"They say that every time a joker farts anywhere in Manhattan, Chrysalis holds her nose," Jube said. He looked at her intently, but the transparency of her flesh made her expression impossible to read. The skull-face behind her crystalline skin stared at him implacably from clear blue eyes. "What's your interest in this?" he asked her.
"Uncertain, until I know what 'this' is. However, you've been quite valuable to me for a long time, and I would hate to lose your services. You know I'm discreet."
"Until you're paid to be indiscreet," Jube pointed out. Chrysalis laughed, and touched the diamond. "Given your resources, silence can be more lucrative than speech."
"That's true," Jube said. He decided that he had nothing to lose. "I'm really an alien spy from a distant planet," he began.
"Jubal," Chrysalis interrupted, "you're wearing on my patience. I've never been that fond of your humor. Get to the point. What happened with Darlingfoot?"
"Not much," Jube admitted. "I knew why I wanted the body. I didn't know why anyone else would. Devil John wouldn't tell me. I think they must have the bowling ball. I tried to hire him to get it back for me, but he didn't want anything more to do with them. I think he's scared of them, whoever they are."
"I think you're right. Croyd?"
"Asleep again. Who knows what use- he'll be when he comes to? I could wait six months, and he'll wake up as a hamster."
"For a commission," Chrysalis said with cool certainty, "I can engage the services of someone who'll get you your answers."
Jube decided to be blunt, since evasion wasn't getting him anywhere. "Don't know that I'd trust anyone you'd hire." She laughed. "Dear boy, that's the smartest thing you've said in months. And you'd be right. You're too easy a mark, and some of my contacts are admittedly less than reputable. With me as intermediary, however, the equation changes. I have a certain reputation." Next to her elbow was a small silver bell. She rang it lightly. "In any case, the man who'd be best for this is an exception to the general rule. He actually has ethics."
Jube was tempted. "Who is he?"
"His name is Jay Ackroyd. Ace private investigator. In both senses of the word. Sometimes he's called Popinjay, but not to his face. Jay and I do favors for each other from time to time. We both deal in the same product, after all."
Jube plucked at a tusk thoughtfully. "Yeah. What's to stop ime from hiring him directly?"
"Nothing," Chrysalis said. A tall waiter with impressive ivory horns entered, carrying an amaretto and a Singapore sling on an antique silver tray. When he departed, she continued. "If you'd rather have him getting curious about you than about me, that is."
That gave him pause. "Perhaps it would be better if I stayed in the background."
"My thought exactly," Chrysalis said, sipping her amaretto. "Jay won't even know you're the client."
Jube glanced out the window. It was a dark, cloudless night. He could see the stars, and somewhere out there he knew the Mother still waited. He needed help, and cast caution aside. "Do you know a good thief?" he asked her bluntly.
That surprised her. "I might," she said.
"I need," he began awkwardly, "uh, parts. Scientific instruments, and, uh, electronics, microchips, things like that. I could write you a list. It involves breaking into some corporate labs, maybe some federal installations."
"I stay clear of anything that illegal," Chrysalis said. "What do you need with electronics?"
"Building me a ham radio set," Jube said. "Would you do it to save the world?" She didn't answer. "Would you do it for six perfectly matched emeralds the size of pigeon's eggs?"
Chrysalis smiled slowly, and proposed a toast. "To a long, and profitable, association."
She could almost be a Master Trader, Jube thought with a certain admiration. Grinning tuskily, he raised the Singapore sling, and brought the straw to his mouth.
UNTO THE SIXTH GENERATION
Epilogue
It had been easy. While Flush and Sweat pretended to have a fight on the pavement in front of the moving van, Ricky and Loco had simply walked up to the van, liberated a pair of boxes apiece, and walked off into the street. The tall geezer who was moving hadn't even noticed that some boxes were missing. Ricky patted himself on the back for the idea.
They didn't get opportunities like this very often anymore. Nat turf was getting smaller. Joker gangs like the Demon Princes were swallowing more territory. How the hell could you fight something that looked like squid?
Ricky Santillanes dug into his jeans, produced his keys, and let himself into the clubhouse. Flush went to the icebox for some beers and the rest put the boxes on the battered sofa and opened them.
"Wow. A VCR."
"What kinda tapes?"
"Japanese monster movies, looks like. And something here called
"Hey! Set it up, man!"
Beers popped open. "Loco! A computer."
"That's not a computer. That's a graphic equalizer."
"Fuck it ain't. I seen a computer before. In school before I quit.
"
Ricky looked at it. "Wang don't make no stereo components, bro."
"Fuck you know."
Sweat held up a ROM burner. "What the hell is this, man?"
"Expensive, I bet."
"How we gonna fence it if we don't know how much to ask?"
"Hey! I got the tape player set up!"
Sweat held up a featureless black sphere. "What's this, man?"
"Bowling ball."
"Fuck it is. Too light." Ricky snatched it. "Hey. That blond chick's hot."
"What's she doing? Screwing the camera? Where's the guy?"
"I seen her somewhere."
"Where's the guy, man? This is weird. That's like a closeup of her ear."
Ricky watched while he juggled the black orb. It was warm to the touch.
"Hey! The chick's like flying or something!"
"Bullshit. "
"No. Look. The background's moving."
The blond woman seemed to be airborne, speeding around the room backward while engaged in vaguely-perceived sex acts. It was as if her invisible partner could fly. "This is deeply weird."
Loco looked at the black sphere. "Gimme that," he said. "Watch the damn movie, man."
"Bullshit. Just give it to me." He reached for it. "Fuck off, asshole!"
Weird lights played over Ricky's hands. Something dark reached for Loco, and suddenly Loco wasn't there.
Ricky stood in shocked silence while the others stood and shouted. It was as if there was something brushing against his mind.
The black sphere was talking to him. It seemed lost, and somehow broken.