On this day, there was quite a large number of humans about, watched closely by two or three gorilla police who patrolled the village. Into this quiet but subtly tense scene strode Galen, as though he were not a famous fugitive ape, a renegade hunted far and near across the entire landscape of the ape empire. Behind him, their eyes downcast as though they were obsequious servants, walked Burke and Virdon. It was a disguise they had adopted many times in the past.
Galen stopped abruptly. “There,” he said. “That is the District Headquarters.”
“Okay,” said Virdon. “Pete and I’ll mingle with the other humans. But we’ll keep as close to your cousin’s building as we can.”
Galen smiled, gave a half-wave, and continued on toward the headquarters building. Their plan had begun.
Inside the prefect’s office, Augustus, a chimpanzee like Galen, was working furiously at his cluttered desk. He muttered to himself as he scribbled across page after page of work. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. The sound irritated Augustus slightly, interrupting his work and his concentration. Without raising his head, he said, “Yes, yes! Come in, come in!” His voice was harried, preoccupied, and just a little pompous. The door opened, and Galen entered.
Augustus still hadn’t looked up. “Yes, yes? State your business, please.”
“I wish to report a theft,” said Galen. He was half-grinning, anticipating the moment when Augustus would recognize him. “Two apples stolen from a tree belonging to a human farmer. The culprits were seen running from the scene. Two chimp teenagers approximately fourteen years of age—”
At this point Augustus looked up, and his mouth opened in surprise. He dropped his pen from his shaking hand. “Cousin Galen!” he cried.
“Cousin Augustus,” said Galen happily. “Or rather, should I say ‘Prefect’ Augustus?”
Augustus rose from behind his littered desk and came around to meet his cousin. The two relatives clasped hands joyfully in the middle of the office.
“This is a . . . surprise,” said Augustus.
“You mean something closer to shock, don’t you, cousin?” asked Galen. “I’m sure you get simple surprises almost every day.”
Augustus nodded soberly. “I will confess that I hadn’t expected you to walk in and—” Augustus broke off suddenly, his expression becoming worried. “Galen,” he said, “what were you thinking of, coming in here? A fugitive, with two humans?”
“We must have a long discussion about all that another time, cousin,” said Galen wearily. “But right now—”
“I always told you that your impulsive nature would one day land you in trouble.”
“That’s funny,” said Galen, smiling. “When you were lecturing me about being impulsive, you never mentioned that time when I allowed myself to be caught by that human farmer so that you could make good your escape.”
Augustus laughed aloud. “True, true,” he said. “You never once held that against me.” The prefect sighed. “Those were the days, eh, cousin Galen? Carefree, happy.”
“Yes,” said Galen, “not like now. Which is why I am here. I need your help, Augustus.”
Augustus slapped his cousin’s shoulder and returned to his seat behind his desk. When he spoke, there was a trace of humor in his voice. “Somehow I didn’t think you had come in here to give yourself up,” he said.
Galen went straight to the point. He knew that Virdon and Burke were vulnerable outside. “It’s your chief of police, Aboro. Are you aware that he is robbing the district’s farmers on a very regular, monthly schedule?”
Augustus looked stunned. “No!” he said.
Galen nodded his head forcefully. “I assure you that it’s true. We’ve watched him in operation. What he does with the grain he takes I have no idea, but he is rapidly reducing the farmers to absolute poverty! That says nothing about the methods he’s using, which are turning the humans of your district into fearful, mindless slaves of Aboro’s terror tactics. And just yesterday he brutally murdered one of them for daring to defy him, while my two friends and I watched him burn their farm to the ground.”
Augustus shook his head through all of Galen’s speech. This information was new to him and very difficult to accept. “I’m finding this all hard to believe, Galen, as much as I trust you.”
“There is proof,” said Galen. “The dead man’s name was Mikal.” Galen went on to tell Augustus everything that had occurred during the tragic hour the day before.
Meanwhile, as Galen tried desperately to convince his cousin of the true situation, Virdon and Burke lounged outside the prefect’s headquarters, trying to appear as inconspicuous as possible. This was difficult for two humans not on any apparent business.
“Do you think his old cousin turned against him, Alan?” asked Burke worriedly. “Arrested him, maybe? Maybe we should check—”
“Oh, oh,” said Virdon. As Burke turned inquiringly, Virdon gestured down the main street of the village. The two men watched for a few seconds as two mounted gorillas, uniformed in black leather, armed with pistols and rifles, rode slowly into town. As they drew nearer, it became clear that the apes were Aboro and his lieutenant, Daku.
“Yeah,” said Burke. “Oh, oh. Trouble.”
“There’s not a whole lot we can do now,” said Virdon.
“Mainly disappear,” said Burke.
“Out of sight,” said Virdon. “I’ll have to warn Galen.” Burke moved around the corner of the building and Virdon hurried through the front door.
Not more than half a minute later, Aboro and Daku, having seen nothing, suspecting nothing, casually dismounted in front of the prefect’s headquarters. They tied up their horses at the hitching post there, surveyed the street with the air of habitual lords among underlings, and swaggered toward the building.
Augustus was still having his debate with Galen while all of this was occurring. It was so strange to him that he was laboring to understand. “If what you’ve told me proves to be accurate,” he admitted at last, “I can promise you that Aboro will be severely punished, Galen.”
“Thank you,” said the chimpanzee. “That’s all we were looking for. We promised Janor justice.”
Both Galen and Augustus turned in alarm as Virdon burst through the door. “What—?” began Augustus, but Virdon, panting, cut him off with a wave of a hand.
“Is it Janor?” asked Galen. “He promised us more time.”
“Gorillas!” cried Virdon, almost panic-stricken. “Heading this way! No time!”
Augustus was, of course, astounded to be addressed in this manner by a human being. Galen introduced the man. “This is my friend, Alan Virdon,” he said.
Augustus didn’t answer. He was an intelligent ape and he was already reacting to Virdon’s words. He hurried to his window and looked out onto the street. “Aboro!” he cried. “He mustn’t find you here.”
“That’s a vast understatement,” said Galen angrily.
“Quickly!” said Augustus. “Behind the curtain. Both of you. It’s not much, but there’s no time for anything else.” He indicated the green curtain drawn over the back part of the office, giving the prefect a small private area in the rear. Virdon and Galen were no sooner behind it, the curtain falling back into place hiding them, when the door of the office opened and Aboro strode in, followed by Daku.
Augustus rose from his desk again. He was evidently very nervous and ill at ease. “Well, well,” he said weakly. “Aboro. How . . . I . . . well, this is a surprise. I hadn’t expected to see you until your monthly circuit. Come in, come in.”
Aboro laughed. The sound made Augustus even more uncomfortable, because he had no idea in the world why the police chief should be laughing. “As even you can tell, Prefect,” said Aboro, emphasizing the word in an ugly manner, “I already am in.” Aboro gave another grumbling laugh. “As a matter of fact, I am in, and you are out. Am I not correct, Lieutenant Daku?”
“Yes, sir!” cried Daku. “Just as you say. A very neat turning of words.”
“What do you mean?” asked Augustus.
Aboro walked up to Augustus’ desk and reached inside his leather uniform. He came out with a brown parchment document which he slapped down on the desk, spilling several other papers to the floor. “Read it,” said Aboro in a commanding voice. “Even you should be able to understand it.”
Augustus was beginning to shake with suppressed rage; this was no way for a mere chief of police to speak to the prefect of a district. Augustus picked up the official-looking paper, unrolled it, and began to read. “It is from the Supreme Council itself,” he murmured to no one in particular.
“Read further, Augustus,” said Aboro languidly.
Augustus looked up at Aboro, for the first time feeling a sense of trepidation. He gazed back at the parchment. “ ‘To Prefect Augustus, Greetings’,” he read “ ‘Know all apes, by these present, that reposing special trust in our loyal servant, Police Chief Aboro, you are herewith recalled to Central City. After reporting to the Supreme Council, you will be reassigned to the province of Dorvado. Also, in accordance with this change of status, we herewith appoint the aforesaid Aboro new Prefect of your District, with all rights and privileges which appertain to such a promotion, all to be effective as soon as possible, with a minimum of delay.’ ” Augustus finished reading the paper, but he stared at it in mute fury for several seconds. Aboro stared, waiting for some kind of reaction. Finally, Augustus looked up, evidently shaken to his core. “This cannot be!” he said. “I have done an exemplary job here. I have not been given one inkling that they were displeased with me.”
Aboro laughed again. “That is not the point at all, friend Augustus. As far as your work here, it has not proven so difficult, has it? I mean, I don’t doubt that even a human could be trained to fill your functions. Any mouse can shuffle papers. It takes strength, however, to govern a district. Govern. That is the key word, and that is where the Supreme Council may feel you have fallen down.”
Augustus was still stunned by the implications of the order. “But Dorvado!” he said plaintively. “That is a wild, mountainous place—”
Aboro sighed, wishing that he could be far from this tedious, boring chimpanzee. He much preferred the simple, brutal ways of his fellow gorillas. “The Council probably feels that you can do less harm out there,” he said cruelly. Then he swaggered to the door. He put one hand on the latch, then turned back to face the prefect. “I am in no hurry to move into this office, Augustus. I am trying to be reasonable. Still, the situation demands an orderly transfer of authority. Anytime within the next two hours or so will suffice.” Then Aboro was gone, and the smirking Lieutenant Daku followed. The door slammed behind them.
“That’s pretty incredible,” said Virdon, emerging from his hiding place.
“I’m sorry, Augustus,” said Galen.
“I can do nothing for you now, cousin. You heard,” said Augustus. Galen nodded.
“Dorvado,” mused Virdon. “That’s like Siberia.”
“Where?” asked Galen. Virdon didn’t reply.
“I can only offer advice now,” said Augustus. “You and your human friends get out of this district as fast as you can. Aboro is vicious.”
Virdon was giving thought to another aspect of the matter. “Isn’t this a little unusual?” he asked. “I mean, I thought that gorillas were pretty much reserved for military and police duties. That has been our experience.”
Galen nodded. “Administrative positions have always been filled by our kind.”
Augustus stroked his chin thoughtfully. “I must give Aboro credit,” he said regretfully. “It must be that he has powerful friends on the Council.”
Galen stepped forward and grasped his cousin’s shoulder in a solicitous gesture. “I am truly sorry, cousin, not only for the failure of our plans, but for what this means to you. My good wishes will be with you.” Augustus couldn’t answer. He was still too shocked.
Pete Burke entered from the rear of the building; it was evident that he had heard everything that had transpired in the previous few minutes. “Well,” he said, “it was a good idea. Even if it didn’t work.” Burke’s attempt at lighthearted humor fell dismally flat.
The day passed slowly. It was warmer, and the weather was still pleasant as they traveled through the woods toward a forest clearing. Burke led the way this time, followed by Virdon, and finally by a weary and panting Galen. They were all deep in conversation, trying somehow to loosen the knot of trouble which seemed to bind them.
“That’s got to be why Aboro’s been trading grain for gold,” said Burke. “He bought the job of prefect. He bribed someone or some group on the Supreme Council. They just don’t go handing out administrative posts to obvious crooks like Aboro. The Supreme Council has some pretty good minds on it, after all.”
“Bribable minds, if you’re right,” said Virdon.
“Anyone can be bribed, if the price is right,” said Galen.
“Not that any of this information helps our situation any,” said Burke, vaulting over a large fallen tree trunk. Virdon hurdled the massive obstacle, and Galen climbed slowly and painfully over it.
“Maybe it does,” said Virdon. “Galen, aren’t there laws against corruption, bribery of officials, things like that? There must be. This can’t be the first time this has happened.”
“There are very strict ones,” said Galen, wheezing and trying to get his breath back. “If we could find out who Aboro’s been in touch with in Central City.”
“Nothing to it,” said Burke with his accustomed cynicism. “All we have to do is walk back to Central City, ask Zaius for an appointment, and then ask everybody to take a lie-detector test. Who knows? It might be Zaius himself who was taking the bribes.”
Galen made a frown of concentration. “I would stake my reputation on Dr. Zaius’ integrity.”
“Right now, pal,” said Burke with a short laugh, “in Central City, your reputation is about as good as ours.”
“Must you remind me?” said Galen, with mock displeasure. “By the way, what is a ‘lie-detector test’?”
“That’s where a lot of police like General Urko stand around and ask questions,” said Burke. “If you sweat a little, it means you’re lying.”
“I don’t even need the questions,” said Galen. “Just thinking about Urko makes me nervous.”
“Janor’s only given us a little time,” said Virdon, breaking into the light banter of his friends. “I’m glad that he understood how the situation has changed, and I’m glad that he gave us another day. But that still leaves us only until tomorrow night to finish this entire business.”
There was silence as the three companions considered what those few hours would bring to each of them separately, to Janor, and to the humans of the district. It was a heavy responsibility and there were no easy answers.
A small procession was wending its way through the quiet country lanes of the district surrounding Hathor toward the center of the town. Leading the parade were two mounted gorilla troopers, uniformed as usual, with special shiny metal decorations to mark their important assignment. They were heavily armed with rifles more sophisticated than the ones used by the local police officers. Behind these troopers rode General Urko, the mighty, almost all-powerful military ruler of the ape empire. His horse was a gigantic black stallion, the most impressive beast that Urko’s staff had been able to find in all the realm. Bringing up the rear were two more gorilla troopers. They wore the expression of disdainful superiority that naturally attached itself to all who spent too many hours in the presence of General Urko. The lead troopers stopped in the road, on the edge of the village of Hathor, and, turning their horses slightly, waited for Urko to canter toward them.
“Yes?” demanded General Urko.
“District Headquarters, sir,” said one of the troopers respectfully.
Urko looked in the direction that the gorilla was pointing; he saw only the typical dry, dusty main street of a dry, uninteresting, rural farming village. T
here was normally nothing in such a place to interest a personage of General Urko’s magnitude. He didn’t even make out which building the trooper was indicating. But that didn’t matter. Urko had other thoughts on his mind. “Ah!” he said in his deep, rumbling voice. “Aboro will be surprised and delighted to see me.”
The two troopers turned their horses to lead the way into town but, after a grunt from their commanding officer, they gave way. Urko himself would lead his triumphal entry into Hathor.
A few minutes later, one of Aboro’s troopers, who was seated in a crude chair in the office of the prefect, sprang to his feet as the outer door was thrown open with a horrendous crash. Urko’s troopers entered quickly, their rifles drawn unnecessarily, producing the desired effect. Aboro’s man was shaken and stood quaking in the center of the room. The general’s troopers flanked the door; a moment later Urko himself entered. Without looking from one side to the other, Urko spoke. “Announce me to the prefect!” he cried.
“Yes, sir!” said Aboro’s trooper in a broken voice. The trooper ran into the back private office, from which all the noise of the general’s entrance must clearly have been heard. There were murmured voices, but no distinct words were audible to Urko. The general didn’t care; he knew what was happening back there. The thought of it made him smile slightly.
The trooper reappeared a few seconds later. “Please come in, Commander Urko,” he said. His voice was even less under control.
Urko stepped through the curtain, tossing it aside as if it irritated him. If it irritated him enough, it was clear that the general would merely rip it down. Aboro rose and came forward to meet his superior officer.
“Urko!” he said in a less-than-pleased voice. “What a pleasant surprise! What brings you to Hathor?” In the back of Aboro’s mind was the unpleasant suggestion of just how similar this situation was to the scene he had enacted with Augustus not so long before.
Urko, Aboro, and the ever-present Daku were alone in the private office, shut off from the eyes and ears of the gorilla troopers in the outer chamber. Urko needed no great audience, however. Aboro would be enough. “Well, Prefect,” he said, giving the word the same contemptuous underlining that Aboro had used with the dispatched Augustus. “Since I was in the district on a tour of inspection, what better time to come by to offer my congratulations on your appointment! I was amazed and delighted to hear of it.”
Planet of the Apes 04 - Lord of the Apes Page 4
