"Why, Lady Sea, it's good to see you. It's been too long." Lucas Sr. welcomed Eve heartily at the entrance of the luxurious building. A big golden plaque bore the inscription 'Wolfblood & Suckheart Law Firm'. "You and JS have been up to your usual shenanigans, I suppose?" Eve smiled: "Just a bit. Nice car, by the way." "Before the hotel, I took the liberty of driving you here to meet some people." Lucas Sr. said, inviting her to enter the exclusive elevator reserved for elder Members. Once in his office, he ordered the secretary to show in the two guys waiting in a private room. "Lady Sea, I selected Han and Rosko personally. They will be your bodyguards for the whole journey." Eve nodded a yes. "Where is my mother, Mr. Lucas?" "Lady Sea, I'm afraid your mother has been hit by the spendthrift virus!" Lucas Sr. smiled. "She has plunged into a frantic round of cocktails, receptions and, of course, shopping. She has virtually looted Babel V trendiest shops. She is currently on the Earth, having accepted President Farnese's invitation and especially the call of the sirens of haute couture establishments." "Probably we look like bunch of hillbillies in town, Mr. Lucas." Eve exclaimed. "Call me Eve, we're old friends." "Great, and you call me Xing." Lucas replied. "Everybody's mesmerized by Earthener fashion, so decadent and refined. It's one of our strengths, you know? To us, I mean that JS made me buy some shares in fashion Firms." "It's a consolation to know the money my mother is spending goes back home!" Eve laughed. "When will my mother come back?" "I don't think she'll be back to Babel V." Lucas Sr. replied. "For all I know she received invitations also from Minkar and Kraz. I took the liberty of organizing your trip to the Earth or Minkar, if you like to get there, but first I thought it was important for you to meet GUN's Secretary General. He worked so hard for this meeting." "OK, I knew there was this bitter cup ..." GUN palace stood in Babel V Desert of Sighs, a desolate place that according to GUN top brass had to remember the asceticism of its members. Actually the Palace was an absurd waste of resources. It was a perfect reconstruction of the Building of the Nations in Geneva, on the Earth: a deco style architecture continually attacked by the abrasive desert sand. The structure was perpetually under restoration thereby adding waste to waste, but, by all accounts, the money that flowed to Babel V for being GUN's HQ was worth the expense. GUN secretary and another officer received Eve wearing the usual masks and clothes that were to ensure anonymity, and therefore incorruptibility. The reception was rather spartan, and ended with a request for a substantial sum of money to be paid annually for the support of GUN in exchange for admission to the General Assembly. Eve appointed Lucas Sr. as her legal representative and hurried to leave the place. "Those characters made me sick!" she cried. "Me too. I can't forget how they betrayed my brother." He replied. Back to the hotel Eve could not wait to call JS. The distance prevented a decent telepathic communication, but the video allowed an acceptable mental bridge. "At last!" JS exclaimed. Eve laughed: "Keep cool! Everything went smooth and Lucas is so kind to provide two bodyguards and..." JS opened his mouth, but Eve preceded him: "Yes, I read the minds of all those around for a radius of two clicks as you told me to do. All clean. Those two are willing to die for me, I swear." JS breathed, visibly reassured. "To read the minds of those GUN guys wasn't a joy. They knew I'm a telepath and tried to think of something else, but their shady deals oozed like stench from a sewer." "Your mother?" "She's on the Earth." Eve told him the story. JS grimaced worried. "Don't worry, I'll follow your instructions to the letter." "I miss you." he said. -- Thanks!