The Sultan's Spy

Chapter 29: Assisting

Tariq was well into the swing of the morning, hand moving steadily as he transcribed yet another half-legible scrap of paper, when the door opened. The sound and movement drew the attention of himself and the other scribes. Beaming at them as she slipped inside, Sirhan swept them all with his gaze. "I hate to bother you when you're all so busy, but I'm going to need to borrow two of you for a short while."

Before anyone could volunteer, he pointed at Kadin and Tariq. "If you two could come with me?"

Kadin nearly stumbled as he shot up quickly, grabbing his materials without care for the ink he smeared on his hands. Tariq followed more slowly, feeling the eyes of everyone else on him, trying to look hesitant and a little awed. He was curious about Sirhan and couldn't help but think that whatever he had them working on would be the kind of information that Liss would find interesting. Or at least something he could use as ammunition when he next tried to show her how misplaced her loyalties were.

The stares of the other scribes were heavy on their backs as they followed Sirhan out into the hall. He offered them both one of his easy smiles as he led them through the maze of halls that made up the administration wing of the palace, his pace one they could both match without difficulty. "I do hope I haven't taken you away from work you can't catch up on."

"Oh no, sir," Kadin said, bobbing his head eagerly.

Sirhan's eyes found Tariq's and he forced a smile onto his face, hoping any strain he noticed would be accounted to nervousness. "I don't think it'll take us long to catch up, sir."

"I'm glad. I would hate to cause problems for such smart young men like yourselves, with your futures so bright."

Kadin flushed but smiled, and Tariq did his best to copy the expression. That seemed to satisfy Sirhan, as he just flashed them a grin and continued on down the tiled hallways. It was a relatively short walk, down the one hall and then another, before they came to a very short hall that dead-ended on one door with ones to each side on the left and right walls.

Sirhan took them through the door on the left. Polished marble tiles were covered with a plush carpet of red, blue, and yellow. Dark red, brown and gold tiles covered the walls that were visible between the ebony wood shelves filled with papers, scrolls, and books. A few shelves held what looked like some personal items, vases, an ornamental scimitar, and two statuettes.

A heavy desk dominated the room, the wood a match for the shelves, a large chair behind it with two smaller ones in front. A wide window lay behind it, brass filigree covering it, the heavy scarlet drapes pulled back so sunlight filtered in. A smaller table lay against the opposite wall, surrounded by three chairs.

The room was warm, lightly scented with something that burned in a small brazier in the corner. Tariq glanced about, thinking this was more what he'd been expecting when he'd come to the palace. This was the kind of luxury he could get used to.

"Please, take a seat," Sirhan said, gesturing towards the smaller table. "I just have a few documents I need you both to make two copies of each, and then help me organize a few more. It shouldn't take too terribly long."

Kadin sat down first, with Tariq following more slowly. They both arranged their supplies in front of them while Sirhan brought over a small basket filled with a few scrolls and loose sheafs of paper. "Here you are."

"Thank you, sir," they chorused raggedly.

Sirhan smiled then headed to his desk and the stack of papers that lay one one side of it. For a few minutes, there was no sound except the scratching as they all bent to work putting ink to paper. Tariq studied the paper he was copying, a report on the adjusted taxation of public officials, and felt like he'd go cross-eyed. Everything he seemed to copy was boring enough to make him fall asleep.

"How are you adjusting to the palace, Akhtar?"

Sirhan's voice cut through Tariq's drowsy writing. He looked up at the Vizier'd assistant then ducked his head to hide his expression. "I'm doing well, I think."

"And how about you, Kadin? Been up to anything exciting of late?"

The other scribe flushed a little. "No, sir. Though I did hear that the chief cook had a screaming match with the head of palace stores."

"Really? I wonder what that was about." Tariq risked a glance at Sirhan, noting the man's raised eyebrows, his gaze bouncing between the paper in front of him and Kadin.

"I don't know. I heard it was ugly though."

"Well, let's hope they're able to resolve their differences. You haven't run into anything like that, have you, Akhtar?"

Tariq shook his head. "No, sir. I'm still learning how to be a proper palace scribe."

Sirhan chuckled. "And that's work enough! I remember my time as a scribe well, so I can imagine. Though I bet with bright young men like you, you won't be scribes long. And with such sharp minds, I bet you might remember something that might help me with some of my work. I know there was a meeting two days ago about opening a new trading route to the east, but I didn't happen to hear what had been decided. You two wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

Kadin frowned, hand stilling as he thought. Tariq paused as well but didn't say anything. He was fairly certain he'd copied the notes on that meeting but couldn't remember what had been decided. He wondered why Sirhan would need that information, but then again, he wasn't too sure what it was he or the Grand Vizier actually did. Other than attend meetings.

A knock on the door followed almost immediately by it opening had them all lifting their heads to look. A man in the blue and red uniform of the city guards strode in. The man was blessedly unfamiliar to Tariq, who had more run-ins with the guards than he cared to think about, and with the stranger's bushy grey and black mustache, he doubted he'd forget him. The guard's eyes swept the room, resting briefly on Tariq and Kadin before going to Sirhan. "My apologies to bother you, but I wondered if we could have a word about some...inconsistencies with my people?"

The door opened a second time before Sirhan could answer and Khaliq walked in. He frowned at the guard, the expression deepening when he caught sight of Tariq and Kadin. "Captain Hatim, what are you doing here?"

"Lord Khaliq." Hatim bowed to the Vizier's other assistant. "I had thought you were busy and had thought that Lord Sirhan might be able to help me with that small matter we spoke of previously."

Khaliq grimaced. "I was under the impression that we had the matter handled. What has changed?"

Hatim glanced significantly and Tariq and Kadin. "Perhaps we can discuss this privately?"

Sirhan stood and smiled regretfully at the two scribes. "I hate to do this to you after dragging you all the way here, but it looks like we'll need to meet immediately to get this resolved. Will you two head back to your fellows?"

Kadin nodded rapidly while Tariq just bowed his head. It didn't take them long to put their papers including the copies they'd made back into the basket and gather their supplies back up. Under the icy gaze of Khaliq and Sirhan's gentle smile, the pair of them hurried back towards the scribes' room. As they walked, Tariq couldn't help but wonder what that was about. He filed the information away to share with Liss as soon as he saw her. She might be able to piece what had just happened together into something that made sense.