Dragonback 06 Dragon and Liberator

by Timothy Zahn

  Jack left the room and headed back down the corridor. That went well, he thought toward Draycos, his skin itching as it always did when he had his back to people he'd just conned. What now?

  Now we get under cover, Draycos said. Take the second door to the right.

  Right. Jack chewed at his lower lip. On the other hand, what's the hurry? They're going to be on to us soon enough. It seems to me we should squeeze everything we can out of this time of blissful ignorance.

  If we do, we run the risk of being caught in the open when the alarm is given, Draycos warned.

  It's still worth a shot, Jack said. Where's the next nearest weapon?

  A few rooms forward in the Number One weapons bay, Draycos said. From the camera image, I believe this one's mounted in the bay's main control room, instead of in auxiliary control. That room is right up against the hull, and we'll need to use a different door to reach it.

  Then let's do it, Jack decided. Just show me where to go.

  Very well, Draycos said. Take the next turn to the left.

  CHAPTER 13

  Neverlin had told Frost to search the man calling himself Virgil Morgan before allowing him aboard the Advocatus Diaboli. Frost had apparently taken that order very seriously, because Taneem ended up crouching by the grille overlooking Neverlin's office for nearly half an hour before the man finally arrived.

  When he did, he wasn't at all what Taneem had expected. For one thing, he didn't look or smell anything like Jack, as she would assume a relative should. He was a large man, slightly bigger even than Frost, who was walking closely and watchfully behind him. He had broad shoulders and a way of moving that somehow brought the best Phooka dancers to Taneem's mind.

  His clothing was another surprise. Instead of Jack's casual jeans, shirt, and jacket, he was wearing a distinguished-looking white uniform.

  A moment later, she realized it was the same uniform she'd seen earlier on the Advocatus Diaboli's bridge crew. Apparently, Frost had decided not to let the man even keep his own clothes but had pulled a spare uniform from the ship's stores for him to wear.

  But all of this Taneem noticed only secondarily. Her main attention was focused on Neverlin.

  And on Neverlin's sudden and violent reaction to the man's entrance. "What the hell?" he all but gasped, twitching back from his desk. "Frost!"

  "Hold it," Frost snapped, grabbing the man's right wrist.

  Or rather, he tried to grab the man's wrist. Before he could get a solid grip, the other twisted his arm smoothly out of the mercenary's grip.

  Neverlin twitched again, shoving himself even farther back from his desk as if expecting an attack. But the newcomer simply stood where he was, making no attempt to do anything at all. "Hello, Mr. Neverlin," he said calmly. "Nice to see you again."

  Snarling a curse, Frost got another grip on the man's wrist. "You know him?" he demanded.

  "Oh yes, I know him," Neverlin bit out. "His name's Harper. He's one of Cornelius Braxton's bodyguards."

  Frost's shoulder twitched, and suddenly his other hand was pressing a gun against Harper's side. "Big mistake, friend," Frost said softly.

  "Actually, the mistakes are all on your side," Harper said, his voice still calm. "What Mr. Neverlin failed to mention—because Mr. Neverlin doesn't know—is that I'm not actually working for Braxton anymore."

  "Meaning?" Frost asked.

  "Meaning that in all your grand and detailed planning for this operation, you never once thought about putting a spy on Braxton himself," Harper said, his voice suddenly hard. "Did you actually think he was just going to go about his business and forget about you?"

  "Let me guess," Neverlin said. "You're volunteering for the job?"

  "Don't be absurd," Harper said contemptuously. "The time for that is long over. Fortunately for you, someone else had the foresight to approach me months ago with an offer I decided was worth the risk."

  "Does this person have a name?" Frost demanded.

  "Yes, a name you know quite well," Harper assured him. "The Patri Chookoock."

  Frost snorted. "And you expect us to just believe that?"

  "Of course not," Harper said. "By all means, call him and ask." He eyed Frost over his shoulder. "Only be sure none of his Brummgas are within eavesdropping distance of the InterWorld transmitter when you do."

  "Meaning?" Frost asked.

  "Meaning you've been infiltrated," Harper said bluntly. "One of the Brummgas, possibly more than one, has been suborned."

  "By whom?" Neverlin asked. "Braxton?"

  "Worse—the Malison Ring." Harper looked at Frost again. "Possibly General Davi himself."

  A shadow seemed to cross Frost's face. "That's ridiculous," he insisted. "Davi has no idea what's going on here."

  "Like he had no idea you were holed up on the Chookoock estate?" Harper asked pointedly.

  "That had nothing to do with Davi," Frost growled. "It was some con Morgan stirred up. Morgan, or the Kayna girl."

  "Speaking of Morgan," Neverlin said, "if you're really working for the Patri, why this Virgil Morgan masquerade?"

  "With all due respect, Mr. Neverlin, kindly start using your brain," Harper said. "Our conversation out there could have been picked up by anyone in your fleet. Would you really have wanted me to simply announce my true identity and mission to the Malison Ring's spies?"

  "A good point," Neverlin said. "Again, why Virgil Morgan?"

  "Because everyone here knows you've been trying to find Morgan to get him to open the K'da/Shontine safes for you," Harper said patiently. "He's the one person who could show up without raising anyone's suspicions."

  "So how exactly do you know about any of this?" Frost asked. "If your job was to keep tabs on Braxton, how do you know what General Davi and the Malison Ring are up to?"

  "Because Davi and Braxton have had several long conversations together over the past couple of weeks," Harper said. "Sharing their various pieces of the puzzle, as it were." He raised his eyebrows. "And Davi in particular sounded like he's been getting a steady stream of new pieces."

  There was a short silence. Taneem wondered if Neverlin and Frost were thinking about Mrishpaw and his supposed attempt to open the K'da safe.

  Probably. If Taneem could put those pieces together, surely Neverlin and Frost could.

  "All right, you're off the hook," Neverlin said at last. "For the moment. But we are going to call the Patri."

  "Fine," Harper said. "As I said, just make sure the Brummgas are out of earshot."

  "Easily done, since there aren't any aboard the Advocatus Diaboli anymore," Neverlin said. "They're all on the troop carrier and the Foxwolf."

  "Good," Harper said. "Well, that's all I have. The Patri just wanted me to get out here and alert you to the infiltration." He cocked his head. "You have any other questions? It's been a long day, and I want to go back to the Essenay and rest a bit before dinner."

  "I'm afraid you won't be going back to the Essenay any time soon," Neverlin told him. "At least, not until we've cleared your story with the Patri. But I'm sure you'll find our accommodations adequate."

  "Just one more question," Frost said. His gun. Taneem noted, was still pressed against Harper's side. "If you're working for the Patri, why did you blast out of the Ponocce City Police Station with Jack Morgan instead of just taking him back to the Chookoock estate?"

  "Because I needed to find out if Morgan had also been in contact with Braxton or the Malison Ring," Harper said. "To do that, I needed to gain his trust. I also needed his ship if I was going to pull off this Virgil Morgan charade. Too many of the Brummgas had seen the Essenay and might be suspicious if I showed up flying an entirely different ship."

  "And part of the trust building was to kill three of the Patri's Brummgas?" Frost demanded, digging the muzzle of his gun a little harder into Harper's side.

  Harper didn't even flinch. "I told you the Chookoock family had been infiltrated," he said mildly. "I never said all the traitors were here in your fleet."
r />   There was another short silence. "We'll be sure to ask the Patri about that when we talk to him," Neverlin said, his voice neutral. "Where's Jack now?"

  "And his dragon," Frost added.

  "Yes; his K'da," Harper said, shaking his head. "Damnedest thing I ever saw. Actually, I didn't do anything with either of them. I didn't have to. They went off somewhere, brought me back a roommate, then disappeared again."

  "You didn't ask where they were going?"

  "I didn't care where they were going," Harper said. "All I needed was his ship, and he was handing that to me on a platinum platter. I waited until he was gone, popped my cuffs, and plugged in the Point Two coordinates the Patri Chookoock had given me."

  "This roommate you mentioned," Frost said. "What was his name?"

  "No idea," Harper said. "We were never introduced, and the only times he opened his mouth were to be loud or insulting. Or both. I dumped him with the local cops just to get rid of him."

  "What did he look like?" Frost asked, his voice gone suddenly dark. "And where exactly did Morgan pick him up?"

  Harper shrugged. "Medium height, slender build, rusty brown hair, thin face, and we were in the middle of nowhere on Bentre. Why?"

  Frost snarled a curse. "Chiggers."

  "Who?" Harper asked, frowning.

  "That's impossible," Neverlin said, ignoring the question. "He was seen boarding the—" He broke off. "Wasn't he seen boarding the Foxwolf?"

  "You tell me," Frost said, stepping around Harper and heading for Neverlin's desk. He got two steps before he abruptly stopped. "Frunge it all. We can't even call over and check."

  "Who's Chiggers?" Harper asked again.

  "One of our pilots," Neverlin said grimly. "He got separated from the group picking up those KK-29 patrol ships you probably saw on your way in." He looked at Frost. "We thought he'd made it back safely."

  "Blasted kid," Frost bit out. "Sir, we have got to get word to the Foxwolf right away."

  "How?" Neverlin countered. "Besides, it's probably way too late to sound an alarm now. Morgan and the K'da have undoubtedly already made their presence known."

  Frost swore viciously. "And six days before we can even get help to them."

  "Six days?" Harper demanded. "Where are we going, Ghossta's End?"

  "We're doing an evasive to our next rendezvous point," Neverlin told him. "We thought it would be a useful distraction for anyone who might be monitoring you."

  "Terrific," Harper said heavily. "How big a force is the Foxwolf carrying?"

  "Three hundred eighteen Brummgas, plus five of my men and a new recruit we're not entirely sure of," Frost said. "Plus nine Valahgua."

  "Against a fourteen-year-old boy and a K'da." Harper pursed his lips. "Not too bad."

  "You haven't seen the K'da in action," Frost said grimly. "I have. They'll have their work cut out for them."

  "Still, they do have those nine Valahgua," Neverlin added. "One would think that after all these years they'd have some idea of how to deal with K'da."

  "I guess we'll find out," Harper said.

  "I guess we will," Neverlin said. "And we can always make do with a few less Brummgas if we have to."

  He waved a hand. "But I'm forgetting my manners, and you did say something about wanting to rest before dinner. Colonel, would you escort Mr. Harper to his stateroom? There's an empty one forward that he can use."

  "Certainly." Frost gestured back toward the office door. "Mr. Harper?"

  Carefully, Taneem eased back from the grille and backed her way along the duct. This time, she waited until she was two turns away from the office before speaking. "Alison?" she whispered. "Did you hear all that?"

  "Yes," the girl's voice whispered back. "Interesting."

  "Did you know all of this when you made it look like Mrishpaw had broken into Neverlin's office?"

  "I'd never heard a word of it," Alison told her. "It's beautifully convenient, though."

  "I suppose." Taneem hesitated. "Do you think Jack and Draycos are really over in that other ship?"

  "I don't know," Alison said, her voice tight. "But it sounds like the sort of crazy stunt they'd pull."

  "Is there anything we can do to help them?"

  "You heard Neverlin," Alison said. "As long as we're in hyperspace, we're cut off from the rest of the ships."

  "Then what do we do?"

  "The only thing we can," Alison said. "We keep an eye on things here and try to plan what we'll do when we reach Point Three. And we keep stirring the fire beneath Neverlin and Frost and see if we can get this alliance to implode."

  "To what?"

  "To fall apart," Alison explained. "To self-destruct."

  "Oh," Taneem said. "What do you want me to do now?"

  There was a soft, thoughtful hiss from the comm clip. "See if you can find out where Neverlin and Frost have put Harper," she said. "If he's really working for the Patri Chookoock, we'll want to see about pointing some of Neverlin's suspicions in his direction."

  "You think he might not be?"

  "Might not be what?"

  "Working for the Patri Chookoock."

  "Who knows?" Alison said. "If he's not, coming aboard like this would be a pretty crazy thing to do. On the other hand, Cornelius Braxton is famous for pulling crazy stunts."

  "It sounds like he and Jack would get along very well," Taneem suggested.

  "Probably," Alison agreed. "Off you go now. But be careful."

  "I will." Getting her bearings, Taneem turned toward the bow and headed for the forward group of staterooms.

  CHAPTER 14

  As always, Taneem took her rime, checking each grille as she passed. As always, her excessive caution proved largely unnecessary. Now that the Essenay had been docked and the immediate crisis was over, both crew and passengers were relaxing again. Certainly none of them seemed to have the slightest interest in the air ducts running along above their heads.

  During her most recent investigation of the ship, just after she and Alison had escaped from the safe, Taneem had noted that most of the forward cabins were occupied by Brummgas, usually four to a room. Now, with all the aliens having been sent to the Foxwolf, their places had been taken by human Malison Bang soldiers.

  Still, even through the confusing mix of other human scents wafting through the ducts, it didn't take her long to find Harper's new home.

  Back in the office, both Harper and Neverlin had mentioned Harper's desire to rest. But as Taneem eased an eye around the edge of the grille, she discovered he wasn't resting at all. Instead, he was walking slowly around the room, his hands running gen-tly over the walls and furnishings, his head moving back and forth as he looked closely at everything.

  His movements seemed strangely familiar. Taneem frowned, trying to figure out why.

  And then it hit her. Just as Alison had done on their very first visit to this ship a month ago, Harper was searching for hidden microphones and other spy devices.

  Carefully, Taneem settled down into a comfortable position inside the tight fit of the duct. This would, she knew, take some time.

  It didn't take as long as she'd expected. Within fifteen minutes Harper had finished his sweep. Still looking around as if making sure he hadn't missed anything, he took off the white uniform jacket he'd been given and sat down on the edge of the bed.

  But he didn't lie down. Instead, he rolled up his shirtsleeves past his elbows, exposing his forearms. Holding his left arm close to his eyes, he placed the fingernails of his right hand against the inside of his left wrist.

  For a moment nothing happened. Harper held the pose, his fingertips making small movements against the skin as if he were scratching some delicate itch.

  And then, to Taneem's horrified astonishment, he peeled the skin straight back off his arm.

  Taneem gasped, her tail twitching violently in reaction. The tip hit the inside of the duct, giving off a muffled metallic clang.

  Harper's head jerked up, his right hand still gripping the flap
of skin. His eyes darted around the room, his face suddenly grim and deadly.

  Taneem froze, afraid to breathe. For a long minute Harper continued his visual sweep. Then, to her relief, he lowered his eyes again to his forearm. Resettling his grip on the flap of skin, he continued pulling it away from his arm.

  And now Taneem saw what she should have spotted in the first place. He wasn't pulling off his own real skin but merely a flap of something that looked like skin.

  And as the flap came free, she could see several small, flat objects embedded in the flap's underside.

  Neverlin had warned Frost to search Harper carefully. It looked like Frost hadn't been careful enough.

  The strip of false skin extended nearly the entire way from Harper's wrist to his elbow. He finished pulling it off and laid it beside him on the bed, then spent a minute vigorously rubbing the real skin that had been covered by the patch. Switching arms, he removed another strip of skin from his right forearm and laid it beside the first.

  Again, he took a moment to rub at the arm where the strip had been. Then, removing a slender item about as long as one of Taneem's claws from the first strip, he stood up.

  And headed directly toward the room's air grille.

  Taneem was back up into a crouch in an instant, easing her way backward down the duct as quickly as she dared. Before she had made it to the next corner she could hear the faint sounds as Harper began unfastening the screws holding the grille in place.

  She made it to the corner and backed around it, not stopping until she was completely out of sight of Harper's room. "Alison!" she whispered urgently.

  "What is it?"

  "I think he heard me," Taneem said, feeling scared and thoroughly miserable. It was like her first time in the air ducts all over again. "I'm sorry—I made some noise when he started peeling off his skin, and now he's opening the grille—"

  "Slow down; slow down," Alison cut her off. "What do you mean, he peeled off his skin?"