Tara smiled. “Our security has detained a young man claiming to be one Pierre Descamps.  He claims to be a member of your embassy staff, but is carrying no identification. Also, he appears to have been carrying a substantial amount of spy equipment, contrary to our current treaty, for unclear purposes.  I would hope that the Senior Legate can clear the matter up. Otherwise, since he was carrying spy equipment, and admitted being a foreign national, he is likely to be tried and put up in front of a firing squad as a spy.  Put up, rather soon now. He seems to be a nice young man, with a rather thick little black book of girlfriends, so I would prefer to think he does not need to be shot. However, modern Union judicial proceedings are extremely efficient, so if the matter cannot be resolved reasonably promptly, in a few weeks he will probably be quite dead.  Now, misbehavior of diplomatic personnel is solely under the Senior Legate’s remit, so it is to him I must speak.”

“I see,” the embassy staffer said. “It may take me a few minutes to reach the Senior Legate. Please have him call you back as soon as possible? There is a person of this name on the staff. I happen to know him. The spy issue I have to pass up to the Senior Legate.”

“I’m here all afternoon, Northern California time, but please do get the Legate to call me back soon.  Have a good day.” She broke the connection.  Her next call was to the office of the Secretary for Foreign Relations, but that conversation was quite short.

Soon enough, the chime on her communicator rang. She opened the connection. Bronkowski’s not-smiling face appeared on the vid screen.

“Why are you detaining a member of the Stellar Republic’s diplomatic staff?” He shouted.

“Actually, I was attempting to determine if he is a member of your staff,” Tara answered, her voice is smooth as warm milk. “Whoever this person is, he forgot to carry his passport or any other identification with him.  He was found in the presence of a substantial amount of illegal technical equipment, illegal under our treaty with you, not under Union law.  He denies that the equipment is his.  Of course, he would be neither the first nor probably the last very junior member of some embassy’s staff who is subject to the misimpression that he is a latter-day Jane Note, and has gotten himself involved in water is far deeper than his extremely shallow depth.”

“I can confirm,” Bronkowski said, “that the person you are holding detained in your parking lot is indeed a member of my staff.”

Tara wondered how Bronkowski could possibly know where his staffer was standing. Either he was wired for sound, or there was someone watching from a distance.

“In that case,” Tara announced, “if someone from your embassy will show up with valid identification in an Embassy vehicle, we will be happy to turn the miscreant over to you. I imagine our Foreign Relations Office may have other words to say.. We are a private company, and don’t deal with that sort of issue.   Meanwhile, as he is probably on your clock cycle, I’ll see that he’s fed a good dinner.”

“That’s most kind of you,” Bronkowski said. “Would a pickup in two hours be workable?”

“Of course. Have a good day.”  She broke the connection and tapped in another number.

“Mr. Sykes, it seems that he probably is what he says he is. On one hand, I promised that we would feed him a good dinner at our expense, which I will cover in the interests of comity, and on the other hand in two hours you can turn him over to an Embassy vehicle so soon as they present you with his passport or duplicate. Oh yes, either he is wired for sound, one of those gadgets on the ground is active, or someplace out there someone is watching with telescope and probably a parabolic mike.”

“How interesting. We were about to have lunch delivered from the Travelers’ Residences, so we will add one more for his benefit. Fish and chips even has an espionage component.”