***
Two weeks later, Ran-Del could walk from one side of the compound to the other without resting. It was time to test Francesca’s authority over him. Shortly after breakfast he headed for the front gate.
Two uniformed staff waited in the security booth as usual. The taller one stood up abruptly when Ran-Del approached. “Good morning, Citizen Jahanpur.”
The man sounded uneasy, but Ran-Del noted that he felt nothing from him through the barrier, not even emotions.
“Good morning,” Ran-Del said. “I’m going out.”
“Well, now,” the man said, “that’s a problem, citizen. I’m afraid the door won’t open for you. Just so you’ll know, we’ve been ordered not to let it open while you’re nearby, either.”
Ran-Del stood calculating his options and decided he had none. He wheeled around and headed toward the house to find Francesca.
Antonio’s office was empty. Ran-Del walked through it and opened the door to Francesca’s office. His wife stood in the middle of the room, arms folded across her chest, chin lifted resolutely.
“Hello, Ran-Del,” she said evenly.
Ran-Del could tell from her thoughts that the guards had called and told her about his attempt to leave. She had even sent Antonio away so they could argue privately.
“I want to go out for a walk,” Ran-Del said, stopping two meters in front of her. “Why did you change the security system so I can’t leave the compound?”
“It’s not safe for you to go out,” Francesca said.
She was afraid for him. Ran-Del got a grip on his temper. “I’m your husband. How can we have a marriage if you’re going to treat me as if I were Buster?”
Her face went pale; her fear spiked. “Someone wants you dead, Ran-Del. Quinn found the hit men just this morning—in the city morgue. They’ve been dead for some time but it was clear that they had been killed by a shock pistol, modified to give a fatal charge. According to the pathologist, they died in agony.”
Ran-Del could see the picture in her mind, and it sobered him. At the same time, he needed freedom. “I can’t live like this. I hated your father because he locked me up. Do you want me to hate you?”
Francesca looked away for a moment; her worry changed, became at once less physical and yet stronger. “No,” she said in a low voice. “But it won’t be forever, Ran-Del. Please, please try to understand.”
“I understand that you don’t want me to get hurt.” Ran-Del took a step closer, and her distress filled his mind. “But you have to understand that you can’t be the one to make my decisions for me. I’d rather be dead than live like that.” When she didn’t answer right away, Ran-Del added one more argument. “This isn’t something you can build a compromise on, Francesca. I have to be free. There’s no other way.”
“All right!” Francesca almost shouted her answer. She turned toward the com. “Security!”
In a second, Marina Quinn’s voice answered. “What is it, Baroness?”
“Would you please change the security program again, Quinn? Fix it so my husband can enter and exit the compound any time he wishes.”
Quinn’s face popped onto the nearest monitor. “Very well, Baroness,” the security chief said, “if you’re sure.”
“I’m sure,” Francesca said wearily.
The screen went blank.
“Thank you,” Ran-Del said.
She looked at him with her eyes filled with the same dread he felt from her. “Don’t you go out and get yourself killed again, Ran-Del Jahanpur.”
“I won’t.”
She gave a harsh crack of laughter. “Like you could stop it.” She shot him another anxious look. “Would you be willing to take two security staff with you when you go out?”
Ran-Del debated. Much as he disliked the idea of not being alone, he could see the sense of it, especially in his present condition. And she was, after all, asking him and not telling him.
“Yes,” he said. “This time, anyway. I might do without them in the future.”
Francesca’s eyes lit with hope, and she called Quinn back and requested two guards to meet Ran-Del at the front gate.
The two security staff were waiting when Ran-Del got there. One was Merced, and the other was a woman Ran-Del didn’t know by name. Merced was looking at Ran-Del with a sour expression on his face.
“Good morning,” Ran-Del said, steeling himself for contact as he offered his hand. “I know your last name is Merced, but I don’t know your first name.”
Merced took his hand with an ill grace that matched the dislike Ran-Del felt. “I don’t really see a need to be social, citizen—not considering that you once took me out with a kick that left me wondering if I’d ever be a father.”
“You were helping to hold me prisoner at the time,” Ran-Del said. “I should think you could see it as self defense if you tried—especially since you later kicked me when I was bound and helpless.”
The woman scoffed at her companion, who looked embarrassed by this reminder of his own lapse. “Don’t mind Eduardo,” she said, emitting good will as she offered her hand. “My name is Fiona Geldorf, citizen, and I don’t have any problem at all with being social.”
“That’s good,” Ran-Del said, “since it looks as if we’re going to spend a good part of the day together. You can start by calling me Ran-Del.”
The two of them exchanged glances.
“That’s against regs,” Merced said. “We’re supposed to address you with respect.”
Ran-Del smiled. “You can say Ran-Del as respectfully as you say citizen.”
“You’ve got a point, Ran-Del,” Geldorf said cheerfully. “And besides, we can always explain that you insisted.”
“Where are we going?” Merced said impatiently.
“Into the city,” Ran-Del said, turning to place his palm on the ID panel. The gate opened at once, filling Ran-Del with elation. “I don’t know how far we’ll get, because I’m not in great shape right now, but we’ll see.”
He made it all the way to Benjie’s, although it took him three times as long as it had taken him to walk there the first time. He had to stop several times, to rest, and both Merced and Geldorf hovered around him anxiously.
Both of them exuded relief when they crossed the threshold at Benjie’s.
Ran-Del sat down at the Rangoon table with a profound sense of accomplishment. He had made it on his own two feet. If he pushed himself every day, eventually he would be strong enough to run to the Sansoussy Forest.
Janis came over to take his drink order, and again Ran-Del noted that he sensed nothing from her except concern—no thoughts or images.
“Good to see you on your feet,” she said. “The Rangoon crew will be here for lunch soon. Do you want tea while you wait for them?”
“Yes, thank you.”
Geldorf and Merced declined refreshment, so she went off to the kitchen.
The two guards exchanged glances and Ran-Del could see they were both speculating on whether Janis was the reason Francesca had been so interested in Benjie’s. Merced was sure of it, Geldorf less so.
Ran-Del held in a sigh. Lack of privacy was just one more reason why he had to get away for a while.
And then the door opened and the crew from Rangoon’s came in. Ran-Del felt himself enveloped in a warm rush of good wishes. Georges insisted on buying Ran-Del’s lunch.
Ran-Del ate, drank three cups of tea, and listened to a lot of chatter about what was going on in the warehouse. By the time his friends got up to go back to work, Ran-Del was ready to go home. When he stepped outside, he found a Hayden skimmer waiting.
Ran-Del glanced at Merced. He could see from Merced’s thoughts that he had called for the skimmer.
The guard shrugged. “You look pretty beat. It seemed like a good idea.”
“Glad to see you’re being sensible, Ran-Del,” Georges said, coming up behind him. “Stop by any time.”
Ran-Del sighed. He was tired. He started for the skimmer and felt
a rush of relief from Merced.
Ran-Del leaned back in his seat. He would go out every day, and he would do the exercises the doctors had given him as often as he could. He had to get back to the forest—soon.
The Sixth Discipline Page 80
