nscious has noticed while you were
busy thinking about something else. Every native building on Wolf had
concealed entrances and exits and I know where to look for them. This
one was exactly where I expected. I pushed at it and found myself in a
long, dim corridor.

The head of a woman peered from an opening door. She saw Miellyn's limp
body hanging on my arm and her mouth widened in a silent scream. Then
the head popped back out of sight and a door slammed. I heard the bolt
slide. I ran for the end of the hall, the girl in my arms, thinking that
this was where I came in, as far as Miellyn was concerned, and wondering
why I bothered.

The door opened on a dark, peaceful street. One lonely moon was setting
beyond the rooftops. I set Miellyn on her feet, but she moaned and
crumpled against me. I put my shirtcloak around her bare shoulders.
Judging by the noises and yells, we'd gotten out just in time. No one
came out the exit behind us. Either the Spaceforce had plugged it or,
more likely, everyone else in the cellar had been too muddled by drugs
to know what was going on.

But it was only a few minutes, I knew, before Spaceforce would check the
whole building for concealed escape holes. Suddenly, and irrelevantly, I
found myself thinking of a day not too long ago, when I'd stood up in
front of a unit-in-training of Spaceforce, introduced to them as an
Intelligence expert on native towns, and solemnly warned them about
concealed exits and entrances. I wondered, for half a minute, if it
might not be simpler just to wait here and let them pick me up.

Then I hoisted Miellyn across my shoulders. She was heavier than she
looked, and after a minute, half conscious, she began to struggle and
moan. There was a _chak_-run cookshop down the street, a place I'd once
known well, with an evil reputation and worse food, but it was quiet and
stayed open all night. I turned in at the door, bending at the low
lintel.

The place was smoke-filled and foul-smelling. I dumped Miellyn on a
couch and sent the frowsy waiter for two bowls of noodles and coffee,
handed him a few extra coins, and told him to leave us alone. He
probably drew the worst possible inference--I saw his muzzle twitch at
the smell of _shallavan_--but it was that kind of place anyhow. He drew
down the shutters and went.

I stared at the unconscious girl, then shrugged and started on the
noodles. My own head was still swimmy with the fumes, incense and drug,
and I w