«Vigorous cross-examination,» replied Pinkus.
«With heavy emphasis on perjury,» added Redwing.
«Well, I suppose you’ve got your points, but we’re not operating in a courtroom. There’s another way—»
«You provoke it,» said Devereaux, interrupting, his eyes briefly, amusingly in contact with the Hawk’s. «You make an outrageous statement or a series of statements that elicit a hostile response that confirms the information.»
«Goddamn, Sam, I always said you were the best! Remember London, in Belgrave Square, where I told you how to handle that scumbag traitor—»
«We will not refer to your previous relationship, General!» ordered Aaron. «We don’t care to hear a thing about it.»
«It’s also irrelevant,» said a defensive Jennifer.
«Oh, I see!» exclaimed Sam, grinning falsely at his Indian Aphrodite. «You can’t stand it when I come up with something you haven’t thought of!»
«Irrelevant!»
«When these two children stop squabbling,» said Pinkus, «will you please explain your strategy, General?»
«If the colonel here—my colonel—is right, the explanation’s sitting on a runway at Logan Airport. Air Force Two, Commander! Who sent it?… Unless, of course, I really am the Soldier of the Century, in which case we’re back in an invasion landing craft without a motor, drifting into a heavily fortified beach without maneuverable protection.»
«I won’t try to follow that, but—» Suddenly Aaron stopped, turning his head in several directions until he saw what was missing. It was the mercenary, Cyrus M, his bulk filling an antique chair by the elegant antique white desk, his mouth gaping, his wide dark eyes staring at them. «Oh, there you are, Colonel.»
«What?»
«Have you been listening?»
Cyrus nodded his large head and answered slowly, precisely. «Yes, I’ve been listening, Mr. Pinkus,» he began quietly, «and I’ve just heard the most extraordinary story since a few clowns claimed nuclear fusion could be accomplished in ice water for twelve cents a gallon… You people are nuts! You’re crazy, insane, certifiable!… Is any of this true?»
«It’s all true, Cyrus,» said Devereaux.
«What the hell have I gotten into?» roared the giant black chemist. «Excuse my language, Miss Redwing. I’m trying to put it all into an equation and it’s not easy.»
«No apologies are necessary, Cyrus, and why don’t you call me Jenny? I’m a little put off by the ‘Miss’.»
«Voodoo,» said the mercenary, getting out of the chair, but conscience-stricken enough to look down and see if he had broken it. «If it’s true,» he continued, walking toward the trio of attorneys and the manic ‘Soldier of the Century,’ whose intense expression obviously caused Cyrus extreme discomfort, «… if it is true, I don’t think there’s any alternative but to test out this Nobel committee. Hire your actor, Mr. Pinkus. We’re going onstage.»
21
Truce had descended on the beach house in Swampscott, Massachusetts, a fitting prelude to the battles ahead. Under the neutral guidance of Aaron Pinkus, a document was drawn up between General MacKenzie Hawkins, a.k.a. Thunder Head, current Chief of the Wopotamis, and Sunrise Jennifer Redwing, ad hoc spokeswoman for said American Indian tribe, wherein all powers of attorney were transferred to Ms. Redwing upon signatures and notarization. Samuel Lansing Devereaux, temporary attorney-of-record, consented to relinquish all duties following a joint appearance with the tribe’s permanent attorney, the aforementioned Ms. Redwing, before the Supreme Court of the United States, should such a joint appearance be required.
«I’m not sure I like the last part,» Jennifer declared.
«I don’t like it at all!» said Sam.
«Then I don’t sign.» The Hawk was adamant. «To change attorneys at the last minute could mean a glitch, a delay, and I’ve put too much blood, sweat, money, and tolerance into this enterprise to accept that. Besides, Miss Red, I’ve given you full control over all negotiations, so what more do you want?»
«What more?… No appearance at all, no brief, no Supreme Court.»
«Come now, my dear,» said Aaron. «It’s too late for that. Not only is the hearing on the Court’s calendar, but you could be losing a genuine opportunity for your people. Surely, with yourself in charge, that elevator to hell can be short-circuited.»
«Yes, of course,» agreed Jennifer. «If there really is serious consideration, a quick settlement with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, perhaps two or three million dollars, and life goes on, no waves. We could build four or five schools on the reservation and hire some fine teachers—»
«I definitely do not sign!» roared the Hawk.
«Why, General? Isn’t it enough to pay you off?»
«Pay me off? Who the hell said anything about paying me anything! I don’t need money—Sam and I have more than we can ever spend in Switzerland!»
«Mac, shut up!»
«… all legally obtained from the scum of the earth, who I can assure you will never sue us for it!»
«Enough, General!» Aaron Pinkus sprang—as best he could—to his feet. «There’ll be no further references, audible or written, to previous events of which we know nothing.»
«Fine by me, Commander, but I’ll still make my position clear. I haven’t spent three years of my life to settle for a few dollars any SAC supplier would give us out of petty cash.»
«Us?» exclaimed Jennifer. «I thought you didn’t want anything.»
«I’m not talking about me, I’m talking about the principle involved.»
«How do you spell that,» asked Redwing sarcastically. «As in the interest on your principal?»
«You know what I mean, little lady. You’re selling out the tribe—my tribe, incidentally.»
«What did you have in mind, Mac?» said Devereaux, knowing the futility of trying to change the Hawk’s mind—in principle.
«We’ll start at five hundred million, a nice round figure—nothing but spit to the Pentagon—and a hell of a cheap buy-out.»
«Five hundred—» Jennifer’s bronzed face had grown darker as the blood rushed to her head. «You’re a mad-man!»
«You can always scale back your artillery, but you can’t bring it up if there’s none in reserve… Yup, five hundred mega-big ones or I don’t sign. Maybe we should put that in there, Commander, like an addendum or whatever you call it.»
«That would be unwise, General,» said Pinkus, glancing at Sam. «If ever examined, it could be construed as a precondition bordering on collusion.»
«Then I want a separate paper,» said MacKenzie, frowning. «She’s not going to sell my people down the dark river of the evil spirits.»
«Your … Oh, my God!» Jennifer sank down on the couch. «The dark river of the … oh, shit.»
«We elders strongly disapprove of such language from our squaws.»
«I’m not a … oh, forget it!… Five hundred—I can’t even think about it! We’ll be ruined, devastated, our land condemned and bought from us for nothing, taxpayers outraged, editorials in all the media denouncing us as ignorant savages and thieves—»