A Dark and Hungry God Arises (67 page)

When the doors and walls and screens had sealed behind him, rendering the lair and its secrets impregnable to espionage, he came face to face with the man who had made him what he was.

Delicate and insidious fears took hold of him whenever he contemplated his boss.

Stay calm, he told himself.

Stay clear.

Remember what you're doing.

Holt Fasner's aura was disturbing. Despite his one hundred fifty years, he looked younger than Warden; superficially in better health. Subtle drugs wiped eighty or ninety years off his skin; lifted at least half that many from the tissue of his heart and lungs, the marrow of his bones. Only the advanced ruddiness of his cheeks, the occasional tremor in his hands, the way he blinked as if he had difficulty keeping his eyes in focus, and the hint of mortality in his IR emissions, conveyed the impression that he wasn't entirely well.

He smiled a cold greeting past the surface of his utili-tarian desk. Like the desk, his office was crammed with data terminals, video screens and communications gear of every description — as ready for information as a living brain - but it wasn't particularly expansive; or even notably comfortable.

'Well, Ward. ' He waved a hand at a chair across the desk from him. 'Sit down. Let's have a chat. '

Schooling himself to conceal his anxiety, Warden took a seat and folded his arms over his heavy chest.

'We'd better do more than chat, ' he said as if he could afford to be impatient with the most powerful man in human space. 'This is a bad time for me to be away.

There's too much going on.

'You know that, of course, ' he added, 'so I assume you have something particular in mind. Ordinary channels are secure enough for chats. '

Holt gave a gesture like a shrug; his aura was tinged with tension. 'Come on, Ward - humor me. Let's not rush into this. You can spare a few minutes. How's the weather over there?' He smiled humorlessly. 'Have you found any leads on those kazes? What's the news from Thanatos Minor?'

Warden sat like a sphinx. 'Rush into what?'

Unruffled by directness, Holt countered, 'What in heaven made you think it was a good idea to restrict Godsen? I can't honestly say I liked him, but he did his job well, and he'll be missed. ' The Dragon blinked in small bursts like shivers. 'I'm sure by now you must have realized that he would still be alive if you hadn't given him those orders. '

'Yes, actually. ' If Holt had possessed a prosthesis like Warden's, he would have seen regret and useless anger swarming like insects under the surface of the UMCP

director's skin. 'I did realize that. '

'And - ?' Holt prompted.

Warden steadied himself with the pressure of his arms. 'I did it to protect him. That's what I thought I was doing, at any rate. I asked myself how the kaze who attacked Captain Vertigus could have obtained legitimate id, and I concluded it must have come from a traitor in one of three places - GCES Security, UMCPHQ, or here. With all due respect, I discounted my people. '

'But not mine, ' Holt said for him.

Warden nodded. 'And not the Council's - although yours are more likely. Between the two of us, you and I supply GCES Security with virtually everything. And you have a lot more people than they do - or I do. More people means a greater chance that one of them is a traitor.

'Until I located the source of that kaze's id, ' he continued, 'I thought I could minimize the danger by restricting Godsen. He was more vulnerable than anyone else, since he has so many reasons to visit Suka Bator. '

And you.

'Of course, I couldn't have foreseen that you would call him - or that you would suddenly need to see him in person. '

Blinking furiously, Holt asked, 'Do you think there's a connection?'

Stay calm, Warden recited like a litany. Remember what you're doing.

'I hope you can tell me. In fact, I hope that's why you sent for me. The timing is certainly curious. Godsen would still be alive if he'd answered your summons. Did you know he was the next target? Did you know who's responsible?'

That was as close to honesty as he chose to come.

'Of course not, ' Holt snapped in irritation. 'If I knew

"who's responsible", you would already have his head on a platter. Weren't you listening when I said I'm going to miss Godsen?'

Almost immediately, however, he recovered his humorless poise. 'But since you mention it, that does bring me to one of the subjects I wanted to chat about. Godsen's replacement. It's an important position. In fact, I predict it's going to be crucial. Have you had time to think about it? I have a good candidate in mind. '

Warden drew a slow breath past the pressure of his arms. 'I've already promoted someone. '

Holt dropped his jaw to emphasize his surprise; acid colors swirled in his aura. 'My, my, Ward. Whatever possessed you? You know how vital I consider PR. Why else do you imagine I insisted on Godsen in the first place?'

His tone sharpened. 'What made you think I wouldn't want a say in his replacement?'

Warden seemed to feel the Dragon's breath on his face, hot and fatal; but he kept his face impassive. Dispassionately he lifted his shoulders. 'As you say, PR is vital -

especially now. I needed someone right away. And I had no way of knowing you were about to suggest a replacement. I suppose I assumed you had too many other things on your mind. '

Holt studied him hard. 'Who did you promote?'

'One of Godsen's assistants. A woman named Koina Hannish. '

'You and women. ' Holt snorted. The next thing I know, you're going to replace Hashi with some young flirt who makes you feel all warm and cuddly. '

'Wait a minute. ' Warden knew his boss well enough to understand that Holt used insults as camouflage for his true intentions. Still the UMCP director needed some kind of emotional outlet. 'Is that your opinion of Min Donner? She's a "young flirt" who makes me feel "all warm and cuddly"?'

Holt ignored this protest. Still sharply, he ordered,

'Demote Hannish. Tell her it was temporary - you've found someone better. '

Warden tightened his grip on himself. 'I can do that, '

he replied, resolutely mild. 'But don't you think you're being a little obvious? Her promotion is already on record. She's already presented her credentials to the Council. ' Despite his determination to remain calm, however, Holt's implicit threat galled him. Goaded by loss and anger, he began to speak more strongly. 'You predict PR is going to be crucial. Are you sure you want to let the Council see you meddle in UMCP internal affairs at a time like this?'

The Dragon braced his hands on his desk as if he wanted to prevent them from shaking. His emissions curdled like sour milk.

'You know, Ward, when I look at you these days I sometimes wonder if I haven't created a monster. '

Warden swallowed a retort. Stay calm. He disliked being called Ward.

'What about me seems monstrous to you?'

Holt put equanimity aside. 'That video conference, ' he articulated trenchantly.

Stay clear.

'What about it?'

'What about it? My God, Ward, if I didn't have so many reasons to trust you, I would turn you into dogfood. Don't think I'm not tempted in spite of your record. ' He meant, Don't think I can't do it. 'Do you have any idea what kind of hornets' nest you've stirred up among the votes? Did you do it on purpose, or did you just not consider how they would react?' His breathing was shallow and flurried.

'You should have listened to Godsen. I'm sure he would have warned you. He was damn near frothing at the mouth when he told me about it. '

Warden faced Holt stolidly. 'You've seen the recordings, ' he answered. 'I'm sure you've talked to people — I mean people besides Godsen. You know as much about it as I do. '

'Oh, I've seen the recordings, ' Holt sneered. 'I know them by heart. They're full of gems. Here's one. '

Glaring at the UMCP director, he quoted, '"It appears that Captain Thermopyle has left our solar system for forbidden space. If he does not alter his course, he is headed toward a planetoid called Thanatos Minor, which we believe to be the location of a bootleg shipyard catering to the needs and transactions of pirates. "

'Or how about this one? "Com-Mine Security allowed Ensign Hyland to depart with Captain Succorso on your orders. "

'But those aren't the best. I especially enjoyed it when Hashi said Succorso was sent "to Thanatos Minor armed with a drug which he would claim supplied an immunity to Amnion mutagens". And I practically had an orgasm when he admitted you gave Hyland to Succorso "so that he would have something to sell if he were trapped or caught".

'I know about the video conference. I know how the votes are reacting. What I don't know is what possessed you to tell them things like that.

'Who are you trying to sabotage here, Ward? Who is this aimed at?'

'Stay calm, ' Warden said aloud. Slowly a smile softened the clenched expressionlessness of his features. He raised one hand to the patch over his left eye. 'You look like you're about to have an infarction. '

Blinking spasmodically, Holt leaned back in his chair.

A sting of apprehension shaded his aura.

'As you say, ' Warden went on, 'it's sabotage. Smoke.

It's aimed at Special Counsel Maxim Igensard. '

He'd prepared for this as well as he could. Now he had to put himself to the test.

'The Council has been debating us for years, ' he explained. 'All the issues are old and familiar. Only Igensard is new. But he's already made up his mind about us.

Hashi and I just confirmed what he thinks. And we did it without quite telling him the truth.

'Complete lies are too easily uncovered. Almost-truths are much more effective. '

Holding down his self-disgust with the strength of his arms, he went on, 'The risk, of course, is that I've cut the ground out from under my supporters. But I'm willing to take that chance for the sake of blowing smoke in Igensard's eyes.

'Holt, that man is dangerous. If anyone is capable of pushing and prying hard enough to get at the facts, he is. I know his brand of outraged righteousness. He's so sure he's right and pure that he'll relish bringing both of us down and opening the borders of forbidden space to prove it.

'I can stand tarnishing my reputation a little to stop him.

'I know you don't like that. Your whole empire rests on the UMCP. If we don't at least look like our integrity is unimpeachable, you're in trouble. But before you decide I've gone into meltdown, think about what that conference accomplished. '

'Which is?' Holt demanded shortly.

Warden didn't hesitate. He'd gone too far to falter now.

'I gave Igensard lies so accurate he won't be able to distinguish them from the truth. From his point of view, if we really let Succorso have Morn Hyland just for the insurance, the last thing we would do is say so. From his point of view, if we actually released Thermopyle and sent him against Thanatos Minor, the last thing we would do is reveal his destination.

'From his point of view, if we truly had a mutagen immunity drug which we decided to keep secret, the very last thing we would do is call attention to it by saying we've faked a drug to use against Billingate.

'And that's not all. In addition I've set things up so that if anything goes wrong nobody gets the blame but me. If I look culpable enough, you're in the clear. You can always protect your interests by letting Igensard have me. '

At last he stopped. For better or worse, he'd said what he came to say. Now he had to face the outcome.

Holt regarded him sourly for a long moment before rasping, 'Is that supposed to reassure me?'

Warden shrugged. 'I don't know how you feel, ' he replied despite the fact that his IR sight read Holt's concern, anger and fear plainly. 'I'm just doing my job.

'What else would you like to chat about?'

That was the wrong thing to say. It set Holt off like the spark of a magnesium lighter.

Surging forward in his seat, he snapped, 'Don't mess with me, Ward. I'll have your balls for truffles.

'You planned all this before you ordered Godsen to admit publicly that Thermopyle was gone, but you didn't bother to mention it. You decided to climb out on this limb without consulting me. Now I'm going to tell you what it means if you fall. Then you're going to go back to UMCPHQ and leave the rest to me.

'If anything goes wrong on Thanatos Minor - anything at all - your precious Joshua is finished. Morn Hyland is finished. Nick Succorso is finished. Milos Taverner is finished. Do you hear me? I want them dead. I want them and their ships and every scrap of information about them extirpated from the universe.

'That includes the immunity drug. Especially the immunity drug. If I'd known you were going to give the votes any hint it exists, I would never have let you talk me into preserving it.

'Have I made myself clear? You've already sent Min Donner out that way. I assume you want her in position to intercept what comes out of forbidden space. Give her this job. If anything goes wrong out there' - his hands knotted into fists and pounded each word onto the desktop - 'you make goddamn sure she kills them all!'

Warden found it unexpectedly easy to remain calm.

He'd done what he came for. And the result didn't surprise him. He'd helped create this problem: now he meant to solve it; meant to reap the consequences.

Releasing his arms, he rose to his feet.

'It's clear, all right, ' he said quietly. 'I think it will stay that way from now on.

'I'll report as soon as I know what's happening. '

Holt growled a dismissal and keyed the doorseals so that Warden could leave.

As he walked out of the Dragon's lair, Warden closed the door distinctly behind him.

It's time, he thought. This has got to stop.

Please, Angus. Don't fail.