Yeah, that might work, as long as he didn't show up while there was still fighting going on. I put what passed for the finishing touches on the idea.
I concentrated on Kragar, and soon he said, "Who is it?"
"It's me."
"What is it?"
"Can you reach Ishtvan?"
"Yeah."
"Give him Kelly's new address in South Adritankha, and have him wait there, out of sight, this afternoon."
"Okay. Anything else?"
"Yeah." I gave him the rest of his instructions.
"Do you really think he'll go for it, Vlad?"
"I don't know. Right now it's our best shot, though."
"Okay."
Then I drew my rapier and made a few passes in the air, loosening up my wrist. Supple but firm, my grandfather always said.
I checked all of my weapons as carefully as I ever have, then I organized my thoughts and teleported. Unless I was very much mistaken, today would be it.
There was a nasty wind whipping through the streets of South Adrilankha. It wasn't terribly chilly, but it had something of a sting from the dust it kicked up. It played havoc with my cloak as I leaned against a wall near Kelly's headquarters. I moved to a place out of the wind that also provided better concealment, although not quite as good a view. I watched the Phoenix Guards march by in neat groups of four. They were trying to maintain order where there was no disorder, and some of them, mostly the Dragons, were either bored or grumbling. The Teckla seemed to be enjoying it; they could strut around the street and be important. They were the ones who were constantly gripping the hilts of their weapons.
The interesting thing was how easy it was to tell the political affiliations of the passers-by. There were no headbands, but they weren't necessary. Some people would walk the streets furtively, or go quickly to their destinations as if they were afraid of being out on the streets. Others seemed to savor the tension in the air; they would walk with their heads up, glancing about themselves as if something might happen at any moment, and they didn't want to miss it.
By early afternoon Ishtvan was probably around somewhere, though I didn't see him. Quaysh was, too, I assumed. Quaysh knew that I knew he was there, but I felt hopeful that Quaysh didn't know Ishtvan was there.
I reached Kragar again. "Anything exciting happen?"
"No. Ishtvan is there."
"Good. So am I. All right, send the message."
"You're sure?"
"Yeah. Now or never. I won't have the nerve again."
"Okay. And the sorceress?"
"Yes. Send her to the apothecary across from Kelly's. And have her wait. Does she know me by sight?"
"I doubt it. But you're pretty easy to describe. I'll make sure she recognizes you."
"Okay. Have at it."
"Right, Vlad."
And we were committed.
The note that Herth would be receiving was quite simple. It said: "I'm prepared to compromise, if you'll arrange for the removal of the Phoenix Guards. Because of the Guards, I can't leave my flat. You may arrive at your convenience.-Kelly."
Its strength was its weakness: It was too obvious to be the fake that it was. But Kelly and Herth couldn't know each other well enough to communicate psionically, so messages were required. Herth was bound to have a very low opinion of Kelly, which was also important. In order for this to work, Herth had to believe that Kelly was scared of the Phoenix Guards, and Herth had to think that Kelly was ignorant of how much of a threat these guards were to a Jhereg. I knew that Kelly was really aware of all that, but presumably Herth didn't.
So, the questions were: Would Herth show up in person? How many bodyguards would he bring? And, what other precautions would he take?
The sorceress arrived before anything else happened. I didn't recognize her. She was a tall Jhereg with black hair in tight curls. Her mouth was harsh and she showed some signs of Athyra in her ancestry. She wore the Jhereg gray. She entered the shop. I followed carefully. She saw me as I entered and said, "Lord Taltos?" I nodded. She gestured at Kelly's building. "You want a block to prevent anyone from teleporting out. Is that all?"
"Yes."
"When?"
I pulled out a coin, studied it with eye and fingers for a moment, and handed it to her. "When this heats up."
"All right," she said.
I left the shop, still being very careful. I didn't want to be attacked just yet. I resumed my old position and waited. A few minutes later a Dragaeran in the colors of House Jhereg showed up.
I said, "All right, Loiosh. Takeoff."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, boss. Good luck."
He flew away. That put a time limit on things. The bloody part of the day had to be over within, I guessed, about thirty minutes. I drew a dagger and held it low, and pushed myself deeper into the shadows cast by the tall old house I was standing against. Then I put the dagger away and fingered my rapier, but didn't draw it. I touched Spellbreaker, but left it wrapped around my wrist. I squeezed my hands into and out of fists.
What was going on inside Kelly's flat, I could only guess at. But I had no doubt that the Jhereg had been a messenger from Herth. He would have walked in and said, "Herth is on his way." Neither Kelly nor the messenger would know why, so—
Natalia and Paresh left the building, walking in opposite directions.
Kelly would send for help. From whom? From the "people," of course. My earlier plan had required this, and I could have then informed the Phoenix Guards of it and incited mutual destruction. I wasn't going to do that now, however, because Cawti was still part of it.
Four Jhereg showed up. Enforcers, hired muscle, legmen. Two of them went inside to check the place over, while the others studied the area, looking for people like me. I stayed hidden. If Ishtvan was there, he did too. Likewise Quaysh. I was getting a lesson in how easy it is to hide on a city street, and how hard it is to find someone who is hiding.
About seven minutes later Herth showed up, along with Bajinok and another three bodyguards. They entered the flat. I concentrated for a moment and performed a very simple spell. A coin heated up. A teleport block occurred around Kelly's flat.
Just about that time, Easterners and an occasional Teckla began to congregate on the street. One of the legmen outside went in, presumably to report on this development. He came out again. Then Phoenix Guards began to collect on the opposite side of the street. In a surprisingly short time—like five minutes, maybe—there was a repeat of the scene before: about two hundred armed Easterners on one side, eighty or so Phoenix Guards on the other. That to you, Kelly. Instant confrontation, courtesy of Baronet Taltos.
Trouble was, I no longer wanted a confrontation. That plan had involved having Cawti out of the way, so I could kill Herth while Ishtvan killed Quaysh and the Guards killed Kelly and his band. But I hadn't sent the messages informing the Phoenix Guards of this occurrence; they had found out on their own. Damn them anyway.
Well, there was no way of pulling out at this stage. By now Herth would be inside, he would have realized that the message didn't come from Kelly, and he would have realized that there was a teleport block around the building. He would deduce that I was out here somewhere, waiting to kill him. What would he do? Well, he might just try to come out, hoping that I wouldn't try anything with the Phoenix Guards all around. Or he might call for more bodyguards, surround himself completely and walk out of the place; far enough away to be able to teleport. He was probably pretty unhappy now.