Eros Descending: Book 3 of Tales of the Velvet Comet by Mike Resnick

the future. If no one asks, we won't even volunteer that much.”
    “Let's hope it's that easy,” said Constantine.
    “It will be—at least for me . There's a miners’ strike on Praesape II that's costing us tens of millions of credits per day, we're being sued by the Seballa Cartel over a number of tachyon-drive patents, there's been a military takeover on Bowman XXIII that's frozen a considerable portion of our assets in their banking system, and besides all that, I'm still learning my job.” She smiled. “Yes, I think I won't have all that much difficulty ignoring Thomas Gold. It may be a little harder for you , but that's what I'm paying you for.”
    “I don't know exactly what was on those holos that he swiped. Once they're released, how much damage can they do us?”
    “I haven't seen them either,” admitted Fiona. “I gather they're quite pornographic, and that there are hours of them. They might do us some damage—but nothing fatal, I assure you. It took three hundred years to build the Vainmill Syndicate into what it has become; no one man is going to bring it down. Vainmill will still be going strong after you and I and Thomas Gold have all reverted to dust.”
    “I suppose there's always a chance that the holos will backfire on him, too,” commented Constantine thoughtfully. “Deluros is a pretty sophisticated world. He might bring us in more business than he scares away.”
    “Perhaps,” said Fiona dubiously. She paused. “I can't tell you how much I dislike the notion of those little aliens being the center of this controversy. I would never expect Doctor Gold to believe it, but I find Vainmill's historical treatment of aliens as distasteful as he does.”
    “Your feelings about the subject notwithstanding,” said Constantine carefully, “I don't see how we can get rid of the faeries for the foreseeable future. It would seem as if we were caving in to him.”
    “I know,” she said, her face set and hard. “Thomas Gold isn't the only person who can't be bought or intimidated. Whatever I decide to do about Vainmill's exploitation of aliens in the future, it won't be because of any pressure that he tries to bring to bear on the issue.” She paused. “In fact, that was the very first problem I had hoped to attack as chairman—and though Thomas Gold will never believe it, he and he alone is the reason that I've put the project on an indefinite hold.” She glanced at her timepiece. “Speaking of the estimable Doctor Gold, I see that I'm already overdue at the studio.” She got to her feet. “As soon as I'm through down there, I'll inform the necessary parties that you are the acting president of Entertainment and Leisure.”
    “Then I guess I'd better get started on my homework,” said Constantine. He looked thoughtful. “I'll give Plaga the rest of the day to clean out his office before I move in, which means it might be a little awkward to start tapping his computer files until Security gets a chance to change the Priority Code on them.” He paused. “I suppose I can start going over whatever we've got on Gold. We may be officially ignoring him, but as long as he's not likely to return the favor I ought to learn everything I can about him.”
    “A good idea,” she agreed, walking to the elevator.
    “He's got to have a weakness some where.”
    “Most men do,” said Fiona, commanding the doors to open. “Even a moral man like Thomas Gold.”
    “I like moral men the best.”
    “Oh?” she said, stepping into the elevator. “Why is that?”
    Constantine smiled. “They always make the loudest crash when they fall.”

Chapter 4

    Christina Gilbert looked up from the newstape she had been viewing and saw her father and her five-year-old son enter the small apartment, hand in hand.
    “Hi,” she said. “You look exhausted.”
    Gold walked over to an easy chair and plopped down on it.
    “I am,” he replied. “I must be getting old.”
    “You're late,” she noted. “We were