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[ Yet. He hasn't appeared to murder the clone yet. Maybe this phone call is being tracked, and in a moment he will appear... ]

Uh, yeah. Of course. There are generous lines of credit for all members of your household - yourself, Miles, and Cordelia. Possibly excessively generous.

[ ...Why the hell did he say that? Why the hell did he just tell the Butcher that he thinks it'd be appropriate to choke off his family's finances? He's going to get choked in return, isn't he? ]

[Fortunately, he's so used to not listening to the pithy comments at the end of his financial summaries that it sort of... slips by without even a second thought. It's an accountant thing, clearly.]

Ah. I hadn't known. [That WAS interesting. There's a pause of consideration.] We'll revisit. For now, is Agent Tex' salary coming from the Dendarii accounts or the family one?

[ ...Oh. He'd expected more...temper in response. He hesitates, waiting for any explosion in response to him getting mouthy, but...No. None.

Okay.

He swallows and continues on, his terror starting to fade. ]

Uh, Agent Texas? Yeah. Her money is out of the Dendarii accounts. Why do you ask?

[As it goes, it gets increasingly harder to ignore the so very familiar voice, especially as it touched more common terms and phrases...]

Her situation has changed. She'll be receiving an across the board increase as well as a personal stipend.

It can come out of mine.

[ He can't help but frown. It's...Well. It's probably his duty as their financial manager to check with Gregor, or Miles, or someone, about this. But on the other hand - would either of them ever gainsay the Butcher? Gregor's under his thumb, and Miles completely overawed by his famous father...he guesses. Who really knows.

Well. ]

What's the cause of this increase?

[Clearly, Gregor would never order Aral down. Too well trained of a figurehead.]

She's become an Armswoman in my service, and will be taking up residence in accordance. I can send the contract along.

[ A grunt of acknowledgment. ]

She's leaving the Dendarii, then? She won't be paid out of that fund any longer?

As far as budget is concerned, yes. Any bonuses and non receipted expenses will have to go through Gregor, as usual.

That might be good. It'll free up some operating expenses.

In more ways than one. [Aral's tone was dry. He was quite aware of Miles' use of bonuses as a tool for communication. Unconsciously, it slips out, as if he was ribbing Miles instead of a random, hired man.]

The paperwork will follow, send me anything that needs attention.

[ He didn't understand the joke. What's stupid is that he could just acknowledge the request, sign off, and never fucking talk to Aral Vorkosigan ever again, but his curiosity gets the better of him. ]

In more ways than one? What do you mean?

Surely you've noticed the rather erratic nature of bonuses from the Dendarii?

[ A low laugh of despair confirms that yes. Yes, he has. ]

I'm half convinced a fair amount of them were attempts at apologies.

Likely quite successful.

Apologies. For what?

Hm. I can only speculate. [The voice was disarming, far more than it should be. He knows, absolutely that this isn't who it sounds like, but it's harder to convince simple instinctual reactions anything to do with logic.

Still... private affairs and interpersonal dynamics were another thing entirely... And one he was never particularly good at to begin with.] Either way, I expect it will be quite a bit more regulated now.

Yeah, it will be.

[ And...it's strange. Aral Vorkosigan's manner is...It's not that he's easy to talk to or anything like that. He's gruff. But he's also to the point. Talking to him feels like talking business. It's disarming. So with blunt honesty, the clone says: ]

His habit of just treating the company funds like he would treat his own funds makes the books really messy. Clear revenue flows, clear expenditure flows. That lets you see where costs can be eliminated and a better profit turned. [ And, with less concern than he should probably show, he adds: ] Besides, it's sort of embezzlement.

[There's a faint dismissive sound at embezzlement.] I can't imagine any shareholders pressing charges there.

Ah, as for the cost report- I wasn't aware they made a profit at all.

[ Dismissively: ] They barely do.

But they will.

You sound confident. Your plan?

[ He grunts. ]

To do the job they hired me for. And do it well. That's it. It's not going to take any dramatic overhauls to change their profit structure. It's just going to take a number of small changes.

[ A little sardonically: ]

Not every problem needs to be solved by Miles Vorkosigan-level brilliance. Sometimes it can be solved by competence.

[ And then he remembers who he's talking to and snaps his mouth shut. ]

[Amazingly enough....................... dry humor meets the comment instead of that deadly whisper. The tone is exceptionally fond, but the talk is definitely shit.]

Ah. I see you've been working with him directly.

Uh -

[ He swallows nervously, trying to figure out what that tone is. He...never really heard that tone while being forced to listen to Vorkosigan's public speeches. It's...friendly? Good-humored? Maybe? But he just insulted Vorkosigan's beloved son... ]

Yeah. I mean - Yeah. I could be wrong, I don't know him that well, but he does seem to think that...he can provide the inspiration and everyone else will just take care of the shitwork.

[There's a pause here. The young man (with Miles' voice) seemed to have found a line drawn, a boundary, and shoved at it.

It was intensely familiar. His tone is far drier this time.]

Hm. Mr. Kane, have you ever had a commanding officer?

What?

[ Terror lances through him. All of it, held at bay while they settled into a relatively harmonious conversation, flooding back hard and bitter and cold. Shit - why would he ask that? What does he know? What has he figured out?

He forces himself to speak. ]

Uh, no...No. I'm, uh, not military.

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