"Maybe ten or twelve years. Less for the last one."
"And these were the best men the prior Santiagos could find, and they each inherited a massive organization." It was a statement, not a question.
"Except for the first," noted Dante. "He had to create it—and the legend, and the misdirection—from scratch."
"And even with those organizations, none of them lasted fifteen years, not even a man as accomplished as Sebastian Cain."
"That's right."
The Bandit frowned and fell silent. After a moment he turned and looked out at the street again.
"You're not afraid of dying in ten or twelve years, not with the odds you face almost every day," said Dante. "What's the real reason you're being so hesitant?"
The Bandit turned and faced him. "I don't know if I can accomplish enough before they kill me," he said. "You might be better off with some criminal kingpin or even a disgruntled military commander, someone who's already got an organization in place."
"Is that what this is all about?" asked Dante, suddenly relieved.
"I don't want to be the Santiago that failed," said the Bandit. "Is that so hard to understand?"
"I'm sure every Santiago had his doubts."
"Do you really think so?"
"I'm certain of it," answered Dante. "If you say yes to our offer, you'll become not only the most feared man in the galaxy, but the most hated as well. And you won't be hated just by the Democracy. You'll be hated by every decent, law-abiding, God- fearing colonist that you're trying to protect. You'll be hated and envied by the men and women who work for you, and most of them will be the scum of the galaxy. You'll only be able to leave your headquarters—I won't use the word 'hideout', but that's what it'll be—if you're heavily disguised. You'll send decent men and women to their deaths. The Democracy will put a huge price on your head, and it'll get higher ever month. You won't even be mourned when an underling or a bounty hunter finally kills you, because we can't let anyone know that Santiago is dead." Dante paused. "Don't you think the other Santiagos had their doubts?"
The Bandit sighed heavily. "When you put it that way, I guess they must have."
"Of course they did," said Dante. "And each of them thought the cause was worth it." He stared at the Bandit, studying his face. "You do a lot of good, and you're a hero." The Bandit was about to interrupt, but Dante held up a hand. "No, don't deny it. You're an authentic, bonafide hero. What we're asking is for you to do ten times, a hundred times as much good—and be thought of as a villain for the rest of your life. In the end, that's what it boils down to. Which is more important to you—being a hero or doing good?"
"You don't pull your punches, do you, Mr. Alighieri?" said the Bandit wryly.
"I'm asking you to become the most feared and hated man in the galaxy," replied the poet. "I don't know how to make it sound like anything other than that." He paused. "And there's something else."
"What?"
"If I had to couch it in diplomatic terms, then you're not the man we're looking for."
"Oh, I'm the man, all right," said the Bandit with another deep sigh. "I just wanted to make sure I knew what I was getting into, because there's no turning back."
"You're right about that. Once you're in, you're in for keeps." Dante paused thoughtfully. "Have you got any family?"
"Not much. A brother somewhere. I haven't kept in touch. Maybe a distant cousin or two. My parents are dead, and my sister died in the same battle where I lost my arm."
"No wife, no kids, no romantic attachments?"
The Bandit shook his head. "I never found the time for it. I always planned to someday."
"Forget about it. To you they'd be a wife and kids; to millions of men and women, they'd be targets."
The Bandit nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, I can see that."
"How about your arm?" continued Dante. "Does it need servicing?"
"Never has yet. Why?"
"We couldn't let your doctors know, or even guess, that they were working on Santiago."
The Bandit frowned. "You'd kill them?"
"Not me," said Dante. "I'm just a poet."
The meaning of Dante's statement was reflected in the Bandit's face. "I see."
"Could you order it done?"
The Bandit stared at him, unblinking. "I'd have to."
"That's right—you'd have to."
"I don't imagine decisions like that get any easier to make over the years."
"Not if you're the man we hope you are," agreed Dante.
"Okay, I've asked my questions," said the Bandit. "What do we do now?"
"Now we meet the members of your organization that are currently on Heliopolis II, and we start making plans."
"There's really an organization?"
"The start of one."
"Are they down in the lobby?"
"No," said Dante. "I told them I'd contact them if and when you committed."
The poet pulled out a communicator, and a moment later had made contact with the four people he sought.
"This is Dante," he said. "We have plans to make. I expect to see you all in"—he paused, then smiled—"in Santiago's room at the Royal Khan in half an hour."
"Santiago's room," repeated the Bandit. "I like the sound of that."
"That's who you are. The One-Armed Bandit ceased to exist three minutes ago."
Dante spent the next few minutes telling him tales of the previous Santiagos, tales he hadn't told the day before. The Bandit was most interested in how they died.
"Violently," answered Dante.
"I know. But how?"
"The first was killed during a raid on a Navy convoy," said Dante. "The second one died from injuries he received in prison. The third—"
"They had Santiago in prison?" interrupted the Bandit.
"Yes," answered Dante, "but they didn't know who he was. Many men were tortured to death without telling them." He paused. "The third was killed by a bounty hunter named the Angel. The fourth, who I'm convinced was Sebastian Cain, was assassinated by another bounty hunter, either Peacemaker MacDougal or Johnny One- Note. The last of them, a former thief known as Esteban Cordoba, died when the Navy vaporized his world." Dante paused, almost overwhelmed by the litany of violent deaths. "None of them died in bed."
"Except maybe for the second one."
"It's not a death you'd want. I gather they mutilated him pretty badly."
"There are so many worlds on the Frontier, literally millions of them. I'm surprised none of my predecessors could stay in hiding for as much as 15 years."
"Probably they could have."
"Then why—"
"Because each of them seems to have reached a point where he decided not to run again." Dante shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe being Santiago affects your judgment after a decade or so. Maybe because you've held off the best killers the Democracy could throw against you, you start feeling that you can't be killed, that you're somehow immortal."
"The first might have felt that way," said the Bandit. "The others had to know better."
"Then you'll have to tell me someday. I sure as hell don't have any better explanation."
"I didn't mean any offense, Mr.—"