Star Risk - 02 Scoundrel Worlds (19 page)

"We moved them from their own home after some hooligans threw rocks at their house and threatened the children. It was a place that would have been hard for us to guard them in."

"I don't mean to insult your capabilities," Riss said. "But the people who might wish Maen Sufyerd harm are quite used to gunplay."

"And we are not," Bracken agreed. "Even those of us who served in the military before discovering our way are unwilling to choose violence.

"That, I understand, can slow someone down in the moment of action."

"It can," Riss said dryly.

"What do you propose to do with them, assuming Mrs. Sufyerd is willing to accompany you?"

"Take her and the children to a safe place," Riss said.

"Which brings up another matter," Bracken said. "We have both been assuming that you� and your people, including this rather frightening gentleman with you� don't intend harm to the Sufyerds. Before I will help, I'm afraid I'll have to have some proof as to your good intents."

Grok huffed. Riss couldn't tell if he was insulted or complimented by Bracken's words. He sat cross-legged on the floor of Bracken's rather spartan living room, trying to maneuver a human-size teacup.

Occasionally one or another of Bracken's children would peer around a corner, goggle-eyeing at the alien.

Riss grinned. "No offense, but I've never had to prove my innocence before, and I'm not sure how to go about it."

"I have an idea," Grok said. "Would a personal call from ex-Premier Reynard be satisfactory?"

Bracken visibly reacted, then considered. "Would there be any objection to my recording the conversation?"

"If there is," Riss said, "I'll get involved as well." And threaten, she thought, to rip that bald bastard's skull fringe out if he doesn't cooperate.

"That is a level I'm not used to dealing at," Bracken said.

"I'll even," Riss said, "let you place the call, to make sure we don't have a double standing in the wings."

"My," Bracken said. "The world you live in is full of deceit, isn't it?"

"I'm afraid so," Riss said.

"And I'm afraid," Grok said, "that we rather enjoy a universe of such duplicity."

Shaking his head, Bracken led Riss to the com.

***

Riss was very curious about what Mrs. Sufyerd would look like, suspecting she'd be a tall, gaunt ascetic like her husband.

Instead, Cahamla Sufyerd was short, long-haired, and wore a saucy expression, even shadowed as it was with worry. Her daughter, Abihu, about ten, and son, Hash, six, were a bit more solemn than children their age should be as well.

"Elder," Cahamla said, "I don't know if I should follow your advice."

"Of course," Bracken said courteously, "you have that option, and we'll continue to shelter you among the membership. But what this woman says does make sense."

"You and the children, as long as you're above-ground," Riss said, "are what they call hostages to fortune."

"In what sense?" Cahamla asked. "I have an idea what you mean, but would like things made clear."

"The, uh, children?" M'chel asked.

"We have never tried to hide anything from them," Cahamla said firmly. "And shall not start now."

"First, in the open, you could be kidnapped."

"Which would produce what?"

Riss blinked.

"I don't mean to me, or to the children," Cahamla explained.

"Your being in peril could keep Maen silent," Riss said.

"No," Cahamla said. "Maen is� always has been, always shall be� his own man, serving the truth as best he knows."

"Your jeopardy also might keep others silent, who might refuse to help prove Maen innocent," Grok said.

Her two children were as entranced with the shaggy alien as Bracken's had been.

"He talks," Hasli told his sister.

"Of course he talks," Abihu said. "Now don't be embarrassing."

"I'm not embarrassed," the boy said.

"I meant embarrassing him." Abihu said, jabbing her brother in the ribs with an elbow.

"He's not embarrassed, are you?" Hasli asked Grok.

"I do not embarrass easily," Grok said.

"See?" Hasli said. "Yadder-dah-yadder-dah-yadder."

"Hush," Cahamla said. "I'm thinking." She got up, went to the window of the small, modest house the Jilanis had put them in.

"Under normal conditions," she said, without turning, "I'd ask for a few days to consider what you propose, and would communicate with my husband."

"I don't think that would be wise," Riss said. "I mean, the part about telling Maen what we want. All of his coms are monitored, and, quite frankly, there are people in the government we in Star Risk don't trust, and knowledge of what we want to do might set them off."

"Star Risk� that's a neat name," Abihu announced. "Could I work for you when I grow up?"

Riss raised an eyebrow.

"Uh� well, we're always looking for good people� but I don't really think your family, and your friends, would approve."

"Then pooh on them," Abihu announced. "I want to do what I want to do when I'm big� without hurting people, naturally."

"We better talk about that," M'chel said.

Cahamla was smiling at her. "I can tell you don't have any children."

"I don't," M'chel said. "Nor a husband, either. But how does it show?"

"Children can distract anybody except their parents," Cahamla said.

Grok growled what signified amusement to him.

"How do you do that?" Hasli asked, attempting a growl of his own.

"Children," Cahamla announced. "You are not making this decision process easier."

The two children looked at each other, grimaced, but kept quiet.

"As for your staying here to think about things," Riss said, "if you think that's what you have to do, go ahead. With your permission, we'll put guards around the house, to make sure nothing happens."

"You think we're in danger here?" Cahamla asked, sounding worried for the first time.

"I don't know," Riss said. "All I know is what Elder Bracken told us some time ago, about various people who weren't Jilanis coming around to your services. I would think one reason they did so was to keep tabs on you."

Bracken nodded. "I'll accept that theory."

Cahamla took a breath. "Very well, then. We'll go with you. Can you give me an hour to pack?"

"We'll wait," Riss said. "We're in no particular hurry."

"It won't take any longer. Ever since that gang ran us out of our own house, we've been living out of our travel cases."

She smiled wryly. "I guess we should consider making that a routine until Maen is freed."

Her voice was quite sure that he would be.

***

The Sufyerds had just loaded into Riss's lifter when she saw movement across the street, outside a clearly empty house with an overgrown garden.

"Are we going to see Daddy?" Hasli asked.

"Eventually," Riss said absently. "Grok� do you�"

"I got him," the alien said. "One man, with a com and binocs."

"Not good," Riss said, turning the ignition on and starting the drive.

"Not good at all," Grok said. "Look."

"What is it?" Cahamla asked.

Two men were coming out of a small commercial lifter down the street that had philbrick coms on its side. Both had guns in their hands.

"What the blazes are they doing?" Riss said, bringing the lifter clear of the ground and spinning it through 180 degrees.

"And why didn't they do it earlier?" Grok wondered.

One of the men was waving something that might have been a badge holder.

"And that proves nothing," Riss snarled. "I'm not polite to people with guns."

She went to full power, and drove at the two men.

They gawked, realized Riss was fully prepared to run them down, and went flat. Riss missed them by about a meter.

One man rolled on his back, and snapped a round up toward the bottom of the lifter, which missed.

Abihu shouted "Whee!" and Hasli laughed.

"I don't like what you just did," Cahamla said. "We're law-abiding."

"We are," Bracken agreed. "Perhaps we should�"

"Anybody can get a badge from somewhere� if that's what the man was waving," Riss interrupted. "We'll settle things out back at our headquarters."

"Well," Cahamla said doubtfully. "If you think that's what we should do�"

"I don't know if it's what we should do," M'chel said. "I know it looks to be the only option. Look."

She pointed to the left, as half a dozen lifters took off from a small industrial site.

"I don't understand," M'chel said to Grok.

"I can offer a theory," the alien said. "Perhaps these people� whoever they are� were under orders to keep the Sufyerds under observation, and take action only if we� or any others� approached them, and it appeared they were going to flee."

"We set off the trap?"

"Possibly," Grok said.

"Since you're being so bright, whyn't you turn on the emergency band� maybe somebody'll get the talksies and enlighten us," Riss said. "And along with it, boy genius, who are these sorts who find us so fascinating?"

"Possibly the normal police force, although I doubt it. Possibly L'Pellerin's DIB," Grok said. "That's the most benevolent guess I can make. From there� the Masked Ones. Cerberus possibly."

"Simply wonderful," Riss said. "I'm running out of fingers and toes to count the bad guys."

"This is exciting!" Abihu announced.

"It is?" Hasli asked.

"It is," she said with certainty.

"Oh," Hasli said. "Then I won't be scared."

"So let's smoke back to the mansion," Riss said, just as the emergency frequency blurted:

"Unknown lifter, unknown lifter, this is the Tuletian authorities. Land at once. I say again, land at once."

Riss made a rude noise and Abihu laughed again.

"Sir," one of the men on com watch told von Baldur, "we've got something on the aviation emergency frequency."

Von Baldur frowned, hurried into the com room as the speaker crackled:

"Unknown lifter, this is Tuletian Control. I say again� we have your ID numbers, NY3478� ground at once or fly on at your own peril."

"That's the lifter Riss took out this morning," the watch officer said.

"Can you scramble and contact her?"

"We've been trying, sir," the man said. "So far without result."

A pair of speakers blared static.

"And now they're jamming."

"Get everybody on their feet and ready to react," von Baldur ordered. "And keep trying to reach M'chel."

Interference blared out of the lifter's speaker. Grok shook his head, replaced his mike.

"Nothing," he told Riss. "And now we know they're not official."

"Why so?" Riss asked.

"The police� even L'Pellerin's people� wouldn't need to jam," he said. "They'd just stay on us."

"Which they're doing a pretty good job of," Riss said, pointing to her right, where another four lifters had appeared.

***

Star Risk men and women boiled out of the mansion toward lifters being warmed up as von Baldur, Goodnight, and King, all wearing combat harnesses, waited on the steps.

"I guess the best bet will be to get airborne," von Baldur said, "and maybe we can get a location on this jamming. Our M'chel should be somewhere under that."

"Not good," Goodnight said. "But better than nothing."

Turbine-whine echoed down the street, and half a dozen commercial lifters grounded outside the mansion's high fencing.

Two of them had closed beds. The sides fell away, revealing heavy crew-served blasters, with men at their controls. Men ran out of the other lifters, and took up firing positions across the street.

Then everyone froze.

"Nobody's giving us orders on what we should be doing," Goodnight said. "I don't like that."

"No," von Baldur said. He trotted toward the gate.

A blaster clanged, and a bolt smashed into the ground two meters away from von Baldur's feet. He skidded to a halt, held up his hands in peace, went forward again.

Another bolt slammed into the paving near him, and gravel and sharded concrete sprayed von Baldur's legs.

Von Baldur went back to the mansion steps.

"They don't want to talk," Goodnight said.

"What do they� oh," King said. "They don't want any rescuers."

"I guess not," von Baldur said. "I shall check the back tunnel, although what good that being clear might do us, I haven't an idea." He ran back into the mansion.

"Plainclothes," Goodnight mused, then shouted, "All of you� get down and stand by for orders."

"If they're not wearing uniforms," King said, "they're either Cerberus� or the Masked Ones. Or maybe the DIB."

Von Baldur ran back out.

"I can hear lifters on the back street, so they must have us surrounded. I tried to use a com to call the police, and all power has been cut off. It'll take a minute for our backup generator to cut in."

"Son of a bitch," Goodnight said. "If they come in�"

"They're not moving," King said. "I think they're just intending to keep us right here."

"Nice to see a world where the laws work," von Baldur said calmly. Only his tight-pressed lips showed his rage. "We cannot even notify the parking patrol about these traffic-blockers."

"We sit here all corked up while they do whatever they want to Riss and Grok," Goodnight snarled. "Son of a bitch twice."

"They're trying to net us," Riss said. "Look up."

Very high above them were faint contrails, moving with them.

"Spaceships," Riss said. "I could zig a zag or two, and prove they're on our ass� but I don't think it's necessary."

"At least," Grok said, "we've got speed on the lifters around us."

"Or at least they'd like us to think we do," Riss said. "I really want to go home and have a nice, quiet drink. Grok, see if you can't get through to the mansion on our freq."

"This is Headquarters," von Baldur said clearly into the microphone. "I scramble on R-four-three. I say again, I scramble on R-four-three."

The man on the com nodded to von Baldur that the signal was being scrambled.

"M'chel," von Baldur said. "We are surrounded by bad people. Do not, repeat, do not, attempt to return home until we have firm communications and you have been signaled that all is clear. I say again�"