“If that’s the case,” Hosato asked, “why should I fight at all?”
“Again, there are two reasons,” Suzi replied. “I know you, Hosato. The first reason is time. You’ll stall for more time, just as you’ve been doing, hoping for a miracle to save you. You’ll fight for more time, even if it’s a matter of minutes. The second reason is your pride. You’d rather be killed in a fight than standing meekly to the slaughter. Besides, right now you want nothing more than to prove, even with your dying breath, that you can beat me, that a man is better than a machine.”
Hosato let out a long breath.
“You know me pretty well, Suzi,” he said. “Or at least you think you do. Since there seem to be no further questions to be answered, shall we begin?”
So saying, he extended his sword and settled into his en garde position.
- * -
Suzi also extended her sword in preparation.
“You forgot to salute.” she pointed out.
“No I didn’t,” Hosato replied. “The salute is a sign of respect for one’s opponent.”
“Your attempts to arouse anger in me are quite useless. Hosato. A robot—”
Hosato attacked.
Darting forward in a long, low glide, his blade hung in the air until Suzi began her parry. Then, in the blink of an eyehe deceived her blade and tried for the hit.
Suzi’s sword was a blur of motion, striking his blade once, twice, and finally wrenching it from his grasp to send it clattering to the floor.
Hosato froze, his eyes focused on the glittering point of Suzi’s sword poised inches from his heart.
“—is not dependent on normal conditions for efficient operation,” Suzi said, her train of conversation uninterrupted. “That attack was so elementary as to be insulting, Hosato. Pick up your weapon and try again.”
Hosato stooped slowly and regained his sword. As he didhe shot a glance at Sasha and James. They were staring fixedly, not at himbut at Suzi’s back. It took him an instant to recall that the humiliating incident was being recorded and displayed on the robot’s viewscreen.
He returned his thoughts to the duel. Suzi would not be easy to beat, if she could be beaten at all. What was it the maestro had always said. “Fence with your head, not your heart.” He needed to think, to plan. Unfortunately. Suzi was apparently unwilling to allow him the necessary time to organize his strategy. As soon as he regained his upright position, she moved forward, sword extended for the kill. Hosato parried reflexively and attempted a counterthrust.
What followed was a blinding display of swordwork as the weapons darted back and forth at dazzling speeds, now blocking a thrust, now probing for the exposed target. In the end, the result was the same. Hosato’s sword clattered to the floor and Suzi’s point stopped inches short of its target.
“Much better,” Suzi commented. “You haven’t used that combination since Uran. Remember. When your opponents hired a maestro to represent them in the duel. It worked there, but not here.”
Her voice hardened.
“Pick up your sword, Hosato. Give it your best shot. This time I won’t stop. This time, when the exchange ends, you’ll be dead.”
Hosato took his time retrieving his weapon. This was the only planning, time he’d be allowed. How to beat the robot. Correction, robots. His eyes darted to the security robot poised in the corner. They were stronger, faster What was it his grandfather had said. Use the enemy’s strength against him. How did that apply here. There were two of them and only one…
A germ of an idea came into his mind. He examined it. It would be close, but it just might work. His fingers closed around the handle of his sword and he straightened again.
“You’re right, Suzi,” he said levelly. “This will be the last exchange.” As he spoke, he began to circle, moving sideways around the office. Suzi warily imitated his move, circling opposite to his path.
“Make it good, Hosato,” she said. “I have a point to prove.”
“So do I, Suzi,” Hosato commented. “If machines could replace humans, if their logic was better…”
She was in position now, her back to the security robot.
“… if computers were so all-fired great, then this wouldn’t come as a surprise!”
He spun and lunged at the camera on the desk. In that frozen moment, two things happened. Suzi, reacting to Hosato’s now defenseless position, started forward on the attack. But Suzi wasn’t the only robot in the room. The security robot was suddenly confronted with two images. Hosato lunging at the camera on the desk constituted no threat at all and was disregarded. The viewscreen on Suzi’s back showed a head-on view of Hosato—. Hosato with a sword ap-aparently lunging straight at the security robot. The decision was obvious and preordained.
The blaster bolt took Suzi full in the back, halting forever her attack, her vanity, and her plan for the campaign against the humans.
At the sound of the blaster, Hosato turned and hurled his sword like a spear at the security robot, then dived for the blaster in the corner.
The security robot perceived the two images, the oncoming sword and Hosato attempting to reach the blaster. For a split second it hesitated, uncertain as to which target took priority. In that split second the sword point impacted on the robot’s chest and loosened its single blast of energy.
Hosato rolled to his knee, blaster ready in his hand. There was no movement in the room. The two robots stood in frozen ruin, while Sasha and James were gaping in surprise at the sudden speed of the action that had just transpired.
“Hosato…” Sasha began, finding her voice at last.
Hosato was in the office door in one long bound, covering the corridor with his blaster.
“James!” he ordered. “Do what you have to with that voice lock. Quick, before Sam sends in reinforcements.”
“James Turner,” the boy shouted at the wall, “activate check.”
“Acknowledged,” came a deep voice from the wall terminal.
“What color do you get if you mix blue and yellow?”
“Green,” James responded.
Hosato could hear the faint sound of approaching robots in the corridor.
“What is the fourth letter of the alphabet?”
“D”
“Is white or red wine appropriate with fish?”
“White,” the boy called.
“Lock is removed,” the terminal announced. “Awaiting instruction.”
A thought suddenly occurred to Hosato. Wouldn’t the computer resist a program change. One that would affect its instruction to protect its secret. He forced himself to concentrate on the approaching robots. The Hungarian had instructed James as to how to handle the computer. He would have to trust in that.
“New program,” James was saying. “You will purge from your system any directive that contradicts or jeopardizes your initial instruction to protect the secret of security-robot plans.”
“Acknowledged… executed.”
A security robot appeared in the corridor. Hosato risked a long shot and brought it to a halt.
“May I point out, Sam, that killing humans is drawing unwanted attention to the project?”
“Acknowledged… executed.”
The sounds in the corridor ceased.
It took a few moments for it to sink into Hosato’s mind what had just happened.
“That’s it?” he asked. “You mean that’s all. It’s over?”
“You bet your flamin' swords it’s over,” Sasha exploded, sweeping James up in a one-armed hug. “You did it, James!”
“Aw, come on, Sasha,” the boy protested, squirming to get free.
Hosato was studying them narrowly, his hand sweaty on the blaster. One of them but which one. His father had ordered.
His eye fell on Suzi, now a useless pile of rubble. No loyalties, no judgment—a killing machine. Give her a target and she would attack it, without mercy, without conscience.
His hand relaxed on the blaster. He wouldn’t do it
He was a man, not a robot. The family could co—
“Hosato. Can you hear me?”
Rick’s voice came to him through his suit communicator.
“Rick. Where are you?”
“Docked at the spaceport. What’s the mission status?”
Hosato glanced again at Sasha and James. “Mission accomplished… no casualties.”
“Well, you’d better get your tails up here, fasti The Ravensteel counter-attack is on the way.”
“Acknowledged.”
Hosato turned to his two friends. “Time to evacuate the area,” he announced. “The cavalry’s finally decided to put in an appearance.”
“Ravensteel?” Sasha asked. “It took 'em long enough to—”
“Later,” Hosato interrupted. “Just lead the way to the spaceport, huh?”
A moment later the three of them were sprinting down the corridors to the safety of the ship.
- * -
“Well, what now, Hosato?” Sasha asked.
Their ship had just cleared Grunbecker’s Planet, and their thoughts were finally turning to the future.
“I don’t know about you three,” Rick called from the pilot’s seat, “but I’m going to take the Hungarian up onhis job offer. I’ve had enough excitement to last me three lifetimes.”
Hosato frowned. “I certainly haven’t given the future much thought.”
“I believe at one point we were about to discuss a possible partnership,” Sasha prompted.
“One thing is sure,” Hosato continued, ignoring her. “Whatever we decide, it’s going to take money. Hey, Rick. Are we still in communications range of Griinbecker’s?”
“I think so. Why?”
“Patch me through on the Ravensteel wavelength, will you?”
It took a few moments, but the voice on the speaker mike was clear and distinct as Rick passed it to Hosato.
“This is a private frequency,” the voice announced briskly. “Identify yourselves.”
“Gedge, you old rascal.” Hosato smiled. “Remember me?”
“Hosato. Is that you, you bastard?”
Hosato winked at Sasha. “Now, is that any way to talk to a loyal Ravensteel employee?” he scolded.
“Don’t give me that,” Gedge’s voice snarled. “I recognized you. You shot up our ore robots!”
“All part of my master plan,” Hosato assured him.
“Can you confirm that the Mc. Crae complex is currently inoperative?”
“It’s inoperative because we just blasted the hell out of them,” Gedge said firmly. “What’s that got to do with you?”
“Well,” Hosato said, looking at the ceiling, “I could point out that your strike would have encountered major resistance if it wasn’t for my inside work, but I won’t. The point is, Ravensteel hired me to render the Mc. Crae complex inoperative by any means possible, and it is now inoperative. By my calculations, that means Ravensteel owes me an additional one hundred thousand credits. Confirmed?”
“You’re crazy, Hosato!” Gedge’s voice was shrill. “You kill my men and shoot up our ore robots, then expect us to pay you for it. If anything, we’ll—”
“Gedge!” Hosato interrupted sharply. “Let me explain the facts of life to you. As an independent operative I can’t afford to have it get out that a person or group can hire me and then not pay up. Now, is Ravensteel going to pay me the balance agreed upon, or do I have to collect it by other means?”
“What other means?” Gedge snorted. “You think you can sue us. There isn’t—”
“Gedge,” Hosato said softly. “Remember what Ravensteel hired me for. What I did for Ravensteel, I can do to Ravensteel. Tell that to your board of directors and see if they don’t think a hundred thousand isn’t a real bargain.”
There was a moment of silence before Gedge answered.
“I’ll tell them, Hosato,” he said finally. “But if you think you can—”
“Yes, I think I can.” Hosato smiled. “And I’m willing to bet they think I can, too. I’ll be in touch later with details on the payment.”
He signaled Rick to break contact.
“Well,” he said, turning to Sasha, “what do you think. You know the corporate mind. Do you think they’ll pay?”
Instead of answering, Sasha took the speaker mike from his hand and passed it to James.
“Here, kid,” she said. “Take this up to Rick. And stay up there awhile. I want to talk to Hosato.”
The boy’s eyes darted between the two of them; then he nodded and left.
“Okay, Hosato,” she said slowly. “You want to know what I think. Well, here it is. I don’t think they’ll pay. They probably wouldn’t have paid anyway, but when you toss in a few threats, that’s extortion and they’ll never budge there. They can’t. If they pay now, you can come back next year with the same threat, and the next year, until they’re bled dry. Corporations don’t pay extortionists.”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way,” Hosato admitted.
“So I don’t think they’ll pay. What I do think they’ll do, what I’d do if I were in Gedge’s place, is stall. They’ll tell you all the directors aren’t available, or they need time to raise the cash, or a dozen other things to gain time. In the meantime, they’ll send assassins after you. They have to. You’re too dangerous to them to be left alone.”
“Whom will they send?” he asked quietly.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “That’s more your line than mine. I imagine they could hire a pack of them for less than a hundred thousand. Hell, Gedge hates you enough to do it for free.”
Hosato lapsed into thoughtful silence.
When he had refused to kill Sasha or James, he knew he was risking punitive action from his family. Now that he was outside, he posed a greater threat to the family security than either Sasha or James. It was only logical that the family would try to find him and kill him. He had hoped to have a period of grace while the various members tried to fit it into their work schedule, but it seemed that chance was gone. Since profit always came first, if Ravensteel offered them the contract, if they could show a profit and at the same time plug a security leak, the assignment would suddenly gain top-priority status.
He wondered if they would send his sister, or if his grandfather would personally…
Sasha laid a hand on his shoulder, breaking his train of thought “Hey!” she said softly. “It won’t be all that bad. There’ll be two of us… three if James comes along. We don’t die easy, remember?”
Instead of replying, he took her in his arms and held her tightly. Eventually he’d have to tell her about the real odds they faced. Eventually… but not now.
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