Part 13 (2/2)

'Naturally, I understand the necessity and will be glad to sign...'

'Oh no, Captain, that won't be required. I trust your word. Your reputation precedes you. Personally I find honesty in our profession somewhat nauseating, but in this case it is to my advantage. No, much as you'd like to have such an agreement in words, I'd rather not have such a missive in existence. Such things have a habit of disappearing and turning up later in the most destressing places. Shortly, now.

'Our flight has been interesting so far. Captain, but I fear I should find this planet boring. If you would be so kind as to leave your transmitter on standby, we will follow its pulse In.' This entire distasteful business can be speeded to completion. I am certain you have even less desire than I to prolong it.' He clicked off.

'Captain,' came Wolf's voice over the comm, 'this makes me ill. Is there no other way ...?'

'No other way, Wolf. I would rather fight too, but ... Leave open the transcomm for them to follow down, as he requested. At least our work here appears to have been fruitless, or I wouldn't consider such an alternative. We can wish them much of the same. Whatever they find in the city they are welcome to. It's been something of a wildmbizu chase after all.'

'But he as much as threatened murder ...I'

'Wolf, please, I know.Jua is hard. Still, we've little choice. I don't trust him, either. But he could simply leave now and return for our emaciated corpses later. No, I'm betting he'd rather pick up the extra, credit my offer holds. Why shouldn't he?' He shrugged, despite the fact that Wolf couldn't see it.

'Wolf, if the odds weren't sonyani -sided ... ” He sighed. 'House rules.'

'I understand, Captain.'

Malaik'a switched off and sat down heavily on one of the alien benches, looking suddenly very old and tired.

'Of course, if you gentlesirs had discovered how to make thismas.h.i.+neuzi work, I wouldn't even consider ...'

'We understand, too, Captain,' said Tse-Mallory. 'A bad choice is no choice. We never worried for ourselves. He must at least display us to Nuaman to convince her of our uselessness. And one abrupt disappearaace, too, would cause discussion in certain quarters.'

'Nuaman.d.a.m.n that b.i.t.c.h” He looked upward. 'This day I forget forever that creature is human and mwanamke !' He noted Flinx's glance. 'She ceased to be abibi , a lady,kijana , long before you were born.'

Chapter Twenty.

Kilometres above, a very satisfied Able Nikosos leaned back in his lounge in the plush shuttle cabin and relayed orders to his pilots. He rubbed his hands together. Things had gone nicely, nicely. Almost as nicely as it” he had received that map as scheduled, back on Moth. The presence of Malaika already down on the planet made things a mite more complicated, but not overmuch. It appeared that it would make things is ore profitable. Besides collecting a fat bonus from the old witch for successfully carrying out a mission more difficult than originally' a.s.signed, there would be the ill after of the wealthy Malaika's ransom ... payable in advance. As preplanned, the two braincases would be s.h.i.+pped off to Nuaman. As soon as a decent amount of the ransom had been paid - wasn't Malaika's word good now? - the boy could be shunted out the nearest lock. As for the two women, well, the ancestral homestead was in need of a few new toys. The price of healthy young women bad gone up insufierably in the past few years.

Insufferably! All the fault of those d.a.m.ned priggish Churchmen. 'Violence is unsanitary,' indeed! At the rate he used them up his hobby was becoming prohibitively expensive. Shameful? The addition of two new, free faces (and bodies, oh yes!) would therefore be a financial as well as an aesthetic bonus. He did not doubt but that they would both prove young and attractive. Otherwise what business would they have with the roguish Malaika?

If they weren't his type, quite, he could still use them. Less artistically, perhaps, but they might still remain serviceable. And he was not known as a connoisseur for nothing.

The shuttle's delta wings began to unfold as it dipped towards atmosphere.

Chapter Twenty-One.

Malaika, Tse-Mallory, Truzenzuzex, and Flinx were making their way slowly back to the crawler. No one spoke. Flinx had already determined not to let his gun be taken from him without argument. He could prove equally adept at treachery! He'd read the confusion and little piggish thoughts Nikosos had been having, difficult as it had been with their owner moving so rapidly above the planet's surface. He trusted him now about as far as he could throw theGloryhole . That the two scientists and Malaika would get off safely was a possibility, but from the agent's thoughts the chance that he and the women would do likewise seemed small in the light of what he had read. In 'the final a.n.a.lysis he would not count - no, not expect the merchant to put Ins life on the line for him, or for the women, or even for the scientists.

Survival is an argument that morals do not even belong in the same cla.s.s with. So he'd best plan on taking some action on his own. It was an unflattering but logical evaluation of their present situation. That scared him almost as much as the reality of it did. He s.h.i.+vered slightly, despite the warmth.

Something had, been bothering him for the last few minutes, in addition to the expected quota of fearful antic.i.p.ation. He shrugged his shoulders despite the lack of an itch there. That was it! Not an itch, but the tack of a' persistent and familiar one. The minidrag was elsewhere. In the absorption of the past moments and his concentration on the agent's mind, he'd not noticed that the reptile was missing. He turned abruptly.

'Pip? Where's Pip?'

'Just to be certain,' murmured Malaika, not hearing Flinx's low enquiry. He flipped his comm. 'Wolf, I don't like to play without at least a few cards. Break out the rifle and set it up facing the entranceway.'

'Yes, Captain,' came the enthusiastic reply.

'If this fellow has us so neatly tied up and packaged,' said Tse-Mallory, 'why bother with the gun? I thought you'd given up once and for all the idea of our fighting our way out of this?'

Flinx searched the air around them. The snake was still not visible. He felt naked without the familiar reptilianpresence.

'So I have, more or less. We know that he has us packaged, and he knows that be has us packaged, but he doesn't know that we know he has us packaged.'

'Simplify that, please.'

'Ndiyo. Sure. Put it this way. A man negotiates with considerably less arrogance than he might when he knows he's sitting under the gun of a man who fears for his life. We've little enough in the way of levers so that we've got to use the slightest we can find.'

Despite Flinx's varieties of calls, whistles, and entreaties the minidrag had not shown itself. It was unusual, but not unprecedented. Sometimes the snake had a mind of its own. Truzenzuzex couldn't duplicate the stuttering calls Flinx was using, but the insect was helping with the visual portion of the search. It served to take his mind at least temporarily off their unfortunate circ.u.mstances.

'Where would he be likely to hide, lad?' asked the scientist.

'Oh, I'm not sure, sir. Different places.' He was becoming honestly concerned now and listened with only one ear to the philosoph's questions. He could not sense the minidrag's presence and that alone worried him. 'He doesn't do this sort of thing often. I suppose the depression in the atmosphere got to him. He's sensitive to that, you know. He does prefer cool, closed-in places. Like ...'

He broke off in shock. In the distance he could see the minidrag. Even as he watched, it fluttered about the transparent dome. Its natural curiosity got the better of it then, because despite a warning thought from Flinx it poked its head under the attractive shape of the helmet. What happened next surprised both watchers. The minidrag did an awkward turn in the air and seemed to fall in on itself, collapsing into a tight curl at the very highest point of the helmet. It lay still, unmoving, within the structure, which now pulsed an uncertain yellow.

All thoughts of their immediate difficulties were instantly discarded in a paroxysm of fear for his life-long companion. Heedless of Truzenzuzex's cautions he plunged forward at a run for the place they'd just left.

Malaika turned and uttered an oath, charging after the boy. His bandy legs were no match for those of the youth but moved at a respectable speed none the less.

As he neared the dome Flinx noted a slight but definite tremor underfoot. He paid it no heed.

Truzenzuzex did. He glanced at Tse-Mallory.

'Yes, brother. I felt it too.' His voice was reflective. Another tremor, stronger this time.

'What occurs?' said a puzzled Truzenzuzex. 'I thought we'd established that this part of the planet, at least, was plutonically secure.' He stared uneasily at the vaulting walls, gauging their-strength and stability.

The gentle sharing started again, only this time it was somewhat less than gentle. And it didn't stop. It grew progressively louder and more forceful, and although no one noticed it, it did so as Flinx drew closer to the dome.

The steady vibration was felt, no, sensed, more than heard. It bespoke power somewhere deep below.

'What is going on?' whispered Tse-Mallory.

'Elitat! I'm not sure, replied the philosoph in equaly subdued tones, 'but I think perhaps our puzzle is setting about answering itself.'

Fiinx had mounted the dais and was moving towards the dome. Pip had still not moved. He barely noticed the tremors which were shaking the structure. As he neared his motionless pet the odd buzzing which had begun in his head began to get worse. He shook his head impatiently to clear it hut with no effect. There was an odd feeling of euphoria alternating with the pain.

Don't fight it, something seemed to whisper. He heard waves on a beach, breaking softly. The minidrag's eyes were shut tightly. It appeared to be jerking to the strains of some silent song. His first thought was of convulsions, but the reptile's movements, although irregular, seemed too even for that. He started to reach under the great helmet for his troubled pet. The buzzing increased and he reeled backwards under a startling attack of dizziness.

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