Graa's feathers flattened and, as if with an effort of will, puffed back out.

"Clarify, Human Koen," he said. "You want to come away with me and live under my claws and sleep under my wings. You want me to steal you away from the United Nations, as I did the potato."

"Wait," said Mark.

"Koen," mouthed Laura.

"Potato?" asked Nelly.

Koen swallowed. "Yes," he answered.

Ambassador Li cleared his throat. "Your Excellency, would you please tell us exactly what you're proposing?"

"As for exactness, I have accomplished that," growled General Graa. "As for proposing, I am not, but am doing the deed, itself." He pulled his shoulders up and spread his tail. "Watch me plunder Human Koen."

The faces of several of the humans present went pale as their peripheral capillaries contracted, restricting blood to their bodies' cores in preparation for attack or retreat. Exactly which humans were so concerned over Koen's wellbeing — and which were not — would have been useful tactical knowledge for any sophont present. However, nobody noticed. It was dark.

Chadwell rapped a knuckle on the table. "Ambassador, I hope you're not considering letting him escape punishment."

"What if this is his punishment?" asked Qani, rhetorically. "And who exactly is going to stop the Pick from doing whatever they want?"

"Listen to that one," said Graa. "Understand that you are not the victims of the crime; I am. Your embarrassment is your problem, but Human Koen, now, is mine." Graa lifted his beak until it pointed vertically, wings parted, and made a loud, ululating cry into his light-column. "Mine!"

Koen's skin prickled, but his conscious mind lagged behind Laura's.

She leaned forward. "Your Excellency, are you offering Koen pardon, or amnesty?"

Graa jabbed his beak at her, like a public speaker acknowledging an intelligent question from the audience. "Yes. The second one. I am stealing him from you. I will employ him in the Pick Embassy."

The politicians at the table thought rapidly. Chadwell admired Graa's tactics and decided to abandon his opposition and figure out how to ingratiate himself. A Savile Row suit for Mr. Grumbles? Qani, meanwhile, calculated how she could best blackmail Laura and Mark. Severo was doing her best not to burst out laughing.

The mind of Ambassador Li scrolled with headlines: European criminal exiled to live with his victims and In exchange for concessions from powerful species… He decided this needed to be his idea.

"This is not amnesty," he said. "This is vocational education and training under the Pick that Administers Correction."

Graa cocked his head. "Clarify. You recognize that Human Koen is my hostage?"

"I prefer the language I used."

"My language is superior." Graa lifted his shoulders. "To clarify: my removal of Human Koen from the United Nations Embassy will serve as a salutary inconvenience, as you will now be forced to order out to achieve satisfactory meals."

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"We were preparing to send him back to Earth in any case — "

The shoulders rose higher. "Quiet while I describe your suffering! And, at the same time, mental images of Human Koen cringing under my beak will cause empathic anguish to another object of this punishment, his mate the Human Laura."

Koen stopped thinking about what he would cook tomorrow for the Pick. "Uh, General Graa, we're not…um…mates."

Graa shook his head, chains rattling. "Don't lie to me, Human Koen. Your sexual bond is obvious to any trained rider. If you haven't actually fertilized her eggs, let your regret at missed opportunities be added to the compound discomfort you owe me."

The Pick was precise in his language. "Anguish" and "regret" precisely described Laura's feeling at this moment. Over and over, she had faced the choice between Koen and career, and she had chosen her career. Even yesterday, drunk, she could not betray her plans for herself. Tonight, she remained stuck in the same rut. The fact that Koen wasn't going away, that she could remain in her rut and still have him, didn't help. Laura felt as if she were betraying someone. She felt like an idiot.

Koen wasn't sure how to interpret the look on Laura's reaction. He was far away, and the light was bad. Her body language could indicate that she was…what? Angry she hadn't had the chance to publicly declare her love for Koen before Graa seized that chance? Embarrassed at the Pick's casual dismissal of her sex life? Sad because Koen was staying here, and she would have to spend more time with him?

Which was most likely? No, he told his quivering brain, don't tell me about which is most frightening. What might actually be true?

"Human Koen, focus your face on me."

Koen made himself a promise, and, for the moment, turned away from Laura.

Graa shifted his stance and Mr. Grumbles opened his arms. "Come here, Human Koen."

The armored limbs closed around him and Koen decided to hug the erectus back. "Sorry," he said.

"Ooh," said Mr. Grumbles. "Mm."

"Bend down," commanded Graa. "Lower your shoulder."

A command for submission? Or something more pragmatic? Awkwardly, Koen bent his knees and slid down between Mr. Grumbles's arms until their shoulders were more or less level. General Graa crouched, made sure his chains and ribbons weren't going to catch, and hopped from one hominid to the other.

Claws found their grip on his trapezius and deltoid. His weight settled, and Koen found himself wishing for that counter-balancing idol for his other shoulder.

"I am happy," murmured General Graa, "to have you back."

Koen didn't ask if gestural translation was active again.

"Me too," he said.

"Straighten," said his rider. And in a much louder voice, "Human Koen, you will come with me!"

There was polite applause, which increased markedly when Graa switched off his light.

"Okay," whispered Koen. "Can I go say something to Laura now?"

The Pick made a growling noise, which Koen correctly interpreted as a chuckle. "If I had accepted Fling's offer to gamble on the status of Human Laura's eggs, I would be richer."

"Stop talking about her eggs. It's gross."

"I balance upon a willful steed." Graa leaned forward, and Koen stumbled. The bird was really quite heavy. "Carry me to the table, Human Koen, so that the gathered sophonts may delight in the wit and charm of my raconteurism." He turned his light back on, and everyone winced. "Who knows where you may go and what you may do in the shadows cast by my radiant presence."

The other various diners laughed, blushed, made gagging noises, and exhibited other fascinating combinations of instinctive and learned responses.

Mark mimicked these, while inside, ice churned. Koen would remain here in the Zogreion, under the personal care and protection of the highest office of a senior species. There was no way in hell he would keep his mouth shut.

Severo had been right. None of Mark's other attempts to get a grip on Koen had worked. All right, then.