Tzadi hesitated; then said, "Except for one. Just one. And does it make
sense to expect that one to come to this place of all the places in the
world?"
The waiter's face was grim. "I ... I find it a very painful concept,
sir. I know it was bound to happen, that it was the logical goal, and
still...."
"Yes," Tzadi said. "Now please give us the bill."
The waiter wrote quickly and tore the sheet from his pad. He said,
"That one, sir ... is he protected?"
"No," Tzadi said. "The majority say he must go."
"Well, they surely know what is best. But I...." He sighed and walked
away.
"I too," Tzadi murmured. "I too."
"What was _that_ all about?" Derrence asked. He was preoccupied with
his own problem, but had heard enough to be puzzled. "You two sounded
like a bad mystery movie; members of the underground meeting in enemy
territory."
"Something like that," Tzadi said.
"One what?" Derrence asked. "You said there was only one. And what did
he have to do with a waiter offering us credit on an unfinished meal?
And why...."
"We are members of a rather strange religious order," Tzadi said,
looking at Derrence with unblinking intensity. "The objects of our
worship are just about extinct. Except for one. I recognized this
waiter as practicing a certain ritual ... well, suffice it to say I
told him we have run out of gods."
"Except for one?"
"Yes. One. Just one. And soon that one...."
"One what? Is it an animal?"
"Yes, an animal."
"How could he expect an animal to come to a restaurant?"
"As man is an animal."
"Then it's a man?"
"Yes, a man."
"To hell with this!" Derrence said, getting to his feet. "You're
playing with me! I don't know why, but you're...."
* * * * *
Tzadi was also standing. "Please do not shout, Der." His eyes darted
around the room. "No one here is shouting. You will be noted."
"Noted?" Derrence snorted. "Why the hell don't you learn to speak
English! You may have me in the palm of your hand, but you don't speak
well enough to be a clerk junior grade!"
"You are right. It is one of the reasons I need mental improvement."
Derrence reached for his wallet. Tzadi said, "Allow me, Der, please. I
feel I have upset you and caused you to have a bad lunch."
Derrence had to laugh at that. He was confused, and through the
confusion a strange new fear was growing, but still he had to laugh.
"To put it mildly," he said, and walked away.
He returned to the office without waiting for Tzadi. Mercy was at her
desk, typing one of his memos. She glanced up and smiled. "Nice lunch,
Mr. Cale?"