by Ben Bova
FORTY-ONE
JANE WAITED IMPATIENTLY for them to open the door to her room, striding from the barred window to the locked door and then back again. Gaetano was keeping them down there in the courtyard, stretching out the minutes, torturing her. Dan was there, he had seen her, he had even waved. Close enough to touch, almost. Almost. “What are they waiting for!’ Jane blurted, one hand fidgeting with her hair. She had pinned it back, smooth and sleek, but now she wondered if it wouldn’t look better falling loosely to her shoulders. Kimberly’s hair was a helmet of molten copper. She was watching Jane curiously, a sly little half smile curling her lips. “Relax,” Kim said. “They’ll be here soon enough.” But Jane rushed back to the window. She saw a limousine pull through the guarded main gate. The chauffeur trudged around and opened the door for a woman to step out. Kate Williams. “Your sister’s here,” she called to Kimberly. “Big deal.” “They’re starting inside!” At last, at last, she thought. Jane’s eyes darted to the dusty mirror in the corner of the room. She had picked a simple forest green jumpsuit from the closet full of clothes Gaetano had provided. Sensible low-heeled shoes. No need for glamor today. If I know Dan, there’s going to be a ruckus before this is all over. Kimberly, in a pastel miniskirted sundress, seemed to be catching Jane’s nervousness. Her lips had become a tense thin line, her hands knotted into fists. “Why did he bring her here?” she asked, her voice brittle. “Rare and I were getting along fine. We don’t need her here.” Jane answered, “Rafe is a lying, murdering, scheming bastard. I imagine he’ll enjoy watching you and your sister hurt each other.” “Hurt? I never hurt Kate!” “From all that you’ve told me, that’s not true,” Jane said. Then she added as gently as she could, “And you know it.” Kimberly looked away without answering. The bolt of the door Danked and the heavy door groaned inward. Jane held her breath. Gaetano stepped through, followed by Malik, Kate Williams and finally Dan. Four armed men stood out in the hallway. Jane ran to Dan and threw her arms around his neck. Dan grabbed her as if she were life itself and held her to him as they kissed, ignoring all the others for a long sweet moment. “I love you,” she whispered into his ear. Dan barely heard her through the biochip plug. He whispered back, “I’ve always loved you.” Gaetano clapped his hands slowly, sardonically. “Bravo,” he quipped. “Bravissimo. Now let’s get down to business.” Dan grinned crookedly as he let go of Jane. She stood beside him, their backs to the door. “You have arranged transport for Mrs. Scanwell and myself?” Malik asked. “In due time, Vasily,” said Gaetano. “There are one or two points we must clear up first.” Dan scratched at his ear, then stuck his little finger in and touched the biochip transceiver. It felt warm. But nothing happened. No ringing in his ear. No way to know if the damned thing worked or not. He glanced over at Malik. Sonofabitch hasn’t activated his unit. The Russian’s hands stayed down at his sides. “Rafe, you’ll have to make your transportation arrangements for the three of us,” said Jane. “I’m not leaving here without Dan.” Gaetano’s eyebrows rose slightly. “I’m afraid that will be impossible, my dear Jane. Dan remains here. He will be kept well and happy, as long as you behave yourself once you get back to Paris .” “I don’t believe you,” Jane said. “I won’t believe that Dan’s safe as long as he’s in your hands.” Smiling, Gaetano gestured toward Kate Williams. “Look, I’ve even brought him an old friend from the Moon. He’ll have plenty to amuse himself with while he’s here.” Dan laughed. “I’d rather amuse myself with a nest of cobras.” “I am not leaving here without Dan,” Jane said firmly. “Yes you are,” said Gaetano. “You have no choice. And his continued good health will depend entirely on your continuing cooperation.” “He’s right,” Malik said, stepping toward Jane. “You’ll have to come back to Paris with me, Jane. We have no option in the matter.” Jane glowered at the Russian, then at Gaetano. “It’s all right,” Dan said. “Do what they’re telling you. I’ll be okay.” She studied Dan more closely. He seemed pale, thinner than she had ever remembered him. He was wearing a heavy woolen shirt and rough Levi’s. There was perspiration on his brow, his upper lip. Dan made himself smile for her. “I’m okay,” he said, anticipating her question. “Just a little close of radiation. Nobo’s medics have already stuck enough counteractants in me to shut down a nuclear reactor.” But he felt weak, knees shaky. If the Yamagata medicines were doing any good he had yet to feel it. “Then it’s settled,” Gaetano said. “You two can return to Paris tomorrow morning.Randolph stays here as a guarantee for Jane’s good behavior.” “Tomorrow morning?” Malik asked. “Why not now? The sooner the better.” “We still have much to discuss,” said Gaetano. “Discuss?” “Yes. I want to show you what is expected of you back on the Council. We have a worldwide program to implement, and your cooperation will be very important to us.” Dan saw how Jane’s face hardened. Even Malik looked angry. Gaetano seemed amused, terribly pleased with himself. “After all, I may not be the GEC’s chairman,” he made a mocking little bow to Malik, “or its most prestigious member,” another bow, lower, with a flourish, to Jane, “but I do expect the two of you to help me in every way.” Gaetano’s smile vanished. His voice became iron hard. “In other words, I will tell you what to do and you will do it. I will be the master of the GEC. Me, and no one else.” Dan clapped his hands exactly as Gaetano had a few minutes earlier. Furious, the Italian whirled around and raised his fist. Dan saw the punch coming but could not move fast enough to block it. Malik grabbed Gaetano’s wrist and held his arm in midair. The Italian tried to twist free, but Malik held him in a grip of steel. “There is no need for violence,” the Russian said. “Violence is for fools.” Then he released Gaetano’s wrist. Wringing his hand and glaring at Malik, Gaetano said, “Yes, you’re right. Violence is for fools.” Then he shifted his seething gaze to Dan. “And for my hired help.” As he took his place at the heavy dark dinner table Dan thought that Jane looked furious, Malik tense, Kate worried, her sister puzzled and Gaetano as pleased as an operatic tenor who had just been asked for a third encore. Gaetano had spent the remainder of the day locked in conference with Jane and Malik. Giving them their orders, Dan knew. Kate and her sister had gone off together. Dan had taken a nap. No sign of Big George. No sign of the Yamagata assault team. No indication that the double-damned biochip plug had worked at all. Dan had been tempted to pull the transceiver out of his ear once he was alone in the bedroom to which Gaetano’s guards had escorted him. But he feared that he might be watched by hidden cameras. So he flopped on the narrow bed fully clothed, the transceiver feeling like a boulder lodged in his ear, and stared at the ceiling, knowing that he was far too wound up to sleep. When the guard’s unlocking the door woke him, it was dark outside. Nothing had changed except the time. Dan splashed some water on his face and went down the castle’s broad stone main staircase to the dining hall, escorted front and rear by silent, grim-looking guards whose shoulder holsters showed through their unbuttoned leather vests. Gaetano sat at the head of the table, almost vibrating, he was so wired. He chattered about the antiquity of the castle, the family that had built it, the foreign invaders who had never been able to conquer it. Jane and Malik, at Gaetano’s right and left, respectively, exchanged worried looks with each other and occasionally stole a swift glance down to the end of the table, where Dan sat. He thinks he’s got it made, Dan told himself. He thinks he’s won it all. I guess neither Jane nor Malik put up much resistance to him this afternoon. He gave them their orders and they agreed to do what they’re told. Kate and her sister hardly said a word as a pair of sullen-faced heavyset women in black uniforms served dinner, shuttling in and out of the swinging door to the kitchen like a pair of silent morose robots. Where in hell is Nobo’s team? Dan asked himself for the thousandth time. Do they know we’re here? Has something happened to them? And what’s George up to? Gaetano’s monologue had shifted from the history of the castle to the history of the family who had originally owned and defended it. Now he was talking about his own family, but Dan realized that he did not
mean merely his parents and siblings. “Related by blood,” Gaetano said. “That is what makes us strong. Blood ties are the most binding. We are a family. Every man who joins takes a blood oath that follows him to the grave and even beyond.” “Beyond?” Jane asked. “Generations beyond,” said Gaetano. His dark eyes were glittering like the wine in his crystal goblet as it caught the candlelight. “What is the vendetta except a keeping of faith with the generations that preceded you?” “I thought it was nothing more than a primitive thirst for vengeance,” said Malik. “Like a family feud in the Ozarks,” Dan added, raising his voice to be heard down the length of the table. Gaetano’s smile turned sinister. “You make jokes about things you don’t understand. The vendetta is an expression of family loyalty that extends from one generation to the next.” “And damned near depopulated parts of Sicily ,” said Dan. “Organized murder,” Malik said. “Organized,” Gaetano agreed, emphasizing the word with an upraised finger. “That is the key. Organization.” He looked down the table at Dan. “You are correct,Randolph . At one time vendettas had taken so many lives in Sicily that whole towns were abandoned, there not left to till the fields. But those enough days were men are gone. Now we are organized.” With a sad shake of his head Dan said, “Blood oaths and family loyalty—it’s all so medieval. Your so-called organization is a throwback to the Dark Ages. People have learned to develop higher loyalties than that. While the rest of the world created nation-states and multinational corporations and even a double-damned Global Economic Council, you benighted pricks still act like it’s the frigging ninth century.” Gaetano’s nostrils flared with anger. “For thousands of years our people have been invaded by foreigners! Greeks, Romans, Goths, Huns, French. Even today our land is ruled by strangers in Rome . We created our organization to protect ourselves against the outside world.” By stealing from your own people. By murdering and terrifying them.” “What ruler has ever succeeded without cowing his people into obedience?” Gaetano asked. “Besides, as I told you, we no longer kill amongst ourselves.” “Now you kill other people.” Gaetano conceded the point with a tilt of his head. “When we must. But violence is for fools—unless it is absolutely necessary.” “You prefer kidnapping and extortion.” “I prefer bribery,” said Gaetano, a fingertip brushing his moustache. “It is usually the safest and cleanest. You would be surprised at how easy it is to bribe people. And not always with money, either. Take Kate, here. All I had to do was to give her Astro Corporation.” Kate stiffened. She did not look at Dan, or even at Gaetano. She stared at her sister, across the table from her. “Touch,” said Dan. Gaetano turned back to Malik. “You think that the GEC is running the world; that you, as Council chairman, are in charge. But we are really controlling everything. From the cockfight pits of Bangkok to the agenda of the Global Economic Council, we are in charge! We have ended the vendettas and expanded throughout Europe and North America . We are bringing the Latin cartel under our control, and the Asian gangs as well. Soon we will have the entire world in our grasp. And the Moon, as well.” “Like Genghis Khan,” Dan said. “Eh?” “He got the warring Mongol tribes to stop fighting among themselves by turning them outward, to conquest.” “Yes, and he built a mighty empire, didn’t he?” Gaetano said. “Is that who the old man is? The man we saw this morning? Is he your Genghis Khan?” Gaetano’s expression hardened. “Who he is is none of your business.” Dan shrugged. “Vasily, do you see where all this is leading? You wanted to get the whole world’s economy under your control—for the good of the people, of course. But once you’ve done that, some piece of shit like this jerk can steal it from you and all you’ve accomplished is to hand the world over to a pack of thieving, murdering bastards.” “You need a few lessons in manners,” Gaetano said. “It’s never been my strong point,” Dan replied. Malik sat silently, as if lost in thought. Jane’s eyes darted from Dan to Gaetano to the Russian and then back to Dan. The lights vent out. The chandelier and the lights in the wall sconces flicked off, leaving the table dimly lit by the decorative candles. “The emergency generator will come on in a moment,” said Gaetano. Several moments passed. The room remained candlelit. Gaetano spoke in Italian to one of the dour swarthy guards and he left the room. Dan heard excited, exasperated voices shouting from the kitchen. Nobo’s team has arrived, he told himself. They got here! The guard came back into the room, bringing a palm-sized two-way radio to Gaetano. Nothing came from it but a hiss of static. In the shadows cast by the candles Dan smiled grimly. The Yamagata team’s knocked out every electrical and electronic circuit in the place. Must have thumped the castle with a hell of an electromagnetic pulse. “On your feet, all of you? Gaetano snapped. “Something is happening here. You will each be taken to separate rooms. Do not try to leave those rooms until we have things under control. The doors will be locked and guarded. If this is an attack on the castle you will be used as hostages..All of you.” Jane looked over her shoulder toward Dan as one of the guards took her by the arm and headed for the door. Malik was pushed forward by another guard, none too gently. In the semidarkness it was hard to make out the expression on Gaetano’s face. At least, thought Dan, he doesn’t seem so cocky anymore. Two guards grabbed his arms and moved him toward the kitchen, away from the others. Going to keep us separated, Dan realized. They passed Gaetano, who was banging the two-way on the table. Dan laughed inwardly: when it doesn’t work, hammer it. That’ll do a lot of good. The kitchen was even darker than the dining hail, lit only by a pair of battery-powered emergency lamps placed above each of its two doors. In the thick shadows the rows of heavy pots and skillets hanging from their overhead racks looked like an arsenal of medieval weapons. Dan knew there were plenty of knives around, too, but he could not see any in the thick shadows. But there was a big steaming pot on the stove. Dan stumbled, staggered, let his arms go limp in the grasp of his two guards. They tried to yank him to his feet but Dan hung limply between them, moaning as theatrically as he dared. They lowered him to the floor, speaking to each other in swift Italian. Dan realized that they intended to carry him, one at his shoulders, the other at his feet. He kicked with both feet at the guard’s knees, knocking him to the floor with a surprised yelp of pain, and pulled the other one down headfirst to sprawl on top of him. Wriggling to his feet Dan grabbed the steaming pot as the guard reached for his shoulder holster. He saw the boiling water coming and tried to duck out of its way but Dan flung it at him, pot and all. He screamed as Dan wrung his hands in pain; the pot’s metal handgrips had been scalding hot. The other guard was scrambling to his feet. Dan reached overhead, grabbed a heavy iron skillet and banged him on the head with it. He fell sideways. Dan swung the skillet again, ignoring the pain in his hand. It sounded like a cathedral clock’s gong. For good measure he bashed the scalded one, too. They both lay silent on the tiled floor. As Dan pawed the two bodies for their pistols he heard gunshots, muffled, far away. But definitely gunshots. The battle’s on, and Gaetano’s going to use Jane as a shield for himself. Jamming the two pistols into the belt of his Levi’s, wringing his painful hands, Dan headed back toward the dining hall.