Laura walked to the port commerce centre. It wasn't just the cost saving. She felt awkward on public transport, catching odd looks from the other passengers before they hastily turned away. No one knew she was a Listener, she rationalised. She was just paranoid, but still the irrational discomfort remained. Besides, it was a nice day.

She was five minutes away when her phone buzzed. She hit the stud behind her ear. "Hello? Laura Robinson."

"Laura, darling, my favourite Listener. Are you busy? I've got a coffee and a Danish with your name on."

"Ted? Is that you?"

"Who else calls you 'darling'?"

"Where are you? I'm five minutes from the centre."

"Great, I'll meet you at Marco's."

"Have you got any work for me, Ted? Because I can get breakfast anywhere."

"Is that all I am to you, a source of money?"

"You're not even that, most of the time, Ted."

Ted laughed over the phone. "It's a good job I know when you're joking. Yes, we can talk business as well."

"Joking. Yeah, sure, whatever. And make it an Earl Grey. You know I don't drink coffee."

Laura closed the connection and smiled. At least the day held some prospect of a little bread-and-butter work. Ted Parkinson was a low-market private investigator, but he was decent enough. He knew when no meant no, and he didn't act awkwardly in a Listener's presence. She'd done a little work for him in the past, all at minimum Guild rates. He paid promptly, he didn't make telepath jokes and he kept his hands to himself. What more could you ask for in a business relationship?

He stood and waved to her as she walked into the pavement area outside Marco's.

"Hey, Laura, over here."

Laura smiled and walked over to his table.

"You do know P.I.s are meant to fade into the background, don't you?" she asked as she sat down. "Not leap up shouting and waving."

"Yeah, but how could a mug as gorgeous as mine ever go unnoticed? It's my curse. Here you are, an Earl Grey and a strawberry Danish; your favourite."

"Raspberry," she said. "But thanks, I'll take strawberry."

"Raspberry? You sure? Yeah, of course, stupid question. You sure that's okay? I can change it."

"No, that's fine," said Laura, breathing in the tea's perfume.

"Great. So, how's your love life?"

"None of your damn business. How's yours?

"I'm married, darling. I haven't got one. How's work? Busy?"

Laura shrugged. "I could be busier. What have you got for me?"

"Ooh, straight to the meat of the matter. No time for chit-chat over breakfast with a friend?"

"Great tie. You lost weight? How's the wife? What contracts have you got for me?" rattled off Laura, then took a sip of her tea to mask her smile.

Ted chuckled. "Fair enough. I have a peach of a contract, and I've saved it just for you. Ten minutes work, or maybe you can stretch it out to twenty, but he knows he has to pay for an hour. Two hundred and fifty dollars, and it's an evening job, so it won't interfere with any corporate contracts. Do I look after you, or what?"

"What's the job?"

"Some guy, two years married, thinks his wife is playing around. He's got money, she's younger than him, yada yada yada. So, he asks her some questions, you tell him if she's lying or not. Bingo."

"A truth and tell? That's a fifty-dollar job, Ted. Why is he prepared to pay so much?"

"He's a businessman. He wants the best, and is used to paying a premium for it. And I thought, who's the best ..."

"Oh, shut up, Ted. I don't have to be a Listener to know you're full of bullshit. What's the catch?"

Ted had the grace to look embarrassed. "Well, there is just one little condition. He hasn't actually got his wife's agreement, as yet. If it's an irrational fear on his part, he'd rather not have her know he suspected her."

"No."

"He'll go higher, I'm sure he will."

"That's not the point, Ted, and you know it. I can't Listen to someone without their consent. I would lose my licence, and I'd have a debt round my neck that would drown me."

"No one would know."

Laura shook her head. "I got audited last night, Ted. The Guild would know, and do you think the authorities would leave you alone? Forget it, you won't get anyone to do this job. I guess you'll just have to do it the old fashioned way, lurking in the bushes with a camera."

"Yeah, well, that would be my preferred solution, but he wants a definitive answer quickly, and above all, cheaply. Oh well, I had to try. No hard feelings?"

"It depends. Was that all you wasted my time for?"

"Since when has sharing breakfast with a friend been a waste of time? Okay, okay," he said quickly, as Laura made to rise. "As it happens, I have two certified depositions I need authenticating this afternoon. Guild minimum. Do I get discount for two?"

"I'll tell you what, Ted, as you're a friend and you did buy me breakfast, I won't charge you any extra for this little stunt. Gimme." Laura opened up a channel on her notepad, and heard the ping as Ted sent her the details.

"Edward," she said, and grinned as Ted winced at the name. "It is always a pleasure to do business with you. See you later." She rose, paused, then snatched the Danish from the plate. "And thanks for breakfast."

Laura made her way over to the Listening Post in the business sector. She sighed as she saw Tony and Judy, then put on her happy face.

"Hiya fellas. How's tricks?"

"A bit slow," said Judy. "Has been for a while now."

"It's the Neilson Committee," added Tony. "Everyone's a bit jumpy about us. They'll be tattooing our foreheads and making us wear yellow stars before long."

Judy laughed and slapped Tony on the leg playfully. "Don't be silly."

"It's true, you'll see."

"God, Laura," said Judy. "It's like living with Doctor Doom sometimes. You don't know how lucky you are."

"I know how lucky I am," said Tony, giving Judy's arm a stroke.

"Ah, bless," she said, placing her hand on his.

Laura hoped her smile was staying in place. Listeners' ability to read body language tended to atrophy, especially if their talent was recognised early. It wasn't that she didn't like them. They were both pleasant enough in their own way. It was just that, when they were together, they cloyed. It wasn't jealousy, Laura was sure of that. After all, women were four times as likely to be a Listener than men, so for these two to find each other was wonderful, really it was. If only it wasn't quite so in-your-face.

"What about you?" said Judy. "Got anything lined up?"

"A couple of depositions for Ted Parkinson this afternoon, that's all."

"Oh my God! You'll never guess what he asked Tony to do yesterday!"

"The unfaithful wife job?" asked Laura. So, she wasn't his first choice. She felt oddly relieved. Maybe he knew she had integrity after all, and she was a last resort for a shady contract.

"He asked you too? The nerve! Tony nearly decked him, he was so angry, didn't you, love?"

"Well, no, I wouldn't have actually hit him, but I was going to report him to the Guild," said Tony.

"Really?" said Laura. "Only he does put a fair amount of legitimate work our way. It'd be a shame for him to be blacklisted."

"That's what I said," agreed Judy. "But we told him no one would touch his offer, even at two hundred."

Laura laughed. "I told him the same, only he was offering me two-fifty. I think he's giving it up as a lost cause."

"So, are you joining us in the hope of a drop-in?" said Tony.

"Later," said Laura. That had been her plan. Businesses often liked to hire Listeners without notice. They thought that this lessened the chance of a business partner bribing a Listener beforehand. There were rumours, but Laura didn't know of any authenticated case of a Guild member being found guilty of that. She wondered if that meant it didn't happen, or that the Guild handled it quietly. Probably the latter. However, she didn't relish the thought of spending her morning in a romance movie.

"I'm going to do the rounds of the brokers first, see if I can charm a contract out of them."

"You can do that here," said Tony.

"Yes, but sometimes it pays to put in a physical appearance, meet them face to face, as it were."

"Oh, does that work?" asked Judy. "Tony, we'll have to give that a try sometime."

"Anyway, good luck," said Laura.

"You too, darling," said Judy. "Oh, but if you're going to talk to them -." She licked the corner of her mouth. "Jam," she said in a stage whisper.

"Oh, now you spoiled my fun," complained Tony. "I wanted to tell her after she'd met the clients."

Judy laughed and slapped Tony's thigh again. "Isn't he awful?" she asked.

"Yes," agreed Laura, wiping the corner of her mouth as she walked away.