Odal stood there. Just as tall and lean and blond as Hector, with almost exactly the same expression on his face: a knowing expression, a satisfaction that nothing would ever be able to damage.
“You!” Kor shouted. “You’ve returned.”
For half an instant they all stood there frozen: Hector and Odal at opposite ends of the dueling machine, Kor stopped in mid-stride about halfway between them, four meditechs at the control panels, a pair of armed guards slightly behind Kor. Kerak’s wan bluish sun was throwing a cold early-morning light through the stone-ribbed chamber’s only window.
“You are under arrest,” Kor said to Odal. “And as for you, Watchman, we’re not finished with you.”
“Yes you are,” Hector said evenly as he walked slowly and deliberately toward the Intelligence Minister.
Kor frowned. Then he saw Odal advancing toward him too. He took a step backward, then turned to the two guards. “Stop them…”
Too late. Like a perfectly synchronized machine, Odal and Hector launched themselves at the guards and knocked them both unconscious before Kor could say another word. Picking up a fallen guard’s pistol, Odal pointed it at Kor. Hector retrieved the other gun and covered the cowering meditechs.
“Into the prisoners’ cells, all of you,” Odal commanded.
“You’ll die for this!” Kor screamed.
Odal jabbed him in the ribs with the pistol. “Everyone dies sooner or later. Do you want to do it here and now?”
Kor went white. Trembling, he marched out of the chamber and toward the cell block.
There were guards on duty at the cells. One of them Odal recognized as a member of Romis’ followers. They locked up the rest, then hurried back upstairs toward Kor’s office.
“You take this pistol,” Odal said to the guard as they hurried up a flight of stone steps. “If we see anyone, tell them you’re taking us to be questioned by the Minister.”
The guard nodded. Hector tucked his pistol out of sight inside his coveralls.
“We’ve only got a few minutes before someone discovers Kor in the cells,” Odal said to Hector. “We must reach Romis and get out of here.”
Twice they were stopped by guards along the corridors, but both times were permitted to pass. Kor’s outer office was empty; it was still too early for his staff to have shown up.
The guard used Kor’s desktop communicator to reach Romis, his fingers shaking slightly at the thought of exposing himself to the Minister’s personal equipment.
Romis’ face, still sleepy-looking, took shape on the desktop view screen. His eyes widened when he recognized Odal.
“What?…”
Hector stepped into view. “I escaped from your ship,” he explained swiftly, “but got caught by Kor when I tried to get to the dueling machine here. Odal jumped back from Acquatainia. We’ve got Kor locked up temporarily.
If you’re going to move against Kanus, this is the morning for it. You’ve only got a few minutes to act.”
Romis blinked. “You… you’ve locked up Kor? You’re at the Intelligence Ministry?”
“Yes,” Odal said. “If you have any troops you can rely on, get them here immediately. We’re going to release as many of Kor’s prisoners as we can, but we’ll need more troops and weapons to hold this building against Kor’s private army. If we can hang on here and get to Kanus, I think most of the army will go over to your side. We can win without bloodshed, perhaps. But we must act quickly!”
10
Sitting on the edge of his bed, staring at the two young blond faces on his bedside view screen, Romis struggled to put his thoughts in order.
“Very well. I’ll send every unit I can count on to hold the Intelligence Ministry. Major Odal, perhaps you can contact some of the people you know in the army.”
“Yes,” said Odal. “Many of their officers are right here, under arrest.”
Romis nodded. “I’ll call Marshal Lugal immediately. I think he’ll join us.”
“But we’ve got to get Kanus before he can bring the main force of the army into action,” Hector said.
“Yes, yes of course. Kanus is at his retreat in the mountains. It’s not quite dawn there. Probably he’s still asleep.”
“Is there a dueling machine there?” Odal asked.
“I don’t know. There might be. I’ve heard rumors about his having one installed for his own use recently…”
“All right,” Hector said. “Maybe we can jump there.”
“Not until we’ve freed the prisoners and made certain this building is well defended,” said Odal.
“Right,” Hector agreed.
“There’s much to do,” Odal said to the Foreign Minister. “And not a second to waste.”
“Yes,” Romis agreed.
The tri-di image snapped off, leaving him looking at a dead-gray screen set into the side of his bed table. Romis shook his head, as though trying to clear it of the memory of a dream.
It could be a trap, he told himself. One of Kor’s insidious maneuvers. But the Star Watchman was there; he wouldn’t help Kor. Or was it the Watchman? Might it have been an impersonator?
“Trap or not,” Romis said aloud, “we’ll never have another opportunity like this… if it’s real.”
He made up his mind. In three minutes he placed three tri-di calls. The deed was done. He was either going to free Kerak of its monster, or kill several hundred good men—including himself.
He got up from bed, dressed swiftly, and called for an air car. Then he opened the bed-table drawer and took out a palm-sized pistol.
His butler appeared at the door. “Sir, your air car is ready. Will you require a pilot?”
“No,” said Romis, tucking the gun into his belt. “I’ll go alone. If I don’t call you by noon, then… open the vault behind the bed, read the instructions there, and try to save yourself and the other servants. Good-bye.”
Before the stunned butler could say another word, Romis strode past him and out toward the air car.
Kanus was abruptly awakened by a terrified servant.
“What is it?” the Leader grumbled, sitting up slowly in the immense circular bed. The sun had barely started to touch the distant snow-capped peaks that were visible through the giant room’s floor-to-ceiling windows.
“A… a call from the Minister of Intelligence, sir.”
“Don’t stand there, put him through!”
The servant touched an ornamented dial next to the doorway. Part of the wall seemed to dissolve into a very grainy, shadowy image of Kor. He appeared to be sitting on a hard bench in a dimly lit, stone-walled cell.
“What’s going on?” Kanus demanded. “Why have you awakened me?”
“It has happened, my Leader,” Kor said quietly, unemotionally. “The traitors are making their move. I’ve been locked in one of my own cells…”
“What?” Kanus sat rigidly upright in the bed.
Kor smiled. “The fools think they can win by capturing me and holding the Intelligence Ministry. They overlooked a few details. For one, I have my pocket communicator. I’ve monitored their calls. Romis is no doubt on his way to your palace right now, intent on killing you.”
“Romis! And you’re locked up!”
Raising his hands in a gesture of calm, Kor went on.
“No need to be overly alarmed, my Leader. They are merely exposing themselves, at last. We can crush them.”
“I’ll call out the army,” Kanus said, his voice rising.
“Some parts of the army may turn out to be disloyal to you,” Kor answered. “Your personal guards should be sufficient, however, to stop these traitors. If you could detach a division or so to recapture the Ministry building, and have your own dueling machine there guarded, that should take care of most of it. Romis is flying into your hands, so it should be a simple matter to deal with him when he arrives.