Into the Light by Jane Wallace
Chapter 19

Sevin marched through the door of the Heaven Sent Kava Klub at 14:32 GST precisely the next day. Zendra waited for him alone, sitting on a stool at a high table by the window, a glass of pink kava in her hand. She was elegant in a new outfit, a two-piece businesswear in alternate stripes of navy-blue and light grey. She looked as if she had worked every day of her life in an office and didn’t know one end of a weapon from another. She looked up from the infotainer in the middle of the table as he arrived.

‘Lauden not here?’

She shook her head.

‘You made it alright?’ He took the seat beside her. They were on the eighth floor of a former packing house in the disposals district, the dump for Delta Nine where rubbish and sewage was stored pending transit to Below for recycling or forwarding to Borredan. From this spot, he could look down on the cheapest, most deprived part of Base, home to the illegal immigrants, black marketeers and manual labourers who could only afford accommodation where no-one else wanted to live. They’d brought their own culture with them: cheap, brash, colourful and dangerous. For that reason, the district had acquired a certain notoriety fashionable with the creative and student set.

‘Yes, fine. They didn’t seem to follow, it was easy,’ she said.

‘Too easy. I don’t know who they were, or what happened to Lauden.’

‘Where did he go? It’s not like him at all to do that.’

‘You haven’t seen him since?’

‘No. You?’

‘No. I’ve been looking, there’s not a trace and I went in every damn dice bar in town last night.’

The waitress approached their table, a pretty Zudanese girl wearing a diamante face mask. Sevin ordered a drenna, straight up, no ice.

‘I was thinking,’ Zendra began after the waitress left, ‘if he doesn’t turn up here, that means, well, he could be hurt or captured, I suppose. But if he isn’t either of those two …’

‘It means he set us up?’

‘Yes.’

‘Well, if he did, it failed,’ said Sevin, unwilling to believe Lauden had betrayed them despite the mounting evidence.

‘But if he did, he’s blown his cover, we won’t see him again.’

‘Maybe.’ Sevin accepted his drenna from the waitress, placing his value card against the payment terminal on her tray. He swirled the liquid in the beaker thoughtfully.

‘We’ve still got a mission to complete,’ he said eventually. ‘We should concentrate on damage limitation, carry on with what we came here to do, whether Lauden’s with us or not.’

‘That’s all we can do.’

‘So how was your meeting with the cousin?’

‘Good. I said we were in a hurry and he managed to get a meeting with Singing Lark for tomorrow, 11:30 GST.’

‘Great! What’s the venue?’

‘There’s an abandoned Veldan showroom, you know, the buggy brand, on East Loop, just by the old space terminal. The address is 295 Roundside. He said to go to the fourth floor. The whole area’s derelict, apparently, because they’re waiting for some redevelopment deal to go through. We won’t be disturbed.’

‘Perfect. You stay on that, I’ll make contact with the Brotherhood and see if we can pick up where we left off. There’s a cha place near East Loop, on the corner of H and Ninth, called the Jululu. I’ll meet you there at 10:30 GST.’

‘What about Lauden? Do you want me to look for him?’

‘Is it worth it?’

‘What about that woman he’s always raving about? She lives here, doesn’t she? Tala something, the society princess. Maybe he’s gone to find her?’

‘Tala Baran, the girl who broke my heart,’ said Sevin mimicking Lauden’s doe-eyed, love-lorn expression. ‘She may have been to Jes, but I doubt she was a real princess. I think they worked together for a time. But they split up years ago, he wouldn’t be interested in her now.’

‘I don’t know, he brings it up often enough.’

Just to make you jealous, thought Sevin, keeping the comment to himself because he knew Lauden’s passion was not reciprocated. He looked down at the infotainer instead. ‘We’ve got grid access. If Tala Baran really is or was someone, we’ll be able to find her on here.’

‘I’ll do it.’ Zendra pulled the touchpad towards her. It didn’t take long before her skinny eyebrows shot up almost to her auburn hairline. ‘Well, well, well, you were right, Tala Baran is no princess. Take a look at this.’ She spun the infotainer around to Sevin. ‘If this is the same woman, she’s a dancer, an exotic dancer. She’s on stage today. The matinee’s already started but there’s another show tonight.’

Mystified, Sevin bent closer to the compact screen. There was a picture of a slim Gridin woman in a soaring silver head-dress and ruby leotard. ‘Tala Baran and the Fantastikats,’ screamed the legend. ‘This saucy show will leave you mewing for more.’ Underneath in smaller type it read: ‘WARNING: THIS PERFORMANCE CONTAINS NUDITY.’

‘Some kind of princess.’ Sevin looked at his timepiece. ‘Thirty minutes late, he’s not going to turn up now.’ He slid off the stool and finished his drenna in one gulp. ‘Go round the dice bars again, see if you can find him. I’ll track down the dancer and the Brotherhood.’

Zendra nodded. ‘The Jululu at 10:30 tomorrow, whatever.’

θ

The infinicom on the systems desk chirped, distracting Xin from her daily scan of the engine functions.

‘Professor, please come to the life support suite, there is a problem in the envirocon operating system,’ said Mimi’s voice.

Xin sighed. ‘What is it now?’

‘Temperature regulation is malfunctioning.’

‘Not again. Can’t you fix it?’

‘We have run all the diagnostic programs available and cannot locate the source of the problem.’

‘Ludi and Roxi have tried?’

‘Affirmative.’

‘They didn’t find anything?’

‘Negative.’

‘Alright, I’m coming down.’ Xin clicked off the infinicom and closed down the system’s desk holostation.

‘Something serious?’ asked Hauki, swivelling around from the navdesk.

‘Not really, we’ve had this problem with the envirocon ever since we left Tian. The morphs can’t seem to fix it.’

‘Is it serious?’

‘Not in itself. I should be able to correct it, given time.’

‘We haven’t had much of that lately.’

‘What is available now I shall use profitably,’ said Xin with an air of self-righteousness. She looked around the bridge. ‘I presume Marik is asleep?’

‘Watching totavision, I think.’

‘Hmm.’ Xin piled all her contempt for the pilot into a single sniff. ‘I’ll be on Level 5 if you need me.’ She swept off the flight deck and made her way down to the life support suite where the three morphs were watching a datastream roll past on the main viewer. Ludi turned to her as she entered.

‘Professor, please take a look.’

She inspected the datastream. ‘We still have this problem with the delay between the command from the regulator and the action initiating?’

‘Yes, Professor.’

‘Run a dummy in slow time.’

Ludi keyed in the commands and Xin watched lines of code flicker past as the regulator processed information and passed on orders to the heating system. There was nothing out of order.

‘You ran a virus search?’ she asked.

‘Yes,’ confirmed Roxi.

‘The embedded and meta-text scans?’

‘The embedded scan.’

‘What about the meta-text?’

‘Negative,’ said Mimi.

‘Why not? That would show up any irregularities.’

‘We are not authorised to use that software. It is known to generate conflicts with Infinity’s existing virus protection.’

Xin groaned inwardly, the words sounded too much like her own. ‘Did I deny that authorisation?’ she asked.

‘Yes.’

‘Authorisation to use meta-text scan is now given. Perform!’

Ludi ran the scan. It did not take long to isolate a rogue program within the machine script.

‘What is that?’ said Xin.

‘My analysis describes it as a tracking transmitter,’ said Ludi. ‘It is triggered whenever the envirocon system sends the order to life support to increase or decrease the ship’s temperature.’

Xin stared at the impassive morph. ‘A homing signal? Do you know what that means?’

‘A homing signal is an acoustic or radio device used to track …’

‘We know what it does,’ Xin interrupted. ’What it means is that someone is tracking Infinity, that whoever it is knows exactly where we are at any one time.’ The conversation with Sevin about the potential traitor on board came back in a rush. That person or persons had probably set this gadget up too. And if they knew where Infinity was, how much more did they know?

‘Professor, is this homing signal beneficial?’ asked Ludi. ‘If it is not, we should delete it.’

’Yes, immediately! ‘No, wait - leave it alone,’ she added, considering that by stopping it they would alert the setter to its discovery.

‘This is not logical. We must follow the protocol.’

‘Not this time. Watch the signal, see if it mutates and if it does, inform me immediately. Authorisation to discuss this matter with any other human, morph or computer is denied. Resume normal duties.’

‘Confirmed.’ The three morphs replied as one. Xin looked at their synthetic faces, aware of the paradox that she considered these machines to be more trustworthy than their human counterparts on board. Then she raced to the solace of her workshop where she could think through the ramifications of what she had just learned.

ι

The second half of the show was winding up when Sevin arrived at the Vidio Theatre in Bellaire Place. This was one of Central’s seamier entertainment hubs, known locally as the Pocket Rocket because of the complex’s cylindrical shape and pointed roof. With a massive disconnect in social policy, the Gharst government had closed the sweat boxes but overlooked the coterie of sex shows, dancing girls and feel-ups jumbled inside the thirty-floor building that reached almost to the ceiling of Centre itself, an ingenious creation which tempered the incoming light into a triumphant shade of blue.

From the number of punters shuffling from unit to unit, some furtive, some brazen, Sevin could tell the Rocket’s establishments were doing good business. The same was true of the Vidio itself. It was styled as a twentieth-century bordello with gilt-framed pictures and crystal chandeliers garnishing the red-carpeted foyer. A black drape bearing a ‘sold out’ notice was pulled over the ticket booth on the left while a waitmorph polished beakers behind the small bar opposite. As Sevin looked at the signs which pointed to the auditorium at the back, tumultuous applause broke out from inside the theatre. The audience began to flood out and Sevin realised he would have to find the dressing rooms to have a chance of seeing Tala Baran.

Going against the tide, he forced a path through the exiting throng and into the narrow corridor at the back of the foyer. It opened into the stalls, emptying ranks of burgundy plush seats. An army of dommies with rubbish sacks and cleaning cloths were moving in to clear the takeaway food wrappers or any more personal detritus left in the front-row vibration seats. Sevin walked purposefully down the aisle and the morphs did not accost him, even when he climbed the handful of steps to the stage and went into the wings, passing through the sliding scenery with its morass of cables and pulleys. Negotiating a bin of artificial tree branches, he came to another set of stairs which descended into a scruffy passageway running parallel to the stage. The first door he saw was ornamented with a large gold star and a name plate which said ‘Tala Baran’.

He was about to enter when a hand on his shoulder restrained him. ‘You can’t go in there, she’s getting dressed!’ He turned to see a flustered Borredan girl who wore two furry ears in her hair and a black gauze corset which concealed nothing. ‘All fans have to wait outside,’ she added, ‘it’s the rule.’

‘I’m not a fan,’ said Sevin, reaching into his pocket and bringing out a hundred munit note. Her eyes widened and she backed away, her mouth opening and closing uselessly like a fish. ‘Get out of here,’ said Sevin, thrusting the money into her cleavage. She retreated further, her hand clutching at her breast before she spun around and scarpered down the corridor. With a cynical smile, Sevin watched her go, her artificial tail waggling behind her. Then he grasped the crystal handle of the door and went inside.

He was in a tiny room with mirrored walls and ceiling. On the left, there was a dressing table and stool under a curve of embedded lights. On the right, a rail of costumes sewn with beads and sequins leaned heavily against the glass. Stacked on the shelf above the rail were a selection of headdresses, plumed and sparkling. There was no sign of any human occupant.

Sevin tightened his grip on the Stirling, examining the joins of the mirror tiles for a concealed cupboard. He jumped as a throaty female voice which came from nowhere said in Standard: ‘What do you want?’

He wheeled around but there was nobody except himself in the room. He caught his own image in the mirror, wild-eyed and disoriented, being bounced backwards and forwards in a perpetual reflection that shrank to inconsequence.

‘Tala Baran,’ he said to the ceiling. ‘I want Tala Baran. I need to talk to her.’

‘Whaddabout?’ The voice was guarded with a heavy Altan accent.

‘A mutual friend - Jes Lauden.’

‘You wanna talk about Jes Lauden? You and everybody else in this world!’ said the voice angrily. ‘Now buddy, you just listen up cos I is sick of saying this over and over. Like I told your man yesterday, I ain’t seen Jes Lauden in eight years and there ain’t nothing happened since to alter that particular situation!’

Sevin frowned. ’I didn’t send anyone yesterday. Whoever you think I am, you’re wrong. I am Major Tem Sevin of Coalition Space Command. Jes Lauden has been under my command for most of the last five years until he disappeared yesterday from the Galaxy bar on Base. I think he’s in trouble and I need to find him.’

‘Damn right he’s in trouble! If I ever see him again, I’ll skin him myself.’ The voice turned shrill. ‘Now Major Whoever-ya-are, I’ve just about had enough of you and your pals, you can grut going. If you’re not feeling that way inclined, I can tell you with every confidence that I got me a gun here and I know how to use it.’

‘What pals? Tell me about the pals.’

‘Don’t pretend you don’t know,’ the voice scoffed.

‘A tall woman with red hair?’

‘No, daftarse, two Brothers with bad attitude. You sent them, you should know.’

‘I didn’t send them. What did they want?’

‘What is this - twenty questions? The same as you, a’ course.’

Sevin let the Stirling drop. ‘And what’s that?’

‘Don’t jerk about. Twelve million ain’t no joke.’

‘Twelve million?’ Sevin was stumped. ‘I don’t understand what you mean.’

‘Sure you do,’

‘Really, I don’t.’

There was a pause while the voice considered the veracity of the statement. Then it gave a low chuckle. ‘He never told ya, did he?’

‘Told me what? Who?’

A part of the wall beside the clothes rail slid back and the Gridin woman from the Fantastikats publicity picture stepped out. She was still in costume, a powder-pink catsuit edged with white fur and knee-high boots in patent fuchsia leather. On the advertisement she had looked vulgar; in the flesh she was far more alluring. In her early thirties, she had firm curves which screamed out to be pinched and her ebony skin seemed to glow with an irrepressible vitality. Sevin could understand Lauden’s broken heart, she was the sort of woman that would make it difficult to sleep at night. The rackarmen in her hand added a further piquancy.

‘Never said why he left Delta Nine? Never said why he left me?’ Tala closed the mirrored door and stood in the centre of the room.

’As far as I know, Jes Lauden was the - a well-respected - trader at Banco Delta before the war. He joined up in ’65 as a private and worked his way through the ranks to Sergeant. He was, and still is, an exemplary officer.’ Sevin chose to skate over the present position. He holstered his gun as a point of honesty. ‘You tell me different.’

Tala gave him a condescending look and kept her gun on Sevin. ‘Jes Lauden is a cheat and a fraud. He conned investors out of millions of munits then skipped town with the money.’

‘I don’t believe it.’

‘I swear! He did work at Banco Delta, for sure. But he was never a trader, he was an accountant. He did the books, the others did the brain job.’

‘An accountant?’ That wasn’t the way Lauden had told it. As far as Jes was concerned, he was the rainmaker, pulling in record profits for the bank and collecting untold riches for himself, attracting starlets and beauty queens who threw themselves at his feet. Sevin had suspected there was more than a dash of exaggeration in it all but this was beyond his imaginings. Lauden and his talent for numbers. He thought of all the times he had seen Lauden with a beaker in one hand, cards or dice in the other. Being that close to large sums of money must have been irresistible.

‘So there were others in the deal?’

‘Yup, two traders.’

‘How did it work?’

‘The normal way, adding a commission here, taking a slice there. No-one noticed, the bank was making so much money anyway, they didn’t seem to care. So the sums just kept on gettin’ bigger and bigger.’

‘And Lauden made it all add up at the end of the day?’

She nodded. ‘Until someone did notice. All cos that stupid dozer screwed it up.’ Her hand tightened around the gun. ‘Jes made a mistake on one of the programme trades, nothing that he couldn’t have explained away. Compliance picked it up and he took fright. If he’d stuck to the story, faced it off, then Stike - he was the main trader - could’ve passed it off as oversight. But he didn’t, he got the fear and he split, and that was all the proof they needed.’

‘So what about the twelve million?’

‘That was the upside on the last trade, a double-call on antimatter forward contracts. Far as I know, the little scrit took it with him.’ She closed her eyes briefly. ‘I never saw him after that, he skipped town. Mind you, he had to, I would’ve done the same. Stike was on his case for his cut, the police were on to him and the Finance Authority. He’s still on the wanted list.’

The reason for Lauden’s reluctance to visit Delta Nine became clear.

‘What happened to the others?’ asked Sevin.

‘Lost their jobs and went to jail. Stike got three years, didn’t do him no good, he hung with way the wrong crowd inside. Since he’s been out he’s gone from bad to worse, drug-running, people-trafficking, the works.’

‘And you? What happened to you?’

‘Me?’

‘You were the other trader,’ he stated, figuring it out.

She stared at him hard then shrugged. ‘Yeah, I was. I got two years and a life-time ban.’ She gestured around them. ‘This is what’s left to me – strippin’! I had a big house on Midway, y’know. I had a beautiful garden, five morphs to run the place and so much money I couldn’t spend it all. Now look at me.’

Sevin had to admit it was a fall from grace, but he was more interested in the third shadowy figure in the story. ‘This Stike. You thought I was him or working for him. Has he been after Jes too?’

‘Yeah.’ She touched her eye gingerly and Sevin saw that under a thick layer of make-up it was bruised. ‘The message was that he knew Jes was on Delta Nine and I had to tell him where he was.’

‘Is Stike Gharst?’

‘Yup, and ugly with it.’

‘Bald?’

‘Not a thread on his head.’

‘I think I’ve met him.’ Sevin thought of the gang who attacked them in the Galaxy. Lauden must have recognised Stike, which was why he took off. The stupid grut, why hadn’t he told them about it before they arrived, especially when all the subterfuge had led Sevin to suspect him of even worse behaviour?

‘Where is Jes, do you know?’

‘D’you think I’d be here if I did?’ she snapped, but the bravado of her words did not extend to her eyes which shied away from Sevin’s. She was lying, he knew.

‘Well, it’s all news to me,’ he said, opting for the soft approach. ‘I still can’t believe it. Jes Lauden and I have been through some of the war’s toughest campaigns together and if you saw some of the things he’d done, you wouldn’t think it was the same man. I know he’s got his faults, we all have, but he’s no coward.’

‘I wish I could believe you. It ain’t been my experience.’

‘But it has been mine. Dammit, I owe the man my life. He’s no cheat, Tala, he’s a soldier, a hero.’

‘That’s cos I learned by the example I was set.’ The man in question was framed in the open doorway of the mirrored cupboard. He gave an embarrassed grin as he stepped out. ’Don’t feel much of a hero hiding ’mong the dresses in here.’

‘You bloody idiot! Why didn’t you tell me? I saw all those comms you were sending to Delta Nine, I thought you were the informer!’

‘You found those? Yeah well, course you would.’ Lauden exhaled a huge sigh. ‘How could I’ve told ya? I’m not so proud of it myself, what would ya of thought of me?’

‘I really wouldn’t have cared. And I’ve had preferred it if you’d shown up the RV today so I’d have known you weren’t dead.’

‘Yeah, sorry about that. Truth to tell, I was a bit worried about Stike finding us. Tala here’s been looking after me.’ He shot her a coy smile. ‘You can put the gun down now, sugarsweet.’

’Don’t you sugarsweet me! I know you Jes Lauden, all honey words and nothing behind ’em!’

‘I’m sorry Tala, I really am. Like I said earlier, I never meant for it to work out the way that it did. Think I could’ve left ya for any other reason? You know that’s true.’

‘You got one helluva lot of explaining to do, mister, an’ it’s gonna take more than a coupla hours in a cupboard!’ She spoke harshly but her face had softened.

‘I’ll make it up to ya, I promise!’ he said, holding out a hand. ‘Will ya let me try?’

She hesitated, looking between the two men. She let the rackarmen droop. ‘You can try,’ she said, taking the offered hand.

Lauden beamed, locking her in a gaze so intense there could be no clearer hint that Sevin was surplus to requirements. He cleared his throat. ‘Did you set up the RV like we agreed?’ He didn’t mention any names in case Tala picked up information which might get her into trouble.

‘I sure did.’ Lauden tore his eyes away from Tala. ‘At the corner of B and Fourth, there’s a pharmacy. Gotta be standing outside at 20:30 GST and wearing a red hat.’

‘Red hat?’

‘Yup.’

‘Right,’ said Sevin, watching Tala lay her head on Lauden’s shoulder. ‘I’ll go and meet them, shall I?’

‘That’d be great,’ said Lauden, draping an arm around her waist. He looked like his legs were about to give way.

’Zendra’s arranged the other RV for 11:30 at the old Veldan showroom on East Loop. We’re meeting at 10:00 at the Jululu on Ninth and H first.

‘I’ll be there,’ said Lauden, letting his fingers tousle the fur trim of Tala’s neckline.

Sevin left the pair to work out their differences, closing the dressing room door behind him firmly. Outside in the corridor, girls ran past him, dressed in street clothes but with liner smudged around their eyes, heading out for a quick meal between performances. The rest of the Kats, he presumed, as they were all pretty young Gridins or Borredans, skipping on the light feet of dancers like vivid scarves fluttering on the wind. One knocked into him in the melee, apologising hurriedly as she rushed by, leaving him with an impression of teasing eyes and silky hair. They seemed so carefree he was tempted to follow them, spend a while with them in a place far from the everyday. Then he thought of his duties and sighed. It was not to be, he had another date to keep.

He moved off himself then stopped as sharp edges in his pocket chafed his skin. He fished out the offending item. It was a crumpled piece of pink paper he had never seen before. How did that get there? His eyes drifted to the exit as he thought of the Kat who had bumped into him. Maybe she’d slipped him her contact number. He smiled at the unlikely notion and unfolded the note. Five words were written on it in a sloping and artistic hand: ‘There is no Singing Lark.’

κ

The reality, or not, of the dissident was still on Sevin’s mind as he waited outside the Fourth Street Farmacy several hours later, a red cap pulled over his eyes.

Brodie had said there was no resistance effort but he had chosen not to believe him. And now this. Sevin didn’t know who to trust. The communication could be from an unknown friend or disinformation from the Gharst. What if Singing Lark was bogus? Then the meeting with him had the potential to be a trap. But he couldn’t risk slighting a genuine ally either. The encounter would have to be prudently managed.

It had been an afternoon of relevations. They disturbed him because it exposed how little he knew about the people closest to him. That made him vulnerable. He didn’t even know if Lauden and Tala were legally partnered. Why had he never asked about the status of the society princess his sergeant spoke about so longingly? There had always been something more urgent.

He hoped the reconciliation would be happy, he knew all too well the error of leaving faultlines in the past which could blow up in the future. Like Ana, of course, his now ex-life partner. He blamed himself for that particular disaster, he should never have left her behind on Auxo when he enlisted, he should have foreseen she would get into trouble.

He tried to stop it, but the memory exhumed with terrifying speed, propelling him back to that late autumn day. He had been looking forward to his leave for so long, eager to see Ana and their new home she had been decorating in his absence. When he was released unexpectedly early, he decided to surprise her and turn up at the duplex unannounced. Arriving at his own front door, he found it unlocked, unusual because they were so careful with security. He heard the giggles and male laughter from the bedroom upstairs as soon as he crossed the threshold. He didn’t remember climbing the stairs, only crashing through the door and seeing them both naked. Her own uncle. Sevin felt the blind rage nine years on. He’d beaten the guy raw, Ana screaming at him to stop. His anger didn’t abate until the police arrived to haul him away.

A crime of passion, they’d called it, he was lucky the correspondent wasn’t dead. In view of the stressful nature of his duties and his outstanding record, the jury looked on his case kindly, letting him off with a fine and the medical expenses. The relationship had perished though. They sold the duplex, split the proceeds and he was drafted into Special Operations, end of story.

He had no idea what Ana was doing now and he didn’t care. She was gone from his life but the experience stayed with him and he was wary of making such a commitment again. In any ensuing relationships, his indifference had inevitably killed off the liaison. And in his current position, he was hardly eligible material. Anyway, right now he didn’t need any romantic complications.

‘You Veritan?’ A Borredan youth was at his elbow, slight with greasy black hair, short on the top, rats’ tails at the back.

‘Who’s asking?’

‘The Brotherhood,’ the Borredan said with enough menace to let Sevin know he should be intimidated by its very name.

‘I’m your man. My name is Parrish Khan. Mr Veritan is otherwise engaged, he asked me to come in his place.’

The youth nodded. ‘You armed?’

‘Yes, one of yours, Stirling here.’ Sevin tapped the breast pocket of the black jacket he’d bought an hour ago for the express purpose of concealing the weapon.

‘Me,’ instructed the youth, opening his palm. Sevin handed over the weapon and stood still to be frisked with professional brevity.

‘You’re clean. Follow.’ The youth set off at a fast swagger down Fourth, eyeing the passers-by to demand respect for his hardman status rather than to identify any threat to their security. His gait sobered as they took a left into one of Base’s hidden alleys where a long-nosed grey vehicle, part buggy, part limousine, was stationary under a No Parking sign.

‘Wait here.’ The youth approached the rear door of the transit and stopped as if for inspection. Sevin didn’t see a signal but one must have been given because the youth pulled open the door. ‘The Grand Master will see you now.’

Sevin climbed cautiously into the vehicle and settled on the skin-soft leather of the back seat. The man who sat opposite was a Gharst of about forty, bald under a skull-cap of electric-blue silk. He didn’t smile.

‘We met before, but we weren’t introduced,’ he said. ‘My name is Stike Steen.’

λ

‘Have you seen this?’ Hauki placed a portaview on the briefing table in front of Marik with a download of the latest newsfeed.

‘What is it?’ he said, continuing to munch on the cereal rounds of his breakfast.

’The Gharst have razed Cascor. Fusion bombs dropped on all the strategic cities. The fall-out’s total, nothing has survived.’

Marik stopped chewing. ‘On the gods … why?’

‘No reason apparently, and they did it after the whole Andalian system surrendered.’

‘Out of control.’

‘Have you seen the news?’ said Xin, entering through the iris behind them.

‘About Cascor? Yes, we’re just talking about it,’ said Hauki.

‘It’s butchery,’ said Xin, sitting down opposite Marik. ‘We should do something.’

‘Definitely,’ said Marik, slurping on a beaker. ‘This waiting around is killing me!’

‘Six hours to go,’ said Hauki, taking the seat at the head of the table between them. ‘Then we’ll have lots of action.’

‘Six hours, thirteen minutes to be exact,’ said Marik, smacking his beaker on to the tabletop and dislodging a spray of its contents.

‘We’ll get the signal from Sevin in a few hours, then we can get going,’ said Hauki.

‘Shouldn’t we be getting ready now?’ said Xin, scowling at the spilled cha. Marik always made such a mess.

‘There’s plenty of time yet,’ said Hauki, easing back into her chair.

Xin watched her aquiline features sink into repose and envied her untroubled state of mind. Since she had discovered the homing signal in the life support system, she had been worrying away at its meaning. Her research showed that the bug had been installed after they left Tian, so that meant one or more of the existing crew had to be responsible. She doubted it was Sevin, but that left four other suspects, two of whom were onboard with her. Even more perplexing was the bug being programmed to turn off at the exact time of the ground team’s pick-up from Delta Nine. Surely if the Gharst wanted to track Infinity, and she presumed they were the ultimate beneficiary of the information, they would not turn off the device at all? There must be some reason, but she was unable to find it.

In the meantime, she was left with a dilemma – how to ensure the success of the mission without alerting the spy. The ground team was out of range, she couldn’t influence them. But she could have some impact in the air. After a protracted period of deep thought, she hit on a plan, and now seemed as good a moment as any to get Hauki to endorse it.

‘I’ve been thinking about what happens if we don’t get the signal,’ she said.

‘We have to follow orders,’ said Hauki without a pause. ’Sevin said to take Infinity out of danger, we must protect the ship.’

‘And leave the ground team to the Gharst?’

‘That’s what Sevin said.’

‘It seems somewhat precipitate. I have a better idea. If we don’t get the signal, or maybe even if we do, we should send a morph down in the shuttle to retrieve them, rather than one of us.’

Marik choked, spitting crumbs across the table. ‘For the love of heaven, are we wets or what? Firstly, there’s no way the morphs can fly the shuttle, they’d crash it. Second, if we don’t get the signal, it means the ground team’s in a grind and someone’s got to pull them out. We can’t send a machine.’

’We can and it would be safer and more efficient. Infinity stays out of danger and the ground team - or what’s left of it - can exit if they can make the RV. If they can’t, the shuttle can return empty. In the worst case scenario, we lose the morph and the shuttle, not another crew member.’ Xin paused. ‘Plus there’s the fact that while technology can be fine-tuned, human error caused by testosterone overload cannot.’

Marik flushed. ‘That is the scientist, not the strategist, talking. It’s so lame I can’t believe you’re even suggesting it.’

‘I have modelled some potential outcomes. The probability of the Gharst discovering our plans is 78 per cent.’ This was a lie but Xin knew neither Marik or Hauki would be bothered to run the figures for themselves.

‘Ox-drop. Hauki, please tell her she’s completely off the mark.’

‘No, I think it’s a valid point,’ said Hauki, watching Xin so closely that it seemed she intuited the real reason behind the suggestion. ‘How would you do it?’

‘We can set up a comms channel between the ship and the shuttle and basically oversee the flight from here. Now we know we can at least teleport into the ship, we could send breakers down too, for a last resort. In conclusion, we can maintain the RV with zero risk.’ And I can keep an eye on the ship and the two of you.

‘If the ground team is taken out, we would need a bigger rescue effort than Marik on his own,’ said Hauki. ‘We can take a view after the RV. It’s good plan, Xin, we’ll do it.’

Xin smiled at her, trying not to show her relief.

‘I still think it’s a ridiculous idea,’ said Marik, putting his hands behind his head. ‘There’s so many things can go wrong with the tech, you need the human element.’

‘We’ll have that,’ said Xin, standing up.

‘What d’you mean?’

‘The morph will hold the controls but you’ll be the one flying the shuttle.’

Marik’s hands dropped to his lap. ‘How so?’

‘I’ll show you, but you might need some practice.’

μ

Lauden and Sevin arrived together at the Jululu five minutes late. Still in the striped businesswear, Zendra was seated at one of the low tables outside, drinking cha under the red and yellow awning. Lauden, perspiring in the tatty old don’s jacket, had bags under his eyes and a radiant smile.

‘What happened to you?’ Zendra asked Lauden.

‘I, ah, it’s kinda complicated.’

‘Lauden ran into some old friends. He owes them money,’ said Sevin.

‘They think I owe them money,’ Lauden corrected him. ‘It got kinda nasty.’ He sat down, trying to arrange his bulk on the small stool. ‘Anyhow, what’s with you, Sevin, seen a ghost?’ He chuckled at his own joke.

‘Colour’s faded,’ said Sevin, rubbing his cheek. It had been a shock when he saw himself back to normal hue in the mirror that morning. ‘So, you alright?’

‘Great,’ said Lauden, averting his eyes from Zendra. ‘Never better.’

‘Something I should know?’ she asked, divining a meaning beyond the pleasantries.

‘No,’ said Sevin firmly. He reached into the breast pocket of his black jacket and brought out a piece of paper which unfolded and spread on the table.

‘This is a map I drew of the old buggy garage, I did a recce of it last night. You were right Zendra, it is in the middle of nowhere, that whole East Loop area’s a wasteland. Here it is on the Roundside of the Loop, right up by the side of biodome.’

‘It’s quite big,’ she said, studying the indistinct sketch and Sevin’s crabbed handwriting.

‘Yes, the ground floor looks as if it was used as the showroom and the floors above for admin. The workshop is, or was, over here.’ Sevin indicated at a separate building close by.

‘How many floors is it?’ asked Lauden.

‘Five. We’re meeting Singing Lark and whoever he brings with him on the fourth.’

‘That’s right. There’s an old manager’s office overlooking the front forecourt, we’re to go there,’ said Zendra.

‘I know where they mean, I saw it.’ Sevin smoothed out another piece of paper. ‘Here’s the layout of the fourth floor. The elevators are at the back of the building. They’re still operational so they need to be watched, as do the fire exits here and here.’ He pointed at each side of the elevator shaft.

‘They come out at the back of the building?’ asked Zendra.

‘Yes. Now look, when you come out of the elevator, the old reception area is immediately in front of you. There’s a lot of rubbish underfoot, boxes and broken furniture. The original reception desk is still there and behind it is a passageway with the door to the manager’s office here.’ He tapped the relevant portion of the map. ‘It looks on to the forecourt.’

‘Windows?’ said Lauden.

‘Lots of them. Don’t stand too close. It’ll be well-lit, so we’ll see who we’re talking to but so can anyone else, it’s prime sniper territory.’ He gathered up the papers. ‘After the meeting we will split up and travel separately to Chengy. Gate 89 is part of the public quay so don’t be late, waiting time is limited to one hour. Make sure you’re not followed. Any questions?’

Lauden and Zendra shook their heads. Sevin checked his timepiece. ‘We’ll go separately from here as well. We’ll meet on the ground floor inside by the lift in twenty minutes. Zendra, you still have that Stirling?’

‘Yes.’

‘Here’s some more gas.’ He pulled a black cotton bag from under the stool on to his lap and delved inside, fetching out a couple of canisters. ‘And this one’s for you.’ He passed a heavy weight under the table to Lauden’s open hand.

‘What kinda hokey is this?’ said Lauden, inspecting the double-decker laser pistol.

‘Viper 52, a present from the Brotherhood.’

‘You met them then? How come it wasn’t Lauden?’ asked Zendra, immediately interested.

‘Lauden was busy. They were helpful, very helpful.’

‘They have what we want?’

‘And more. Come on, we’re wasting time here. I’ll see you at the garage in twenty.’

Sevin waited until both his companions had gone before taking out his diposable digi. He keyed in a number from memory and waited. The call was answered with a laconic ‘yes’ at the other end. ‘We’re mobile,’ said Sevin. He put the digi back in his pocket, left money on the table for the drinks and headed off down Avenue H for East Loop and the Veldan garage.

ν

East Loop looked exactly the same as when Sevin had visited it twelve hours earlier. Base had four of these ‘loops’, the spare land where the edge of the square street grid didn’t meet the curve of the biodome built over it. They had been given the names of the compass points for convenience; Delta Nine had no magnetic north. Overlooked in the past for being too far from the CTE, the Loops were now seen as prestigious addresses since the Roundside of each Loop, the road closest to the dome wall, offered uninterrupted views into space. The Deltan government had got a handle on height restrictions in this area, so Roundside blocks had to be kept low to allow light into the rest of Base. Regulations were more relaxed for property on the Flatside of each Loop, the straight section of the road running parallel to the street grid, and many had space views. Flatside penthouses could therefore sell for almost as much as their Roundside equivalents.

West, North and South Loops had all been redeveloped, but East Loop was still waiting for the ground to be broken. Folorn stumps of half-demolished buildings fringed its Roundside and a few threadbare businesses held on to their Flatside tenancies. Where the other Loops now had central recreation areas, East Loop had wasteland: a strip of rubble, exposed rock and dumps of litter with no vegetation to enliven the monochrome landscape.

Sevin walked to East Loop the most direct way, along Avenue H. The shops and residential blocks had petered out well before Avenue H terminated in the T-junction with East Loop’s Flatside, a ghost town of boarded-up shops and shacks. Crossing Flatside and a small stretch of wasteland, Sevin soon hit the cracked pavements of Roundside and headed so-called north up the ellipse to the Veldan garage which was located halfway along. After ten minutes he saw a faded sign on the right and turned into the driveway. Painted a smart cream now blistered and peeling, the shopfront revealed an empty showroom behind. Above, regular windows, some still with blinds lowered, suggested the former working environment had been comfortable, if dull. Spare tyres and smashed tree pots on the forecourt were all that remained of the business.

Sevin kept to the right side of the wide-fronted building and walked to its rear until he reached the emergency exit door which he pushed open and went inside.

Lauden and Zendra were waiting for him, staked out behind a banner display of what had been the latest Veldan model, the paper now sagging and spotted with age. They relaxed when they saw the newcomer was Sevin.

‘No tails?’ asked Sevin.

‘No tails,’ said Zendra

Sevin checked his timepiece. ‘Twenty-five to go, time enough to clear the building,’ he said.

‘I’ll do the ground and first,’ said Zendra.

‘I’ll take the second and third, Lauden can do the fourth and fifth. Meet you on the fourth by the lift in ten.’ He nodded at Lauden who fell in beside him to wait for the lift. It arrived swiftly, the doors opening without a sound. They boarded it and Lauden hit the Level Two button.

‘It’s clean in here,’ said Lauden looking around the dust-free corners. The glossy surfaces appeared freshly polished, free of any mark or fingerprint.

‘Maybe someone’s maintaining it. Take care, we don’t know who’s here already.’

The lift doors opened on the second floor. Sevin stepped out with his Stirling in front of him and began a survey. Save for the sunlight streaming through the windows, it was empty. The occupants had moved out several years previously, taking everything including those items which had been nailed down: there were deep scourges in the floors and walls where objects had been bolted on. Sevin took the emergency stairs to the third floor, scouting outside through the staircase windows. They looked over the overgrown scrubland of once beautiful gardens running as far as the dome edge, the stone chalice of a dried-up fountain a solitary reminder of past glory.

It was a similar story on the third floor, another empty shell. There was one life form, a rampant mould which had taken hold of one of the back corners where water was leaking, spreading bilious blotches over the walls. The atmosphere was as moist and warm as if it was decomposing itself. Sevin patrolled the bare boards and mossed-over toilet facilities before heading up to the fourth floor.

He met Lauden at the top of the stairs. ‘Two and three are clear,’ he told him.

’Same for here and above, ’part from all this trash,’ said Lauden. ‘Check it out!’

They were standing in the original reception area, the partition walls blocking out the natural light so they had to squint to see the low-lying couches whose stuffing had burst its seams. A couple of cabinets leaned at deranged angles and, to the left, were the shattered remains of an aquarium. A thick layer of papers and files lined the floor.

The floor indicator light on the elevator flicked on and began to rise.

‘It’s Zendra,’ said Lauden as Sevin spun around to cover the landing doors.

‘You can’t be sure.’

The doors opened to reveal their comrade, Stirling at the ready. She levelled it at Sevin before she realised who was behind the other gun.

‘Sorry, bit jumpy. All clear downstairs though.’ She looked around. ‘What a mess.’

‘Not the best place for a meeting,’ Sevin said. ‘Zendra, take position in the right-hand staircase, watch the back approach. Lauden, stay in reception and watch the lift and the left-hand staircase. I’ll take the front.’

Sevin trod a path past the reception desk and the wall which divided it from the parallel passageway beyond. One doorway dominated the corridor, the entrance to the manager’s office. As he had seen the previous night, three broken-backed chairs sat in the middle of the room, one lying on its side. The room was airy and light with a high ceiling and five windows which gave on to the building’s forecourt and the Roundside beyond. Sevin placed himself next to the central panes from where he could monitor the activity outside unseen and waited.

It was ten minutes before Lauden announced ‘Someone’s coming!’ Sevin left the sill to join Lauden by the chairs, both of them facing the door ready to meet the visitors.

‘Six of them, approaching from the rear,’ said Zendra, coming into the room. ‘They don’t seem armed.’ She took the spot next to Lauden, sandwiching him between Sevin and herself. She kept her weapon trained on the door.

‘Stand the guns down,’ said Sevin, stowing his Stirling in his waistband. They heard the hum of machinery.

‘They’re in the elevator,’ said Lauden.

‘They certainly are,’ said Zendra.

‘Stand down, Zendra,’ said Sevin.

‘I heard you the first time.’

‘Put it down then!’

‘No.’ Zendra grabbed Lauden’s arm and jammed the tip of the Stirling against his head.

‘Hey, let go, whaddya doing?’ said Lauden, his eyes popping in alarm.

‘Obeying orders,’ she said.

‘Whose orders? Not mine,’ said Sevin.

‘No, mine.’ Evan Reverre stood in the doorway, dressed in Spesial Polis uniform and holding a rackarmen.

‘My gods,’ said Sevin, reaching for his gun, shocked by the scope of the subterfuge. He had expected the Gharst to sabotage the meeting, but he hadn’t anticipated Reverre to be behind it, or Zendra to be the conduit. He had considered Marik to be the most likely candidate for traitor, playing the double agent for the adventure of it. The others he had been with too long, seen too many campaigns. Yet Lauden had surprised him and now it was Zendra’s turn. And to betray him to Reverre, it was the cruellest cut of all. He must have recruited her on board Vehement. He remembered the conversation about her frustration with the lack of money, the slow promotion. She been trying to warn him then, maybe even recruit him in turn. He had been too caught up in his own crusades to see it.

‘Don’t trouble yourself, Sevin,’ said Reverre, strutting into the room. Four visored sturmgangers accompanied him. ‘Give me the gun. If you as much blink an iota of resistance, Komodor Zendra will blow your comrade’s head off.’

‘Komodor?’ said Lauden. The Gharst rank was three steps ahead of Zendra’s Coalition grade.

‘I thought you’d been sent to Isvarld,’ said Sevin.

‘It was Rheged and I was delivering the Coalition fleet, if you remember correctly. I was recalled, the task was deemed too humble for my capabilities. It was felt I would be better suited to assimilation of the new territories.’

‘Assimilation of your own wealth,’ said Sevin, reluctantly placing the gun in Reverre’s open hand while a sturmganger removed Lauden’s Viper from his belt. Zendra kept her gun against Lauden’s temple.

‘Sour grapes, Major? It’s tedious being on the losing side, isn’t it? But then I wouldn’t know.’

‘I don’t understand,’ said Lauden, ‘where’s Singing Lark? You got him too?’

‘There is no Singing Lark, you fat freak, there is no resistance,’ said Zendra. ‘I made it all up to get you here.’

‘Zen, please, why you doing this? Ain’t we friends, didn’t I save your goddamned life about a hundred times?’

’Shut up, you stupid morkan! It’ll make life easier for everybody!’

Lauden said nothing, taken aback by the unaccustomed insult.

’So you were the contact with Raveneye onboard Infinity?’ Sevin said. ‘I suppose you set the homing signal too.’

Zendra looked surprised, then her face darkened. ‘Of course.’

’I should have known the minute I saw you walking to Infinity with Skulldur on Tian, all cuddled up in his cloak. You were no prisoner.’

‘And you should have been.’

‘You were going to leave us locked up there to die! I remember the day you joined Special Ops, fresh out of training, hopelessly inexperienced. Five years we’ve fought together, five terrible and bloody years where we laid ourselves on the line for you, and this is how you repay us. What kind of monster are you? I’ll bet you tipped off the Gharst about Oraman Bay too.’

‘Oraman had nothing to do with me,’ said Zendra, looking at Reverre.

‘Senior Coalition officers were involved at every level of the surrender process,’ said Reverre with a sanctimonious smile. ‘They have since been rewarded for their dedication to the True Light.’

There was only one candidate for that role, Sevin thought, and he should have taken the garden spade to him when he had the chance. ‘Fleet Commander Brodie, you mean,’ he said.

‘That is no concern of yours. Komodor Zendra, secure the prisoners, we are leaving presently.’

As Zendra and the sturmgangers set about their task, Sevin heard a tinny voice saying: ‘How we gonna get out of this?’ Sevin instinctively put a hand to his ear before he realised from the tortured expression on Lauden’s face that it was him speaking via the novo. He didn’t know if Zendra would be able to hear his reply so he waited until she had finishing patting Lauden down for concealed weapons. As she stepped back, he thought of Lauden’s callsign and the words: ‘Just do what they say, it’s under control.’

Sevin allowed himself to be searched, holding his breath while the sturmganger smoothed down the sides of his torso and legs but failed to find the stun gun he had taped to his chest earlier.

‘Take them down to the transit,’ said Reverre. He motioned towards the door with his rackarmen which, in a sudden mewling, shrivelled to a blackened lump. He dropped it like a hot coal, looking at his hand in confusion as a tall, bald Gharst entered the room behind him holding a double-barrelled blaster.

‘No-one is going anywhere with my property,’ said the Gharst. He wore a grey tunic and black trousers, as did his entourage, all eight of them, who filed behind. Each one was armed with a Viper and fitted with prosthetic eyeshields.

‘Stike!’ said Lauden with pure terror. ‘Sevin, what’s going on?’

‘The Brotherhood!’ a sturmganger whispered behind them.

‘Put down your weapons and you won’t be harmed,’ said Steen, walking past Reverre to stand a metre from Sevin and Lauden. ‘These two are all I’m interested in.’ He nodded at a pair of his subordinates. ‘Get them.’

‘You will do no such thing, these are our prisoners,’ said Zendra, stepping in front of Lauden.

‘That’s right,’ said Reverre. ‘We are Spesial Polis and this is government business. If you obstruct us, I will have you arraigned for treason!’

‘Shut up, grutrunt, who d’you think you are? A jump-up prancing around in a smart suit, you’re not even Gharst! Listen and learn, the Brotherhood ran this town long before the Rikke moved in and we’re still in charge. Don’t interfere.’

Reverre made a sign to one of the sturmgangers but Steen saw it first, sending three barrels of pulse into the man.

‘Like I said,’ he continued, ‘I only want these two.’

Reverre looked down the length of Steen’s blaster and concluded he was on the wrong end of the fight.

‘Do as he says,’ he ordered his men.

’But Evan!’ said Zendra.

‘Do it,’ he repeated, looking away as a Brother disarmed her and tied her hands behind her back. Reverre ignored her as they were both taken to the corner of the room to be secured to a heavy-based cabinet with thick rope.

‘Finally, we can talk,’ said Steen, moving in on Lauden. Sevin tried to inch away but Steen included him in the blaster’s range. ‘Don’t think you’ve escaped, Parrish Khan! I appreciate your efforts in arranging this meeting but I can’t stand a snitch, even if it is to my advantage. You’ll get what you deserve, I’ll deal with you later.’

Steen motioned to a Brother to restrain Sevin then returned his to Lauden. ‘I’ve waited eight years for this, Jes, eight long years.’

‘I ain’t got it,’ he said.

‘Say that again, I didn’t hear you.’ Steen rammed the blaster into Lauden’s belly.

‘I ain’t got it, I ain’t got the money!’ said Lauden, edging away. The two Brothers behind him raised their Vipers and he stopped, looking towards Sevin. ‘You gotta help me now,’ Sevin heard in his ear, ‘he’s gonna kill me.’

‘That’s a lie. I know you’ve got it hidden away somewhere. Forty per cent of twelve million, that’s what you owe me and it’s time to collect.’

’I told you man, I lost it, lost it all! Banco Delta mini-bonds, they went down in the ’66 crash. I swear, there’s nothing left.’

‘You’re holding out on me like you always did.’ Steen lowering the nose of the blaster towards Lauden’s crotch.

‘I’m telling the truth, believe me. You can do what you like but it ain’t gonna bring the money back.’

‘Set him up,’ ordered Steen, stepping away. Three of the bug-eyed Brothers came forward, one bringing the broken-backed chair, the others hustling Lauden towards it.

‘Wait, stop, what are you doing to him? I only agreed to this because you said you wanted to talk, not to hurt him!’ Sevin said.

‘Oh yes, I did say that, didn’t I? A promise is a promise. That gives me an idea. Let’s go find Tala, shall we? Let’s get her to join our reunion. She never held back, did she, Jes? With the right kind of incentive, she can be very forthcoming.’

‘You lay a finger on her and you’ll regret it,’ said Lauden.

‘Because you’ll – do what exactly?’ Steen spread his arms in a lordly gesture. He looked around the room, taking in the huddle of Spesial Polis in the corner. ‘Leave them here,’ he instructed. He pointed at Sevin and Lauden. ‘Take them to the Chapel, I fancy a trip to the theatre myself.’

Two Brothers seized Lauden and marched him out of the door. Sevin was grabbed by two others and made to follow. He cast a glance back at Zendra who was watching the action sourly. There was no regret in her face. Her eyes met his like a morph’s, blandly indifferent.

’You gotta stop this!’ he heard on his novo. They had reached reception where Lauden was being forced towards the elevator, stumbling over the trash. One of the Brothers hit the call button and they waited. Sevin looked away.

’When you get in the lift, stay near the doors,’ he thought to the novo. ‘Exit the lift as soon as you can, get as far away as possible, do not return.’

‘What’s that noise?’ said the Brother standing next to Lauden. He looked accusingly between Lauden and Sevin. ‘I can hear talking.’

Sevin shook his head. ‘There’s nothing.’

The Brother was still watching them suspiciously as the elevator arrived and they all got in, eight Brothers and Steen with Lauden and Sevin trapped in the middle. The journey down was conducted in uncomfortable silence, the Brothers monitoring every flinch or shuffle. The doors glided apart on the empty showroom when they reached the ground floor.

‘Out,’ said Steen, backing out of the lift. He stopped to let Sevin and Lauden pass in front, encouraging them forward with a poke of his blaster. The pack of Brothers trooped after them as they headed across the showroom to the front entrance. Sevin sneaked a look over his shoulder to see the final Brother exiting the lift and Steen ordering transport to be brought to the forecourt.

As they approached the door, a shot whined out.

‘Police, drop your weapons!’ Figures sprang up around them, from behind the banner display, from the floor, seemingly out of the walls. They were surrounded by a dozen marksmen in urban camouflage. The Brothers hesitated, unsure of what to do. One let off a few pulses into the showroom. He was felled by a volley from four or five blasters.

‘Get down,’ shouted Sevin, hurling himself at Lauden and forcing him to the floor, a further exchange frazzling over their heads.

‘Into the elevator, bring them!’ yelled Steen, backing towards the landing doors and letting his blaster loose on the police positions.

Sevin felt hands grabbing at his shins as someone tried to drag him backwards. He flipped over and kicked up, there was a smack as his boot hit jaw, sending the Brother backwards. He looked to the right to see Lauden grappling with another of Steen’s insects. There was a shout from behind: the elevator doors were closing on the Brothers inside. Lauden’s attacker saw his window of opportunity about to close and released his prey, leaping through the doors before they slammed together.

‘Up the stairs!’ shouted the police leader. Sevin and Lauden sat with their arms over their heads as the squad clattered past. When they had gone, Lauden raised one eye.

‘Why the hell d’you get the Brotherhood along?’

‘I thought they’d add something to the party,’ said Sevin, looking at the knees of a pair of black-trousered legs standing in front of him. His gaze travelled upwards to meet the iron eyes of a Delta Nine Home Police inspector.

‘You’re coming with us,’ the inspector said.

‘But we ain’t done nothing! They took us hostage,’ said Lauden.

‘You can make a statement at the station,’ said the inspector, standing back to let a junior run a hand-held detector over them.

‘I’m telling you, we’re innocent.’

‘Yeah. You were found with twelve million munits and the head of Delta Nine’s largest organised crime syndicate in an abandoned building. I don’t think you were talking about last night’s game.’

‘Twelve million? ’ said Lauden, looking at Sevin accusingly, a spark of understanding breaking through.

‘Allegedly,’ he said, smiling.

‘They’re not armed, sir,’ said the junior.

‘Take them away,’ said the inspector to a pair of armed officers in Home Police uniform standing nearby. They heaved Sevin and Lauden up from the floor and rounded them towards the front door. In the forecourt, a light-armoured police van was waiting.

’So what now?’ said Sevin’s novo as they were loaded into the back of the vehicle. Inside it, flat seats ran the length of the van on both sides. Sevin took a spot near the front on the right and Lauden sat opposite. The officers got in with them, sitting next to a prisoner apiece. They kept their rackarmens aimed at Sevin and Lauden but sat back comfortably, exchanging comments in Rakka. They appeared to be waiting for something, perhaps the driver. Peepholes into the segregated cab showed it was empty.

’Act normally,’ Sevin thought back. ’Make a distraction.’ He pretended to scratch his chest, trying to dislodge the stun gun from its tape.

‘Say, there’s a few of the Brothers escaping down there,’ said Lauden, raising himself to see through the bars on the back window.

The Home Police turned in the same direction as Sevin ripped the gun off his skin. Two seconds later they were both slumped on the seats unconscious.

‘Secure them,’ said Sevin, pulling the cuffs off the belt of one guard. He got his jacket off too and traded it for his own, then clicked the cuffs around the man’s wrists and stuck them together. He picked up the fallen rackarmen and donned the guard’s black Home Police cap. ‘I’ll see if we can get out of here.’

Opening the back door of the van he jumped down and nonchalantly walked around to the driver’s side, hopping inside with what he hoped looked like easy familiarity. Inside, the steering was the same as any other transit. He fiddled under the wheel for the niche where the ignition kit was stored, conscious that he hadn’t hotsunk a transit since he was a teenager. He found the chips and scratched them together. Lights sparked on the dashboard, they even had a full battery.

Sevin grinned as he released the handbrake and performed a three-point turn out of the forecourt. The Home Police marching up the driveway returned his salute as he drove down to the road. Turning right on to Roundside, Sevin gave in to his urge for flight and ramped up the accelerator. The van scooted off, bumping over the potholes.

‘Way to go, partner!’ Lauden shouted through the intercom.

‘They didn’t know what hit them. Let’s get out of here!’

They sped northwards along Roundside until it curved across Flatside and into the fag end of Avenue A, an area given over to a sprawling complex of buildings which processed the Delta Nine’s waste. On Avenue A, they hit the lunchtime build-up of traffic and their pace was reduced to a crawl.

Sevin hit the intercom. ‘We’re gridlocked, we’ll have to abandon the van.’

‘For sure. The guards keep waking up, I can’t keep them under for ever.’

‘I’ll park up down the next side street and we’ll go forward on foot.’

Sevin took the next left into a small alley and drove the van up on to the pavement. Leaping out, he divested himself of the Home Police jacket and binned it, then banged on the side of the van and waited for Lauden to join him. They took off together down the alley, away from the hammering that had started inside as the recovered guards tried to attract attention to their predicament.

‘I take it you told the police to come as well as Stike?’ said Lauden as they hurried along.

‘I didn’t think we could manage him on our own.’

‘It was cool an’ all but please, don’t do that again. Stike was gonna kill me, or Tala.’

‘He won’t be any trouble now. He’ll be inside for a long time, Reverre will make sure of that.’

‘I hope so.’

’I know so, c’mon, this way. Sevin led them down the right-hand spike of a T-junction at the bottom of the alley. ‘We need to head for the Chengy Express.’

‘Is that such a good idea? Zendra knows all our plans, knows the RV for pick up. That’ll be the first place they look.’

’Probably, but without getting a message to Infinity, I can’t see what we can do about it,’

‘What if we don’t send the signal? Then they’d know something’s up.’

’And Hauki takes Infinity away as per my orders. Take a right here.’ They swung around another corner into a parade of shops. Pictures of naked men and women adorned the windows and red lanterns flickered outside a couple of porches. Several men wrapped in long overcoats loitered on the pavement outside a display of lingerie. At the end of the road, a monolithic complex soared as high as the ceiling of the biodome.

‘Dead end, we’ll have to go back,’ said Sevin, turning in the direction they had just come. ‘You’re right, we can’t let Marik drive straight into a trap. I won’t send the signal.’

‘We could make the RV just in case.’

‘Yes, that’s worth doing. We could always hijack someone else’s transport out if we can’t get our own.’

Sevin pulled up short with a grunt, dizzy from being struck on the nose.

‘What is it?’ said Lauden, stopping.

Sevin stuck out a hand, feeling an obstruction in the air, even though he could see the entry to the cul-de-sac two metres ahead. ‘Some kind of force wall,’ he said, testing for the edges of the barrier which he couldn’t find. ‘We’re blocked off.’

‘Only for a few minutes,’ said a mild voice behind them in Standard.

They turned to see a young Gharst man in an open-necked white shirt and beige casual trousers.

‘It’s you!’ said Sevin, recognising the tail who had tracked him the first day. He felt in his pocket for the stun gun.

‘Don’t shoot, I’m not armed,’ said the Gharst, holding up his hands. ‘I’m sorry to interrupt you like this but I really must speak to you. I’ve been trying to catch up with you ever since you arrived.’

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