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"She means was he intoxicated or under the influence of some drug," Jolie clarified.
Oh. No, I mean I can see when a person is right for another, and the Judge is right for anyone. He's a
good man, a very good man.
Jolie had forgotten about Orlene's talent. Some people had individual magic, such as Gaea's for
enhanced music, and Orlene's magic was to be able to orient on any person or people and tell by a glow
she perceived whether they were suitable for each other. It was interesting that she endorsed the Judge.
He had struck Jolie as a good man, but such impressions could be mistaken.
Well, we'll see how he is when he gets me alone in his house. Vita concluded. You know, I can see why
you'd be sent to watch Orlene, she being related to an Incarnation, but I'm sure not related! What's so
important about a black teen whore?
"I wish I knew," Jolie said.
They relaxed, feeling the lethargy of the pill. It did seem to be countering the drug withdrawal pangs for
Vita.
In the afternoon they were conducted to the formal hearing. Judge Scott sat at his tall desk, in the
traditional robe of the office. The clerk read out the charge, and the Judge dismissed it, with a warning to
Vita not to repeat the offense. It was all done in a minute, and the next defendant was brought up.
They walked out of the courtroom and to the carpet access. Immediately a carpet sailed up, recognizing
Vita. They boarded, and it took off.
Vita peered down. There's the pimp's limo! she thought. So he was waiting for me!
"He was waiting for you," Jolie agreed. "With Spelled H in one hand and a club in the other."
God, I want to go to him! I mean, for the H.
You are off the H! Jolie retorted.
You offered to testify, Orlene thought. You could have gotten that beast locked away. Why didn't you?
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"It's almost impossible to make it stick," Jolie said. "And new pimps and drug runners come in as fast as
the old ones are taken out. It's hardly worth dealing with the minor criminals; it's the big ones the law
wants."
The carpet sailed up and over the city, following the established carpet routes. Jolie peered down, noting
the activities on the tops of the megabuildings. Some were set up as parks, with shrubs and trees
growing, and garden paths, and even fair-sized ponds. Others were set up for sports, with tennis courts,
running tracks, game fields and swimming pools. Some were residential, in the archaic sense: little
country villages set amid winding roads. The best way to get away from the bustle of the big city was to
live on top of it-if you could afford the rentals. Jolie always looked with longing at such developments,
because they reminded her of her origin in medieval times, when isolated villages were most of what
there was. Were she alive again...
You really are from long ago. Vita thought, picking up the thought.
"Yes, I really am," Jolie agreed wistfully. "I would have been long since dead and gone, if I hadn't died."
She smiled, realizing the incongruity of that statement. But it was true: but for the crusade, she would
have lived out her life with Parry, learning magic and growing old, perhaps having children and
grandchildren. Yet she might also have died of one of the periodic plagues, or in childbirth, or some
accident. The average lifetime had been short then. So there were ways in which she was better off now,
as a ghost.
And I thought ghosts were always moaning! Vita commented. You two ghosts aren't spooky at all!
Jolie laughed. "Not at the moment!"
The carpet approached an isolated megabuilding. This one was restricted, meaning that the average
person couldn't enter it without a special pass. People in sensitive positions normally lived in such
buildings: those subject to assassination or harassment, such as government officials, company
presidents, prominent entertainers and, of course, judges. Luna-Senator Kaftan-was exceptional in her
residence in the heart of the city. But, of course, she had special magic protection.
Jolie hoped that the Judge would live on the roof, but was disappointed; his suite was buried deep inside
the building. The carpet accessed it by descending into a central court and flying along a tube that
curved like the inside of some giant serpent. You'd think a judge could do better than this. Vita
remarked.
Not an honest one, Orlene replied.
That seemed to be the key: Judge Scott was not rich. But this residence would be quite secure from
characters like Vita's pimp. It was also not the kind of place from which it would be easy to run.
At last the carpet halted at a spherical chamber. There were several doors, one of which listed the name
ROQUE SCOTT.
Roque! Vita thought, with a giggle in the background.
I like it, Orlene thought.
Oh, I like it too-I just think it's funny!
They got off the carpet, and it flew away, following whatever orders it had been given. They approached
the door, and it opened. A grandmotherly woman stood there.
"You must be Vita," she said. "I'm a V too: Vaasta. Your room's waiting."
She glows too, Orlene thought.
Now, tuning in, Jolie began to see it: a gentle radiance that surrounded the woman. This evidently meant
that she was benign. That was comforting to know.
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The suite was spacious enough, its aspect enhanced by strategically placed mirrors. It had no windows
to the outside, but a magic picture showed a scene of thick foliage and a small puddling stream with tiny
fish. The leaves of the trees moved with the breeze, and it was even possible to reach into it and touch
things, though not to remove them. Vita found it fascinating; she had never had access to gentle magic
like this. Orlene was nostalgic; she had had pictures like this during her life, and shared them with her
lover Norton.
Vaasta showed them the room and found several dresses for them; evidently she had been sent word to
order some in the appropriate size range. Jolie looked at her host in the mirror and approved; she now
looked much more like an innocent girl than a prostitute. As far as Jolie was concerned, that would be
the reality henceforth.
In the evening the carpet brought the Judge home. Jolie presented herself, neatly dressed. "We thank you
for providing us this refuge. Judge Scott," she said.
"Roque," he replied. "Here I am Roque, and you are-which one?"
"Jolie," Jolie said after a momentary hesitation. She had no mortal identification, so that was better.
"You understand, this is an unofficial arrangement," he said. "I freed you in court, and you are not
required to remain here. But I feel it is better for you to be here until your internal questions are
resolved."
So he has young sex on ice. Vita remarked.
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