169 The Smell of Success (2/2)
”What worries me though is that with you, we've lost our main source of intelligence inside the Placek camp.”
”I might be able to help,” said Randy. ”I've made a couple of friends there that don't like Placek any more than you do. I'll look into it.”
”Discreetly,” Kirk said, frowning and raising a warning finger.
”Of course. And if I may ask, are you going to be handling my transfer personally? Or should I go talk to someone?”
”I shall handle it personally,” declared Kirk. ”And now that you're here, you'll be able to brief me directly and in detail on the Placek situation. I mean Karen's been passing on everything you told her to, but it's not the same thing.”
”It isn't,” agreed Randy. ”Well, I think... From what I've seen and heard... Yeah, I think I can tell you Placek is in trouble. She's overruled your limits on new colonists. She basically lets everybody in. People are starting to die in droves.”
”Really? That's excellent news. But you don't have to brief me now. You must be tired after your day. How did you get here?”
”I got a ride with a courier as far as Frisco. And I immediately got another ride on a truck to Napa. Rest of the way, I walked.”
”Walked? My boy, that's twenty kilometers!”
”By road. I took a few shortcuts. Anyway, I enjoyed it. You know, lately I've been spending a lot of my time on this planet sleeping on a fucking mat in a room. Right now, my guy isn't even half the way to Yuma. It's a fucking long way in the New World.”
”We must arrange your exit carefully,” Kirk said. ”How are you traveling?”
”A small caravan. They're carrying supplies, it's a regular run. They can go on without me.”
”Excellent. You'll just tell them you've received new orders, and turn back. Find a secluded spot for the implant business. We don't want them finding the corpse of your old guy.”
”There's still the question of my horse and equipment.”
”Unsaddle the horse, and let it run free. Most likely, it will go back home. As for the equipment, hmmm. I guess you won't have time to fuck around with tiger rock.”
”Even if I did, there's no telling where all that stuff would arrive here,” Randy said. ”Listen, Kirk. If that horse returns home without me, with saddle and harness missing - it's going to raise questions.”
”Kill the fucking horse, then,” Kirk said firmly. ”Kill it and bury all the equipment. There's no other way.”
”Okay,” Randy said reluctantly. ”It might take a while. I mean, I don't have a shovel or a spade.”
”I didn't mean it literally. Shove it inside some cave or crevice or any convenient hole you come across. Shove it inside, and cover it up. That should do it.”
Randy nodded.
”I'll do exactly that,” he said. ”When do you want to do the implant thing? In the morning, say twelve hours from now? Five days is more than enough to get completely lost in the New World. What do you think?”
Kirk pondered Randy's question for a while. He refreshed himself with the rest of his martini as he did so. Sniffing his glass, he said:
”I smell success. I think it's a good plan. I'll take the day off tomorrow. I haven't had a day off in weeks! I'll just give Placek a call and tell her what's what. I'll also ask her for a full, updated list of all the governors in her region. That will make a good starting point for getting her slung out on her fat ass.”
”She's not so fat any more,” Randy said. ”She's lost a lot of weight.”
”Do her good,” Kirk said. ”Is there anything left in that pitcher?”
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