Alex Benedict 07 - Coming Home (24 page)

“Not much chance of that.”

“I know. But if it happens, those cups will be worth a ton of money in a few years.”

“How many years?”

“Well, maybe a century or two.”

“Okay. I’ll hang on to them, just in case.”

The drinks came. Dark wine. I raised my glass toward the Moon. “JoAnn and Nick,” I said.

Alex nodded. “Yeah. However things go, the price will have been pretty high.” We drank. And stared at each other. And put the glasses down. “I’ll tell you what has a chance of becoming a huge collectors’ item.”

“I don’t really care, Alex.”

“Okay.”

I could see I’d offended him. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right. I shouldn’t be preoccupied with trivia.”

We were both silent for a time. Then I finished my wine. “So what will, Alex?”

“Will
what
?”

“Become a big collectors’ item?”

“Oh.” He didn’t want to pursue the issue. “Anything off the
Casavant
.”

“Like its cups?”

“Yes.” He studied me. “You don’t believe it?”

“Eventually,
everything
becomes valuable.”

“These are historical times, Chase.”

I knew what he was doing, trying to get my mind off the losses we’d taken. “I know,” I said. “The ship’s name is inscribed on them, in handwritten form, beneath its silhouette.”

“They’ll be worth a fortune.”

“I hate to say this, but—”

“What?”

“I was thinking about human nature. They’d be worth more if things go badly, and nobody survives from the
Capella
. In fact, the value would go through the roof.”

“Yes,” he said. “It would. It’s the darker side of the business.”

“Yeah. While JoAnn and Nick—” My voice caught, and I couldn’t go further.

“Unfortunately,” he said, “we have short memories. Most heroes are forgotten by the next news cycle.”

*   *   *

Alex restored Gabe’s office. He moved the artifacts up to the second floor and took all the stuff he’d been collecting back there down into the basement. The walls had been filled during Gabe’s years with plaques and pictures, most of which had been taken down. I know that sounds a bit coldhearted, but I think the truth was that they were a painful reminder of a time Alex didn’t want to think about. He told me once that he’d never thanked Gabe, who had taken him in at a critical moment in his life and had cared for him for almost twenty years. Anyhow, everything was now back on the walls. Alex had also located a photo of Gabe and himself at about ten years old and my mom at a dig site somewhere. It had been framed and now rested on the desk.

He knew, of course, that the odds of bringing Gabe home anytime in the near future were remote.

But just in case.

I was standing at the doorway admiring how it looked when Jacob broke into my thoughts:
“I hope,”
he said,
“that we get him back.”

The storm has passed. Let’s go to lunch.

—Kesler Avonne,
Souls in Flight
, 1114

“Chase,”
said Jacob.
“You have a call from Mr. Conner.”

I didn’t know anyone by that name, which in our business happens all the time. “Okay,” I said. “Put him on.”

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I was shocked when vid star Zachary Conner blinked on. He looked exactly as he had playing opposite Roma Carnova in
Downtown
.
“Hello, Chase,”
he said in that familiar deep baritone.

“Okay,” I said. “Who are you really?” Then I realized. “Khaled.”

Conner vanished, and my sailor buddy appeared.
“Hi, Beautiful. How are you doing?”

“I’m fine, thanks. You know, you don’t look as much like him as I thought.”

“No, no. Too late to walk it back.”

“Where are you?”

“Skydeck. I got your message, so I thought I better come right away.”

*   *   *

Several hours later, when the shuttle arrived at the terminal, I was waiting. It was nice to see someone smiling again. We fell into each other’s arms. “I know you were a bit reluctant about this, Chase,” he said. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, no. I’m glad to see you.”

“If you’re upset or anything like that, just tell me, and I’ll go away. But I hope you won’t.”

“Khaled, you should have let me know. This is crazy.”

“I know.” Suddenly he looked scared. “I can get out of your way if that’s really what you want me to do.”

“That’s not the problem. The
Capella
’s close. I’m going to be leaving in a couple of days.”

“Oh, God. I knew about that, but I didn’t expect you’d be going out again. I should have realized. Chase Kolpath to the rescue. How could I—?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault.” He stood there looking helplessly around the terminal as if he might find a solution in one of the service shops. “Dumb. Don’t know how I could have been so dumb.”

“It’s okay, Khaled.”

I led him to the skimmer. He threw a suitcase in back, and we took our seats. “Actually,” I said, “when I left Earth, I didn’t think I’d see you again.”

“I know. And to be honest, I debated whether I should come. After I got your messages, I really thought about backing off, but I just didn’t want to let you walk away. And I couldn’t think of any subtle way to do this.”

“I’m sorry this has been so difficult, Khaled.”

He flashed that smile again. “Someone like you, Chase, I knew right away it wouldn’t be easy.” He buckled himself in. “I’m sorry you had to go through that experience with the
Grainger
. It must have been terrible.”

“It was,” I said.

“I had no idea you were doing this kind of dangerous stuff.”

“You must have gotten a clue after that lunatic sank your boat.”

“Yeah. I don’t know what that was about. I thought that was aimed at you and Alex. Have you figured out yet why anybody might be trying to do that?”

“No,” I said. “Maybe it was just a nitwit out for a good time.” I lifted us out of the parking lot. “Where are you headed, Khaled?”

He raised both hands. “Can you recommend a hotel for me? Something not too expensive.”

That, of course, was an invitation for me to take him in. But I wasn’t prepared to commit to that. “Sure,” I said. “I think you’d like the Cosmo. It’s a nice place, and the prices are decent.”

If he was disappointed, he managed not to show it. “Sounds good.”

*   *   *

He checked into the hotel, which was located in South Tasker, an Andiquar suburb. “The ride to the theaters and the historic sites is a bit longer than from some of the tourist hotels,” I explained, “but it would cost a small fortune to stay downtown.”

“No, this is good. Can we do dinner?”

“Sure,” I said. “You want to eat here? At the hotel?”

“Yes, if you don’t mind. I’ve had enough running around for one day.”

We were shown to our table by a bot, who produced two glasses of water. “Andiquar’s a beautiful city,” he said.

“Is this the first time you’ve been on Rimway?”

“Yeah. In fact, it’s the first time I’ve been off the ground at all. I’m surprised.”

“About what?”

“Well, they say that a lot of people get sick on the star flights.”

“That’s probably an exaggeration. Some people do, but not many.”

“Well, anyhow, I was glad to come through it without a problem.” He rotated his shoulders. “The gravity’s a little higher here, isn’t it? I’d expected to feel heavier, but I don’t really notice anything.”

“It’s only a couple of pounds,” I said.

The callbox asked if we were ready to order. We looked at each other, and I went with spaghetti and meatballs. “Sounds good,” said Khaled. “I’ll have the same.” We added some wine. Then he sat back and looked seriously into my eyes. “Chase, this trip is obviously not going to go exactly as I’d hoped. But that’s okay. Even if I only get this hour or so with you, it will have been worth it.”

“Khaled, that’s sweet.”

*   *   *

If he really was tired of traveling, he showed no sign of it through the balance of the evening. After we finished eating, we went dancing. I took him to the Moonlight Ballroom, then to the Golden Rose, and to Whitfield Park. Eventually, we stopped in at a small club off Lavender Row, where we finished the evening drinking cocktails beneath the stars. “I don’t suppose,” he said, “I could persuade you to run off with me to the Caribbean?” He smiled, to let me know he was kidding, but not really.

“Where’s the Caribbean?” I asked.

“It’s a group of islands in the Atlantic. Close to Aquatica. They’re really nice. You’d like the music. Moonlit beaches. You’d
love
Jamaica.”

That constituted the wildest moment of the entire evening because I found myself almost considering it. “Is this what you always do?” I asked. “Gallop into a town and sweep some unsuspecting young woman off her feet?”

He leaned forward and pressed my arm. “Can I read that as a
yes
?”

“Khaled, what would I do at Eisa Friendly Charters?”

Another grin. “You’d be the best-looking sailor on the East Coast.”

“Oh, yes. Sailors mostly swab decks, don’t they?”

“Seriously, that would be an easy issue to manage.” His tone had changed. His eyes were still locked on mine. “Chase, I know this is all very sudden. And I don’t expect you to answer now. But what I’m asking is that you think about it. Give me a chance. I love being with you.”

“This is only the second time we’ve been out together, Khaled. We’re practically strangers.”

“You don’t believe that any more than I do. And anyhow, it’s the
third
time.”

“Not by my count.”

“We were on the
Patriot
together.” He laughed. “That’s always been my experience with beautiful women. They tend to forget me.”

“Well, I guess we could count the boat ride as a time out together. Since you saved my life.”

“Oh, Chase,” he said. “You were never really in danger.”

“I see. So what you’re saying is that the nutcase who attacked us was really a plant, so you could make an impression?” I expected a laugh.

“Of course not,” he said. “You think I’d let somebody sink one of our boats to—?” He shook it off. “No, what I meant was that I was there, and there was no way I was going to let anything happen to you.”

*   *   *

I’d informed Alex that Khaled was in town, and he was wearing that occasionally smug smile when I showed up at the country house next morning. “Well,” he said, “how’d it go?”

“It was fun. I have to admit, he
is
a pleasure to be around. And I needed an evening like that.”

“Where is he now? Do you know?”

“He was talking about going down to tour the Hall of the People.”

“Well, things are pretty slow here. Why don’t you take the rest of the day off? Go over there and join him?”

“Thanks, Alex. But I’m not sure that would be a good idea.”

“Oh.” He shrugged. “Well, whatever you want. Just let me know if you leave, okay?”

There is no ultimate truth. There is only the moment and what we choose to do with it.

—Marik Kloestner,
Diaries
, 1388

I left the country house in the early afternoon and picked up Khaled at his hotel. I took him to Kornikov’s German Restaurant for some sauerbraten. Afterward, we went downtown and toured the government buildings and the cultural center. We attended a concert, had dinner, and headed for the Hall of the People, a magnificent, sprawling, marble structure, four stories high, roughly a half kilometer long. As always at night, it was bathed in a soft blue luminescence.

We strolled through the surrounding grounds. Flags and banners of the Confederate worlds snapped along its front in the winds off the ocean. Tourists filled the area, taking pictures, explaining its significance to kids. The Council meets there, of course. The executive offices are located on the lower floors, and the World Court convenes in the eastern wing. The White Pool, with its myriad fountains, runs the length of the building, and the Silver Tower of the Confederacy stands at its north end. The tower was barred to visitors, as is normal after dark. In the daytime, people can take the elevator to the top, where a balcony circles the building.

We went inside the Hall to visit the Archive, which houses the Constitution, the Compact, and the other founding documents. “You know,” Khaled said, “I’ve taken the virtual tour, but it’s nothing like actually being here.”

“I guess,” I said, “that living a few kilometers away kind of dulls the effect. I think most locals take everything for granted. I came out here for the first time with my seventh-grade class. We walked through the building, went back to the school, and, if my memory is right, we wrote essays about our reactions. Which probably meant making stuff up.”

“So you said how you were overwhelmed?”

“I suppose. And I probably talked about how good the pretzels were.”

He laughed and commented that it reminded him of some of his own best work. We came out and sat by the pool for a while. We talked about my experiences with Alex, and Khaled described how fortunate he was to be able to make a living taking people for boat rides. And how much he was enjoying being on Rimway. And, finally, he brought the conversation around to
us
.

“Do we have a future?” he asked.

It wasn’t an easy question to answer. “Probably not,” I said finally. “I love my job here, Khaled. There’s just no way I would leave it.”

He stared down at our reflections in the water. “Well,” he said, “there
is
another possibility.”

I became aware of a cool breeze blowing out of the west. And a sprinkle of rain, there for a moment, then gone. Like a fly-by-night romance. “Khaled, we don’t know each other very well yet. We don’t know enough to make major decisions.”

“What you’re saying, Chase, is
no
.” He was still looking down at the water. “You’re closing the door to every possibility. Am I reading that right?”

“Look: Why don’t we do this a day at a time? Let it play out a little? I know we live kind of far apart, but that doesn’t mean we have to make major decisions tonight.”

He nodded and finally lifted his eyes. “How many days do we have left?”

“Tomorrow,” I said. “I’ll be leaving after that.”

“Okay.” He took a deep breath. “Then you
will
see me tomorrow? You’ve been kind of reluctant to—”

“Yes, we can get together tomorrow. If you want to. I’d been concerned because I have to go up to Skydeck and make sure our yacht gets its maintenance service.” Actually, that can all be taken care of without my being personally on the scene. But I was trying to send a message. Though I didn’t want our last possible day together to get away from me. So if you ask what the message was, I wasn’t sure.

“What’s a good time?” he asked.

It seemed like the moment to take advantage of Alex’s offer. “I have the day off.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“You know what I’d like to do?”

“What’s that, Khaled?”

“I’d like to go for a ride out on the Melony.” I looked out at it, placid and quiet in the starlight.

“Okay,” I said.

“It’s the way we met. Maybe it should be the way we say good-bye.”

“Khaled, that’s not what I’ve been saying.”

“I know,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

*   *   *

I was dressing when a call came in from a guy I didn’t know. He identified himself as Kyle Everett.
“Chase,”
he said,
“I’m one of John Kraus’s administrative assistants. We’re trying to get this thing organized. We’re dividing the Lifeboat mission into divisions and squadrons. Would you be interested in being a division commander?”

“That sounds a little above my grade level, Kyle.”

“John made the call. He says you’d be fine. You wouldn’t actually have to do anything except relay information. We’re going to run everything from the
Dauntless
. We’ll have approximately ten ships to a squadron, and ten squadrons to a division. There’ll be nine divisions. When we decide to do something, we’ll let you know, and all you have to do is pass it on to the squadron commanders. They’ll relay it to their ships. When everyone complies, they’ll acknowledge, it’ll come back to you, and you will send it on to us. Clear?”

“Sounds simple enough.”

“Then you’ll do it?”

“Sure.”

“Good. We’re going to have almost a thousand vehicles out there. We don’t want pilots making individual decisions, so we’re going to maintain a tight control from the
Dauntless
. Any questions?”

*   *   *

Sunlight poured through my windows in the morning. A beautiful, unseasonably warm, bright day. Perfect for a ride on the river. I showered, got dressed, and was sitting down to breakfast when a call came in. It was Khaled. As soon as I saw him, I knew something was wrong.
“Chase.”
He tried to smile.
“I’m going to back off today. I’m sorry. But I don’t want to go through a last day with you.”

“Okay, Khaled. I’m sorry, too. But I understand.”

“I’ve got a ride out of Skydeck this afternoon.”

“All right. Is there anything I can do?”

“No. You’ve been honest with me. I guess that’s enough.”
That brought on a long silence while both of us struggled to find something to say.

“You have a reservation on the shuttle, Khaled?”

“Yes. I’m all set. I just wanted you to know that I enjoyed the time we had together. Here and back home.”

“I did, too.”

“Good.”
He was standing off to one side of the kitchen table.
“Have a good life, Chase. I’ll miss you.”