When it was clear that nothing else was moving, she started back.
"Ambassador." The TBI team leader came up alongside her. "The warehouse is secured, we have nine people in custody, and we found four robots in stand-by niches. Your assistance is required to secure them. "
"Are they moving?" Ariel asked.
"No-"
"Then they already are secured. Forget about them. Coren's out here."
"Ambassador. " The woman stepped in front of Ariel and stopped. Ariel came up against her outstretched hand. "Please go back. We'll find Mr. Lanra."
"You can accompany me. "
"Please, I insist-"
"Something started this disaster," Ariel said, waving her hand around at the jumbled bins. "Coren's vonoomans located no other people than those you already have in custody. Which means?"
"Ambassador-"
"Which means you can accompany me, but I'm going. "
Ariel stepped around the agent. She heard a sharp hiss of breath-a signal-and then running feet. Two more agents joined her, along with the team leader.
They spread out laterally and worked their way through the labyrinth of containers.
The number of damaged bins grew the further they went. Clusters of toppled containers formed tangles. Ariel held her blaster in both hands, her pulse racing.
I must remember in the future that I don't really have to do this, she thought.
She heard voices. Moving toward them, it became clear that one of them was Coren, but the other-rasping and low-was not even clearly human.
Ariel came around a pair of mashed bins and saw Coren dangling by one arm from the grip of the cyborg. Coren nodded as the cyborg spoke to him, its head tilted forward on enormous shoulders.
Ariel licked her lips. Now what?
In those seconds of indecision, the cyborg suddenly straightened and looked around. It saw Ariel.
Indifferently, it dropped Coren.
In that instant, a blaster shot splashed against its back. "No!" Ariel shouted, then pressed the stud on her own weapon.
Gamelin's pain came out like dust-laden wind. The cyborg took a few more steps, and fell. Coren squirmed and pushed and managed to crawl away. The stench of scorched fabric, melted plastic, and meat filled Ariel's nostrils.
Ariel hurried forward, along with the TBI agents. One of them grabbed Coren's jacket and dragged him further from the cyborg.
Ariel stopped a meter from it, keeping her weapon aimed at its head. It lay face down. Smoke wafted up from three burns on its back and shoulders.
The team leader took its arm and heaved, turning it over.
Gamelin surged up suddenly, brushing away her weapon and clutching her jacket.
"Oh, kill me slow, gato," it said. "It's the only thing I have left to feel."
It placed one enormous hand over her face and squeezed. Bone snapped with sickening delicacy, and the team leader screamed.
Ariel jerked the trigger of her blaster; the shot grazed Gamelin's arm. The cyborg stood and tossed the body of the team leader at the other agent, turned, and fled. Ariel tried to hit it again, firing repeatedly. But none of the shots found a target, and Gamelin soon disappeared among the cargo bins.
Ariel's breathing came heavy as she went to Coren. Sweat covered his face, but he was conscious.
"It knows," he said. "I told it."
"How bad are you?" Ariel ran her gaze over him, settling on his right arm. She reached for it.
His other arm came up and stopped her. "Hurts."
"We'll get help."
"Tresha must already be in transit," Coren said. "Contact Sipha…make sure…"
Ariel felt momentarily frantic about his injuries, but she nodded and stood. She went to the other agent, who held the team leader in his arms. Her face was turning black already. One eye bulged hideously.
Somehow, though, she was still alive.
Ariel raised her comm and started issuing orders. Derec listened absently to the tense comm traffic being monitored behind him. He gazed out of the office across the empty dock, waiting for the instant the bay doors opened and the shuttle for which they waited slid into the station.
Masid came up beside him.
"Reports from groundside indicate a rousing success, " Masid said.
Derec glanced at him. "How come you don't sound pleased?"
Masid raised his eyebrows. "It's not finished. I'm never happy till it's over."
"All the Settler bays in question have been seized," Derec mused. "We have prisoners, some of whom are already giving up information-"
"Ah, but they don't really know a lot. Most of it won't amount to very much unless we can persuade this one-" he nodded toward the bay below them "-to talk. Tresha's the key to the whole thing."
"You never struck me as a pessimist. "
"Pragmatist. Big difference."
"Coren's been hurt," Palen announced.
Derec and Masid turned toward the room. Harwol sat behind one desk, hand to his ear. Palen occupied another desk opposite him. She looked at Derec.
"Ambassador Burgess is all right," she said. "The cyborg got away."
"Damn," Masid said.
"Is Lanra hurt badly?" Derec asked.
"Crushed forearm," Palen said. "Reparable. Tresha is in transit." She touched a contact. "Look sharp, people-the main fish is coming into our net. "
Derec turned away. One cyborg still loose. They had found no others. Part of him was reassured-at least they would not have to deal with any more right now-but he could not convince himself that these represented the only two. From what Polifos had told them, it was an old and ongoing program. Somewhere, there were more.
Maybe Tresha could tell them.
"Damn it!" Palen shouted. "Her shuttle is changing vector. It's heading to another bay. Who gave clearance for that?"
Harwol looked up. "I'm moving my people now. Do you have the new destination?"
Palen listened intently. "Working on it…come on… shit, it's going to a Solarian dock."
Masid leaned close to Derec. "What did I tell you?"
Derec went to an empty chair and pulled himself to a comm. He tapped in a code and waited. Ambassador Setaris appeared on his screen.
"Ambassador," he said, "we have a new situation. Our last target has switched destination from the Settler dock she was scheduled for to the Solarian section."
Setaris's eyes widened. "What do you need, Mr. Avery?"
"We're moving on her regardless," Derec said, glancing at Palen and Harwol, who both nodded. "You might want to start working on smoothing things over with Ambassador Chassik now."
"Thank you for the warning. Good luck. "
"Move, " Harwol said, looking at Palen. "Your station, your arrest. "
Palen jumped up and headed for the exit.
Masid nodded for Derec to come along. When they reached the dock in question, Solarian security-Keresians-blocked access. Palen pushed her way through the knot of TBI and station security. She brought her face close to the chief of Solarian security.
"Chief Palen," she said. "Stand aside. This is a lawful entry."
"I have orders-" the Keresian started.
Palen shoved him to one side and stabbed the access panel. The door opened.
Her people poured through.
They crowded into the control booth. Operators started to abandon their positions.
"Sit down!" Palen shouted. "You're receiving an unauthorized shuttle. When will it be in the bay?"
"Your pardon, Chief Palen, " one of the operators said, "but we received authorization fifteen minutes ago."
"From who?"
"Our embassy, of course."
Palen stared at the man. "Are you going to tell me that this shuttle is under diplomatic protection?"
"I-well-"
"Entering the cradle now," another operator said.
"Bring it in," Palen ordered. "Embassy clearance or not, that shuttle is impounded."
Below, the huge doors o
pened. Tractor lines drew the sleek, bullet-shaped shuttle into the, bay. Once it had cleared the opening, the doors sealed and the bay started pressurizing.
Palen moved to the access hatch. "Security, with me. Avery, you get on the comm and do liaison with your people. Masid, you do the same with Harwol."
"Pressurization complete, " an operator announced.
Derec went to the comm console and tapped in a code. The channel to the Auroran Embassy, Earthside, showed open.
The hatch slid aside and Palen led her squad of police down the stairs. The hatch closed behind them. Derec went to the window and watched the security teams spread out around the shuttle.
Masid joined Derec. "Now maybe I'll start being optimistic," he said.
Derec looked at the chief operator. "Who issued the clearance?"
"I'm not at liberty to-"
"Don't. A name. Was it Chassik?"
The man looked embarrassed and uncertain. "Derec," Masid said.
Below, the shuttle hatch opened. Palen took a position at the base of the ramp, hands on hips. A woman appeared in the hatchway. For a long, long moment, she gazed down at the security people and Palen.
There was a faint series of flashes around the bay door. And then, between one instant and the next, the door itself blew outward.
Derec flinched back. The shuttle lurched off its cradle, the prow rolling over Palen. Bodies lifted off the deck and sailed out the gaping hole. The shuttle itself caught against the sides of the dock, wedged briefly.
Then it exploded.
There was no sound. Derec fell to the floor. He could hear the walls of the control booth creaking under enormous stress, but they did not yield.
Minutes later, he managed to stand.
The bay was empty of anything that might have been loose. The walls were stained black, and the hatch itself was buckled outward. The shuttle was gone, and no one remained in the now airless space.
Epilogue
Derec watched Masid pack. The man wore the clothes of someone used to moving around: comfortable, lots of pockets, simply cut. The pack, though, contained tools and devices no baley would carry.
"You're sure about this?" Derec asked.
"I've got the best chance of getting to Nova Levis of anyone," Masid said. "Already worked it out with the TBI and the Aurorans, so don't even try talking me out of it. "
"Is there anything I can do?"
Derec had grown quite fond of Masid in the last few days, since the world had changed. Derec had few enough friends. The thought of losing a new one disturbed him.
But Palen's death had affected Masid profoundly. He was angry and felt the need to do something. Derec believed going off like that was a bad idea, but he could think of no convincing argument to stop Masid.
"You've got your hands full here," Masid said. He glanced significantly at the robot standing near the door. "You wouldn't want to loan that to me, would you?"
Derec started. "That could be awkward, don't you think? Having a robot with you wouldn't be the most inconspicuous thing you could do."
"True, but I think I'm going to miss it."
The DW-12 did not react. Derec needed to schedule a complete diagnostic for it. Thales was unable to tell him very much about its make-up; everything was guesswork and projection. For a time, it had insisted on accompanying Masid. It took a good deal of insistent talk to convince it to stay with Derec. He recognized Bogard's attachment to duty, certainly, but its facility at debate was all Thales. Derec doubted he would win every argument with this new creation, this composite.
"You're right," Derec admitted. "Besides, Ariel asked me to help her do the analysis on the cyborg we acquired."
"'Acquired'? Interesting term. 'Killed and captured' would be more accurate. "
"If you destroy a robot, do you kill it?"
Masid frowned.
"It's a good question," Derec continued. "I'd say no. They aren't, strictly speaking, alive. Can you make the same statement about a cyborg? They're organic, certainly, but are they human?"
"Or human enough." Masid nodded. "Too much philosophy for me. I'm just a spy." He finished packing and sealed the bag, then turned back to Derec. "We need to say goodbye. It'll take me a few days to work myself back under cover so I can do this with any expectation of success. I'll be on Kopernik for a time still, but after this we can't know each other."
Derec took Masid's hand. "Be safe."
"Always my intention."
Masid shouldered the pack and walked quickly out.
Derec looked at the DW-12. "What am I going to do with you?"
"Whatever you wish," the robot replied. "Within limits."
Derec started, then laughed out loud. "What do I call you?"
"The preponderance of my matrix is based on Bogard."
"In that case, welcome back, Bogard. We have a lot to talk about…" Derec found Hofton in the positronics lab with Rana. They looked up at him dourly when he entered.
"Now who died?" Derec asked.
Neither smiled.
"Ariel can't get you permission to bring Bogard down," Hofton said.
Derec considered the news for a moment, then shrugged. "So I expected."
"She's also being seconded to Auroran intelligence."
He started. "What?"
"The cyborg is being shipped back to Aurora. They want her to work on it. Classified work, of course. "
"I thought-"
"She wants you, boss," Rana said. "But if you leave Earth…"
"I won't get back."
"It is unlikely," Hofton admitted.
"I see."
"Boss-"
Derec held up a hand. "We've got a little time, don't we?"
"A few days," Hofton said. "Not much more, I'm sure."
"We'll work something out." Derec looked around the lab. "I need a workstation set up for a full diagnostic. Is Thales still linked up?"
Rana nodded. "No one's shut it down yet."
"Fine."
Work would take his mind off the situation for a time. Perhaps he could come to terms with what amounted to exile.
Yart Leri strode into the lab. He gazed about, eyes wide, until he saw Derec, Rana, and Hofton.
"There you are," he said, coming up to them. "Have you heard? No, of course you haven't. I just found out myself."
"Rega Looms has won the election despite having withdrawn?" Hofton said dryly.
Leri frowned at him. "No, of course not."
"Sorry, Ambassador," Derec said, giving Hofton a look. "What haven't we heard?"
"Nova Levis. A blockade runner has fired on a Theian perimeter ship. We may have a war on our hands." Ariel's lower back ached from the too-stiff posture. She could not make herself relax, and the chair simply could not compensate for her tension.
The room felt cold, too. She was not entirely sure that was not an illusion, her own projection. No one around the conference table smiled; the mood was sepulchral. For the last four hours, Setaris had conducted the meeting-hearing, really-with all the warmth of a stone slab. After the first hour, Gale Chassik had stopped looking at anyone. He answered the questions put to him in monosyllables when possible, offering as little detail as he could get away with.
The clearance that had allowed the shuttle carrying Tresha to switch destinations to the Solarian section of Kopernik had come from his office. He refused to acknowledge responsibility, but he could not deny the evidence.
He had stopped responding to questions at all nearly an hour ago. Ariel had been asked a few questions concerning details of the raid, but otherwise had not participated in the proceedings.
"In view of the circumstances," Setaris said finally, "I cannot in good conscience overlook the potential culpability in this matter on the part of Ambassador Chassik. Therefore, as head of the joint legation of the Fifty Worlds on Earth, I revoke his ambassadorial authority pending a hearing to review charges of abuse of office and negligence. Such hearing will be held on Aurora at a date to be de
termined by the Auroran legislature. Until then, Ambassador Chassik is remanded to house arrest, and his duties shall be assumed by another mission to be chosen by mutual agreement of this body."
Chassik looked up. "You 're making a vast mistake, Sen. "
"Possibly," Setaris said. "But a vastly smaller one than I would be making were I to allow you to continue as ambassador. Any questions?" She surveyed the table. "Good. This meeting is adjourned."
Ariel gratefully pushed away from the table and stood.
Chassik met her at the door and blocked her way.
"And, indeed, we have not finished, Ambassador," he said.
Ariel glanced at the two security guards flanking him. They stepped closer. Chassik glared at them, then left the room.
"He'll probably be recalled," Setaris said.
Ariel turned.
"I'll see to it he leaves before you do," Setaris continued. "I apologize, Ariel. I know you wanted to remain on Earth, but…"
"But I'm much more valuable where I can be kept an eye on," Ariel said. "I understand."
"Ariel, I actually envy you leaving so soon. I don't imagine that we'll have a mission here for much longer. Once the Terran senate finishes casting us in the role of the devil for having spawned a new menace, we'll be asked to leave. If war actually breaks out…well, I don't look forward to leaving under those conditions. "
"Why would Earth make war on us? It was a Settler ship that fired on a Spacer ship."
"Prejudice. We'll be assuming control of the blockade, Earth will feel some perverse sympathy for the Settlers that we are then blockading, and the situation will degenerate from there." Setaris shrugged. "I may be too cynical, though. Perhaps none of this will actually happen. If not, perhaps you can return. "
Ariel could think of no response. She wanted to go back to her apartment and have a drink.
Or go see Coren.
Which would be more dangerous right now? she wondered.
"We can talk again before you leave, " Setaris said. "Arrangements need to be made and so forth. Till then, as a favor to me-be careful."
As she watched Setaris walk away, Ariel thought, I'm not happy about leaving Earth, but it will be a relief to get away from her. Rega Looms finished the meeting and sat behind his desk, eyes closed, trying to find the satisfaction he once enjoyed from business well-concluded. Nothing. After a time, he sighed and wondered if anything, ever again, would give him any joy.
Chimera (isaac asimov's robot mystery) Page 37
