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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE


Slowly, ominously, Nask turned back to face me. “What did you speak?” he demanded quietly.

“Sorry—I suppose I should have mentioned that earlier,” I said. “They’re the remnants of a gang headed by the late Francisc Pacadacz. I had a run-in with him a few days ago. I suggested they leave the planet, but it looks like they decided to stick around and try for some vengeance.”

“And you did indeed come alone?”

“I did.”

Some of the tension seemed to fade from Nask’s stance. “A quarrel with you should not impact upon me,” he concluded. “I wish you luck in finding an escape from them.”

“Thank you,” I said. “But I’m afraid it’s not that easy. They know I booked a private room, from which they’ll infer I’m meeting with someone, who they’ll probably assume is either a friend or someone to whom I’ve passed useful information.”

Nask’s eyes narrowed. “In which event they are not interested only in revenge against you.”

“It’s a possibility,” I said. “More importantly, you still need me alive, because in eight days I’m going to give you information that will resolve your mandate.”

“You speak nonsense,” he bit out. “You lay out an incentive in hopes that I will help your escape.”

“Not at all,” I assured him. “It’s just that I need to bring other participants to Fidelio in order to confirm the information I’m promising, and they can’t arrive for another eight days. Don’t worry, I really don’t need your help in escaping this place—I just thought you should know people with guns might try to interfere with you on your way out.”

“You do not need my assistance? You, a lone human?”

“Well, a bit of a diversion would be nice,” I conceded. “But really, all you have to do is walk out the front door and head to whatever vehicle you came in. The thugs will provide the rest of it. Oh, and you can shoot anyone with a gun who tries to give you trouble.”

For a moment Nask stared at me in silence. “They will not dare to stop a Patthaaunuth,” he said at last. “Very well. Eight days. In this same place?”

“It’ll be a slightly different venue,” I said. “But close to here. I’ll message you the location.” I lifted a finger. “One other thing, if I may. I know the Patth have a backdoor access code for Everlock vehicle security systems. Would you mind giving that to me? I promise to use it only once and then erase it.”

“You ask a great deal of me, Mr. Roarke,” Nask said, his voice going even more ominous. “We are not allies. We are not friends. Yet you presume upon me as if we were both.”

“Yes, I do,” I admitted. “But that’s because I know what your mandate is, and I’m as anxious as you are to see it resolved.”

“I doubt that strongly.”

“Nevertheless, I assure you it’s true,” I said. “May I have the code?”

Nask looked at one of the Iykams. “Feed this number into your phone,” he said reluctantly. “Activate when within ten meters of your target vehicle.”

I got out my phone. “Go ahead.”

He rattled off a string of twenty numbers. I punched them in, double-checked the list, and nodded. “Thank you,” I said, putting the phone away. “I’ll erase it within the hour.”

“No need,” he said. “It will erase itself after a single use.”

“Of course,” I said. “No problem—I really do only need it once. Now, the east side door, the one away from the parking lot, has the best cover if you’re planning to make a dash for it. The west door will take you straight into the lot, where I presume your vehicle is parked.”

Nask drew himself up. “I shall leave via the main entrance,” he said firmly. “A Patthaaunuth does not run or hide like a frightened prey animal.”

“Main entrance it is,” I said, nodding. Which was the door I’d hoped he would take in the first place. “I’ll need a couple of minutes, then I’ll be ready to back you up.”

“Backup is unnecessary,” Nask said, turning toward the doorway. Two of the Iykams moved quickly to get there ahead of him, setting up as a vanguard, while the third moved into rearguard position. “I shall await your message,” he added over his shoulder. “If you survive this night.”

“Good luck to you, too,” I called after him.

I waited until the last Iykam closed the door behind them. Then, I gathered the six dinner plates, four of the steak knives, and the long tablecloth and hurried for the door. It really was a shame that I couldn’t stay for dinner.

* * *

Thirty seconds later, slipping through the stream of waitstaff moving briskly back and forth between the kitchen and the main dining areas, I was on the roof.

Bounty hunters in general don’t like rooftops. The enhanced visibility can be useful, but given that sight lines run both directions it also means the observer is at heightened risk of being spotted. Add in the fact that most roofs have little cover and limited exit capability, and it’s easy to see why hunters prefer to keep their feet solidly on the ground.

Me, I love rooftops. They offer options that a lot of people never think of.

I kept bent over as I hurried north, heading toward the awning over Edgeling Kai’s main entrance. I got there and crouched down behind the roof’s half-meter-high parapet just as Nask and his three bodyguards came striding into view past the edge of the awning. As they headed toward the street three men detached themselves from a couple of shadows on either side of the walkway and angled casually to intercept.

I didn’t know what the Patth rules of engagement were regarding threats or perceived threats, but I knew I could comfortably get through the rest of my life without ever again having to see someone get blasted by an Iykam corona gun. Fortunately, I was in position to at least blunt a little of whatever the thugs had planned.

Half rising from my crouch, I took one of the dinner plates in hand and Frisbeed it at the nearest thug.

I’d been aiming for the center of his back, but I was seriously out of practice with low-tech combat and the plate instead slammed into the back of his right knee. But the end result was the same. The thug went down like a dropped bag of laundry, his hand hitting the pavement hard as he broke his fall, the impact shaking loose the nasty-looking gun he’d just drawn.

The two nearest Iykams spun around as the weapon bounced its way along the ground, their own corona guns leveled. But the attackers’ focus had been wrenched away from Nask to the more immediate task of finding and dealing with this unanticipated attack.

Unfortunately for them, I was already crouched down again, my head presenting only a small and easily missed bump in the otherwise smooth line of the parapet. I watched their eyes swing past Edgeling Kai’s entrance to the parking lot.

And with their attention once again elsewhere, I half rose and threw another plate.

My aim was better this time, the plate slamming edge-first into the second thug’s abdomen. He went down alongside his companion, gasping for air. Two more thugs were hurrying in from the side as backup, and this pair had enough presence of mind to add the nearby rooftops into their visual search pattern.

But once again there was nothing for them to see. I was already headed back toward the center of the roof, crouched as far over as I could while still keeping up a good pace. Once I was completely out of sight, I turned to my right and headed for the west side of the building, which overlooked the twin parking lots. I reached the parapet on that side and carefully looked over it.

There were two more thugs below me, presumably the ones who’d been watching the exit on that side of the restaurant. They were hurrying toward the front of the building, their eyes darting back and forth as they watched for another of the sneak attacks that had already taken out two of their companions. I headed south along the edge, moving toward the rear of the building, watching the thugs as they loped away in the opposite direction. Another few seconds, and this entire side of the building would be deserted.

And then, in perfect unison, both thugs skidded to a halt and spun around, their necks craned to look up at the roof. They spotted me and raised their guns—

A second later both dodged to the sides as I sent two more dinner plates whistling in their direction.

I ducked down again, pausing to take a good look at the parking lots. Just visible through the line of trees separating the two sections I could see one of the four vans I’d spotted earlier in the municipal lot.

I smiled tightly. Sight lines worked both ways, and whoever was directing the attack had apparently just at that moment spotted me through the trees as I moved around on the roof.

As my father used to say, When you’re the mouse part of a cat-and-mouse game, spotting the cat is a good half of the job.

A distant, crackling noise wafted across the night breeze, and I felt my smile turn into a wince. One of the Iykams had apparently felt the need to open fire.

Which now offered the remaining thugs a choice between massing for a counterattack, running for their lives, or shifting their focus exclusively to me. Whichever way that decision fell, it was well past time to get off this roof.

Once again, I headed toward the center to get clear of their view, as well as to suggest that I was going for the stairs. With the thugs’ command station to the west and the main battle to the north, the south and east were my best exit choices.

So instead, I made an about-face and headed back to the west.

But to the southwest this time, toward a spot where I knew the sight line from the van would again be blocked by one of the trees. I reached the parapet, confirmed that no one was beneath me or in sight, and got to work.

The ground was about seven meters below me, an intimidating drop for anyone who wanted to keep their knees and ankles intact. Luckily, I had three meters’ worth of Edgeling Kai tablecloth slung over my shoulder. I laid it out with its edge at the base of the parapet, anchored it solidly to the roof with the steak knives, and tossed the rest of it off the edge. I rolled off the parapet and slid down the cloth toward the ground, my skin itching with the knowledge that for the next few seconds I would be a perfect target for anyone who decided to take a shot.

But everyone was apparently busy elsewhere. I reached the end of the tablecloth and safely dropped the rest of the way to the ground.

I turned and headed south, jogging a hundred meters to the next street, which defined the edge of the municipal parking lot. There I turned west, and another hundred meters later curved into a big circle that would take me back into the municipal lot.

The van was still dark and quiet as I slipped through the other parked vehicles and came up behind it. Most criminal gangs I’d gone up against had been smart enough to invest in the allegedly pickproof Everlock security protocol on their buildings and vehicles. Hopefully, Pacadacz hadn’t been the exception.

I’d find out soon enough. Pulling out my phone, I triggered Nask’s code. Then, DubTrub in hand, I stepped up to the van’s rear doors and pulled the handle.

Pacadacz was indeed not the exception. The door swung open without resistance, revealing the backs of three heads, two in the front seats and one more behind them. “Don’t turn around,” I said.

The rear-seat head started to turn, stopped as I tapped the DubTrub’s metal barrel warningly against the van’s metal ceiling. I climbed inside, pulled the door closed behind me, and frog-walked my way forward until I was behind the rear seat. “Correct me if I’m wrong, Balic,” I said, pressing my gun barrel gently against the back of his head, “but didn’t I tell you to get off the planet?”

“Roarke?” he asked, a frown in his voice.

“Like there’s anyone else on Fidelio who gives a flying leap about you,” I countered. “I asked you a question.”

“What do you want me to say?” Balic growled. “You killed our boss. We can’t just run away after something like that. Besides, you still had all those gems.”

“Oh, come on,” I scoffed. “I wasn’t born last month, let alone yesterday. A gang with your resources and interests isn’t going to risk stirring up a city’s worth of badgemen for a measly half-million commarks’ worth of jewelry. Why are you really here?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Fine—have it your way,” I said. “I suppose I can’t have you talking about me to anyone afterward, so I guess it’s time to say good-bye.” I pressed the muzzle of the DubTrub a little harder against his head. “Good-bye, Balic.”

“No, no, wait—wait,” Balic said hurriedly. “Fine. We were hired to do a job.”

“Which was . . . ?”

He muttered something under his breath. “We were supposed to pick up Easton Dent,” he said reluctantly. “He said Dent was supposed to be here to make a handoff to a local fence. We got to the fence, found out where Dent was meeting him, and went there instead.”

“What happened to the fence?”

Balic snorted. “What do you think?”

“Right,” I muttered. Really, what had I thought? “So why are you still here?”

“We didn’t finish the job,” Balic said. “We got a message saying you hadn’t left Fidelio, and then another saying you’d booked a room at Edgeling Kai. We thought Dent might be with you, so we came out.”

“I gather you weren’t expecting a Patth?”

A small twitch went through him. “No. We were just told to grab Dent if he showed up.”

“And me?”

He snorted again. “You were just a bonus.”

“Like the Patth.”

“Yeah.” He huffed out a grunt. “Who were those things, anyway? And what the hell were they shooting?”

“People and things you don’t ever want to mess with again,” I said. “That’s all you need to know. How did your client know I hadn’t left the planet?”

“He said you weren’t on any of the ship passenger lists.”

“Astute of him,” I said. “This genius have a name?”

“I never talked to him. It all came as texts.”

Not unexpected, but also not very useful. “All right then. Fact number one: Dent was never here. Fact number two: he’s gone, permanently and forever beyond your reach.”

“Nothing is forever.”

“You can count this one as close enough,” I said. “Whatever your client wanted with him, it’s not going to happen. Ditto for whatever he might have wanted with me. Double ditto for whatever he might have wanted with the Patth who just left. I trust that the bodies of your men are all the underlining that you need?”

Balic hissed out a breath. “I suppose you want me to clean those up, too?”

“You’re the reason they’re there,” I reminded him. “But if you want to leave bodies with enough undamaged DNA left for the badgemen to trace them back to you, be my guest. Either way, it’s time for you to fade into the sunset. Clear?”

“It was clear when you put that gun to my head,” Balic growled. “You don’t need to beat it into the ground.”

“That’s what I thought the last time we had a conversation,” I said. “But you proved to be something of a slow learner. Now, I’m guessing that after our last interaction you’re still not too mobile, so you probably aren’t going to follow or otherwise try to inconvenience me. Do I need to shoot your driver and spotter to make sure they also aren’t a problem?”

The two men in the front seat visibly stiffened. “No, we’re good,” Balic said grimly. “Don’t know what the client will say.”

“Tell him you fulfilled as much of the job as you could, and that you’re done,” I said. “If he still wants Dent he can find someone else to take another crack at him. Whether you offer him a refund is up to you.”

I tapped the side of his cheek with my free hand. “One other thing. The next time I see you I will shoot first, and I’ll shoot to kill. That goes for each and every one of your thugs, too.”

Balic snorted. “Most bounty hunters would have done that already. With a lot less talking.”

“Oh, I’ve killed plenty of times,” I assured him. “I just hate sitting around badgeman stations filling out paperwork. Have a pleasant evening.”

Keeping my gun trained on them, I backed up to the rear doors and popped them open. A quick look to make sure a crowd of unfriendlies hadn’t gathered behind the van, and I was once again walking briskly through the night air.

Maybe Balic had finally had enough, or maybe he was just leery of trying to come up with a new plan on the fly, especially now that a Patth was involved. Either way, I made it down the block without trouble to a parked runaround, and a minute later was once again cruising along the streets of Malfatti City.

But not toward Erymant Temple and Pollux. I wouldn’t have gone directly anyway, not with Nask on the loose. Protocol or not, mandates or not, I could imagine him even now licking whatever the Patth used for lips in anticipation of having a brand-new portal to wave under his Director General’s nose. But before I could weave a trail-shaking route home, I had some calls to make.

With the business day over and the evening mealtime winding to a close, the local StarrComm center was getting busy again as city residents lined up to make more personal calls across the Spiral. I added my name to the list and found a seat where I could watch both the door and the entrance to the booth area. For once I wasn’t in a hurry, and in fact had some serious thinking to do. By the time my name was called, I was confident that I finally had all the pieces.

Only time would tell whether I knew how to fit all those pieces together.

* * *

Dent was asleep again when I finally rolled over the threshold into Pollux’s receiver module and sealed the hatch behind me. Selene was sitting in one of the two camp chairs I’d brought from Popanilla, the Blago I’d left her lying ready in her lap. “How did it go?” she asked softly.

“About as expected,” I said, walking around the module hull toward her. “Nask identified the Patth Dent shot, made some noises about how his mandate wouldn’t let him do anything about a portal even if he bumped into one, and left without threatening me.”

“And Balic’s men did show up?”

“With Balic even personally running the operation from inside a van,” I said, easing down into the chair beside her. Suddenly, I was feeling immensely weary. “He must have been swimming in pain meds.”

“Yes, I can smell them,” Selene said. “A wonder he could talk straight.”

“Oh, he talked just fine,” I assured her. “I just hope he remembers this evening clearly enough to take some life-lessons from it.”

“One can always hope,” Selene said. “I assume Nask’s lack of threats means he didn’t suspect you were planning to play Balic off him if he gave you trouble?”

“Not as far as I know,” I said. “And really, it was always a toss-up as to whether I’d need Balic to run interference against Nask or Nask to run interference against Balic. Just depended on which side decided to play rough.”

“Yes,” Selene murmured, her nostrils sniffing hard. “Gregory . . . am I smelling . . . ?”

“Burned flesh, yes,” I confirmed, my stomach tightening. “It was a ways away, but I imagine that smell gets everywhere. Let me rest a minute, then I’ll grab a change of clothes and head over to Castor to clean up.”

“There’s no hurry,” she said. “Like you said, it was distant. Before we go to sleep, though, it would be good. Balic’s thugs?”

“I heard at least two shots,” I said. “Don’t know if there were more—I was sort of focused on other things—or whether one might have been a warning shot.”

“Yes.” Selene shivered. “That was one of the life-lessons you mentioned?”

“Probably the biggest,” I said. “Hopefully, even if Balic doesn’t learn it, the rest of his men will. The man may be stubborn, but he won’t get far alone.”

I stood up and walked over to the stack of supplies I’d brought. “Oh, and I went to StarrComm and sent out the invitations,” I added over my shoulder. “I figure everyone will be able to get here in eight days.”

“Whether they actually come would be another question,” Selene pointed out.

“Oh, they’ll come,” I promised. “All of them. Dent’s presence pretty much guarantees that.”

* * *

The eight days passed slowly. Dent mostly spent the time recovering and mending in Pollux’s receiver module, while Ixil spent most of his time in his camp outside Castor or else tramping through the woods to Trailhead and Aerie on the various errands I gave him. Neither he nor Dent was exactly thrilled by my plan, but between my logic and Selene’s far better persuasive skills we were able to get them to grudgingly go along with it.

Those same skills also came in handy when I had her call Malfatti City’s Historical Preservation Department and tell them about the damage to the lecture hall wall that had been caused by the misfire of Dent’s remote DubTrub quick-load. Given the sheer number of buildings and artifacts on the Erymant Temple grounds they were reluctant to spend any of their limited budget on a building that maybe one in a thousand tourists even bothered to step into. Despite their protestations, though, when I checked out the hall the day before the meeting I found a tall scaffold in place against the wall, both the scaffold and the chairs around it covered by large loose drop cloths to protect against whatever they were putting on the stone up there to repair or at least disguise the damage.

The ceramic, glue, glaze, or whatever had also left a lingering hint of exotic aroma in the air. I hoped it wouldn’t interfere with Selene’s sense of smell, and made a mental note to stop by the hall a couple of hours before our guests were due to arrive and prop open the door.

And when everything was finally ready, there was nothing to do but wait. To wait, and to run over the details of the plan a few more times.

And to hope like hell that we all lived through it.


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