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MELATI AND ARI followed Jao and Desi along the corridor, into the lift and down to the main foyer of the hotel. A few people came the other way but none questioned or seemed to give the group a second thought, oddly-dressed though they were.
The front office was empty—which meant no questions from Li Wei’s sister about where he was—and from there they melted into the steady stream of people going to and from the docks. Miners lined up for work. A construct was leading a group of older women, all small, black-haired and dressed in loose trousers. A couple of them met Melati’s eyes as she passed. They looked tired and sad and reminded her of the stories Grandma told about arriving at New Jakarta, frightened and weak from travel in weightlessness.
Jao sat down on one of the benches in f
