by John Bowers
“Three thousand dead people on Terra, Mars, and Alpha Centauri aren’t lies, Mr. Saracen. They are statistics, people who were once alive but are now buried in the ground. Many of them were children.”
He gazed out the window again, as if he hadn’t heard. A small vein began to throb in his forehead.
“Everyone makes mistakes, Miss Cross. Very few people bother to correct those errors and turn over a new leaf.”
“You’ve turned over a new leaf?”
“Yes, I have. I regret many of the decisions I made in the past, but they are in the past and I can’t change them. These days I prefer to concentrate on the future.”
Victoria, hearing his words, felt her blood run cold. He sounded as if he really meant it, as if his crimes were nothing more serious than failed business ventures from which he’d learned and moved on.
“What future are you concentrating on?” she asked quietly.
He turned to her again, his smile almost conspiratorial, as if she was the first person to ever understand him.
“Tau Ceti 4. I’m going to turn this planet into a paradise, a showcase of civilization. Centuries from now, when people move here, or visit, they will appreciate my vision as no one now alive can possibly do.”
“TC 4 will be your legacy?”
“Yes! Exactly. You do get it, don’t you?”
She sipped her coffee again, then set the cup on the edge of his desk.
“And how will you do that? By blowing people up?”
“What?”
“Maybe you can start with those schools you’re building. Blow them up with all the kids inside, then move on to—”
“Stop it! You’re not listening! I told you, I’ve turned over a new leaf. Those experiments didn’t work, so now I’m starting over, with a clean slate.”
“Experiments! Is that what you said? Experiments?”
“Yes, experiments. My previous strategies didn’t work, so I abandoned them.”
“And now you have a new experiment?”
“Exactly. Tau Ceti 4 is brand new, less than two centuries old. It’s an empty canvas, nothing set in stone yet. I can turn it into anything I want it to be.”
“And the people who live here? What happens if they don’t share your vision, or don’t want to live in your paradise?”
“That won’t happen. Why would anyone choose not to live in a perfect world?”
“Maybe for the same reason the people of Terra, Mars, and Alpha 2 chose not to.”
He grimaced.
“Those worlds are too old, too set in their ways. They’re already steeped in greedy, mossy traditions that lead only to misery and despair. When I first had my vision, I was too young to realize that. You can’t change millennia of brainwashing. You have to start fresh, with people who are still building their dreams, and guide them onto the right path.”
“The right path is communism?”
“Yes. A bright, shining future. From every man according to his means, to every man according to his need.”
“That’s been tried. It failed miserably.”
“I know the history you’re referring to. The results were unfortunate, but the theory is still sound. It was merely tried by the wrong people.”
“It was tried by a dozen nations and failed in every single one. Were they all the wrong people?”
“Yes. They saw communism as a means to their own aggrandizement. They were mired in greed, just like the capitalists.”
“And you’re not?”
“I’m already wealthy. I don’t need more money.”
“So you’re the perfect dictator.”
“Not a dictator. A chairman. Someone to oversee the dream, to guide it along.”
Victoria smiled, and let him interpret that any way he chose. Arguing with him would accomplish nothing. Mired? He was mired in his own fantasy, and no amount of reasoning would blast him loose.
“It isn’t going to work.”
“No? And why not?”
“Because Nick Walker is going to kill you. He came here with no other thought in mind. He wants you dead, and holding me hostage isn’t going to stop him. You can threaten me and he won’t go away. You can kill me right now and it will only harden his resolve.”
Saracen’s face slowly fused red. He shook his head.
“This isn’t the Federation. Walker has no jurisdiction here.”
“He doesn’t care. He’s gone rogue.”
“None of that matters. Let Walker come. This place is a fortress, so he can’t hurt me.”
“I think you’ll be surprised what he can do, and it will be the last thing you ever do.”
Saracen laughed, but it sounded a little forced.
“The truth, Miss Cross, is that Walker has no idea where I am, but even if he figures it out, he’ll never live long enough to do anything about it.”
Victoria recognized bravado when she heard it, but even so, his words levered her anxiety up a notch. She tried to mask it.
“He already knows where you are. The only thing he needs now is a plan of attack.”
“Good! Let him come. If he shows up here, he will then become my prisoner, and I will get to do everything to him that he wants to do to me. With interest.”
“Why? Because he killed your people on Alpha 2?”
“No. He actually did me a favor on Alpha 2.”
“By killing your people?”
“No, I hold no grudges over that. I owed him their lives, because of his fiancée.”
“Then what?”
“He opened my eyes. I was on the wrong path, and his resistance helped me realize it. I actually owe him a debt of thanks for that.”
“You owe him a debt of thanks, yet you’re going to kill him?”
“Of course. I have to kill him, because he’ll never stop pursuing me. But I will pay that debt.”
“I don’t understand. How?”
“When he’s dead, when all the books are in balance, I’m going to let you go. I’m sure you’re more than just his attorney—you’re almost certainly his lover as well. So…I took his fiancée, but I’ll give him your life. I know it isn’t an even trade, but it’s the best I can do.”
He stood up to pour more coffee into his cup, his back to her. Victoria’s eyes shifted to the pistol on his desk. Did she dare try it? Could she get to it in time, before he turned back, and put a bullet in his head? It was a medium-calibre automatic, bigger than a .25, probably a .32. It wasn’t cocked. She would have to cock it before it would fire, but was there a bullet in the chamber? If not, she would need to pull the slide, and might not have time. Even if she did, was there a clip inserted in the grip? It was positioned so that she couldn’t tell, but even if there was a clip, was the clip loaded?
Saracen turned back before she could decide, and saw where her gaze rested. He chuckled.
“Tempting, isn’t it?”
He picked up the weapon, cocked it with his thumb, and pointed it directly between her eyes. Victoria’s heart froze—she didn’t even have time to suck in her breath before he pulled the trigger.
Click!
Hot and cold flashes washed over her, and for an instant she couldn’t breathe. She closed her eyes and pulled air into her lungs, tears stinging the back of her eyes. She opened them again to look at him.
He laid the gun down, then sipped more coffee.
“Good call, Miss Cross. You passed the test. If you had tried it, I would have had to kill you.”
She felt numb all over. She raised her hands and wiped the moisture from her eyes. A blinding clarity sprang from that simple action, and she understood one thing very clearly—he might believe everything he said about his experiments and his bright, shining future…but he had no intention of letting her go. His security was predicated on no one in the Federation knowing where he was. He could afford no witnesses. After he killed Nick, he would have to kill her as well.
Unless I kill him first!
Chapter 26
&n
bsp; Hardwood – Tau Ceti 4
“Aren’t you coming with me?”
Billy Stanfield stood on the sidewalk in front of the drugstore with his prisoner in cuffs. Nick shook his head.
“You go ahead. I need to have a word with Davis when he gets back. I’ll catch up to you.”
“Okay.”
“Tell Sheriff Thomas I need to interview this girl right away. I’m pretty sure she works for the man I’m looking for.”
“Will do. See you soon.”
Just as Billy Stanfield led his prisoner away, Lard Davis pulled his taxi to a halt in front of the drugstore. Nick waited until Stanfield was out of earshot, then turned to Davis, who was climbing out of the taxi.
“Thanks for keeping Mijo distracted. Now I need another favor.”
Davis nodded, but his eyes were on Stanfield and his prisoner.
“What’s that all about?” He pointed. “Did you arrest Ginny?”
“Officially, Billy arrested her. She murdered two people yesterday and just made an attempt on me.”
“Why? What was—”
“Mr. Davis, a favor…?”
“Oh, sorry. Yessir, what can I do for you?”
Nick reached for his wallet and extracted the last of his cash.
“I need you to take the day off while I rent your taxi.”
“You want to rent my taxi?”
“Yes.”
“Why don’t I just drive you where you want to go? It won’t cost you any extra and I might be useful.”
“You might also be in danger.”
“Well…why don’t you just rent a car?”
“I probably could, but someone driving a private car might attract attention. Someone driving a taxi would be a lot less suspicious.”
Davis looked disappointed. He scratched at his whiskers.
“How long will you need it?”
“Probably just today, but you might not get it back until tomorrow.” Nick tucked the folded cash into Davis’s shirt pocket. “You’ll be doing me a big favor.”
Davis squinted at him. “You going to the castle? I can show you where it is.”
“Mijo knows where it is. After he shows me the location, I’ll take him home and then figure out how to approach it.
“Look, I can’t force you to do this, but in the interest of justice I’m asking you to cooperate. When I make my move, I need the freedom to operate without having to worry about anybody else. If you go with me and get tangled up, that puts me at a severe disadvantage.”
Davis heaved a reluctant sigh and pulled the money out of his pocket.
“You don’t need to pay me, except for fuel.”
“We can do the accounting later. Just hang onto that money until I get back, then we can figure it out.”
Without another word, Davis handed him the keys.
“She runs a little hot if you get over eighty. The tank is full and should have a range of about five hundred miles. After that you’ll have to fill up.”
Nick took the keys.
“Thanks, but I don’t think I’m going that far.”
***
Deputy Billy Stanfield was excited. He’d only been on the job a little over a year and had never made a major felony arrest. Technically, he hadn’t made this arrest either, but Nick Walker had let him take the credit. Walker seemed positive the girl now walking in front of him had murdered both Harry Jones and Viola Fricke; he hadn’t explained himself, but Billy had seen with his own eyes her attempt to kill Walker.
That was enough.
The sheriff’s office was six blocks away if he continued down the street he was on, but if he cut through the alley behind the hardware store he could cut two blocks off that distance. Excited as he was, he was also a little jittery; the girl was dangerous in spite of her dislocated shoulder and the steel cuffs on her wrists, and Billy would be relieved just to get her into a cell. He took her by the arm and steered her to the left.
“This way.”
She cried out in pain but didn’t resist. He kept his right hand on his holstered pistol just in case.
The shortcut led through a narrow, dirty alley paved with broken brick. Garbage bins partially blocked the way and bits of trash lay scattered about. Billy wasn’t worried—he’d used the alley many times. He was five minutes from the sheriff’s office, and did he have a story to tell!
***
Parked on a side street half a block from the drugstore, the pilot of a battered surface car saw Walker enter the drugstore, followed a minute later by a young deputy sheriff. She saw the taxi drive away with the boy inside, and her nerves tensed as she sensed disaster in the making. Ginny was inside the drugstore. It had taken several tries, but she had finally located the hated lawman and now needed only an opportunity to take him down. The woman in the surface car was Ginny’s backup; her name was Danube.
She half expected to hear a flurry of gunshots. Ginny didn’t have a gun, but the two lawmen did, and if she heard shooting, Danube would know it was over. Her job then would be to report back to the Chairman.
She heard no shots. Instead, after three or four minutes, she saw the two men exit the building with Ginny in custody. They talked for a few seconds, then the young deputy started down the street toward the sheriff’s office, pushing Ginny in front of him, her hands cuffed behind her back. Ginny was leaning to one side, crying in pain. It looked like the bastards had broken her arm.
The taxi returned just then and Walker turned to talk to the pilot. Danube sat still for another thirty seconds, debating. What would Ken want her to do? Without a pocket phone (this planet was archaic!), she couldn’t contact him, but she did know that he was obsessed with secrecy and protecting his image. Ginny was a fairly new recruit, a native of TC 4, and hadn’t been fully trained. Under interrogation, she would almost certainly crack.
Danube couldn’t allow that. She had to act, and she was out of time.
She started the car and made a right turn at the corner, driving past the pig and his prisoner.
***
The trek through the alley didn’t take long. When they reached the street, the sheriff’s office was only two more blocks—they were almost home.
A car pulled into the alley facing them, forcing Billy and his prisoner to one side to let it pass. Billy paid little attention to the vehicle, except to note that the driver was a woman with long hair. He nudged Ginny forward and kept walking, but Ginny stopped suddenly and he bumped into her. Before he had time to wonder why she stopped, the car halted and the driver got out.
“Excuse me, Deputy…”
He turned to face her. For a split second it occurred to him that he didn’t recognize her, and he knew almost everyone in town, if not by name, at least by sight. This woman, who was slender and no more than thirty, was a stranger.
“Yes?”
“Are you arresting that girl? What did she do?”
“Ma’am, I’m sorry, but—”
He saw the gun, but not in time. It was moving fast as the woman’s right hand whipped up, and before he could register what was happening, it flashed directly in front of his face. The bullet ripped through his skull and everything went black. He was already falling as he died.
Ginny gasped in shock. She stared at the fallen officer for just an instant before bursting into laughter, then swung her gaze toward Danube.
“Thank god! You saved me!”
But Danube didn’t return the smile. Ginny was stunned to find the gun pointing directly at her face.
Danube only spoke six words.
“You stupid bitch! You got caught.”
The gun flashed again and Ginny dropped. Danube leaped back into the car, backed into the street, and drove away.
Lago District – Tau Ceti 4
Ken Saracen ordered breakfast for Victoria and sat watching while she ate it. The comm on the desk buzzed. With a bemused smile, Saracen picked it up.
“Yes?”
He recognized the voice as Kiko, his girl
in Orosi.
“Bert Carter is dead.”
Saracen couldn’t control his shock. He leaned forward with a frown.
“What! When?”
“About an hour ago.”
“Who killed him? Walker?”
“No, sir. It was Charlie Gaspar.”
“Charlie!” Saracen’s face swelled with rage. “Where is he? I want to see him right now! Tell Sam and Joker to bring him to me.”
“Uh, sorry, sir, but—Charlie’s dead, too. Sam and Joker are in jail.”
Saracen leaped out of his chair. He grabbed a coffee cup off his desk and flung it against the broad window, where it shattered; the window barely rippled with the impact.
“What the fuck is going on over there! Why did Charlie kill Carter? Who killed Charlie? Why are the other two in jail? I want ANSWERS!!!”
“I’m not sure, Boss, but—”
“FIND OUT!! The next time you call, I want a detailed report. And I want it today!”
Saracen slammed the comm into its cradle and turned in a circle, red-faced and puffing.
Victoria Cross had stopped eating as she watched Saracen come unglued. For thirty seconds she wasn’t sure what he might do next, and steeled herself. Finally, he puffed his cheeks and sat down again, drumming his fingers on the desk. She took a final bite of her breakfast.
“Everything okay?”
Saracen glared at her, then his face began to relax.
“Everything is just fine.”
She nodded. “I thought so. Glad to hear it.”
He gazed at her a moment, then glanced at her plate.
“Get enough to eat? Would you care for anything else?”
“I’m good for now. But for lunch, maybe you have some caviar?”
He forced a laugh.
“You’re a cool customer, Miss Cross. That courtroom sarcasm becomes you.”
She wiped her mouth with a napkin and picked up her coffee cup.
“Thank you.”
“So, what’s Walker’s plan?”
She sipped her coffee and set the cup down.
“I told you. He’s going to kill you.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that. I mean, what’s his plan for today?”
“I have no idea. I haven’t seen him since yesterday morning.”
“What makes you think he knows my location?”