It was only when we were outside that I realised where we should have gone to ask about Federza in the first place. I stopped walking and said, “The Trader Guild office.” Damn, how could I have forgotten about that shadow society that all Traders considered their first home?
The building of the Trader Guild was a brand new affair right next to the airport terminal. The considerable funding advantage the Traders possessed over the Barresh guards was not evident just in the glass-fronted exterior. The air was cool and fresh. The floor was lined with soft rubbery material that dampened all sounds. There was a counter on the far side where just one man—dressed in the Trader Guild’s distinctive carmine red—sat at a luxurious desk with new and modern equipment. No one waited at the couch in the
