Part 26 (1/2)

'Sook, what are are we doing here?' we doing here?'

'Ask them,' she said, gesturing to the cafe opposite.

Gaws and Mildrid were sat beneath a plastic parasol, sipping from bright beakers, smug smiles on their faces.

'You didn't need me me, you needed an escort,' Fitz complained. But she just smiled at him in a way that said, it ain't necessarily so it ain't necessarily so, and he let it pa.s.s.

'My dears!' said Mildrid merrily when she saw them. 'Haven't we done well!' She got up and pulled out a chair for Fitz to sit next to her, while Gaws did the same for Sook.

145.

'It's just an endless round of press for me,' said Gaws brightly.

'For the OPs,' Mildrid reminded him.

'Sixteen news-cats want interviews,' he laughed. 'I'm famous!'

' We We couldn't have asked for a better platform, could couldn't have asked for a better platform, could we we,' said Mildrid, fixing him with a stern look. 'Will you be having some food, dears?' She pa.s.sed round some menus. 'Apparently the chiggock's off.'

Fitz looked grimly at Sook. 'If it wasn't, I soon would be.'

They ordered some drinks from a hara.s.sed-looking waiter, then Sook dived straight in.

'So you got the slugs to Leda ahead of schedule. Make my life easy, why don't you?'

'Our source gave me the green light sooner than expected,' said Gaws, un-apologetically. 'And it took less time than I thought to run the blockade.'

'You were awfully brave, Gaws,' said Mildrid thoughtfully. 'Perhaps I should do your interviews with you, I could tell them that!'

'They know know that, Mildrid.' that, Mildrid.'

Sook interrupted. 'The plan was that the news should break just just before the vidcast. So we'd be taken off and that would have been that!' before the vidcast. So we'd be taken off and that would have been that!'

'I had to signal the news-sats at once before NewSystem could move me on,' said Gaws. 'Come on, Sook that aside, it's worked like a dream! The demolition's off!'

'Where did these slugs come from, anyway?' Fitz asked.

Gaws finished the last of his tea. 'I can't reveal my sources, Kreiner. Now, tell me, Sook, how is Halcyon planning to fill his vidcast now?'

'Nothing you need worry about,' said Sook with only the briefest of glances at Fitz. 'Nothing destructive.'

'We'll trust you on that,' Mildrid muttered into her tea. 'And you'll be able to get Gaws into the stadium as unexpected star guest?'

'I'll arrange for an access door in the hangar to be opened,' Sook said. 'Num-ber seven. The rest is down to you.'

Mildrid nodded. 'Fair enough.'

'Look!' cried Gaws, pointing into the street. 'That little girl's T-s.h.i.+rt. G.o.d G.o.d save our s.p.a.ce slugs save our s.p.a.ce slugs! She was brought here to witness destruction, now she's telling others to preserve life!'

'Amazing how quickly you can change a mind, isn't it?' said Sook quietly.

'And every one of those moons could be a viable slug habitat,' chortled Gaws. 'The Trust will have legal grounds to sequester the lot.'

'Provided the slugs pa.s.s the life-test,' Mildrid pointed out. 'And provided we can get the funding.'

'Of course we'll get the funding! I'll launch an appeal in my interviews!'

146.

'Excuse me.' Looking slightly sick, Sook disappeared off inside the bustling restaurant.

Using the loos, Fitz supposed. He smiled around a little self-consciously at Gaws and Mildrid.

'How's your investigation going, Kreiner?' asked Mildrid.

'I'm ready to confront Falsh any time now,' he said.

'You know a lot about us,' Gaws noted. 'None of which will make it into your finished report, I trust.'

''Course not,' said Fitz. 'We're all on the same side, aren't we?'

'It wouldn't be the first time Falsh has bribed people into switching.'

'Oh, use your eyes, Gaws,' said Mildrid. 'He likes the girl! He must know we can land her in hot water anytime we choose.'

Fitz frowned. 'Wanna bet? Halcyon thinks she's indispensable,' he said defensively. 'I don't reckon you could change that.'

'Perhaps we could if he ever found out how Sook turned over her parents to the lawmakers for trying to evade a senility termination order,' suggested Mildrid.

Fitz's throat dried up.

'Her academy was an Empire Trust building on Nereid,' added Gaws confidentially. 'She invited her parents to her graduation from the Eight Mansions school. The authorities were waiting for them.'

'An account of the whole business was kept in the archives. We found it, and presto.' Mildrid smiled benignly. 'Another drink?'

'No thanks,' said Fitz.

Sook came out again after a short while and took her seat. No one was saying a word. Fitz couldn't look at her.

'Who died?' she said.

I wish I didn't know, he thought. he thought.

Trix jabbed the gun in Falsh's back to propel him forwards as they reached the c.o.c.kpit of his flyer, the Polar Aurora Polar Aurora. It was more or less identical to the Polar Polar Lights Lights, and its stylish interior was a welcome change from the bare white of the unfinished podule.

'Now then,' said the Doctor, plonking himself in the pilot's seat. 'I imagine you'll have priority clearance through to Callisto. They've probably saved you a parking spot right next to your decoratiste decoratiste diva, Mr Halcyon.' diva, Mr Halcyon.'

Falsh said nothing. He'd stuck to silence since they'd let him out of the conference room, after a brief and fruitless attempt at bribery.

'Hey! What's this?' The Doctor held up some kind of weird visor perched on top of a small computer unit. 'There wasn't one of these on the Polar Lights Polar Lights.'