Cortin had gotten used to an Inquisitor's normal isolation, but she hadn't expected it to be this extreme. It was fine with her, though; she'd rather have her own place. "I gather I won't be expected to do much entertaining or go to many parties, then." "No, Excellency, though you will of course receive all the usual invitations. The only functions you will actually be expected to appear at will be ones hosted by His Majesty, and you are free to miss those if you are in the midst of an interrogation. He has instructed me to inform you that your work is to take priority over anything else, and that you are to contact him personally at any time if you believe you have obtained valuable information." "I'm not to report to him, then?" Cortin was both relieved and a little disappointed at that. "Not immediately, Excellency; as I said, your work is to take priority, and there are four prisoners in the holding cells awaiting the attentions of the High King's Inquisitor." Cortin smiled, changing her plans for the evening's entertainment. "In that case, I'll pass on the rest of the tour for now. Captain Odeon, would you do me a favor?" Odeon nodded, grinning. "Call Major Illyanov and tell him no guests tonight, right?" "Right, then join me downstairs." She thought for a moment, then asked Brady, "What shape are they in?" "Untouched, to the best of my knowledge, Excellency." Four, and none softened up. Cortin nodded to herself, pleased, then asked, "What's the setup like down there? Colonel Bradford said one state-of-the-art suite, other conventional ones." "Yes, Excellency. There are five complete interrogation suites, though only Suite Alpha--yours, of course--has the highly sophisticated equipment." "Thank you." Cortin turned to Chang. "Lieutenant, would you ask Lieutenant Bain to join me after supper?" When she agreed, Cortin turned back to Brady. "Let's go." Someone with a sense of humor she appreciated had posted signs in the prisoners' passage showing the way to the dungeon, and one over its door quoting the ancient poet Dante: "Abandon hope, all ye who enter here." They stopped there, and Bradford gave her a set of keys. "My responsibilities end at this door, Your Excellency. Enforcement Service personnel from the Detention Center are responsible for caring for the prisoners and cleaning up after you; the first is done at midday, and they are on call for the other. Now that you have assumed your duties, no one else will enter except by your order or with your permission." "What about record films of the interrogations?" "That is handled by the Palace security monitors, Excellency." "Fine. What about spare keys?" "There is a set for the Enforcement personnel I mentioned." "We'll need three more, then. One each for Captain Odeon and Lieutenant Bain, and one for anyone else in the team." "I will see to it. By Your Excellency's leave?" "Granted."