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What was surprising was the unaccustomed neatness. The clutter was gone. In its place sat neat boxes and cleared surfaces.
    She raised a casual hand when the call went through and two-way visual contact was established. "Hi, Bey. It's been a while."
    She seemed not at all surprised to see him. That was itself odd, after such a long time.
    "Hi, Maria. Has Dommer been over to see you?"
    Maria was wearing one of her favorite forms, of an exquisite Oriental woman. When she was hard at work she swore horribly and continuously, but today she was obviously taking things easy. Her desk was completely clear. At Bey's question she merely twisted her mouth downwards and grimaced. "Jarvis Dommer? Not if I see him first. He's a prick. Why do you ask?"
    "You seem to have been expecting my call."
    "Not exactly. But all day long I've had one call after another from people wishing me well. So it's no real surprise to hear from you." She saw his frown. "Are you telling me you didn't know?"
    "I guess I didn't. I still don't. What's happening?"
    "I'm leaving BEC. Tomorrow's my last day." She smiled. "I'll be joining you in the idle ranks of the unemployed."
    "You were fired ?"
    "Don't be an ass, Bey." Maria glared at the implied insult. "Of course I wasn't fired. I was just offered a retirement package that I couldn't refuse."
    "But you're the best they have. You can't retire."
    "I was the best. But you were the best the Office of Form Control had, and you retired. Or you said you did."
    "I've always been lazy. And you've always worked your head off. Don't try to fool me, Maria, I've known you too long. There has to be more to it than that."
    Maria sighed. She had been standing up, but now she flopped down into the chair behind her desk.
    "I won't say you're totally wrong, but I really have been given more incentives to retire than you'd believe. And anything else that I say would be pure bitching."
    "So bitch. You know me well enough."
    "It's going to sound like the same old complaint of people who have been around too long. You know: BEC's going downhill, it isn't the way that it used to be. The top of the company is filling up with yes-men and yes-women. There's less and less real research going on. Nobody wants to hear my opinions any more. I'll be glad to go."
    "If it's really that bad, you'll be better off outside. I know a hundred groups who'll fight for your services."
    "We'll see." Maria was staring at Bey shrewdly, her head to one side. "Did they fight for yours?"
    "I ran away and hid. But they tried. In fact, I think they're still trying. That's why I called you."
    Bey summarized the recent conversations with Jarvis Dommer, including his own perplexity as to why Trudy Melford was personally interested. "And he made such a big deal about paying for my trip," he finished. "I wonder what's going on. I'm not as rich as Trudy Melford, nobody is, but I can certainly afford the price of a Link transition to Melford Castle."
    "Are you sure?" Maria had a little smile on her face. "Bey, how would you propose to get there?"
    "Take a flight from here to the Indian Ocean Link entry point." Bey knew he was being set up for something, but he couldn't imagine what. "A couple of Link transitions, then another flight the rest of the way."
    "And where would that get you?"
    "To Chetumal, of course."
    "Of course. And where do you think Melford Castle is?"
    "Don't play games, Maria. It's at Chetumal, in the Yucatan. Exactly where it's been for the past two hundred years."
    "Not any more. Bey, I'm impressed. When you drop out of things you really drop out. Don't you watch newscasts? Didn't anybody tell you that the Empress moved?"
    "Who?"
    "Sorry. Now I am being bitchy. The Empress is Trudy Melford. If you'd ever worked for BEC you'd know why she's called that by the insiders. She moved the headquarters, Bey, over two years ago." "Why?"
    "I don't know. She's not in the habit of consulting me regarding her actions. But the better question is where. She took