I'll buy you a lunch while we let reason gnaw at this." Bel-Sidek suspected hehad given himself away but had a feeling the risk would be worthwhile.

"I won't name you any names, Colonel."

You will, my friend. You will if we want you to. He glanced at the man. Andmaybe you wouldn't. You were always a stubborn bastard.

"We'll set the hounds of reason loose first, eh?"

They went into a place that served good bheghase, a thick and spicy fish andvegetable soup into which the fish was introduced two minutes before serving.

It was an indulgence bel-Sidek allowed himself too seldom.

He savored a few mouthfuls before saying, "Granting that no names need benamed, I'll have to have a clue or two with which to work. Is your friend aveteran?"

"Who isn't?"

"A point. Not many. Dak-es-Souetta?"

"No."

"Ah. Now we're getting somewhere. A vet, but not of Dak-es-Souetta. Works in ashipyard. Must be a building tradesman. Most of those were in the fieldengineer outfits assigned to the Seven Towers. I presume he knows aboutwhatever because he saw it happen. If it happened." He looked at Billygoat.

"You fishing for an opinion?"

"Yes."

"He believes it, like I said. If he hadn't sounded like a man trying to carryan unbearable load I wouldn't be here."

"The Seven Towers. I'll have to research it. The Herodians had me in chains while that was happening."

"I can suggest what to look for."

"Uhm?"

"The Seven Towers were supposed to hold out long enough for the allies, thereserves, and the survivors of Dak-es-Souetta to assemble on the Plain ofChordan. But they didn't."

"Could one traitor have been the reason the strategy didn't work?"

Billygoat shrugged. "I was five men down the chain from you."

"I'll find out. I'll ask someone who was there. Thank you, Sergeant. Enjoy thebheghase." Bel-Sidek limped away hurriedly, headed for the Pellan merchantman.

Two of the men on his stevedore crew had fought at the Seven Towers. One had been an officer, amilitary engineer.

He rounded the two up. "Take an early lunch."

One man, bel-Pedra, depended entirely upon his income from stevedoring. "We'reliable to get fired." There were limits to the sacrifices you could ask.

"I'll take care of it."

"What's going on, sir?"

"I've just discovered that I need some background about the Seven Towers andwhat happened there. Something's come up where it could be important for me toknow. Malachi?"

Malachi was the man who had not yet spoken. He got off the bale where he hadbeen seated, settled on the battered timber decking of the pier. "You've beenthrough the pass, sir?"

"Never. We went out along the coast road."

"Yes. Demolishing the bridges behind you so the enemy, if victorious, had tocome to Qushmarrah through the hills."

"Do I detect a critical note?"

"Call it a disgruntled note, sir. For five generations that was the strategy.

But when it was put to the test it didn't work."

"It should have."

"In theory." Malachi used a finger to sketch an imaginary chart. "The roadruns into the pass heading due east but when it gets to the crest it elbowssixty degrees south. There are four towers on the outside of this curve, twoon either side of the summit. Three on the inside curve, with the middleperched on the crest. No names, just numbers, with the odds to the outside, evens in, counting from the far end. Number Four is the keystone piece. It'sthree times as big and defensible as the others.

"Note the angular relationships between the towers. When all seven are intactonly One and Seven have much of a shadow where they don't get supporting firefrom the other towers. That isn't big enough to exploit well. Four has noshadow at all.

"Interesting from your professional viewpoint, I'm sure," bel-Sidek said.

"What went wrong?"

"I don't know. We took away every option but reducing the towers in series."

"Sounds like the hard way."

"Hard, but the cheapest way for them. Also the slowest, which is why we wantedthem to do it that way. Their sappers and engineers were good, but we madethem pay dear to take One, Two, and Three. What happened later I don't know. Iwas in Three."

"Bel-Pedra?" bel-Sidek asked.

"I was in Five, sir. I don't think I can help much. They went after Four likelions for three days and didn't get nothing but bloody noses. Then the suncomes up on the fourth morning and there's the Herodian standard showing uptop and heralds down front telling us they'd make us rich if we'd just openup. We dumped the toilet pails on them and they went away. Five minutes laterwe were taking fire from the heavy engines on top of Four. Whatever happened, the guys there never had time to destroy those."

Bel-Sidek pursued that tale a little, not because he was interested butbecause he did not want his next question to sound especially important. Hegot the two men to discuss Herodian tactics in the assaults on the varioustowers. Then he asked Malachi, "Did they try to get Three to surrender beforethey attacked?"

"Oh, they tried that with everybody. A matter of form. They have some kind oflaw. They got the same answer every time, and they expected it."

"Uhm. Bel-Pedra, you'd better get back to work. Malachi, I have a chore foryou." He let bel-Pedra depart. "Go over to the new Herodian shipyard and findBhani Sytef. You want a list of all employees who were at the Seven Towers.

You want to know which tower they served in. He's supposed to know things likethat, but with so many working there I'd be astonished if he actually did.

Just get a list of those he does know about. If it isn't enough I'll get backto him."

Malachi rose. He looked puzzled. "What's going on?"

"I don't know. But the big boys are trying to connect some people up with someother people and the only lead they've got is that maybe these guys were allin the same outfit at the Seven Towers."

Bel-Sidek was well known to the Living in his quarter, but very few knew himto be khadifa of the waterfront. At every level he appeared as the agent ofthe men a step or two up the chain of command. There were risks. Bel-Sidekfelt having access to all his men all the time was worth those risks. Theharbor quarter was the busiest for the Living and needed the most directattention.

They want to ask people from outside the movement first?"

Bel-Sidek shrugged. "I don't decide how things get done, I just do the job."

"Nothing ever changes, does it?"

"Not in the army."

Malachi left. And he returned much sooner than bel-Sidek expected.

"You were wrong, sir. He knew them well. There were only three men he couldn't pin down for sure." He proffered a piece of paper. "I'll see that he gets a commendation. Back to work. I fixed you with the Pellans."

Bel-Sidek settled and ran a finger down the list. His finger jerked. "I should've guessed." And it all fell into place, right along with the solution.

He wanted to run to the General immediately. But he still had to assemble thegangs to work Meryel's ships.

The new governor's galley was trying to warp into its pier and having a hellof a time even with help from several tugs. Bel-Sidek smiled and murmured, "Ihope that breeze is an omen."

Medjhah shaded his eyes and peered at the harbor. "Ships coming in. Fancyones."

Yoseh yanked his attention away from the girl's house. Medjhah pointed.

Three ships were crossing the slice of harbor visible from Char Street.

"Warships?" "The two on the outside. Must be somebody important."

"Ferrenghi, probably."

It took Medjhah a few seconds to get it. "Yeah. They all think they're big stuff, don't they?" Yoseh's attention drifted back to that doorway. The girl was mere again. And the old woman was giving him a truly ferocious look.