"Asset classification," he said. "Species."
"You're in the wrong section of your books, Inspector." Kaiden said it without any edge. "Pebble isn't an asset, and there's no species line for him either. Under the partnership agreement, every non-human sentient under my authority is a legal person in this country. Pebble's a resident, same as anyone else on the roster."
Vespera produced the relevant clause from her folio and held it out to Hobbes until he took it.
Hobbes read it. Then he looked up at the resident, and the resident lowered his head through the air toward him and read him back, one long pull of breath from tie to shoes. The pull rearranged his pages and untucked the entire left side of his shirt.
Pebble sneezed, politely, and returned his head to its post.
Hobbes re-clipped his pages and tucked his shirt back in. His pen resumed as if the weather had been procedural.
"Incident record."
