Antagonist - Childe Cycle 11 (131 page)

"No,"
Bleys
said.
He
was
uneasy,
but
there
was
no
other
option.

"I'm
not
sure
I
like
this,"
Henry
said.
His
eyes
turned
to
his other
nephew.
"Bleys?"

"I
have
nothing
better
to
suggest,
Uncle,"
Bleys
said.
"Can
you think
of
a
place
nearby?"

"I'm
sure
Uncle
Henry
hasn't
been
here
long
enough
to
really know
this
port,"
Dahno
cut
in.
"Why
don't
we
all
leave
this
bar
together
and
talk
a
walk
along
the
concourse,
until
Henry
sees
a
place he
might
want
to
suggest?"

Still
troubled,
Bleys
agreed.

CHAPTER
42

"There,"
Henry
said,
nodding
to
indicate
an
old-fashioned
sign ahead
of
them
on
the
left.
Moving
along
the
concourse,
they
had bypassed
numerous
business
establishments
before
Henry
made his
choice.
A
cloud
of
alert
individuals
were
doing
their
best
to
follow
them
unobtrusively. "A
church?"
Dahno
asked.

"A
chapel,
rather,"
Henry
said.
"I
am
familiar
with
these
places. They
serve
no
single
faith,
but
simply
provide
calm
and
quiet
for anyone
with
an
inclination
to
commune
quietly
with
the
Lord.
It will
likely
be
unoccupied
at
this
hour."

After
both
sides
had
swept
the
chapel
with
security
scanners,
the
four of
them
entered,
accompanied
by
two
bodyguards
from
each
side; and
those
individuals
stared
as
Bleys
activated
the
blue
security
bubble
that
would
keep
them—or
anyone
else—from
hearing
his
conversation
with
Dahno.
Toni
and
Henry
were
included
in
the
bubble.

"All
right,
brother,"
Dahno
said
immediately,
"this
is
as
secure
as we
can
get.
But
nothing
lasts
forever,
so
why
don't
we
get
to
it?"

"Fine,"
Bleys
said.
"What
did
you
want
to
talk
about?"

Dahno
grinned.

"Come
now,
brother,"
he
said.
"Did
you
really
believe
you
could fool
me
into
thinking
this
meeting
was
my
idea?
I
knew
perfectly well
you
were
behind
everything
Toni
sent
me."

"Then
why
did
you
come?"

"Because
I'm
sure
it's
better
for
both
of
us
if
we
come
to
an agreement,"
Dahno
said.
"All
right,
I'll
start:
you
said
earlier
I
could retire
and
you'd
leave
me
alone."

"I
meant
it,"
Bleys
said.
"I
still
do.
But
now
I
have
to
be
convinced
you
really
mean
what
you
say."

"Well,"
Dahno
replied,
"you
must
be
aware
my
organization
has continued
to
work,
for
your
plan
to
divide
and
paralyze
Earth— doesn't
that
count
for
something?"

"I
don't
know
your
reasons
for
that,"
Bleys
said.
He
felt
a
coldness
in
him,
that
seemed
to
wall
him
off
from
the
situation,
and from
his
companions;
it
was
as
if
he
were
looking
at
them
from
a distance.
"It's
not
enough
to
convince
me."

"If
we
don't
come
to
a
truce,"
Dahno
said,
"I'm
in
a
good
position.
You
can't
damage
my
position
on
Earth
without
exposing
your plan
to
manipulate
that
planet's
people
into
leaving
you
a
free
hand in
the
Younger
Worlds—that
information
would
unite
the
planet against
you."

He
stopped,
abruptly,
eyeing
his
brother.
Then
he
spoke
again, more
softly:

"Something's
happened,
hasn't
it?
What
is
it?"

Bleys
looked
at
him
for
a
long
moment.

"The
timetable's
been
accelerated,"
he
said
finally.

"Timetable?"
Something
dawned
in
Dahno's
eyes.

"War?"
he
asked.
"Are
you
saying—"

"Yes,"
Bleys
said.

"I
thought
you
believed
that
was
far
off—"

"It
was,"
Bleys
said.
"But
Hal
Mayne's
been
out
in
the
Younger Worlds,
and
he's
accomplished
a
lot
more
than
I
thought
possible."

"Mayne
again?"
Dahno
said.
"What
could
he
have
done
that would
require
you
to
go
to
war?"

"He's
got
the
Exotics
and
the
Dorsai
committed
to
helping
him," Bleys
said.
"And
he's
obtained
proof
of
our
mobilization."

"Which
he'll
use
to
pull
Earth
into
his
camp."

"Don't
you
think
that
would
happen?"

"It
might,"
Dahno
admitted.
"I
still
think
my
people
can
paralyze
the
planet's
decision-making
processes
indefinitely."

"Can
they?"
Bleys
asked.
"My
understanding
is
that
Rukh Tamani
has
been
very
effective
in
countering
your
propaganda."

"She's
done
some
damage,"
Dahno
said.
"She
just
appeared
out
of nowhere,
and
people
listen
to
her.
She's
as
good
as
anyone
we've
got."

"Hal
Mayne
sent
her,"
Bley
s
said.

"He
did?
I
guess
you
were
more
right
about
him
than
I
was," Dahno
said.
But
his
nod
was
more
decisive
than
the
resignation
in his
words,
and
his
jaw
firmed.

"Tamani's
been
winning
some
popular
support,"
he
said,
"but
she can't
match
our
influence
with
the
real
decision
makers
all
around the
planet."

"Are
you
sure?"
Bleys
said.
"Anyone
you've
got
in
your
pocket can
be
turned
around
if
she
gets
enough
popular
support—they'd have
to
follow
along
just
to
keep
their
positions."

"She
won't
be
getting
any
more
support,
though,"
Dahno
said.

"What've
you
planned?"
Bleys
asked—but
his
mind
had
already leaped
to
a
guess.

"It's
already
done,"
Dahno
said.
"We
should
get
the
word
any minute—consider
it
my
gift."

"Dahno—"
Henry
began,
a
disturbed
tone
in
his
voice;
Toni's words
cut
over
his.

"Do
you
mean
you've
sent
someone
to
kill
her?"
she
said.

"You
fool!"
Bleys
said.
His
voice
was
soft
but
vehement,
and
the anger
in
it
shocked
him;
the
number
of
times
he
had
displayed
so much
emotion
could
be
counted
on
one
hand.

Where is this coming from?
His
memory
of
the
woman
he
had
seen on
that
bleak
Harmony
afternoon
rose
in
his
mind.

The
other
three
in
the
bubble
were
staring
at
him.

"Don't
you
understand
what
you've
done?"
he
said.
He
was
trying
to
keep
his
voice
low,
but
his
breath
was
hot
in
his
nostrils.
"Assassination
gives
her
words
more
credibility
that
she
could
have earned
in
years
of
preaching!"

As
he
was
speaking,
Bleys'
mind
registered
that
John
Colville, one
of
the
Soldiers
outside
the
bubble,
was
waving
his
arms,
trying to
get
their
attention.
Henry,
following
Bleys'
eyes,
saw
that
Colville was
holding
one
arm
up
and
pointing
at
his
wristpad.
Beside
him,
his comrade,
Steve
Foster,
was
keeping
his
attention
firmly
on
Dahno's two
bodyguards,
who
were
standing
against
a
wall,
shifting
nervously.
One
had
his
own
wristpad
up
to
his
lips
and
was
speaking
into
it.