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Chapter 17

KAY STARED, GOGGLE-EYED. JAW ALMOST ON THE FLOOR.

"You're going to the Crystal Ball tonight? With Fontana?"

"Well, it's not as if I'd go on my own," Sierra said. She lounged on the corner of Kay's cluttered desk. They had the newsroom to themselves. Matt was out chasing down a story about a rez-screen star who was rumored to have checked into rehab for the twentieth time. Runtley was in his office, and Phil was in the men's room. Everyone else was out to lunch.

"Okay, I'm seriously impressed," Kay said. "That is so exciting. Everyone who is anyone in Crystal will be there. Just think, you'll be hobnobbing with all the most important, most influential movers and shakers in town."

"This isn't going to be a social event for me. It's purely business. Donovan Corley will be there. Fontana promised to introduce me to him. With luck, I'll be able to zing him with a couple of questions about UEX's deals with the Guild."

"Oh, that should go over like a rat in a punch bowl. Sierra, the Crystal Ball is the social event of the year. You can't just barge in and grill powerful men like Corley while they're swilling champagne."

"Why not? I've had a hunch from the beginning that Corley and his company are somehow involved with the juice dealing."

"Is that so? Why?"

"There are a couple of reasons. First, those cozy deals UEX has with the Guild."

"So what? A lot of big companies have sweetheart contracts. It's understood that if you want to extract valuable resources from underground, you have to give the Guild a piece of the action. That's true for all the organizations, not just the Crystal Guild."

"Second," Sierra continued, undaunted, "ghost juice started hitting the streets within weeks after UEX abruptly halted what was supposed to have been its biggest exploration venture into the rain forest to date. I don't think that was a coincidence."

"You still believe there's a conspiracy going on, don't you?"

"Yes, I do."

"Look, even if you get a crack at Corley tonight, you don't really think he's going to confess to being a drug lord, do you?"

"I just want to see his reaction when I ask him a few questions."

"If I were you, I'd worry more about getting a dress," Kay said. "You can't wear one of your business suits and a pair of pumps. You're Fontana's wife. You have a responsibility to look good."

"I realize that. I made an emergency call to a certain fairy godmother, and she came through for me."

"You've got a fairy godmother now?"

"My cousin, Tamsyn. She's the fashionista in my family. Lives in Cadence, but she knows where to shop in every one of the city-states. She gave me the name of a boutique on Amber Lane and made a phone call. I'm supposed to ask for Doris."

"Amber Lane? I can't even afford to park on that street, let alone shop there."

"Fontana said that the Guild would pick up the tab. Business expense."

"Think Fontana has any idea of how expensive things are in Amber Lane?"

Sierra smiled. "I doubt it."

"Oh, wow," Kay breathed, "this is simply too cool for words."

Runtley stuck his gleaming head through the doorway. "What's going on here?"

"Sierra's going shopping," Kay said.

Predictably, Runtley turned a vivid shade of purple. "I don't pay my reporters to shop in the middle of the afternoon."

"Got to buy a dress for tonight," Sierra explained smoothly. "Turns out I'm going to be covering the Crystal Ball."

Runtley's eyes glittered. "Fontana got you a press pass?"

"Well, actually, I'm going as his wife."

"Oh, yeah, right," Runtley said. "I keep forgetting. I want photos."

Phil sauntered toward them from the direction of the men's room. "What's going on?"

"I'll tell you what's going on," Runtley said, glowing with triumph. "The Curtain is covering the Crystal Ball. You're the official photographer."

"Woo-hoo," Phil said. "Just like a real newspaper, huh?"