Jal leaned back. It didn’t want to appear over-eager. “Can you recall the name?”

“It was...Kans. No, that’s not it. Karan. Wait! It was Elz.” Danlami stopped talking and stared into space. “I believe it was Elz Kans.” His forehead wrinkled. “Ohan Kans? Elz Melu.” He looked at Jal and Eiske. “Clearly, my memory is not of any help. That was a long time ago. Tell me a bit about yourselves, and perhaps it will come to me.”

Eiske told him that he was a local doctor and had completed his initial training in Kop. Danlami looked at him interestedly. “Were you ever in the ‘Aurora Borealis?’”

“No. I was one of the students who annoyed the professors with my overzealousness. I had no time for gaming or drinking with friends. I do remember the sign.”

“I spent many hours there,” Danlami reminisced. “My friends and I loved to watch the card sharks. That’s where we met Geldou Bonnema. Ah, yes. There was Ohan Kans. He was a tall, muscular fellow. Very smart. He was often accused of card-counting. Mun. Moti. That’s it. Moti often sat with me, and we drank and watched the betting boards. Giel Moti. Several Stafriez came and went. They were students at the university and worked at the various labs in the area. Tell me,” he changed the subject. “Is there any entertainment in this village?”

Eiske shook his head. “If you want entertainment, you’ll have to go to Dagmon. There are some small inns there too.”

“Perhaps I’ll see you around here in six or seven days. Do you ever get to Nik?”

“Not often, why?”

“If you do, come and see me,” Danlami suggested. “I can introduce you to my boss.”

“Who would that be? I didn’t catch it,” Eiske lied.

“His name is Nar Bal Dasse’re.” Jal felt Sage Elvan stiffen next to him. Danlami slid out of the booth. “I guess I’m going to Dagmon.”

Sage Elvan and Jal followed Eiske home, occasionally looking at one another. Eiske went out to check the animals and returned. “We had hoped to learn something this afternoon, and now we know,” Eiske said as they sat in the sitting room.

“We knew, Eiske. Giel Moti is a genetic match to me, according to the Stafriez records that were collected during the census.”

“Oh, wow! What do you think of that?”

“I’m not surprised, I guess. Things that involve Geldou just make me...” Jal’s voice trailed off.

“Make you sad?”

“No. I feel like I’m more determined than ever to not be like that. She tells lies. She was a card shark. Do you remember her talking about that?”

“No. I was in medical training at that time. I do remember a communication from Mom with a reference to card games.”

“I remember something too.” Jal stopped itself. “I’ve been putting charms onto necklaces to trade in Nik.” It dug through the contents of a pocket on its belt. “I found these in the collection you gave me, Eiske.”

“Those are earrings, Jal, not charms.”

“I’ll bet they’re charms. They were in Grandma Bonnema’s bag. Do you suppose Geldou gave these to Grandma when she came back from Kop? They’re not listed in the book of charms.”

“There are hundreds of different kinds of charms,” Jan pointed out.

“There are? I didn’t know that.”

“Different types of planets have different kinds of magic. Most of the magic here on Zuphreon deals with physical things.”

Jal looked at them. "This doesn't make sense then. To affect a game of cards, you'd need a charm that's ...I can't think of the right word."

“Do an identify spell, Jal,” Jan suggested. “Lay them on the table.”

Jal waved its wand over them. “Erken!”

A small box appeared. “Luck charms. Can be used for games of cards or die. Luck is gone when items turn black. Present time left: 2 hours.”

“I’ll bet this is the ‘sure thing’ Geldou told Tysske Jelsma about.”

“That makes sense,” Eiske responded. Things still didn’t quite add up. “Danlami has found Geldou, but it seems to have nothing to do with Jal. Who is this Nar Bal Dasse’re? She’s clearly afraid of him.”

“Nar Bal Dasse’re is part of the Underworld. Headquarters are in Nik.” Jan told them.

“The underworld? I don’t know what that means,” Jal said curiously.

“It’s an intercontinental, interworld group of an organization run by the Dasse’re family. Nar was the head of the group in Kop during the years that I attended university. When his father died, he returned home to Nik,” Jan explained. Jal looked puzzled. “This group has illegal businesses. There are mercenaries and terrorists for hire, extortionists, drug runners. You name it, the guy has a connection to it. When caught by the Protectors, they often manage to be ‘rescued’ by their friends on the way to lock-up. There are violent shootouts. He owns the Calypso Casino in Nik, which is a very popular attraction for vacationers from Zuphreon. Criminals from across the galaxy often meet up there. I would be very afraid, if I were dealing with him. If she would have stayed in Nik, she would have either been killed or made a slave.”

“So we all were hiding from him 'under the radar.' What exactly does that mean?”

Jan looked at Jal. “They couldn't have a business, or be employed by someone because they would need to put it on the International Business Registry. The family wouldn't have people coming in or out, like visiting other families."

"Why do you say that?"

"The more interactions there were, the more likely one of you children would say something revealing to an outsider. I'll bet you didn't have electronics in the house other than handheld items with high-capacity memories and rechargeable batteries. Like a communication device or a computer." Jan said.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Right. Any device like that would leave a tracking record," Eiske reminded Jal. "The homeowner's names go onto the planetary registry. I'll bet they took that nine thousand mu-tok and erected that dome themselves. They probably thought they were being smart when they bought the blueprints. He likely had some basic classes on wiring electronics at university."

"But Eiske, there was a computer."

"What was it used for?"

Jal tried to remember. "Running the animal food portions, the scales, grain dryers."

"It didn't have an access onto the planetary information network. It didn't need to. If repairs needed to be done, Haerm could download information onto a tablet."

Jan looked at Eiske. "To function off the grid, they wouldn't have public power or water and sewage connections."

"They have solar power. Was there a well, Jal?"

"By the barn.".

"You had to carry water into the house?" Jan asked in amazement.

"When us five were born, Grandma Eaglestje complained over and over about the work, so the grandpas put piping in for the kitchen, the bathroom, and to the building where we did laundry."

"All the finances would have to be done in cash. No bank accounts or purchases on credit. No loans for equipment or improvements. No accounts at all."

"We had school accounts, and accounts at the community information center,” Jal pointed out.

“Those accounts were incredibly hard for me to find,” Eiske stated. “I looked for them because your school medical records made no sense. You’d had no immunizations or dental checkups. You and your brothers were listed by your second names, instead of by the Bron surname. I had to search through a lot of school records to find them. Geldou and Haerm are not registered in the Protectorate system. There were no birth certificates, no marriage, medical, or dental records. I’ve checked. Neither name is anywhere that I can access. It’s like they never existed,” Eiske said.

“Second names? What second names?”

“Let me see if I can remember. Melle Ton, Obbe Emiel, and Kleis Louw. Who else? There’s Kryn Nanko. Thyss Otto. Teed Olert. I think I have those two turned around. And Nel...Naut. And you are Syp Emiel.”

“Those are odd names. None of us were named after anyone we knew. Why would they pick such odd names?”

“Do you remember the Iragos history lessons from when the Aphyxians landed?” Eiske asked.

“Of course. They had historical names! Mine is the only one that was given for a reason.”

“Oh, there was a reason for those names. They’re common surnames in Dagmon. Geldou and Haerm were working to stay ‘below the radar,’ as they called it.”

“Now we can spend our time thinking about other things.” Jal said. “I can focus on finding Giel Moti."

Jan said. “I found it in the city registry. We can try to see Giel.next week.”

"You’re welcome to stay the night here,” Eiske offered. “It’s been a long day, but I would welcome your company.”

Jan looked at Jal, “We did bring an extra set of clothes in case we had to stay overnight in Dagmon.”

“I didn’t know we were going to Dagmon,” Jal said in surprise. “I thought we were going to Nik.”

“I thought maybe the trial would drag out.”

“Oh, you missed the first part,” Eiske said. “I wasn’t there, but I heard all about it. The defense attorney made so many objections that Judge Drost told her to shut up, or he would find her in contempt of court and put her in lock-up.” They all laughed. “The rumor mill is going crazy. People can’t believe that perfectly ‘normal’ people could manage to hide what they were doing for so long.”

“What do you mean?” This was all news to Jal and it wanted to know more.

“Remember our conversation with Tysske Jelsma?” Jal nodded. “From that, Solrio figured out that Haerm had graduated from Shipman with a degree in forensic accounting.”

“That makes a lot of sense, considering the charges against those two for fraud. Instead of using accounting skills to find sources of fraud and embezzlement, he was secretly committing fraud and embezzling money.”

"That makes sense."

“It worked until Syp Bron turned up at the school, asking about money in its lunch fund,” Eiske mused.

“Seriously?” Jal was shocked. “Their whole plan came unraveled because of a simple question?”

“That was part of it,” Eiske answered. “They made a couple of errors when they moved some money from the bank.”

“Did they make fake accounts?” Jan asked.

“Yes. I wonder where they kept the currency they used for daily expenses. The authorities never found it,” Eiske said. “And if those boys know, they’re not talking about it. I'm guessing Haerm and Geldou will have to sell the farm to pay the court’s decision on the fines.

“If the boys knew where the money was, and they kept it, would they be stealing?” Jal asked.

“Does it matter?" Jan asked curiously.

“Dad always said Brons don't steal.”

“Jal, you’re not a Bron," Eiske pointed out.

“Oh, right,” Jal said slowly. “I don’t need to live by his version of respect anymore. I wonder if they will?” It turned in the chair and dangled its legs over the side. “You know, he talked about respect all the time. And what was he doing?"

Eiske studied Jal’s face. “If that money’s in the house, and Haerm tells the boys where its at, they’ll get to spend it. Who knows if they’ll do what he tells them? If it’s buried in the ground, whoever buys the property could find it and get to spend it. If it’s in an outbuilding, and is with the machinery, the new owner will get to spend it."

Jal remarked off-handedly, “I would guess that the boys are all there.”

“The last time I talked to my parents, they said that plans were being made for a loosing ceremony,” Eiske said.

“For who?” Jal asked curiously. “Melle?”

“For all of them.” Jal couldn’t hide the surprise on its face. “Melle and Kleis are going to the university. Obbe, Teed, and Thys have taken out a loan to buy a bar or hotel in Dagmon. Nel wanted to finish out his education, so they’re trying to make that happen in Dagmon."

“How are they paying for all of that? How would those boys get a loan? Or pay for university?” Jal was flabbergasted. “You left out Kryn,” Jal pointed out.

“Kryn. They did say something about Kryn. I heard him say that where he’s going, he won’t need to lift a finger. Where was it?” Eiske tried to remember. "Do you remember when he hurt his arm, Jal?"

"Yes, why?"

"Geldou tried to go around the system that day too. Kryn wasn't registered, you know. Now he is. The surgeons put a marker in his new arm." When Jal raised its eyebrows, Eiske went on, "There was too much damage to reattach it. He's got a prosthesis."

"Technology for those is pretty advanced, isn't it?"

"Yes. He should be able to do anything that any of his siblings can do."

"Good."

It wasn’t long before they were sitting around the table, each with a tablet, reading and drinking tea.

"Hey!" Jal said suddenly. "Didn't Finn Danlami say that Geldou owed nine thousand mu-tok plus interest?"

"Yes."

Jal went on. "But she didn't leave Kop until a week before the debt needed to be repaid?"

Jan looked at Jal and Eiske. "If she didn't have the money, why didn't she leave right away? Is that what you're thinking about?"

"Maybe she thought she could win the money at the gambling tables," Eiske suggested.

"Or she was trying to borrow it from someone else," Jal answered. "Like Giel Moti."

It wasn't long before Jal took its earphones off and closed the program for its schoolwork. Jan swallowed its last bite of blueberry coffeecake and said to Jal, ““I think you should let me look at your schoolwork.”

Jal decided not to argue and passed the pad to Jan. Jan opened the school account and began to look at the assignments that Jal had turned in. Jan looked from the screen to Jal’s face. “What are you trying to hide? You’re not being very successful. I see a little bit of a smile.” Jan studied the screen where the quarterly grades were listed. “Wait a minute. You’re on the materials for the second half of the year? Are you cheating?”

“Jan, it’s impossible to cheat. There’s no way that I could.”

“It wasn’t that long ago that Solrio gave you permission to start this grade level.” Jan handed the pad to Eiske. “You are cheating! You’re using magic!”

“I didn’t know that using magic was cheating. I’m sorry. I only use the ‘learn’ spell for two subjects.”

“Using magic is not cheating. I wanted to see whether you’d try to cover up what you did. You just can’t lie, can you?” Jan said.

Jal put its hand over its mouth. “No. The words that are untrue in my brain can’t seem to make it out of my mouth.”

Eiske burst into laughter. Jan gave the pad back to Jal. “You try to be sneaky, but you just can’t pull it off. Nice try.”

Its tea gone, Jal draped itself upside down over a chair in the sitting room. It looked at the balance in its bank account. How could it increase sales and keep up with schoolwork, magic, and two crafts? It began to develop a schedule that it could use when it wasn’t traveling with Jan. “If I’m going to do this, I can’t rely on Tarryn. I have to do this on my own.". Jal was still thinking when Jan and Eiske went to bed that night.