“Suspicious bitch!” said Suzi.

Involuntarily Hosato shot a darting glance around the room. “Someone might be listening, you know,” he said.

“Sensors detect no human or electronic surveillance,” the robot retorted.

Hosato grimaced. He should know by now the futility of arguing with his partner.

“Come on, Suzi. Give me a hand with these cameras.”

The robot floated over to him, but would not be distracted from her observations.

“They’re both suspicious, you know. The security chief and the boy.”

“I know, Suzi.”

“Don’t underestimate the security chief just because she’s a female.”

“If anything, I’m tracking her doubly close because she’s a female, Suzi.”

“I thought so!” The robot sniffed haughtily.

Hosato secured the last camera in the storage compartment and began unfastening his tunic. As he did, the door of the compartment slid shut, then reopened, exposing an entirely different storage area.

“I wish you’d use the normal doors when we’re on assignment,” Hosato commented. “It’s supposed to be a secret that you can rearrange your internals.”

“It is a secret,” the robot retorted. “I told you, no one’s watching.”

Hosato ignored the rebuff. His attention was devoted instead to the two swords displayed in this compartment. The dueling epees. No matter how often he saw them, whether as a student or after the maestro had presented them to him, they always gave him a vague chill.

The swords had been used over the centuries for sixty-three bloodings and thirty-one kills. A total of ninety-four duels—no, make that ninety-five. He had forgotten to include the latest duel, the one that immediately preceded this contract…

It had all started on Mitchum’s planet There were four of them waiting by the designated rock. Even though they were still in sight of the spaceport, no crowd gathered to watch. Apparently duels such as this were not uncommon.