"The cross will help," said Spider. "When Rakkim gets back he can turn it over to the president. Then Brandt can present it to the Belt president in a formal ceremony. Prove to the people of the Belt that Brandt's statement wasn't just words."
"The cross will do more than affirm Brandt's good intentions," said Sarah. "You have no idea the symbolic power it has for Christians."
Spider shrugged.
"I haven't heard anything from Rakkim in days," said Leo. "Has he contacted you?"
Sarah shook her head.
"Are you worried?" asked Leo.
Sarah went back to the parapet, looked down on the kids playing. "Always."
"You should learn to relax, Ibrahim," said the Old One. "Enjoy life."
"I am busy insuring my salvation." Ibrahim edged closer to his father as the crowd surged outside the Mighty Neptune Hotel and Casino, thousands of people pressed up against the railing surrounding the expanse of blue water. "Can we not leave this place?"
"Las Vegas is the happiest place on earth, that's what everyone says." Like many in the crowd the Old One carried a plastic trident and wore a seashell crown on his head. "Aren't you happy?"
"We've been here a week and I've hated every minute of it," said Ibrahim.
"I like this city and its endless enthusiasm. It makes me feel...it makes me feel young again. Hopeful. Have fun, Ibrahim. Life is short."
The crowd roared as Moby Dick surfaced from the center of the lake, the white whale spouting water two hundred feet into the air, a rainbow mist in the twilight. Japanese-made, of course. They made the best creatures.
The Old One cheered along with the crowd, waved his trident overhead. "Smile, my son, what you see before you is the handiwork of Allah."
"Father."
The Old One swept the trident across the water. "Over thirty billion gallons of freshwater. The largest man-made lake in the world, right here in the middle of the desert. Drained an aquifer to fill it and keep it filled, but did that stop the builders? No, it did not. They simply found another aquifer and piped it in. Where does such ambition and expertise come from other than Allah?"
Moby Dick rushed toward them, dove, its tail fluke kicking up a vast wave that broke over the crowd, drenching them.
The crowd howled with delight, none of them louder than the Old One, his clothes soaked, water dripping off his nose and ears.
Ibrahim looked miserable, his shirt soggy.
"I should have left you back in Miami," said the Old One.
"Doubtless you would have had a better time with the whore," muttered Ibrahim.
"Don't speak that way of your sister."
"My half sister," said Ibrahim.
"Baby is blood of my blood, as are you."
"Father--"
The Old One hooted as the Pequod, a full-sized, three-masted sailing ship, emerged from the casino and out onto the lake, sails catching the wind. Captain Ahab strode the deck with his peg leg, commanding the sailors while a tattooed man with a harpoon took a position near the bow. A tourist beside them hoisted a small boy onto his shoulders so he could see better, the boy wearing a pirate hat and waving a plastic scimitar.
"Avast, matey!" the Old One shouted at the child, shaking his trident.
The boy stared at him, then turned back to the Pequod.
"I hope you know what you're doing with Brandt," said Ibrahim. "His speech today--"
"Brandt's irrelevant. He could barely stand up without Amir beside him."
"Amir is irrelevant without General Kidd," said Ibrahim.
The Old One glanced at his son, then turned away, peering at the surface of the water, trying to determine exactly where the whale would resurface. As often as he had seen the show he could never be sure. The whale's central processor used random selection to heighten the excitement. Leo could probably work out the math to predict its exact appearance, but...He jabbed a finger at the lake. "Thar she blows!"
Moby Dick shot straight up not too far from the spot he had indicated, twisting in the air before landing in the water with a huge splash. The wave raced across the lake, sent the Pequod bobbing, Captain Ahab fighting to retain his balance.
The crowd whistled and applauded as the whale headed for the ship.
"I fear that you underestimate Aztlan, Father," whispered Ibrahim, water still dripping from his beard. "Their air force rolled back the Central American military in less than a week, and two days of aerial bombardment was enough to convince Venezuela to cede Aztlan their offshore oil wells."
Moby Dick picked up speed, the enormous sperm whale rushing through the water. On the Pequod, the tattooed sailor reared back with his harpoon.
"Study your history," said the Old One, watching the great white whale charge the sailing ship. "In 1967, the Israelis destroyed the entire Egyptian air force in one single afternoon. The whole war was lost while the Egyptian commanders sipped tea."
The tattooed sailor launched his harpoon deep into the white whale, but Moby Dick barely slowed, crashing into the Pequod midship, rending the wood planking. The crowd fell silent as the ship split in half, started to sink, the child beside them clutching his father's hair while Moby Dick slowly circled.
The Old One looked at Ibrahim. "So tell me, boy...do you think we are any less capable of smiting our enemies than Jews?"
"I...I just feared we were taking an unnecessary risk, that's all," said Ibrahim hurriedly.
"I'm leaving for Seattle tonight to ensure the takeover proceeds smoothly in the weeks ahead." The Old One scanned the crowd. "I want you to go back to Miami."
"Father, please--"
"Seattle is rainy, my son," said the Old One. "You might catch your death of cold there. I would never forgive myself."
CHAPTER 45
"How can you drive in this slop?" said Baby as the rain beat against the windshield, the wipers barely able to keep up. "It's raining cats, dogs and every other animal on the ark."
Rakkim leaned forward, blinking in the glare from the oncoming headlights.
Baby gnawed a pork rib thick with meat, takeout from a barbecue joint about ten miles back. "Might as well look for a motel. Even if we made it to the airport tonight, no way they're going to have flights leaving for Miami in this mess."
"You're probably right."
"Baby's probably right? That's a first." Seat tilted back, Baby propped her long legs on the dash. She tugged at her short shorts, the inside of her tanned thighs glowing in the red light from the instrument panel. "I must be getting to you, Rikki."
Rakkim glanced at her, then back at the road.
"You can admit it." Baby scraped her front teeth along the curve of the rib, peeling off meat. She had a tiny smear of barbecue sauce above her lip. "I won't tell anyone."
Rakkim smiled.
"I saw that," said Baby. "I got you now."
Rakkim reached over, snatched the last chunk of cornbread from the basket in her lap. She went to slap his hand, but he was too quick.
Thunder crashed in the distance, lightning zigzagging across the night. The rain came down even harder now--a red neon sign flashing Kim's Cabin shimmered through the downpour as though it were underwater. Like one of the inundated restaurants in New Orleans that Moseby had talked about, sea urchins pincushioning the stools and counters, moray eels curled up in the open cash registers. Rakkim was sorry he never had a chance to dive in the sunken city. Moseby promised to take him some day, promised to show him the spots--shopping mall grottos alive with iridescent fish, and coral reefs festooned along miles of parked cars. Beautiful, terrible things, Moseby had said. Never going to happen now. Another thing Rakkim was sorry for.
"I wish we had been able to get Moseby to a real hospital," said Baby. "I wish he was here with us now."
"I...I was just thinking about him too."
"Really?" Baby shook her head, choked up. "I didn't know him like you did...but the man...he made an impression."
Rakkim watched the wipers slap back and forth, the rain co
ming down so hard he could see the fat droplets falling through the high beams. "Moseby told me this story once...about when he was first courting his wife. It was love at first sight, for him anyway. Annabelle was more practical."
"Women have to be." Baby's tongue snaked out, licked the barbecue sauce from above her lip. "We give in to foolishness, the consequences are much worse than for a man."
Rakkim cracked his window, just enough to let the cool, moist air in. "Moseby was a shadow warrior...sent to check out reports of the Belt manufacturing biotoxins in the delta." He shook his head. "He found out within two weeks it was a pharmaceutical plant. Most dangerous items coming out of it were these aphrodisiac pills made from stingray cartilage--Chinese men swore by them." He could barely see the road. "Moseby said they worked too." He drifted off, listening to the rain, steering by instinct more than anything else.
Baby put her hand on the back of his neck. "I like hearing how folks fell in love."
Rakkim felt the heat of her touch as the wipers kept their steady stroke back and forth. "Moseby was supposed to be invisible, the kind of person you notice only after they're gone...but after he saw Annabelle he started showing up where she was...always being in the right place at the right time. One thing led to another. Moseby had a good cover job, salvage diver, and he was patient, never pushy, had that deep voice...drove women crazy...but Annabelle, she was tough, and her father was even tougher." Far ahead of them, taillights blinked in the rain. "Moseby made her a deal. Told her to hide one of her earrings in her house. Hide it anyplace she wanted, and he'd find it within one hour. If he couldn't do it, he'd leave and never come back, but if he found it...she'd marry him."
"Just one hour?" said Baby.
"Took him ten minutes." Rakkim looked at her. "Annabelle cheated. Her eyes led him right to the earring. He knew she would if she really wanted to marry him."
"I like that story," said Baby. Thunder clapped closer, seemed to be right inside the car, the air sizzling, and Baby cried out, clung to him.
Rakkim put his blinker on, turned off into the Castaways Motel parking lot, barreled through a huge puddle, water shooting out both sides of the car.
"Leo!"
Leo jumped, tripping over his own feet. "You scared me."
"Pardon me, it's just that I've been hoping to run into you," said the Old One.
"Well...this must be your lucky day," said Leo, his face still red. The afterwork crowd in the Zone broke around them, security blimps ringing the sky over Seattle. Leo was edging toward Wally's Game Emporium. "Harry Voigt, right? Harry Voigt Investments. Geneva, Shanghai, Nairobi."
"Very good, Leo. Not that I'm at all surprised at your memory." The Old One listened to the music pounding from the Kit Kat Klub, felt it through his shoes. It had been too long since he had been in the capital. He might keep it the capital of the reunited nation when the time came. From the palace he planned on building, he would look out at the snow-covered mountains...
"How did that encryption problem work out for you?" said Leo.
"Everyone was quite impressed with your solution," said the Old One. "Overwhelmed, actually. I wish you could have been there."
Leo blushed.
"I really hope you'll consider coming to work for me," said the Old One. "I like to think that one of the secrets of my success is my ability to recognize and nurture talent, the best and the brightest. I can guarantee you, Leo, that you will never feel unappreciated were you to work with me. Note, I didn't say work for me. I see us as equals, collaborators, as it were. We're adults, aren't we, you and I?"
Leo's face shone like the full moon. "I guess...yeah."
"Of course we are, and that's the beauty of our friendship: I respect you. You don't mind if I consider you my friend, do you? I hope I'm not being presumptuous."
"No...no, it's nice. Most people...I get on most people's nerves."
"Nonsense." The Old One clapped Leo on the back. "I've heard Hop Singh's has the best noodles in the Zone. Let's get dinner and discuss adequate compensation for your service." The Old One hooked his arm in Leo's, the two of them strolling down the crowded sidewalk. "I'm sure your father is generous, but a man who wants to be married needs his own money."
"That...that's true." Leo sniffed. "So did you actually try out my solution on your encryption yet?"
"Not yet," said the Old One as the crowd parted before them, "but any day now."
Rakkim lay in the bathtub, bubbles up to his chin, listening to the thunder. The light in the small, blue tile bathroom was dim, the water warm, and he half closed his eyes, giving in to the fatigue in his body. Been days since he had slept...He heard the door between his and Baby's adjoining rooms open, started to get up, then sank back under the bubbles, recognizing her footsteps. "Did you get lost?"
Baby stood in the door to the bathroom wearing a long-sleeved shirt, white lace panties peeking out from between the shirttails. Her hair was still damp from her shower. "I was just checking on you."
"I'm alive and well. No danger of drowning."
Baby walked over, sat on the side of the tub, trailed a hand in the water. "Nice to meet a man who enjoys a bubble bath. Shows confidence."
"Why don't you wait for me in the other room?"
The rain beat down on the roof of the motel room, thunder echoing. "You modest, Rikki?"
"That's right."
"You shouldn't be. Not with me." She scooped bubbles out of the tub, made herself a mustache, drew one on him too, and he let her. "I've seen you naked before, remember? I bathed you when you were in the field hospital."
Rakkim blushed. "I was unconscious then. I'm wide awake now."
"Why should that make a difference?" Baby lowered her eyes. She looked too young to have stopped Gravenholtz from beating him to death, too shy to have defied the Old One. "You...you have a really nice body, Rikki. I liked looking at you while you slept...liked taking care of you."
"Baby...you should go back to your room."
Baby shook her head. "I don't like my room."
"We'll switch then. You can have this--"
"That's not it." Baby played in the bubbles, her hand hovering just above him. She was looking into his eyes and he felt himself sinking into the depths of hers. "I...I don't like being alone."
Rakkim tried not to look at her but he couldn't tear himself away. He felt himself stiffen, grateful for the bubbles hiding his arousal.
"Please, Rikki?"
"I'm not very good company."
"No, you don't understand," said Baby. "Thunderstorms scare me. Have since I was a kid." Thunder rattled the windows and she flinched.
Rakkim put his hand on her shoulder, soapsuds on his knuckles. "Let me get dressed and we'll watch TV."
"My mama had a boyfriend when I was seven or eight, a real mean son of a bitch. He used to tease me...." Baby wrapped her arms around herself, trembling. "He said...he said God liked to strike pretty little girls with lightning bolts, liked to burn them to a crisp to teach them a lesson for their nastiness." She rested her head on the cool side of the tub, her hand drifting through the water. "I know it's not true, but I still...I still can't abide thunderstorms."
"Go back to your room and I'll join you as soon as I get out of here," said Rakkim. "I'll stay with you until you fall asleep."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Baby handed him a bath towel, discreetly turned her back on him until he stood up and stepped out of the tub.
Lightning crashed closer, almost in the room with them, and Baby screamed, clutched at him, nails digging into him. The towel was somewhere...on the floor, as she pressed herself against him, whimpering into his chest.
"It's okay," said Rakkim, holding her close as the rain pounded on the roof. "I'm right here."
Baby kissed him, tentatively at first, then eagerly, and he kissed her back. Baby tore off her shirt, buttons popping, rolling across the tile, kicked off her panties, as naked as he was now, her hands on him, her lips on him...<
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Rakkim pulled away, shaking his head. "This..." He couldn't catch his breath. "This is a mistake."
Thunder shook the windows again and Baby didn't flinch this time. She barely reacted, her eyes on him, one arm hooked around the small of his back.
"Sorry...I'm sorry." Rakkim disengaged himself. Grabbed the towel off the floor. "We can't do this."
"Speak for yourself," said Baby.
Rakkim walked into the room, and Baby followed him. He pulled on his pants.
Baby lay on the bed, nude, watching him. "You don't know what you want, do you?"
"It was my fault," said Rakkim. "I shouldn't have kissed you back."
"But you did." Baby stroked her belly. "Doesn't that tell you something?"
"It tells me I'm human."
"Oh, you're a lot more than that, Rikki." Baby patted the bed. "Come on over and talk to me. I promise not to bite." She held out her hand. "Come on. We can still talk, can't we?"
Rakkim sat on the edge of the bed. Her damp hair curled around her long nipples. She caught him looking and laughed. He smiled too. "Maybe we should get back in the car. It's safer."
"I'm tired of safe and sane," said Baby. "Tell me you don't want to make love with me."
"If I did it would be a lie," said Rakkim.
"So..." Baby ran a fingernail down his bare back. "What's the problem then?"
"I told you. I'm married."
"So am I...technically."
"Why don't you go get dressed and we'll get back on the road?" said Rakkim. "It's late, and what with the storm, maybe the traffic will have thinned out."
Baby pulled a pillow under her head, stayed where she was. "Either Aztlan stopped jamming our communications, or the Belt found some way to override their signal, because I got through to Miami loud and clear before I came in here. There's been a change of plans."
"What's going on?"
"You still want me to go back to my room?"
"No more games," said Rakkim.
"Fine." Baby glared at him. "Lester's not going to Miami with the cross. He's on his way to Seattle...to join the Old One. So that's where we should be headed."
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