When she couldnâ€™t meet his eyes any longer, he was secretly a little proud of it. Never ask a question you donâ€™t really want to know the answer to, he was going to tell her. But just the fact that she was obviously uneasy was victory enough.<br/><br/>So he waited, pretending to study the board and took note of what she could do. There were two different moves that were any good, and both of them played into the set-up now.<br/><br/>If she was still thinking about what he'd told her, he could tell in the way she paused the game to stare at the photograph.<br/><br/>Quen, although heâ€™d once thought he should, certainly didnâ€™t hate the man. His father had taught him honor, decency, to respect the ones you love, and to love the ones you hate â€“ if only because it pissed them off something fierce.<br/><br/>He was almost disappointed when she took the move that would end the game far too quickly.<br/><br/>It was a complex game he was playing, and it relied entirely on the opponent being just as good, or maybe even better. Heâ€™d learned it from the chimp after their games had gotten longer, after heâ€™d stopped losing in only a few moves. Quen had gambled that Zilah was a better player than sheâ€™d let on. Just as heâ€™d bet anything she was smarter than she was trying to make him think she was. Anyway, she didnâ€™t speak like common trash. He supposed though, that any common thief couldnâ€™t do what she had done.<br/><br/>â€œThere are a lot of ways to make a living.â€ The queen came down to defend her king and the jaws of the trap closed. â€œCheck mate.â€ The board locked itself and saved the pieces and series of moves, so they could played back later. What heâ€™d disguised inside his opportunistic taking of any piece that got in his way had hidden the play. Heâ€™d fenced her king in without ever having to herd it into position or make it too clear that he was doing anything. She had to have seen it at least once.<br/><br/>â€œYou could have joined the marines, for example. Explore dangerous new worlds, shoot and kill exotic animals with big teeth. Or maybe taught others to read. The Corps pays written language instructors far better than they pay us, you know.â€ He just couldnâ€™t resist the temptation and also added, â€œAnd you do look far better in a Corps uniform than a bloody vest.â€<br/><br/>Speaking of which, he was reminded of those bloodstained clothes heâ€™d shoved out of sight. â€œIâ€™ll have to return you to your cell now, Sera DronstrÃ¶m. I need to revel in my ill-gotten trophies.â€