This Day All Gods Die (7 page)

"Surely it is obvious that the timing of the blast could only have been adjusted to suit events by someone present in the hall." Hashi permitted himself to elaborate this point unnecessarily while he explored some of the more obscure strands of inference spun by Lane's investigation. "And it was surely predictable that UMCPED Security would seal the island in order to prevent any conceivable suspects from effecting an escape. Therefore the peril was real that an incriminating transmitter might be discovered."

He glanced at Koina and Mandich as if he were asking them to fault his logic. Then he returned his attention to Warden.

"Thus the method becomes plain. Captain Alt is hypnotized involuntarily. He is conditioned to respond to a specified signal—

a particular word, a particular gesture. He is given—

let us suppose until Lane's exploration is complete—

a false

tooth filled with a massive dose of the triggering coenzyme, a tooth which will break open when it is bitten. He is supplied, still involuntarily, with Clay Imposs' credentials. Then he is sent into the hall to await his signal—

and his own death.

"The most obvious benefit of this method is that it leaves no evidence. The knowledge of the pre-conditioned signal—

and of the man or woman culpable for it—

dies with the kaze.

No transmitter—

or indeed timer—

can be found.

"Coincidentally, it perhaps rids the perpetrators of a man who might well have become an embarrassment to them." A man who knew—

and who therefore might reveal—

how the

code engines in question could be misused.

"The obvious conclusion," Hashi stated with satisfaction, "is that whoever gave the signal must have been within Captain Alt's clear field of view."

Not simply present in the hall: present in plain sight from Nathan Alt's position.

Wondrous energy shells, layers of uncertainty, mapped the center of the atom; the core of truth.

Neither Director Hannish nor Chief Mandich spoke. Perhaps they sensed the presence of implications they were unable to define. Or perhaps they failed to grasp why Hashi considered these details to be so significant.

Warden's reaction was of another kind altogether.

Studying his DA director, he said quietly, "All right.

Let's see where this goes." With a precise stab of his forefinger, he keyed his intercom.

"Director Dios?" a communications tech answered.

"I'll talk to Cleatus Fane now," Warden announced. His tone carried the force of a commandment.

Koina settled herself back in her chair with a visible effort. Chief Mandich took another step forward as if he were ready for combat. Perhaps intuitively they both comprehended Hashi's explanations better than he realized.

"Right away, Director." The intercom emitted thin hiss-ings and clicks as microwave relays shuttled, establishing a downlink. A moment later the tech said, "Director Dios, I have First Executive Assistant Cleatus Fane by secure channel from Suka Bator."

An alert on Warden's desk flashed until the tech left the line. Then the light turned green to indicate that the channel had been sealed against eavesdropping.

"Mr. Fane," Warden began bluntly. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I've been busy."

"I understand completely, Director Dios." A faint spatter of static marred Fane's avuncular tones—

solar flare activity,

perhaps. "Your duties have become especially complex recently. I wouldn't bother you at a time like this, but I think I have something to contribute to your investigation." He chuckled fulsomely. "That sonofabitch came close to killing me. I shudder to think what could have happened if Director Lebwohl hadn't spotted him. I'm very eager to make a contribution."

Especially complex recently, Hashi thought. Doubtless Fane intended a reference to Trumpet; a reminder that Holt Fasner had given Warden orders. False bonhomie concealed pressure. The FEA meant Warden to understand that he could not afford to ignore anyone who spoke for the Dragon.

Warden was unmoved, however. "I don't want to seem rude, Mr. Fane," he answered, "but time is tight. What contribution did you have in mind?"

"Then I'll be brief. The sooner you finish your investigation, the sooner I can leave this hopeless rock."

Not for the first time, Cleatus Fane's manner made Hashi think of a Santa Claus with fangs.

"By now, Director," Fane began, "I'm sure you've identified that kaze. I recognized him myself. If I'd noticed him earlier, we wouldn't have had to rely on Director Lebwohl to save us. I knew he might be dangerous. At the very least," he explained, "I knew he shouldn't be there. That would have made him look dangerous, even if I had nothing else to go on.

But I didn't think to look at him closely until Director Lebwohl accosted him.

"His name is Nathan Alt. The Nathan Alt—

the one who

used to work for you. He was court-martialed for 'dereliction'

when he was in command of Vehemence. You know that. And you've had time to access his records, so you also know he's been working for us since then. I mean for the UMC. Specifically he was our Security Liaison for Anodyne Systems."

Behind his smeared lenses and his impenetrable smile, Hashi resisted an impulse to hold his breath. Despite his confidence in the web of inferences he'd woven for Warden's benefit, he was acutely aware that he needed Cleatus Fane's confirmation. Without it he might be left looking uncomfortably like a man who grasped at straws in order to redeem his tarnished credibility.

Fane's disembodied voice continued smoothly. "But that's not the reason I've been calling you. Aside from the fact," he added piously, "that we all have standing orders to give you our fullest cooperation whenever it's needed." We no doubt referred to Holt Fasner's primary subordinates.

"There's something you may not know about him."

"What's that, Mr. Fane?" Warden put in noncommittally.

Fane paused for emphasis, then announced, "We fired him six weeks ago. Threw him out."

Koina shook her head at this information. Chief Mandich clenched his fists.

Only a conscious act of will prevented Hashi from laughing aloud.

Warden's shoulders tightened. He scowled at the intercom as if he were trying to read Cleatus Fane's aura through the blank mask of the microwave downlink.

"Why?" he demanded.

Fane answered promptly. "I'm sure I don't need to tell you that we wouldn't have anybody working for us—

certainly

not in a position as sensitive as Security Liaison for Anodyne Systems—

if he wasn't cleared by the most rigorous scrutiny."

An irritating fuzz of static distorted his sincerity. "And we scrutinize everyone incessantly. Over and over again.

"Our latest—

shall I call them observations?—

of Nathan

Alt showed that over the past several months he's been in frequent contact with the native Earthers."

The First Executive Assistant raised his voice to convey indignation. "I don't need to remind you, Director Dios, that they're terrorists. The worst kind of scum. In the name of preserving humankind's 'genetic purity,' they oppose any dealings with the Amnion, even responsible trade. They oppose diplomatic relations. They oppose us because we do lawful, authorized business with forbidden space. And they don't hesitate to use violence of all kinds to support their policies.

"Of course we fired Nathan Alt. Once we knew he was in contact with the native Earthers, we couldn't trust him."

Warden ignored Fane's outrage. "And that's how you knew Alt was dangerous as soon as you recognized him?" he asked.

"Director Dios," Cleatus Fane retorted strongly, "I think the native Earthers are behind all these recent attacks. I think Nathan Alt gave them the means to supply kazes with legitimate id, and they've been using it to try to undermine both the UMC and the UMCP.

"Fortunately they can't succeed," he added at once.

"The fact that the GCES soundly rejected Captain Vertigus'

misguided Bill of Severance demonstrates that. But the danger is still real. And it must be stopped."

Through the static he projected the righteous indignation of a man who had come close to a death he didn't deserve.

Warden grimaced at the intercom. After a moment he drawled mordantly, "An interesting theory, Mr. Fane. I want to be sure I understand it. The first attack—

the one on Captain

Vertigus—

what was that supposed to accomplish? The native Earthers have always called him a hero."

The FEA laughed humorlessly. "But he hasn't done anything heroic for decades. He's too old and ineffectual to do them any good. They wanted to make him a martyr. His opposition to Holt Fasner and the UMC is common knowledge.

They want people to think he was attacked to silence his opposition."

Warden snorted softly; too softly to register on the intercom pickup. "You can't apply the same argument to Godsen Frik."

"Of course not." Static or stress made Fane's bonhomie sound brittle. "As a spokesman for the special relationship between the UMC and the UMCP, he's a natural enemy of the native Earthers. They wanted to use the confusion caused by Captain Vertigus' martyrdom to strike at one of their most public targets."

For a moment Warden appeared to give this statement consideration. Then he asked, "And the attack today?"

"An attempt to scare the Council," Fane pronounced firmly. "Fear breeds stupidity—

and stupidity breeds native

Earthers."

Hashi considered this an interesting piece of conceptual legerdemain. From his perspective, stupidity bred rejection of Captain Vertigus' Bill of Severance.

Warden may have felt the same—

Koina plainly did—

but

he didn't comment.

"I'll look into it," he told the Dragon's henchman. "But I have to say, Mr. Fane, it makes me wonder why you hired Alt in the first place. You had reason to think he might not be particularly reliable."

Cleatus Fane snorted. "Because he couldn't meet Director Donner's standards for 'conduct becoming an officer'?

There aren't many men or women on the planet who can be that pure all the time. His court-martial didn't render him unfit for productive work. Or honorable work, for that matter,"

Fane added.

"But the truth is"—

microwave noise complicated his

candor—

"his court-martial was one of the reasons we hired him. He never hid the fact that he resented the UMCP. From our point of view, that made him uniquely valuable. We wanted a man who was highly motivated to find fault with anything you people touched—

especially with the security

procedures designed for organizations like Anodyne Systems and the GCES. If he couldn't find chinks in your armor—

so to

speak—

no one could. And if he could find them, we could fix them."

The First Executive Assistant might as well have said, Don't try to challenge me, Director Dios. You're wasting your time.

Chief Mandich's features held a resentful scowl, but he didn't speak.

Warden shrugged noncommittally. "As I say," he replied, "time is tight, Mr. Fane. Director Lebwohl is already investigating some of the possibilities you've mentioned."

Cleatus Fane would know soon—

if he didn't already—

that

Hashi had invoked Red Priority security locks for some of Holt Fasner's Home Office computers, as well as for all of

- Anodyne Systems'. "Just one more question, if you don't mind.

"Did Alt take any of his work with him?"

"Director," Fane answered heavily, "nobody carries that kind of work around in his head. It's too minute and complex.

His last project ran to something like eight million lines of source-code. Most of us would burn out our brains just trying to remember the design protocols.

"And we made damn sure he didn't carry it any other way. I can tell you that for a fact."

On this point Hashi felt certain that the FEA's facts were accurate. Captain Alt's secrets—

whatever they might have

been—

had never left the Dragon's orbital headquarters.

"Very well, Mr. Fane," Warden returned. "I'll contact Holt Fasner directly when I have anything to report."

He raised his hand and aimed one strong finger to silence the intercom.

On impulse Hashi left his seat so abruptly that Warden's hand stopped. In a rush Hashi reached the front of the desk and leaned over the intercom.

"Mr. Fane?" he said quickly, almost breathlessly. "Forgive the intrusion. This is Director Lebwohl. I am with Director Dios. Overhearing your discussion, I have a question of my own, if you will permit me to put it to you."

Fane hesitated momentarily, then said, "Go ahead, Director Lebwohl. Anything you want to know."

Grinning past his glasses at Warden, Hashi responded promptly, "You say that you fired Nathan Alt six weeks ago because he was in contact with the native Earthers. And you made sure—

I believe you made 'damn' sure—

that none of his

work left with him. Did you institute any other precautions to ensure the security of Anodyne Systems?"

If the First Executive Assistant was willing to go this far, surely he would go further.

"Of course." Fane's tone hinted at relief. He was prepared for this question. "We made a mistake hiring Alt. We weren't going to compound it by being naive. In essence, we threw out everything he did while he was Security Liaison. I mean, we kept his ideas. Some of them were brilliant. But we erased every application he designed. We erased every application he might have touched. Then we wrote our own to replace his. And we wrote patches to alter the code engines in every SOD-CMOS chip Anodyne Systems manufactured during his tenure.

"Even if he was smuggling data and code to the native Earthers for months before we caught him," Fane concluded,

"it's all useless to them now."

Nodding to no one in particular, Hashi resumed his seat.

He didn't trouble himself to thank Cleatus Fane.