She Who Waits (Low Town 3)

by Daniel Polansky

  I wasn’t sure if Guiscard heard me. The cigarette I’d given him had gone out in his hand. To judge by his pallor, he seemed close to vomiting. I made sure to move a few feet away from the potential blast radius before asking my next question.

  ‘Why haven’t you moved on the Sons?’

  Guiscard blinked twice, then looked up at me. ‘What?’

  ‘Why haven’t you moved on the Sons?’

  ‘We can’t very well cut off the head of anyone who doesn’t like the Prime Minister, can we? A certain amount of opposition is required for the system to function.’

  ‘An illusory opposition – an opposition you can control. I’m afraid the Steps have long since grown beyond that. For the last few months I’ve been watching them take shots at you and wondering, why doesn’t the Old Man crush them? What is he waiting for? It’s a measure of my … respect for him that the obvious answer didn’t seem so.’

  ‘Meaning?’

  ‘His position isn’t strong enough. He no longer holds the reins.’

  ‘The King doesn’t like him,’ Guiscard said after a long pause. ‘Never did.’

  ‘That speaks well of our Alfred, though I hardly see why it’s relevant. The dirt he must have accumulated all these years? It was a cottage industry, back when I first joined Special Operations – you spent a month following around the Crown Prince’s latest paramour, see what humiliations she got him into.’

  ‘We’ve got more filth on the King than you could find knee deep in a sewer, but what would we possibly want to do with it? Alfred doesn’t like the Steps any more than we do, thank the Firstborn. If we weaken his position, we weaken ours along with it.’

  ‘Where does the army stand?’

  ‘Hard to say. They’re generally not for change of any kind, but they’re damn unhappy about the rapprochement we’ve been working towards with the Dren.’

  ‘Of course they are – if we’re not expecting to go to war with the Dren, there’s no reason to maintain their third of the annual budget.’ I smiled toothily. ‘And I don’t suppose your having killed the leader of the Veteran’s Organization enamored them to you particularly.’

  ‘Perhaps not.’

  That had been my doing, though Guiscard had never realized it. ‘Still, you don’t get four stars on your lapel by rocking the boat. They’ll probably stand aside until they figure out who is going to win.’ I started working it out in my head. ‘The city will declare for the Steps – not because they’re actually for them, but because they hate Black House, and they’re bored easily, and they like to riot. You’ll have the provinces though, I imagine, and if you can hold out the few weeks it’ll take them to raise the militia, you might be able to weather the storm.’

  Guiscard’s silence suggested he’d followed along with my prediction.

  ‘Of course, that’s if the King stays with you.’

  ‘Why wouldn’t he?’

  ‘Why would he? He’d have the chance to throw off the yoke his mother accepted, perhaps rule on his own, rather than as a cat’s paw for the Old Man.’

  ‘You think Monck has any intention of allowing him to make policy? He’d be trading one master for another.’

  ‘Then maybe he just prefers brown.’

  Guiscard sniffed. ‘Did you bring me here, show me this – just to soften me up for interrogation?’

  ‘That was part of it,’ I admitted. ‘But not everything. I wanted you to see what you’re fighting to prop up. I wanted to give you that opportunity. It’s easy to lose sight of it from where you are – I know that better than anybody.’

  He waved backwards at the asylum. ‘This isn’t everything there is.’

  ‘Of course not – there’s also mansions in Kor’s Heights, and humming factories in Brennock, and fat, happy, smiling children getting presents on Midwinter morning. But this is what it rests on, Guiscard, and don’t you ever forget it.’

  ‘Coronet was your project.’

  ‘And I’ll burn in hell for it.’

  ‘It isn’t on me. I didn’t know it existed until last week.’

  ‘And what did you do about it?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘When I told you about the connection between red fever and Coronet, what did you do? Did you try and shut it down? Did you make sure that no more of this poison leaked out into the city?’

  He didn’t answer, or if he did it was too quiet to make out.

  ‘No, you did the opposite. You traced the leak to Carroll, and you made sure that he knew that the status quo was to continue unabated.’

  ‘It was the Old Man’s decision. We needed to keep you close to the Steps, and that was only possible if Carroll’s operation was still a go.’

  ‘Today, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, someone is going to wake up from a stupor and discover they’ve killed their parents, or their kids, or both.’ I tossed my smoke into the gutter. ‘And that will be on you, Guiscard, have no single illusion on that score. Every day this continues means another patient for Sister Agnes.’

  Guiscard turned and looked back at the hospital facade. ‘I’ll take care of it.’

  ‘Carroll shrugs off this life of toil and pain, and he does so in the immediate future.’

  ‘Carroll dies,’ he agreed, then went back to staring out over the skyline.

  Our vantage point provided an impressive view of Rigus – the crystalline towers of the Palace, the winding stone streets of the Old City. Evening was descending, and far below people were hurrying out of work, quick to get home or to their favorite bar. From up high they looked like ants. Sometimes they look like ants to me even from close in.

  ‘The Old Man,’ Guiscard said finally. ‘He’s going to screw you. He knows about your safe houses. The apartment in Brennock, the one above the tea shop in Offbend, that hovel near the docks.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘He’s got someone in your camp, whispering your next moves.’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘He wouldn’t say.’

  ‘As it happens, I have a piece of relevant information for you as well.’

  ‘Yeah?’

  ‘I picked up a secure communication from Egmont’s desk last time I was in there. It detailed the operators he’s planted inside Black House.’

  This was enough to break Guiscard out of the lethargy that had overtaken him since we’d left the asylum. He leaped to his feet, ran his hand over the stubble on his scalp. ‘You didn’t think this was something you should have mentioned to me earlier?’

  ‘Not particularly.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘Because it’s bunk,’ I said. ‘You’re being played. We all are.’

  36

  Later that evening I was watching Wren smoke a cigarette across the street from an old stone building in the seedier section of Brennock. If you weren’t paying particular attention you’d have just said he was smoking a cigarette on the street in the seedier section of Brennock, but we’d been doing this long enough that I could read his shorthand. I didn’t like that he’d taken up tobacco, but then I wasn’t in a situation to say much about it. I’d be happy if it was the worst of my vices he’d adopted. I made myself quiet in an alley a block or so back from where he waited and burned my own. When it was done I pulled up the collar of my coat and went to join him.

  ‘He’s in there?’

  Wren nodded. ‘What’s the plan?’

  ‘Follow in after me, and try to look tougher than you are.’

  The door was neither unlocked, nor made of tissue paper. But you can break anything if you know where to aim. I planted the center of my boot a few inches from the handle and it flew open.

  There was a glimpse of pale flesh beneath silk covers, but Captain Ascletin was up from the bed with admirable celerity, moving for a chair in the corner where he’d hung his sword and neatly folded his pants. I had a steady lead on him though, and it was easy enough to hook his foot and send him sprawling. I regretted the violence – it would only put his back up. But then
I couldn’t very well let him make it to his blade. The gentleman below him hadn’t Kenneth’s reflexes, nor his nerve, and his best attempt at resistance was to pull a corner of the sheet up over his face.

  I waited a minute for it to sink in, happy I’d gotten lucky with the timing – they were deep enough in to be incriminating, but not so far along as to make things awkward. Kenneth spent the interval scraping himself up off the ground. I hoped the fall hadn’t bruised any of his more tender areas.

  Wren was damn near as surprised as the Captain. I’m not altogether clear on what he thought we were busting in on, but it apparently wasn’t this. He watched the spectacle with something close to revulsion, as if Kenneth’s dalliance was the worst thing he’d yet to lay eyes on. In some ways he was still a child.

  ‘What the hell are you doing here?’ Kenneth demanded once he finally managed to get himself to his feet. He maintained an impressive degree of imperiousness, given that he wasn’t wearing any pants.

  ‘The question isn’t what I’m doing here, Captain, because no one cares about me. I’m a small-time hustler from Low Town. You, on the other hand, are one of the shining stars of the city guard, a man with promise, a man with a future. Your whereabouts would be of concern to any number of people. Your superiors at the watch, as an example. Your family would also, I imagine, have concerns about what brings you to such a disreputable part of town at so late an hour.’

  The spirit went out of him pretty quick at that point, not that I blamed him. It was a lot to take in.

  ‘Sit down, Captain. Let’s chat.’

  ‘Let me get dressed at least.’

  I shook my head. The thing worked better with him flaccid and cringing. ‘We’re all adults here. No reason to get modest.’ I gestured at the foot of the bed. There was a pause during which he examined his options, determined correctly he had none, and went ahead and followed my command. I took a chair from the other end of the room, turned it towards him and sat as well.

  ‘You know, it’s a funny thing,’ I began, carefully shaking out a smoke. ‘What people care about. If I’d broken in here and found you knee deep in a half dozen Kiren prostitutes, it wouldn’t have meant nothing to nobody. If I’d come in here and found you say, beating a suspect with a length of pipe, that wouldn’t get an eyelash batted neither. But the suggestion that Captain Kenneth Ascletin, stout of heart and broad of chest, gets his jollies playing rat-in-a-hole with a clean-limbed stranger …’

  ‘No one would believe it,’ he hissed.

  ‘Of course they’ll believe it – people like believing things about other people. Hell, they’d believe it even if it was a lie. That it’s true is just icing on the cake.’

  His shoulders slumped. He seemed to sink further into his perch. His lover reached out to touch him but Kenneth snapped his shoulder away. ‘I’ve never done this sort of thing before,’ he said, all of a sudden quite desperate to convince me of this obvious falsehood. ‘It’s … I’m not …’

  I waved that away. ‘You don’t need to sell me on nothing, Captain. As far as I’m concerned this little assignation barely ranks as vice. But then, as we’ve already established, I don’t matter – and the rest of the world is, sadly, a good deal less understanding.’

  ‘I thought we were friends.’

  ‘We’re still friends. We’re better friends. We’re such good friends that I’m going to raise your take an extra two ochres a month – how’s that for friendship? And now that we’re so close, I feel comfortable asking for a small favor.’

  ‘What do you want?’

  ‘I want an active civic presence in your area – I want the brave men of the guard to perform the noble duties demanded of them by their position. In particular, I want the brave men of the city guard to perform their noble duties tomorrow morning at nine, in a warehouse at the corner of Classon and Brand.’

  Kenneth was a sharp enough character, but this was a little hard to follow for a man who’d been mid-coitus less than five minutes earlier. ‘I don’t understand.’

  ‘At the intersection of Classon and Brand, you’ll find a warehouse. Tomorrow morning, at nine, a squadron of men under your command are going to enter that building. In the basement, they’re going to find a laboratory making red fever. They’ll destroy said laboratory, and any of the drug they find. They’ll be very thorough – I think a small fire wouldn’t be out of order.’

  ‘Classon and Brand? That’s Uriel’s territory.’

  ‘You know, I think you just might be right.’

  Something clicked behind his eyes. ‘This trouble between the Asher and the Gitts – you’re behind it, aren’t you?’

  ‘I wouldn’t go that far. Two groups of homicidal criminals, each bumping up against the other. The powder was already dry, if you get my meaning. I just struck the match.’

  ‘I won’t do it,’ he said. ‘No two-copper slinger is going to come in here and muscle me into submission.’

  ‘I admire your spunk. But you will do it – if you take a moment to think about it, you’ll realize that you will do it. Because the Gitts don’t mean anything to you, and neither do the Asher – not anything against your future, against your reputation. You’d weigh your own good against a whole pile of strangers’ corpses and not need to double check the scale.’ I waved off his protest with the hand that wasn’t rolling a smoke. ‘Don’t take offense – I’d do the same. Everyone would. And once you realize that, you’ll realize that the only thing that’s stopping you is pride. Nothing wrong with a little pride – keeps a man’s spine upright, keeps his walk steady.’

  I offered him the cigarette. He refused it. I stuck it between my teeth, and turned my head back on Wren. ‘What did I say – pride.’

  Wren didn’t respond. He didn’t seem to be enjoying this as much as I was.

  I rounded on the Captain. ‘Just don’t take pride’s counsel too closely. Right now it’s telling you to buck – throw a punch, tell me to go fuck myself. But pride will be cold comfort in two weeks when you’re busted down to private for suspicion of buggery, I can assure you of that.’

  Kenneth was smart, and angry – but anger goes away after a while, and smart sticks around. He muttered something that I knew to be assent, but I needed him to say it to me straight. ‘What was that?’

  ‘I said all right, damn it.’

  ‘I knew you’d do the smart thing.’

  There was no point in hanging around and humiliating the man any further – in truth I did like the Captain. On some level I regretted getting him involved in this, though that part of me that felt bad for using people was pretty well atrophied. I signaled to Wren, and he slid out into the darkness. Then I got up from where I’d been sitting and went to join him. Kenneth made a frantic dash for his pants, pulling them on with impressive speed.

  ‘No reason to sprint out so soon,’ I said. ‘The damage is done, you might as well enjoy yourself.’ I stopped in the doorway. ‘But don’t get too wrapped up in your recreation. Business comes first, after all, and you’ve got responsibilities to take care of – tomorrow at nine.’

  ‘Tomorrow at nine,’ he agreed, everything that made him what he was drained out onto the floor.

  ‘Good man,’ I said, and stepped into the night.

  37

  We walked a few blocks east in silence, then moved into a small bar, taking a seat in the corner. Wren was holding back bile, but it had soaked out on to his face, plain as print. He’d need to control himself better if he wanted to follow in my footsteps. But then, after the night’s work, I didn’t think that was in the cards.

  I ordered a bottle of whiskey. The bartender took a long time bringing it over, but that was fine. I wasn’t particularly excited to begin the conversation that was coming.

  ‘You didn’t need me for that,’ Wren said.

  ‘Not really,’ I admitted.

  ‘Why’d you take me along?’

  ‘Ain’t you been asking to take a step up in the ranks? Tricks of the trade, my young
apprentice.’ I poured us both a shot, clinked my glass off his and threw back the shot. ‘Cheers.’

  Wren kept his hands at his sides, didn’t touch the drink in front of him.

  ‘Don’t make yourself ill over it. No real harm done. The Captain is better off in my pocket than he was out there all alone, stirring up trouble.’

  ‘He seemed real appreciative,’ Wren said.

  ‘Some people have trouble displaying gratitude.’

  ‘You’ve never said anything bad about the Captain.’

  ‘I’ve cut the throats of men I liked more than Captain Ascletin,’ I said honestly. ‘Wasn’t anything personal in what we did tonight.’

  ‘What you did.’

  ‘What we did,’ I repeated. ‘I’d never have found him if it wasn’t for your capable shadowing. And if you think he’ll forget the face of one of the men that broke him, I can assure you, you’re thinking is incorrect. No, my young friend – morally and practically, we split culpability straight down the center.’

  Wren took a while to swallow that, and he needed the assistance of the whiskey I’d poured for him. ‘Tomorrow the Gitts and the Asher will go to war.’

  ‘Looks like it.’

  ‘Gonna be a lot of bodies.’

  ‘Couldn’t happen to a nicer set of people.’

  ‘You’re always saying that violence is bad for business.’

  ‘I do say that.’

  ‘That only amateurs solve problems with a weapon.’

  ‘And I stick by it. Professionals solve their problems with other people’s weapons.’

  ‘That was why you had me run that stash of fever over to Kitterin Mayfair.’

  ‘Calum knew Uriel was behind the red fever. If he found someone selling it on his territory … You didn’t need to be a Scryer to anticipate a reaction.’

  ‘If there’s open war in Glandon, it’ll filter into Low Town.’

  ‘Won’t be the first war I’ve lasted through.’

  ‘Why’d you do it?’

  At the table in the corner, two amateurs were engaging in a very thinly veiled drug transaction. Alledtown wasn’t the sort of place where the guard were likely to go about hassling anyone, but all the same, it offended my sense of professional pride. I took another swig of whiskey. ‘I didn’t raise a fool. You can’t put the pieces together when they’re all laid out, I got no help for you.’