Yuen-Mong's Revenge (36 page)

 
     
"But I gained my freedom. That’s worth ten percent of my wealth."

 
     
He became serious again. "You should have let me handle that. I am
certain that I could have negotiated a better deal."

 
     
"No doubt, but it would also have caused greater resentment. Like this
he’s happy, because he thinks that he has made a good deal, and I’m
happy because I gained my freedom."

 
     
"Your freedom is that important to you?"

 
     
"Yes, it is. Another reason for selling the shares is that I want to have
ready access to all these funds at very short notice. So please keep this in
mind when you invest the funds."

 
     
"May I know why?"

 
     
"You will when the time comes."

 
     
"Yuen-mong, you are the toughest, most willful woman I know. Take
this as a compliment." He turned to Atun. "And what is your opinion on
all this?"

 
     
Atun smiled and replied: "I have learned to trust Yuen-mong fully.
She never does anything without a clear purpose."

 
     
"Right now I would like to know what that purpose is."

 
     
She did not respond to that but instead said: "There’s another matter
where we, but particularly I, need your help urgently." Syd looked at her
expectantly. "This afternoon, when we walked through the park to the
Mall, three young men, Foundation members by their looks, called me a
cripple and expected that I move aside to let them pass. When I refused,
one tried to slap me and he and another got hurt —"

 
     
"So that was you? … Did you get hurt?"

 
     
"You have already heard of it?" asked Yuen-mong, while Atun
replied: "No, she didn’t, but the two young men may nurse some
injuries."

 
     
"Yes, one has a broken wrist, the other a broken nose. He recently had
cosmetic surgery done on it… Yuen-mong, you caused a riot and completely damaged the security system."

 
     
"Nobody points a gun at me and gets away with it, if I can help it."

 
     
He shook his head and then laughed again. "What am I going to do
with you?"

     
"You’re going to get me out of this trouble."

 
     
"I definitely will put your case. In fact, the system isn’t supposed to
point the gun at any Foundation member, let alone fire at one; so
somewhere there was a lapse in the system."

 
     
"Then it might even be possible to sue them for that, right?"

 
     
He looked at her, first surprised, then with amusement. "You are
right. I won’t even wait for them to accuse you, but will lodge a claim for
endangering the life of a Foundation member, plus punitive damages for
causing distress and embarrassment."

 
     
"Embarrassment? You mean theirs, not mine."

 
     
"OK, I’ll drop the embarrassment. Do you also want to lodge a private
prosecution of the three young men?"

 
     
"No, one did nothing, the other two got their punishment."

 
     
"I think that’s wise. I need a complete statement from both of you on
what happened. See Miss Blacey first thing tomorrow morning… Are
there any other surprises?"

 
     
"No further surprises, but I want you to contact Pat Young and let him
know that I wish to move into my mother’s house within two months."

 
     
"I told you that this is unwise."

 
     
"You did. However, I want to live in the house my mother built,
where she intended to bring up her children. I need to have that link with
her."

 
     
He nodded. "I understand. May I at least suggest that you give him
three months time?"

 
     
"All right, three."

* * *

Friday morning they saw Miss Blacey to record their statements and later
visited two manufacturers of space shuttles. They settled on the second
one, a small firm. Although the owner was rather surprised by their specification for dual control, electronic and manual, he agreed to produce it
since they were willing to pay his asking price which they thought was
on the high end of the scale.

     
They spent their Saturday climbing Mount Olympus on foot, rather
than use the gondola — a four-hour walk with some fairly steep parts.
The narrow path, clearly seldom used, let up through mixed forests with
the occasional small meadow that offered beautiful vistas over the length
of Lake Carda and the hills on its other side. Yuen-mong voiced her
surprise by the often impenetrable undergrowth in the forests — such a
contrast to the clean-swept Aros forests.

     
"No night scavengers here," she mused.

     
As they got higher, they could even see the ocean in the distance.
They did not encounter a soul.

     
They had a picnic in one of the meadows they spied through the trees
a short distance off the path, savoring the excellent bottle of Riesling left
over from their Old Earth purchase.

     
Afterward they lay in the soft grass. Yuen-mong tickled Atun with a
blade of grass, until he suddenly wrestled her to the ground and started
kissing her.

     
"You don’t know how much I love you," he whispered.

     
"Yes, I know and I like it."

 
     
He searched her eyes. How he yearned for her to say these three
words. He found it difficult to reconcile her willing response to his love
making, often even initiating it, with her silence. That she was fond of
him, he had no doubts, but he wanted more. He wanted her to love him
as he loved her, but he also trusted her. She had said that he was her
choice, and he wanted to believe her that she would stay with him.

     
"Atun, Atun, why are you troubled? We have it good together. Come,
love me."

 
     
She has seen right through me,
but he didn’t mind. It felt good to be
wanted. She opened his shirt and slowly rubbed her flat hand on his
chest. There was a mischievous sparkle in her eyes, the kind of sparkle
that promised bliss. Then her hand traveled down to his groin.

     
"But what if somebody comes?"

 
     
"That’s their problem, not ours. I’m not ashamed to make love to
you."

 
     
Only his love could give such a response, he mused as he found her
lips.

15

They were invited to the traditional Young Sunday family dinner. It was
the occasion to introduce Atun to her grandfather. She again wore her
ceremonial Chinese dress, while Atun looked distinguished in one of her
father’s formal suits.

     
They arrived a quarter hour early for a private audience with the old
man. She knelt, her head bowed, a short distance from her grandfather,
while Atun stayed upright a bit behind her.

     
"Rise, my granddaughter, and introduce your companion."

 
     
She lifted her head and smiled, sensing the pleasure she gave to him,
and rose gracefully. Taking Atun’s hand, she led him to her grandfather.

     
"Grandfather, this is Atun Caruna from Palo."

 
     
"I am honored, sir," said Atun as he bowed to the old man, "to meet
one of the most famous people of the Galaxy."

 
     
"You are welcome, young man. You have helped restore my granddaughter to me, and I am in your debt."

 
     
"Sir, I may have had the good fortune to crash near your granddaughter, but it was her unfailing determination that got us off Aros.
Without her, I would have perished the first night."

 
     
"Yes, Yuen-mong has told us of the many dangers on Aros. This is
why it is all the more surprising that you seriously contemplate visiting
there again. I have just been advised that another ship has lost its lander
shuttle with two people when they tried to descend to Aros. An expedition from Old Earth."

 
     
She exchanged a quick glance with Atun. "Old Earth? They tried to
rob us of our gold there. Maybe there is a connection with that."

 
     
"Possible. Aros really seems to be the planet of no return, as they say,
so it is all the more surprising that you were able to escape from it." He
turned to Yuen-mong. "Granddaughter, I hope you will not try anything
foolish. I don’t want to lose you again."

 
     
"Grandfather, I promise, it will not be foolish. If I ever visit there, we
will make sure that we will get off again."

 
     
"I fear young people are often impulsive and do not consider all the
consequences. They think themselves invincible."

 
     
"Sir, you do not need to worry on that account. Yuen-mong considers
all consequences."

 
     
"Did you, Yuen-mong, when you caused a riot in the Mall the other
day?"

 
     
She smiled and replied: "I considered the consequences for me of
being insulted by rash young men and threatened by a machine. I must
admit, I did not consider the consequences for other people or the
Foundation."

 
     
"Good, Yuen-mong, that you are aware of this. Let us now go down
for our family meal. The husband of your cousin Bee will be there too,
so will her two children."

 
     
Everybody was already assembled in the dining room. They were
introduced to Bee’s husband, Dan, and their two children, a girl of three,
Yuen-mong recognized as Mai’s model, and a boy of six months.

     
"Oh, what a darling girl. May I hold you," she asked.

     
"She is rather shy and cries. I would rather you did not," replied Bee,
but the girl immediately held out her hands, and Yuen-mong lifted her
up.

     
"Will you tell me your name?" she asked.

     
"Ming."

 
     
"I like that name. It is easy to sing to it," and she hummed the dawn
bird’s morning chord ‘ming, ming, ming’. "See?"

 
     
"Do it again, please."

 
     
Yuen-mong did it another two times, and the girl laughed joyfully,
repeating it herself.

     
"Come, Ming," said Bee, "you should not impose on Yuen-mong."

 
     
"No, please hold me," the girl exclaimed, turning her head away from
her mother and hiding it on Yuen-mong’s shoulder.

     
"I’m sorry, Yuen-mong, she has never behaved badly like this," Bee
said.

     
"It’s OK, and she’s not behaving badly," Yuen-mong murmured and
then whispered in Ming’s ear: "Would you like to be my sister?"

 
     
"Yes."

 
     
"I would like that too. Maybe, one day I will have a beautiful little girl
like you and then you can be her sister too."

 
     
She noticed that her grandfather was standing behind his chair at the
head of the table and whispered: "Look, Ming, your great-grandfather is
ready to sit down for dinner, and we all have to get ready too. And you
will also have to eat."

 
     
"Will you hold me again afterward?"

 
     
"Yes, my sweet girl. I promise."