more of this ship that doesn’t have a captain and the captain that doesn’t have a ship, I’ll let you know.”
Setzer absently nodded. “Thank you.” He raised his eyes. “Have a safe voyage, and give Terra a ‘hello’ for me.”
Edgar smirked and left the office, closing the door after him. Setzer stared at the bull’s-eye on the back of the door with a slowly darkening gaze until his entire face hardened with it. He launched five cards simultaneously. They struck.