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The trader’s security goon glared at him for the perceived slight, his hand on a holster as he looked to his boss in a silent question. The trader only waved him off, though. Revik saw a harder assessment forming in those dark blue eyes as they looked Revik over, maybe for the first time.

“What are you doing here, my friend?” he said, smiling in overdone friendliness.

At another time, Revik might have seen his tone as yet more posturing, but looking at the white-robed seer, he saw growing understanding in his dark eyes.

“…You are not really dock workers, are you?” the trader said, his voice coy.

“No,” Revik said. “We are not.”

“What were you doing on that dock then, brother?”

“We were there to look at the shipment,” Revik said. “And to find a rumored Lao Hu consort for my employer… among other possibilities.”

There was a silence as the sheik trader thought about his words.

“Your employer?” The man in the white robe lifted an eyebrow. “Do you mind elaborating on who that might be, my good brother…?”

He looked at Dalejem in the pause, his eyes showing a faint question. Within the next set of seconds, however, he seemed to realize he had miscalculated on the dock, that Revik was the one in charge here.

Revik briefly let him see more of hisaleimicstructure, just to reinforce that point.

“I apologize we were not more forthcoming on the docks,” Revik continued, once he knew the other had seen enough of him to take him seriously. “My employer has considerable resources at his disposal, and it is common for his new business partners to attempt to take advantage of him as a result. He trusts me?and of course, brother Marsei here?to make certain that doesn’t happen. He most of all desires to have an accurate understanding of his purchases before he takes possession of them.”

“And your name is?” the sheik pressed.

“You may call me Calyn.”

The male’s eyes turned shrewd. He scanned Revik’saleimia second time, more deliberately but still a bare touch. Revik saw a quick, more calculating assessment go through those dark eyes, right before he smiled more genuinely at Revik.

“Of course, my brothers, of course. I realize the delicacy of these things.” He held up a hand in a respectful gesture. “Does your employer normally work through another trader?” he asked politely. “Or am I merely to be chastised for my lack of observation? For I confess, I do not recognize either of you from these markets.”

“Yes,” Revik said simply, making it clear with his light he had no intention of offering more information than necessary. “He normally works with another. Is that a problem?”

“Not at all, not at all,” the man assured him, holding up the same hand in another sign of peace. “You simply have me quite consumed with curiosity now, I confess?”

“Did you dispose of the real merchandise before we got here?” Revik cut in, his voice holding an edge. He threaded an air of impatience, even condescension, through his light, sending the message he was used to people reacting to him, and his employer’s name.

“My employer will be most displeased, if that is the case,” he said. “He wished in particular for us to buy this Lao Hu consort for him. He was quite intrigued with the Barrier imprints we supplied him, as well as the specific flavor of her light. He expressed this sentiment quite openly, something he does not always do. He also wished to purchase several other… items.”

Revik bit down deliberately on the word, as if finding it distasteful.

“…Offerings from your stock. Things that do not appear to be here any longer, either. Nor are there replacement items of a high enough quality for what my employer requires.”

Revik saw a flicker of denser interest in those dark eyes.

“Do you have higher quality merchandise, or not?” Revik said.

The man’s smile grew more obsequious. “He is aware, surely, that the prices for these items have gone up?” the man said politely. “In these trying times of scarcity, we all must?”

“He is very aware of that, brother,” Revik cut in. “Price is not… his primary concern.”

The male seer broke out in a much more genuine-seeming smile.

“Of course, of course. And I apologize for asking,” the seer sheik said, his voice sickly sweet. “It is just strange to me, that this employer of yours is so well informed in some respects, yet was not aware of the pre-sale for our more…unusualitems.”

“He was not,” Revik confirmed. “…Informed of this. He has only recently relocated to Dubai, after many years of living in New York. This is my fault, I confess, for not doing better research before coming to my first sale in this part of the world.” Revik grimaced delicately, as if trying to keep it off his face. “They did such things… differently… in New York.”

He found himself hoping this asshole didn’t know anything about the markets in New York, because Revik certainly didn’t.