Chapter 16: Paid in Full

Chapter 16: Paid in Full

"Don’t move the second disc."

Silas held it still. Beneath Evan’s probe, the lower part of the assembly shifted toward the spindle.

"Now move it," Evan said.

"How far?"

"A little."

Silas looked up.

Evan closed his eyes briefly. "Sorry. Toward me until the edges line up. Slowly."

The disc moved. Evan checked the gap, raised a finger, and Silas stopped.

"There. Keep that."

They had been working for less than ten minutes. Silas had already revised his opinion of the twenty-four silver twice.

Evan sat forward on the spare chair, sleeves rolled clear of the mat. He wore a small lens over one eye and had arranged his tools in the order he intended to use them. The regulator’s open casing lay between them, its spindle held above a padded recess by Remote Grasp.

At least the parts were light. Silas barely needed the room’s additional output. Keeping each one where Evan wanted it occupied nearly all his attention.

"First join," Evan said. "You’ll feel it pull inward. Let that happen."

He touched the fitted surfaces with two fingers. A faint line of light appeared at the seam.

The disc drew toward the spindle. Silas loosened his hold, but the ring beneath it moved too, tipping one edge upward.

"Wait."

Evan withdrew his hand immediately.

Silas eased the ring back. The disc was still settling, and correcting one without dragging the other took longer than he liked. He caught himself clenching his jaw and relaxed it.

He stopped when you asked. Take the time.

"Can you undo that join?" he asked.

"It’s only tacked. Yes."

"Leave it for a moment. I think the lower ring needs room to turn."

Evan bent over the lens. "It does. The tab’s catching against the guide." He moved the guide clear with his probe. "Try now."

The ring settled. Silas kept his grip light and waited until Evan had checked all three gaps before letting him continue.

The second tack held.

Evan reached for the next tool, then paused. "Do you need a break before the upper set?"

Silas wanted to say no. He was being paid to sit in a chair and move objects that weighed less than his breakfast. Asking to rest felt embarrassing.

His focus slipped briefly toward the glass beside the wall. One of the wire loops trembled.

"Yes," he said. "Can we put it down?"

Evan brought the padded support beneath the assembly and checked that its joined lower section could bear the weight. They lowered it together.

Silas drank while Evan inspected the unfinished seam. The maker didn’t look impatient. He used the pause to replace a probe with a narrower one.

"What happened to your last helper?" Silas asked.

"Paid him for the afternoon and found another way."

"Which was me."

"Eventually. First I tried making a better holding frame." Evan lifted a small brass jig from his bag. "It works until I need to reach this side. Then the frame is exactly where my hand has to go."

Silas turned it with Remote Grasp. "Make that section removable."

"It is." Evan took it back and lifted out the section. "Then there’s nothing holding the upper disc."

"Ah."

Evan put the jig away. Silas finished his water, relieved that the man didn’t feel obliged to make more of the suggestion.

They resumed with the upper set. Evan’s instructions became more exact as they worked. He named the part before asking for a change, and Silas repeated the direction when two adjustments came close together.

The third disc pulled farther than either of them expected. Silas followed it instead of hauling it back, letting the other holds move around the new position.

Evan leaned so close that his hair nearly touched the casing.

"Hold there."

Silas held. He wanted to scratch his nose. The itch grew worse as Evan checked one gap, then another.

"Mercer."

"Nearly."

"My nose."

Evan glanced up, baffled, then snorted and moved his elbow out of the way. Silas scratched with his free hand without taking his eyes off the assembly.

"Thank you," he muttered.

Evan returned to the seam. "Last join. Same amount of give."

When it took, the upper ring shifted, stopped, and remained where it belonged. Evan eased the casing into position and secured it. Only then did he ask Silas to release his holds, one at a time.

The regulator stayed together.

Evan sat back and removed the lens. A red mark surrounded his eye.

"Now we find out whether it works."

He connected the completed cylinder to a small testing unit. Its supply stayed within the dormitory’s permitted limit; Silas had checked that with him twice. A needle climbed toward a narrow band on the dial.

It wavered below the band.

Silas leaned forward. "Is that—"

"Give it a moment."

The needle rose the last fraction and steadied. Evan adjusted the incoming feed. A second needle moved, but the first remained within the band.

He ran the test again before smiling.

"Good. That’s good."

Silas let his shoulders drop. His hands had been resting on his knees for the entire test.

Evan disconnected the unit, packed the regulator, and opened the commission record on his slate. The completion notice appeared on Silas’s terminal a moment later. Twenty-four silver became available in his spending account.

He checked the amount while Evan fastened the case.

"I may have another one next month," the maker said. "If the buyer likes this."

"Same arrangement?"

"If it’s the same design. I’ll send the drawing first."

"Do that," Silas said.

Evan left with the case tucked firmly under his arm. Silas waited until he had locked the door, then opened the chair listing.

The first buyer had never paid. The seller had answered his message that morning: still available, two silver for delivery if he couldn’t collect it himself.

Silas bought it before another buyer could develop better taste.

It took two days to arrive. He spent part of the wait practicing beside the desk, with the blanket spread over the landing area. Directing a ball there from one angle became reliable. Doing it from the opposite side required him to alter how the force traveled around the dish.

He tried a firmer throw only after the gentler ones went where he intended. It struck the boundary hard enough to make him flinch, skimmed around the dish, and landed on the blanket.

Silas retrieved it. The next throw got through. He reduced the force, adjusted the last mark, and worked back up.

[Boundary Ward — Assimilation: 65%.]

He was examining the line when the furniture delivery notice arrived.

The chair came through the door sideways, carried by two students who asked him to move the spare chair, then the desk, then please hold the door a little wider. He checked the upholstery and paid the agreed transport fee before they left.

Four silver remained from the commission. He left it in the account.

The new chair fit beside the window. Silas lowered himself into it, shifted back, and waited for the familiar wooden edge to find his spine.

It didn’t.

He stayed there for several minutes before remembering his drink was still on the desk. Remote Grasp brought it over. The armrest was wide enough after all.

Evan’s message arrived while he was choosing something to watch.

Buyer accepted it. I’ll contact you about the next one.

Silas replied that he would check his schedule. Then he put his feet up and resumed browsing.