Crossways (34 page)

Cara was about to depart when she got a call from Jussaro.
*I need to speak to you and Ben.*

*Can it wait? I have a shuttle to catch.*

*I don't think so.*

Cara left Ronan, Bronsen, and Archie rehearsing their personas for their false identities, newly acquired from Mother Ramona, and found Ben and Jussaro in Ben's office, which had been made more comfortable with the addition of an armchair that Ben had taken every advantage of.

“I don't want to worry you unnecessarily,” Jussaro said, “but you've got another singer in the choir.”

“How do you mean?” Ben asked.

“When I called Crowder to tell him you weren't dead he already knew. I thought he was going to fry me right then and there. He's getting information from someone else.”

“It was an open secret that we got Ben back,” Cara said. “Can we narrow it down?”

Jussaro shook his head. “I have no idea how Crowder knew, or even how much he knew.”

“I don't want to believe it's anyone from the Free Company,” Ben said. “These guys have all been through hell together. How could any of them still be in contact with Crowder?”

Cara shrugged. “It could be any one of them if Crowder
used the same tactics on them as Ari used on me. It could be someone who might not even realize he or she is doing it.”

“Is there any way to tell, Jussaro?” Ben asked. “You're probably the best Empath we have.”

“I'd have to get close, and even then . . .”

“Can it be done on some pretext? A health check on everyone's implant?”

“Possibly.”

“Borrow Nine from Jamieson. She can give them a genuine checkup while you look for anything amiss.”

“It will take some time.”

“Better get started, then.”

Jussaro left and Cara turned to Ben. “What do you think?”

“It affects your mission.”

“No, it doesn't. Jussaro's going to have to report our departure anyway, otherwise he'll get fried.”

“He won't have to tell Crowder the details.”

“True, but Crowder knows we'll be coming. He's laid a trap; we have to spring it. Hopefully on our terms, not his.”

Ben nodded, but he didn't try to stop her leaving.

K
ITTY KNEW THAT CARA HAD TAKEN A SMALL party and had left by shuttle. Though she wasn't privy to the details, she figured that they were going to try and extract Benjamin's family from Chenon. If they were moving against Crowder it might be something Alphacorp could use to their advantage.

Where was Remus when she needed him? Today was the day for contact, but he was haphazard about the timing. She wished he'd make a note of the station time. All too often he pushed into her mind when she was sleeping, or trying to. She didn't sleep so well these days.

She had barely an hour before meeting Captain Syke, Ellen Heator, and two of Wes' fellow guards. They were going to scatter Wes' ashes across the green acres of the community farm and afterward she was going to take them to pet baby goats. She'd been back twice since Wes' death and each time she felt just a little closer to him, but no more at peace with his loss.

She'd taken over Wes' apartment, keeping his sparse furniture, but adding her own careless clutter. Ellen had helped her to recycle Wes' clothing, but she kept his bed linen, fancying there was still something of him sleeping next to her when the bed felt too big for one.

Wes' affairs were all in order. What little he had in his account went to the farm at his request, and she offered his personal possessions to his fellow guards: an antique chrono that might have been his father's, or might have been some random thing he'd picked up somewhere; a reading pad loaded with an assortment of nonfiction; an antique hairbrush with a pearlized back and bristles nearly worn away. Whatever significance these few items held was lost now, and would forever be.

Kitty kept his image album for herself. There was a video and some stills of two dark-skinned people with a small boy. She studied their faces, trying to see where Wes' solid good looks came from. Both of them, she decided eventually. There were other stills of people she didn't recognize. She'd have to ask Ellen if she knew who they were and offer copies to anyone who wanted them.

Half an hour came and went and still no Remus. It would be just her luck that he'd intrude as they scattered Wes' ashes. She made her way to the elevator. The journey to the farm was much shorter from Wes' low spindle apartment than it was from Port 22, but it still took fifteen minutes to the last hub where she met the others.

They stepped onto the walkway in a line, standing in companionable silence.

“Are you all right, Kitty?” Ellen whispered as they passed through the insect netting, layer by layer, and entered the farm.

“I'm fine,” she said. When someone asked if you were all right, the last thing they really wanted to hear was that you were not.

Captain Syke said the words as they scattered Wes' ashes. They were good words, maybe not inspiring words, but solid, dependable ones, just like Syke himself. She hadn't expected him to be a baby animal kind of person, but he seemed to take delight in the goats and their kids. Well, who didn't love cute babies of all kinds. There was that phrase that stuck in her head: In the midst of life we are in death, but once you took the babies into account maybe it should be: In the midst of death we are in life. There was something so hopeful about babies. Life to come. Mistakes not yet made.

Remus didn't contact her while she was at the farm, for
which Kitty was thankful. Instead she was just settling down with a cup of caff and Wes' entertainment subscription when she felt the familiar mental handshake.

*Report!*

*You're late,*
she told him.

*It's the appointed day.*

*You're later than I'd like. A small team left by shuttle. I think they're going to try and extract Benjamin's family from Chenon.*

*Who?*

*Cara Carlinni, Lewis Bronsen, Ronan Wolfe, and Archie Tatum.*

*Not Benjamin himself?*

*He's still recovering.*

*Anything else?*

*Isn't that enough?*
Yes, there's more. We scattered the ashes of my lover today. Caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

She would have liked to tag along with Cara and company if they were going to stick it to Crowder. Wes Orton had been a good man, but Crowder had not cared about killing good men when he sent in the Alphabet Gang. The best she could do was keep Akiko Yamada and Alphacorp fully apprised of the situation. The Trust was rotten to the core.

*Ms. Yamada has authorized a message from your mother. It's in a regular mail packet. Watch out for it. You can send a reply via this office.*

*Thank you.*
She was surprised, but tried not to show it too much.

Perspective. It was all about perspective. Maybe Alphacorp was not so bad after all.

Ben paced the length of Blue Seven's cavernous interior and tried not to worry about Cara. She was more than capable and he had to get over the idea that he was personally responsible for setting right the wrongs of the universe.

“Hey, Boss, shouldn't you be resting?”

Dammit, if he heard that one more time . . .

He turned to find Wenna close behind him. “Did Ronan prime every single person in this outfit to ask me that?”

She smiled. “Pretty much. He guessed you'd be trying to do too much as soon as he was out of the way.”

“I'm just taking a gentle walk around the block.”

She hrmphed at him as only Wenna could. “Ronan said to tell you if you were going to get yourself back into shape, be sure to take plenty of fluids and rest between bouts of exercise.”

“I will.”

“Starting now.” She held out a water flask.

“Starting now.” He took it and grinned.

“And he said to tell you he's cleared you for pilot duties as long as you have a full crew. No more gallivanting solo through the Folds.”

Ben shivered. He wasn't looking forward to that part of the journey. Truth to tell, the thought of going back into foldspace scared him more than a little. It happened to pilots and Navigators sometimes, occasionally on their first flight, occasionally on their hundred and first. You stare into the void often enough and it starts to stare back.

“Are you all right, Boss?”

“Yeah, Wenna, fine, thanks.”

“I've known you a long time, and I'd say you're anything but fine.”

“Hones—”

“And if you're going to say,
honestly I'm fine
, then I know you're bullshitting me.”

He shrugged. “I'm as fine as I can be. I'll make sure I've got a good crew with me. Yan Gwenn for starters.”

“Make sure one of them is a psi-tech Navigator.”

“I'm not taking Gen.”

“I didn't say it had to be Gen, though you could do worse. She won't thank you for coddling her just because she's pregnant, and she's pretty much finished sorting out false idents and travel permits for all the guys who are bailing out.” Wenna shrugged. “There's Kitty Keely. She's the highest-rated Navigator you've got after you.”

“Yeah, Kitty Keely . . . She didn't do so well last time out.”

Would Ben do any better himself, this time? Had the void stared back a little too intently? Had it said: I know you, tiny man?

“Ben!” Jussaro caught up with him, taking two quick steps for every stride of Ben's. “I need to come with you.”

“Why?”

Jussaro lowered his voice. “Because there are two scenarios. One, I call Crowder's Telepath as soon as you depart for Chenon and let him know you're coming—or, two, I don't call and the instant Crowder discovers I've deliberately gone against his orders he hits that kill switch. I don't want to betray you, Benjamin, but I don't want to die either.”

“Fair point, but how will coming with us help? You'll be getting even closer to the source of your problem.”

“I need to get into the Folds and see if I can float this implant out of my head like you did. Don't look at me like that. I know it's a long shot. But just in case, I've got Jamieson on standby to replace it as soon as we get back. He's real interested in whether this can be done to order. You can see the possibilities, can't you?”

“I can, but you're taking a lot on trust. I didn't do it on purpose and I don't know how I did it, or even if it was me that did it. Things got a little strange out there. What if you have to breathe vacuum and stick your head in a dragon's mouth or be shredded to a pulp before it works?”

“I'll take my chances.”

Ben nodded. “Come and welcome. It's going to be an interesting ride, but not in a way that would make you want to post it to your S-LOG afterward.”

“More than interesting. I just reported to Crowder's Telepath. Don't worry, I managed to leave out all the relevant bits of information, but I gleaned one piece of news. That Telepath's not as tight as he thinks he is. Crowder's no longer in Arkhad City.”

“He isn't? Any idea where he is?”

“I got an echo of a thought. He's someplace called Norro. You know where that is?”

“Norro? Oh, yes.” Ben grinned. “He thinks he's being clever. Thinks it's the last place I'd look for him.”

“Why?”

“It's where his ex-wife lives. She hates him. He knows I know that. He's got to be desperate to put himself anywhere near Agnetha Sigurdsdottir.”

“Agnetha. So kind of you to extend your hospitality.”

Crowder stepped down from the flyer only after Wyndham, Danniri's second, had sent a security detail to check out the house and grounds and declared the area safe.

“Gabe, welcome. So good to see you again,” the ex-Mrs. Crowder said in her public voice. As he got close enough to kiss the air beside her cheek she whispered, “You didn't give me much choice.” She eyeballed Wyndham. “Bit of a thug, isn't he?”

“A very efficient thug. Come and meet him.”

Crowder put his arm around Agnetha's sharp shoulders and though she shook him off she still turned to meet Wyndham with a glassy smile on her face.

“Aggie, this is Drew Wyndham, my captain of security. His men answer only to him, and to me, of course. He'll be in charge while I'm here.”

“And how long will that be?” Aggie asked under her breath.

“As long as it needs to be. Do I have to remind you that I own this property?”

“You don't have to, but you always do.” She cleared her throat, offered her hand, and in her public voice said, “Drew. Or is it Captain?”

“Wyndham will do, ma'am.” He didn't return the shake.

“Welcome to my home.” There was a slight emphasis on both
my
and
home
.

Crowder had to hand it to Aggie, she was always a mistress of last words and verbal one-upmanship. Perhaps coming here wasn't such a good idea after all, but with the report from his man at Alphacorp that the long-expected rescue bid was imminent, staying in Trust HQ had lost its appeal. The big grapple game had to be a factor. If he were trying to mastermind a rescue he'd do it under cover of the big game. Perhaps they would, too.

There was enough Trust security to stop a small army, but a well-placed bomb would be hard to hide from. He didn't think Benjamin would willingly cause collateral damage, especially with his grandmother and the boy imprisoned on the premises, but it wasn't a risk he was prepared to take.

He'd laid his trap carefully and, he hoped, with subtlety. It was the pitcher-plant method, sucker them right in and then let them have it.

Having Jussaro watching Benjamin was a distinct advantage. It was obvious that hirelings weren't going to be enough to take Benjamin down, at least not on Crossways. He'd been so relieved when he'd thought Benjamin dead, but the man obviously wouldn't stay dead. Time to finish it once and for all, lure him to Chenon and end it using the best men he had. Pav Danniri was itching to settle the score for her brother.

He'd hoped to be there when she took Benjamin down, but a deadly skirmish in narrow corridors wasn't a spectator sport. He'd have to make do with the security footage.