“She conspired to kill you.”
“I do not believe she will do so again. Iwill be changing my will, of course, to remove future temptation,but I doubt it’s necessary.”
“You’re going to trust her?” I demanded.
The old man’s smile twisted wryly. “Oh, Ihaven’t trusted her since she reached puberty, Mis’ Hsing,” hesaid. “Why would I start now?”
I realized I was still pointing the gun athim. I raised it slightly higher. “You trusted me,” I said.“What if I’m not satisfied with letting her run loose?”
He shook his head, still smiling. “You won’tshoot me, Hsing. You won’t shoot Kumiko, either. You are in noimminent peril, and it is not in your nature to kill a fellow humanbeing in cold blood.”
“Are you sure of that?” I said, pressing thebutton that made the gun whine as if homing in on a target.
“In fact, I am. Before hiring you I checkedinto your background extensively, and had a full psychologicalanalysis done. You might kill in self-defense, or in moments ofanger or stress, but shooting an unarmed human under circumstanceslike these? No. I am sure.”
I wanted to call his bluff. I wanted to blowhis brains out. The damned superior old man treated me like a toolhe could use as he pleased, and I resented it.
But he treated everyone as mere toolsor game-pieces, and he was right. It wasn’t a bluff. I couldn’tpull the trigger. It wasn’t that shooting him would get me sentstraight to reconstruction and probably a total wipe; it’s that Iwasn’t a murderer, and refused to become one.
I lowered the gun. “Has the case beenresolved to your satisfaction, Mis’ Nakada?” I asked coldly.
“It has, Mis’ Hsing.”
“Then I would like my fee.”
“Your father and brother are on their way toone of the city hospitals, and a dream contract for Guohan Hsinghas been negotiated with Eternal Adventures. When you present anitemized bill, you will be paid the remainder of your fee and allexpenses.”
“Good,” I said. I started to turn away.
“However, Mis’ Hsing,” the old mancalled after me, “I would like to amend our agreement.”
I turned back. “A deal’s a deal,” I said.
“Indeed, and I will honor ours. However, Iwish to offer you another commission.”
I looked at Kumiko, standing there. “Notinterested,” I said.
“I really think you should reconsider.” Hisvoice turned cold. “I am not a good enemy to have.”
I hefted the gun. “Are you threateningme?”
“Yes, I am.”
I hadn’t expected even Grandfather Nakada tobe quite that blunt. “Why? What do you want?”
“Because you are in a position tothreaten me, Mis’ Hsing. You know too much about my family.You know what Kumiko and Shinichiro did, and what will become ofShinichiro. You know what was in my ITEOD files in Nightside City.You know what Shinichiro intended to do with Seventh HeavenNeurosurgery, and it’s entirely possible I may want to pursue someportion of his scheme. You have said you will not allow me tomodify your memory, and I am not going to force you-legally Ican’t, practically it would be extremely awkward to do so withoutrisking damage to your personality, and all in all, I would preferto keep our relationship one of mutual trust and respect.”
“I know how to keep secrets,” I said. Iglanced at Kumiko. He hadn’t mentioned the existence ofYoshio-kun, even though that was something he’d want to keepquiet, and I guessed it was because his murderous daughter waslistening.
“Even when you believe those secrets toendanger innocents?”
I didn’t answer that. He had my psychwork-up.
“May I tell you what commission I’moffering?”
“I’m listening,” I said.
“It’s a very simple one,” he said. “I willpay you one hundred million credits to leave the Eta Cassiopeiasystem and live elsewhere for the rest of your life.”
I didn’t take it in at first. “What?” I said.“I… what?”
He held up a finger. “No, wait-a better idea.I will pay you one hundred million credits to leave the EtaCassiopeia system and live elsewhere for the rest of mylife, or until such time as I ask you to return.”
“Live elsewhere?” I looked around a littlewildly. “Where?”
“Anywhere,” he said. “Anywhere but this starsystem.” He lifted the finger again. “No, wait again-upon furtherconsideration, anywhere but this system or Earth. NakadaEnterprises has enough interests on Earth that your presence theremight be inconvenient.”
“My sister Alison is on Earth,” I said. Ididn’t really mean to say it; I was free associating to avoidthinking about the actual offer.
A hundred million bucks. I would be rich. Oh,not by Nakada standards, but by mine.
But I would be in a strange city somewhere,on an unfamiliar planet, circling a different star.
“Perhaps we can find her for you,” he said.“She might want to join you in your new home, or if not, at leastyou can communicate with her.”
I didn’t know whether I liked thatpossibility or not; my relationship with Ali was… odd, I guess. Ihadn’t really intended to mention her. I changed the subject.
“The rest of your life?”
He nodded. “I am a very old man, and you area young woman. You should easily outlive me, and once I am gone Isee no reason to continue to restrict your movements.”
“And if Kumiko murders you ten minutes afterI leave Prometheus?”
“Then you are free to return and investigatemy death, should you so choose. It is of no concern to me what youdo after my death.”
“How do I know you won’t just have me spacedonce I’m off-planet?”
“I told you, Mis’ Hsing, I trust you. I thinkthis galaxy is a better place with you in it. And while my moralcode is far more flexible than your own, like you, I prefer not tocommit murder if I can accomplish my ends without it.”
“But… one hundred million credits?”
“It is nothing to me, Hsing; I am an old man,with far more money than I could ever hope to spend, more thanenough to leave all my descendants wealthy. It pleases me to makeyou wealthy, as well.”
I looked at Kumiko.
“This is between the two of you,” she saidstiffly. “I do not interfere with my father’s whims.”
“Do you hire assassins willing to travelinterstellar distances?” I asked.
She had the grace to look embarrassed. “Isuspect my father will make certain that I cannot do so withimpunity.”
The old man nodded.
I looked at them, and then I looked up at thesky.
It was full night now, and the compound’sscreens were all down, the buildings all dark. The portable lightswere focused elsewhere, and the glow from the city outside thecompound’s walls was not overpowering. The red glow from Eta Cass Bwasn’t enough to do more than add a little color. The air above uswas cool and clear, and I could see a handful of stars shiningagainst the blackness.
I had never particularly wanted to visitthem, but the idea wasn’t unpleasant, either.
“One hundred million,” I said. “In additionto the five million you already owe me.”
“Yes.”
“You’ll provide transportation wherever Iwant to go?”
“That was not part of the original offer, butI think I can throw it in, so long as you stay within human-settledspace.”
“Achernar? Fomalhaut? Eridania?”
“Wherever you please. Once there, you will beon your own.”
“I’ll want some time to choose.”
“And I need time to restore this place tonormal operation,” he said. “We will need to analyze every singlesystem before allowing it back online, to make sure Shinichiro’sinfluence has been removed.”
“Ten days, perhaps? That will give me time tosay my goodbyes and make sure Dad is settled in.”
“That sounds fair.”
I looked up at the stars again, at thosespots of light in the sky that were suns, with worlds circlingthem, and I wondered whether this was real. One hundred millioncredits-had I somehow wound up in a dreamtank without knowing it?Was I an upload being fed an elaborate fantasy? My father had saidI was living a life like one he might see in his induceddreams-was it all unreal?