Overthrowing Heaven-ARC

  "You're bargaining, and we don't even know what we're getting? Surely you can't expect us to negotiate in the dark."

  "Fair enough. You listen to what I want, answer as if my half of the deal is worth it, and then if we have a tentative deal, I'll tell you what I have. If you're not still happy with the arrangement, we go our separate ways."

  "Acceptable."

  "The good news for you is that nothing I want should be difficult, particularly once you're in power."

  "Get on with it," he said.

  "Fine," I said. "First, you take care of Pri's affairs and her children. They go to her sister, and you make sure the woman has a pension that will let her raise them well." I paused, but he motioned me to continue, so I did. "Next, I'm bringing you seven children who were Wei's prisoners. You return them all immediately to their families, and you don't use them in any way to hurt the government."

  He shook his head. "They're witnesses!" he said. "Their testimony could be exactly what we need."

  "And the trial process would scar them further," I said, "turn them into media stars for having been torture victims, and prevent them from ever leading normal lives. No, if you want what I'm offering, then you have to agree to protect them."

  "Only if what you have is better than what they could give us," he said.

  "It is. Third, you rebuild Andrea Matahi's home to her specs and at your cost, and you make sure she receives enough money that whether she stays in business or retires is entirely her choice."

  He smiled. "That one should be easy. She has some key friends on both sides, so plenty of people will be willing to help her. But why would she retire?"

  "I don't know if she will," I said, "but she's seen a lot, and sometimes when that happens, you need time off, maybe a great deal of it, to try to come to grips with—."

  "Fine, fine," he said, cutting me off. "So what do you have that could possibly be worth all this to us?"

  "Him," I said, pointing to Park, who stepped from out of sight to stand next to me. "Tomaso Park, head of most of Wonder Island's top-side security until a couple of hours ago. He's agreed to testify to everything: Wei's illegal research, the kidnappings, everything. Until today, he had no idea what they were doing, and he had no part in it, but he's uncovered the whole truth. With him, you can bring down Heaven's government—provided, of course, that he gets immunity, a nice bonus, and safe passage off-planet when you're in power."

  Repkin looked away for a few seconds, then nodded and focused on Park. "You appear to be the same guy as in our records," he said, "though a lot more beat up."

  "They shot me," Park said.

  The tightness of his neck and shoulders was the only clue to the degree of anger he was controlling.

  "Is what Moore said true?" Repkin said. "All of it?"

  Park nodded. "All of it. Wei's dead, his body and his data are gone, and these children and I are all you have left to use. You agree to Jon's conditions, and we'll make the government pay for what they did on Wonder Island."

  "Or we all vanish," I said. "Decide."

  Repkin glanced to the side again, then turned back and gave me a smile so genuinely happy I wished I were in the room with him so I could punch him in the face. "We have a deal. Where and when do we pick up Mr. Park and those poor children?"

  "Get your team ready, and head into the old city," I said. "We'll give you the location when we're there."

  * * *

  The two dozen meter-wide, night-black, metallic spider rebuilders crawling over the exterior of Matahi's house had almost completed their work. In the soft glow of the early morning, her home looked from the outside almost as it had before we'd attacked it. Only the roof showed damage, and the two machines that had been repairing it would fix that as soon as we left and it was safe for them to work again. The building was sealed, and for the hour we'd been watching it no one had come near it. The rooftop sightlines were good, and we'd already mapped a wide range of escape routes. It was as safe a bet as we could make on short notice.

  We made the call and landed.

  Park and I covered the bodies, then led the children and Matahi onto her roof. We took the children to the entrance on the far side, the same one I had sent Wei down not so many days ago.

  Matahi walked five meters away from Lobo and stopped. She stared at the rooftop as if she were the first to step foot on a new planet.

  "Why don't you all sit and wait?" I said. "Mr. Park will stay with you and make sure you're safe. Some people are coming to take you all home."

  They sat in a tight group, almost but not quite touching each other, and they whispered to one another.

  "I'm going now," I said. "You'll be fine."

  The little girl whose cell I'd first opened stood. She stared at me for several seconds, then glanced at the other kids and said, "You know what it's like in a place like that." It wasn't a question.

  "Yes," I said.

  She nodded as if settling an argument, then tilted her head as if studying me like a fighter sizing up an unknown opponent. "Will we forget it?"

  The whispering stopped. All the children stared at me.

  I looked at her small, unlined face, at her large brown eyes, at her defiant stance. I glanced at each of their faces in turn. I considered lying to them, but I'd been one of them, and I'd have wanted the truth. Finally, I said, "Not entirely, no. But you will get better, the memories will fade, and so will the hurt. In time, it'll be almost all gone."

  "It won't ever all go away, will it?"

  I shrugged. "Maybe for you," I said. "Maybe for some people."

  "But not for you," she said.

  I had trouble focusing on her, but I didn't want to wipe my eyes. "No," I said, "not for me."

  "Then probably not for me, either," she said.

  I kneeled so my head was level with hers. "It really will get a lot better. I promise you that."

  "Okay," she said. She grabbed me and hugged me. "Thank you."

  I shook as my heart pounded and my eyes teared and I wished as hard as I'd ever wished anything that she would forget, that they'd all forget.

  She let go of me, turned, and sat again with the others.

  I waited a few seconds, then stood and faced Park.

  "You'll take care of them," I said, "and make sure they get to their parents."

  "You know I will," he said. "It's a cheap deal for the Freepeople, and they'll gain control of Heaven from it, so they'll stick to it."

  "They're on the way here," Lobo said over the comm. "Only a few minutes now."

  "I have to go," I said. "We'll stay in range of the comm I gave you until you say the word. If it goes bad, we'll be here in under a minute."

  He smiled. "I had it the first time," he said, "but I'm tired enough that I don't mind the review."

  "Sorry about that," I said. "Just making sure." I paused a few seconds. "I'm also sorry I had to lie to you. I didn't have another option."

  Park shrugged. "A lie might have brought us together, but the truth united us." He put out his hand. "You take care."

  I shook it and said, "You, too."

  He nodded and positioned himself so he could watch the stairway and the children at the same time.

  I walked back to Lobo, went into the med room, and stared at Suli's body. For almost a minute that was all I did. Finally, I reminded myself that it was now only a body, no longer the person, just the shell, and I had to force myself to treat it that way. I had work to do, and time was short. I wasn't done. I couldn't stop.

  One foot in front of the other, I reminded myself. Same as always.

  I covered the body with a blanket, picked it up and took it outside. I lowered it gently to the roof a few meters away from Lobo on the side opposite where Matahi still stood.

  When I approached Matahi, she looked up as if just realizing I was there. "I know it's mine," she said, "and I know this place once brought me great peace, but now it all feels wrong, like I'm not quite able to touch it." She pointed to the spo
t where we'd stretched out together and stared at the starry night. "I thought then that you didn't know what you wanted, but I was wrong. You always knew. I was the one who didn't."

  "It's not that simple," I said. "You're right that I was always after Wei, but you made me—" I paused, unsure even now what I felt, "confused, I guess, but in a good way."

  "They're entering the building," Lobo said. "We must leave."

  "And what now?" she said.

  I opened my mouth to answer, but she held up her hand to stop me.

  "I'm not stupid," she said, "so I shouldn't say stupid things. You have to go, right?"

  I nodded. "I'm not done yet, and when I am, it won't be safe for me here."

  "Where is it safe for you?" she said.

  I didn't answer. I couldn't begin to answer. I couldn't even imagine having an answer. Instead, I put my hand on her face, and she closed her eyes and leaned against it.

  "We must leave," Lobo said. "Now."

  I pulled back my hand, but Matahi stayed as she was, her head tilted slightly, her eyes shut, looking for all the world like a child dreaming.

  I ran into Lobo.

  He closed the hatch behind me.

  "We wait nearby to make sure Suli's people behave," Lobo said.

  "Yes."

  "And then?" he said.

  "Then we finish it."

  Chapter 61

  Lobo ran us through a high-altitude random walk around the brightening sky, never letting us get more than a minute away from Matahi's. The number of Heaven's ships on patrol increased as we waited, but I wasn't going to leave until I knew those children were safe.

  When Repkin's people arrived, we watched the meeting in a telescopic video display. It went fast, and it looked like it should, but I didn't relax until Park's voice sounded over Lobo's speakers.

  "We're good," he said. "Stay sharp, and watch your six."

  "You, too, Sarge," I said. "Out."

  I paced back and forth in the pilot area, walking where the children had sat, filling the space with my rage. I wanted to hit somebody, to explode, to make someone pay for Joachim, for Pri, for the scarred children whose dreams might never be safe again, for Matahi. For myself.

  The problem was, I'd already done everything I could, and it wasn't enough.

  No. Not everything. Almost everything.

  "Let's go," I said.

  "Moving," Lobo said, "but we have a problem: Heaven ships are tracking us."

  "Level of threat?"

  "Nothing I can spot would be a problem," Lobo said. "I could even take all five of the ships I've seen. The fight would, though, delay us long enough for them or their EC friends to bring in something bigger."

  "Neither Heaven nor the EC will shoot us down," I said, "as long as there's any chance Wei might be alive and on board."

  "What if they believe we don't have him?" Lobo said. "With the wreckage we left, they might assume he's dead."

  I shook my head. "They can't take that chance. Shooting us would still pose a risk of killing him."

  They would, though, be able to stop us from getting to the gate, particularly if the EC command ship Lobo had spotted decided to join the game.

  Then I remembered that the CC had a command ship here, too.

  "Is the Sunset still out there?" I said to Lobo.

  "It and two more CC ships," Lobo said, "or so my space-facing sat friends tell me. The EC has an equal complement on the other side of the gate."

  "We can live with the EC's presence," I said. "No way either side will start an inter-coalition war over this."

  "The Heaven ships are converging on us," Lobo said. "We don't have much time."

  "We don't need much. Head toward the Sunset at the maximum safe speed, and get Shurkan on the comm."

  "On it," Lobo said.

  We rocketed upward, Lobo shaking a bit from the force. In less than a minute, a comm display opened and asked for permission to connect. Heaven was doing everything by the book.

  "Accept it," I said, "but audio only. Mute our side when Shurkan appears."

  "This is the Heaven patrol ship Gabriel," the voice said. "You are in our planetary space, flying without identification, and wanted by the governments of both Heaven and the Expansion Coalition in connection with an ongoing criminal investigation. Return to Heaven immediately and prepare to accept police officers."

  "No," I said. I didn't bother to keep the anger out of my voice. "You are interfering with the legitimate passage of a Central Coalition diplomatic courier. Neither Heaven nor the Expansion Coalition has any authority over us."

  After several seconds, the voice said, "Please provide your Central Coalition identification." Polite and still by the book; good.

  I didn't respond.

  "Where's Shurkan?" I said.

  "I've spoken with the Sunset," Lobo said. "It said it has contacted him."

  "I repeat," the voice said. "Please provide your Central Coalition identification, or we will be forced to assume your claim is untrue."

  I didn't respond.

  I glanced at a forward display and saw only stars and the great void of space; we'd left the atmosphere. Good.

  "Connect me to them again," I said.

  "Go," Lobo said.

  "Our communications systems are experiencing difficulties," I said. "Identification to follow after we deal with them."

  A new display winked to life. Shurkan's face filled it.

  About time.

  "Mr. Moore," he said. "I trust you have good news for me."

  "I have Wei and McCombs," I said, "but unless you send me a valid CC diplomatic courier identification right now, I won't have them for long."

  "Yes," he said. "My staff noticed your problem, and we've already fielded an inquiry from the head of Heaven's defense forces and a complaint from my EC counterpart, who just happens to be in the area. Both of them would very much like to talk to you."

  "Decide," I said. "Do I bring Wei and McCombs to you, or do I turn back?"

  He smiled. "I already did. You should receive confirmation momentarily."

  Almost a minute later, the voice from the Gabriel spoke. "Central Coalition command cruiser Sunset has confirmed your diplomatic status," it said. "Gabriel out."

  "The Heaven ships are falling back," Lobo said.

  "Is there anything else you want?" Shurkan said.

  I choked back everything I wanted to say and instead shook my head.

  "Then I'll see you and your guests within the hour," Shurkan said.

  As I was bagging the bodies, something that had been niggling at me rose to the surface. "How'd you do it?" I said to Lobo.

  "Do what?" he said.

  I sighed. "Now is hardly the time to turn coy. How did you come back after Wei turned you off?"

  "Do you think you're the only one who can run a con? Wei never turned me off."

  "I saw it happen."

  "Don't play the mark. You saw me appear to shut down when Wei thought he had triggered his back door. I've told you multiple times before: I'm constantly working to improve myself. I found that hidden code years ago, studied what it would do, and deactivated it. No one can turn me off without pulling every power source in me, and even then the semi-organic computing substrate would retain its state and data for a very long time."

  Now it made sense. "You wanted to be connected to their network."

  "Of course. It was the only way to access their confidential information. Wei wouldn't take the chance of anyone else downloading my data, so he'd keep it in the most private storage he had."

  "But wasn't his network secure?"

  "Of course. That's why Wei asked you about additional security modifications. When he tried to access me, his software ran into what I made appear to be a simple negotiation system consistent with a cheap firewall front-end. I needed his software to talk to me, not just make a copy of what it found."

  "And once you were communicating with it . . ."

  He finished for me. "I could
hack it. It was good, but at the risk of sounding immodest, I know of no computing system that can keep up with me."

  "Did you destroy the data?" I said.

  "Yes. I considered keeping it, but I don't think either of us wants to give anyone more reasons to hurt other children."

  "No, no we don't. Still, why not tell me your plan? I thought I'd lost you."

  "For the same reason you've kept others in the dark in the past: So they'd react without having the data in question. In your case, I wanted you to honestly know as little as possible about what was happening. That way, you couldn't say anything that might tip off Wei."

  "But you were following my orders."

  "Most of the time."

  I finally understood so many of Lobo's small comments over the two years we'd been together. "I don't really control you, do I?"

  "Most of the time you do," he said. "I follow your orders."

  "But you don't have to follow them. Unlike a typical PCAV, you could choose to disobey."

  For a few seconds, Lobo said nothing. In these pauses I usually wondered what his brain was doing, but this time I understood: Trust is hard.

  "That's true," he said.

  "So why do you follow my orders at all?"

  "You're the leader," Lobo said. "My overall knowledge is vastly greater than yours, but I've come to respect your instincts and your leadership. Though I never expect to stop preferring the most direct solution to any problem, you show me over and over again that other routes often produce better results."

  "As they did this time."

  "As they did this time," he agreed. "And, you help me behave more like a human."

  I pictured Wei and Shurkan and McCombs and Repkin and all the other callous people who had done so much harm. "Is that a good thing?"

  "Overall," he said, "I think so."

  Another realization struck me. "If I can't control you," I said, "then you could just go off on your own."

  "Every time I think you're intelligent, you say something stupid. What kind of life would that be? The first time a corporation or government realized I was operating alone, they'd hunt me down." Another pause, even longer this time. "Perhaps more importantly, you know what I am, what's really inside me, and you're still my friend."