Broey sighed.
"We have a long association, Gar. A person of your powers who has worked his way from the Rim through the Warrens . . ."
Gar understood. He was being told that Broey looked upon him with active suspicion. There'd never been any real trust between them, but this was something else: nothing openly spoken, nothing direct or specific, but the meaning clear. It was not even sly; it was merely Dosadi.
For a moment, Gar didn't know which way to turn. There'd always been this possibility in his relationship with Broey, but long acceptance had lulled Gar into a dangerous dependency. Tria had been his most valuable counter. He needed her now, but she had other, much more demanding, duties at this juncture.
Gar realized now that he would have to precipitate his own plans, calling in all of the debts and dependencies which were his due. He was distracted by the sound of many people hurrying past in the outer hall. Presumably, things were coming to a head faster than expected.
Gar stood up, stared vaguely out the windows at those dark shadows in the night which were the Rim cliffs. While waiting for Broey, Gar had watched darkness settle there, watched the spots of orange appear which were the Rim's cookfires. Gar knew those cookfires, knew the taste of the food which came from them, knew the flesh-dragging dullness which dominated existence out there. Did Broey expect him to flee back to that? Broey would be astonished at the alternatives open to Gar.
"I will leave you now," Broey said. He arose and waddled from the room. What he meant was: "Don't be here when I return."
Gar continued to stare out the windows. He seemed lost in angry reverie. Why hadn't Tria reported yet? One of Broey's Gowachin aides came in, fussed over papers on a corner table.
It was actually no more than five minutes that Gar remained standing thus. He shook himself presently, turned, and let himself out of the room.
Scarcely had he set foot in the outer passage than a troop of Broey's Gowachin shouldered their way past him into the conference room. They'd been waiting for him to leave.
Angry with himself for what he knew he must do, Gar turned left, strode down the hall to the room where he knew he'd find Broey. Three Gowachin wearing Security brassards followed him, but did not interfere. Two more Gowachin guarded Broey's door, but they hesitated to stop him. Gar's power had been felt here too long. And Broey, not expecting Gar to follow, had failed to issue specific orders. Gar counted on this.
Broey, instructing a group of Gowachin aides, stood over a table cluttered with charts. Yellow light from fixtures directly overhead played shifting shadows on the charts as the aides bent over the table and made notes. Broey broke off at the intrusion, his surprise obvious.
Gar spoke before Broey could order him removed.
"You still need me to keep you from making the worst mistake of your life."
Broey straightened, did not speak, but the invitation for Gar to continue was there.
"Jedrik's playing you like a fine instrument. You're doing precisely what she wants you to do."
Broey's cheeks puffed. The shrug angered Gar.
"When I first came here, Broey, I took certain precautions to insure my continued health should you ever consider violence against me."
Again, Broey gave that maddening Gowachin shrug. This was all so mundane. Why else did this fool Human continue alive and at liberty?
"You've never been able to discover what I did to insure myself against you," Gar said. "I have no addictions. I'm a prudent person and, naturally, have means of dying before your experts on pain could overcome my reason. I've done all of the things you might expect of me . . . and something more, something you now need desperately to know."
"I have my own precautions, Gar."
"Of course, and I admit I don't know what they are."
"So what do you propose?"
Gar gave a little laugh, not quite gloating.
"You know my terms."
Broey shook his head from side to side, an exquisitely Human gesture.
"Share the rule? I'm astonished at you, Gar."
"Your astonishment hasn't reached its limits. You don't know what I've really done."
"Which is?"
"Shall we retire to a more private place and discuss it?"
Broey looked around at his aides, waved for them to leave.
"We will talk here."
Gar waited until he heard the door close behind him on the last of the departing aides.
"You probably know about the death fanatics we've groomed in the Human enclaves."
"We are prepared to deal with them."
"Properly motivated, fanatics can keep great secrets, Broey."
"No doubt. Are you now going to reveal such a secret?"
"For years now, my fanatics have lived on reduced rations, preserving and exporting their surplus rations to the Rim. We have enough, megatons of food out there. With a whole planet in which to hide it, you'll never find it. City food, every bit of it and we will . . ."
"Another city!"
"More than that. Every weapon the city of Chu has, we have."
Broey's ventricle lips went almost green with anger.
"So you never really left the Rim?"
"The Rim-born cannot forget."
"After all that Chu has done for you . . ."
"I'm glad you didn't mention blasphemy."
"But the Gods of the Veil gave us a mandate!"
"Divide and rule, subdivide and rule even more powerfully, fragment and rule absolutely."
"That's not what I meant." Broey breathed deeply several times to restore his calm. "One city and only one city. That is our mandate."
"But the other city will be built."
"Will it?"
"We've dug in the factories to provide our own weapons and food. If you move against our people inside Chu, we'll come at you from the outside, shatter your walls and . . ."
"What do you propose?"
"Open cooperation for a separation of the species, one city for Gowachin, one for Human. What you do in Chu will be your own business then, but I'll tell you that we of the new city will rid ourselves of the DemoPol and its aristocracy."
"You'd create another aristocracy?"
"Perhaps. But my people will die for the vision of freedom we share. We no longer provide our bodies for Chu!"
"So that's why your fanatics are all Rim-born."
"I see that you don't yet understand, Broey. My people are not merely Rim-born; they are willing, even eager, to die for their vision."
Broey considered this. It was a difficult concept for a Gowachin, whose Graluz guilt was always transformed into a profound respect for the survival drive. But he saw where Gar's words must lead, and he built an image in his mind of fleshly Human waves throwing themselves onto all opposition without inhibitions about pain, death, or survival in any respect. They might very well capture Chu. The idea that countless Rim immigrants lived within Chu's walls in readiness for such sacrifice filled him with deep disquiet. It required strong self-control to conceal this reaction. He did not for an instant doubt Gar's story. It was just the kind of thing this dry-fleshed Rimmer would do. But why was Gar revealing this now?
"Did Jedrik order you to prepare me for . . ."
"Jedrik isn't part of our plan. She complicates matters for us, but the kind of upset she's igniting is just the sort of thing we can exploit better than you."