Just as Yvette blasted back at the final attacking beam, a new threat appeared. From an unseen launcher on the far side of the battle station, a small but deadly heat grenade came lofting through the air toward their position. Jules's sharp eyes spotted the projectile coming, and he shouted an immediate warning cry of "Rube!" to his sister.

  To someone trained in the Circus as they both were, that traditional warning of Page 134

  danger-shortened over the centuries from "Hey, Rube!"-brought an instantaneous response. Yvette looked around immediately and spotted the projectile. If the two of them waited here, the concussion from the grenade's explosion would at least knock them unconscious if the blast didn't kill them outright. And they would not be able to run fast enough along the girders in their magnetic boots to escape the effects of the grenade.

  There was only one alternative. Jules and Yvette leaped off the support of the steel beams into the freefall of midair, hoping to propel themselves far enough away from the target area before the grenade could go off.

  While they were in midair, disaster struck. Their fear that ultragrav would be used as a weapon against them proved justified. If the battle station had been defended by a live army, the tactic could not have been used because it would have incapaciated the defenders as well as the attackers. But the machinery aboard the station didn't much care whether there was a gravity field or not.

  The instant the SOTE agents were unsupported in midair, the ultragrav snapped on.

  Instantly there was a "down" direction, and their free-floating bodies began hurtling toward the "floor" fifteen meters below them. The field strength was five gees, more even than they were comfortably used to, and the armor made them that much more awkward. Jules and Yvette grabbed frantically for handholds on the girders as they went plummeting down, but they could get no grip. The pull of the ultragrav was too strong, and even DesPlainians had limits on the speeds with which they could react.

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  The two bodies crashed heavily against the down side of the station's outer wall.

  Although the padding within their armor absorbed much of the blow, the shock was still too great for their systems to handle easily. The agents were knocked unconscious and lay pinioned under the crushing weight of their own bodies and armor.

  Safe and snug in the center of her mechanical spiderweb, Tanya Boros grinned. Although the last report she'd gotten had said that Agents Wombat and Periwinkle had been captured, she had little doubt that this assault on her station had been made by them.

  Even though the attack had been totally unexpected, the battle station had reacted as it had been designed to react. Lady A would be pleased that this latest addition to her arsenal functioned perfectly.

  And in the meantime, Tanya Boros would have the excitement of conducting an interrogation personally. She had a lot of scores to settle with Agent Wombat.

  Chapter 10

  New Ally, Old Adversary

  Helena and her comrade from the Circus, Luise deForrest, faced a dilemma: What should they do with the captured Captain Fortier? They couldn't let him go, but at the same time they didn't want to breach the Circus' cover by bringing him back there. Even though Fortier's loyalty to the Empire was unquestioned, it was bad policy to let too many people know of the Circus' connection with SOTE.

  Helena thought of a compromise. She checked into a small hotel and Luise brought Fortier up to the room via the back entrance. From there they placed a call to Duke Page 136

  Etienne explaining the situation, and he agreed to come at once to find out more details.

  While waiting for the Duke to arrive, Helena had more chance to converse with the prisoner. She wanted very much to hate him because of what had happened to her father, but found she could not. For one thing, she knew the captain was honest, intelligent, and doing his duty to the Empire as he understood it. Helena had to admit that if she'd been the one to discover the evidence against her father, she might very well have turned him in herself. More important, Helena thought Paul Fortier a very attractive man. He was short and muscular, with a handsome face, dark hair, brown eyes, and a pencil-thin mustache. She remembered reading his personnel dossier after the Coronation Day Incursion; while his family was of DesPlainian origin, the last few generations had lived on one-gee worlds and so did not have quite the strength or reflexes of the true DesPlainians. She also remembered he was single-a fact she'd noted at the time, and which now popped into her memory with disturbing ease. Watching him lying on the bed across the room from her, she suddenly found herself thinking very unprofessional thoughts.

  Angry with herself, she pushed those thoughts from her mind to concentrate on the business at hand. "Why did you come here, Captain?" she asked in as neutral a tone as she could muster.

  "I should think that would be obvious," he replied just as coolly. "I wanted to take you back."

  "But you've been following me for two days. Why didn't you just grab me and pull me in?"

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  "I wanted to see if you'd lead me to anyone else." Helena stood up and wandered around the room, deliberately turning her back on him. Luise was keeping watch to make sure he made no sudden moves, but she stayed discreetly out of the conversation.

  "Despite what you think," Helena said after a moment, "I'm not a traitor. The only reason I escaped was to find some friends and clear my father's name. I know he was innocent.

  "

  "If he was, no one is sorrier about his death than I am," Fortier said quietly.

  "You're just saying that because I have you here at gunpoint. "

  "It's the truth. You and your friend could have killed me there on the street when you had the chance, but you didn't; I have to think that speaks of good intentions. You could have killed several of my officers while you were escaping from the Anna Libeling, but you didn't do that either. Your behavior isn't what I'd expect from a deadly enemy of the Empire."

  Helena's fists were tightly clenched. "Nevertheless, my father is dead."

  Fortier paused and took a deep breath. "That's not my doing. After you escaped, I reported back to Luna Base and was told to bring your father to Earth for interrogation. I handed him over and that's the last I saw of him. I was ordered to try to track you down, so I came here. It occurred to me you might want to check out my story for yourself, and this was the natural place to do it. I heard about your father's execution in the newsrolls, Page 138

  the same as everyone else. It was the Empress who decided he should die; you'll have to blame her for that."

  It didn't soothe Helena to realize that Fortier was absolutely right. Edna Stanley held the ultimate authority in that matter, and the execution could not have taken place without her express consent. Sometime in the future, if-no, when-her innocence was re-established, Helena knew she'd have to confront her lifelong friend about the horrible murder of a good and loyal man. The prospect did not appeal to her.

  The conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Duke Etienne. The Circus' manager had come disguised so Fortier couldn't recognize him; since Luise never made public appearances without heavy clown makeup, Fortier couldn't associate her face with the Circus either. The Circus' cover remained unbroken.

  "Well, young man," Etienne said to the prisoner, "you've made quite a name for yourself.

  I'm sorry we had to meet under such tragic circumstances."

  "I didn't realize I was that famous," Fortier said. "Your. recent exploits have been justly renowned in certain official circles," the Duke told him, putting just enough emphasis in his voice to make his meaning unmistakable. "I even have a very personal reason to be immensely grateful to you-a reason which, for security's sake, I can't explain right now."

  Indeed he did. Not only had Captain Fortier saved the Empire at the time of the Coronation Day incursion, he had also saved the life of the Duke's daughter Yvette.

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  "Please accept my assurance," Etienne continued, "that you are among friends here."

  "I'd find it easier to believe that if that lady didn't have her stunner pointed at me all the time," Fortier said dryly. The Duke nodded at Luise. "Put the gun away," he said. "We don't need it anymore. Captain Fortier will remain with us of his own accord. I even suspect, when I tell him my little story, he'll volunteer to help us."

  Fortier leaned forward on the bed. "You intrigue me, Gospodin. Please continue."

  Etienne d'Alembert sat across from the naval officer, watching his face intently. "When Helena came to me for help, she told me your story of the investigation leading to her father's arrest. I have, in my time, performed services for the Empire along those same lines, and I respect your efforts. Nonetheless, something in what you'd said raised my suspicions-something you knew nothing about since it was well before your time. It was that something which brought me here to Durward. "

  "The unfinished business with Elsa Helmund?" Fortier ventured.

  "Only peripherally. I suspect Elsa Helmund is an unimportant piece of the entire picture, merely a device to lure you from Lateesta to Preis. Something you reported about her, though, interested me greatly. You said you first became suspicious when you saw the necklace she was wearing: an integrated circuit chip on a golden chain."

  "Yes," Fortier said. "I'd been told that some members of a certain conspiracy wore such things as identification symbols.

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  "That was my information, too," Etienne agreed. "Have you heard of Duke Fyodor Paskoi of the planet Kolokov?" Fortier searched his memory. "I think . . . A couple of years ago, wasn't it? Something about treason. The planet reverted to the throne and a new Duke was appointed. I'm afraid I don't remember any of the details; I wasn't involved with it in any way."

  "No reason why you should remember. I, however, was involved with it in a large way, as was the young lady who'd just been pointing her stunner at you. When I first met Duke Fyodor, he was wearing an identical chain around his own neck."

  "I guess that stands to reason."

  "Much more to the point," the Duke went on, "I thought at the time that I'd seen such a necklace before, but I couldn't remember where or when. The memory did not come to me instantly and I quickly became embroiled with other matters, so I didn't worry about it again until the story of Elsa Helmund made me think of it. In the past few days I have thought about it quite a lot, and I've finally recaptured the elusive memory. I'd like to share it with you.

  "Nearly twenty years ago I was performing some . . . shall we say investigative services for the good of the Empire. Certain traitors and other high-level criminals were being given new identities so they could escape detection. Along with forged identities, they were receiving plastic surgery to alter their appearance. I set out to discover who was doing these things.

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  "The trail led me to a surgeon named William Loxner, who had a practice right here on Durward. My investigation uncovered enough evidence to have him convicted for his crimes. I believe the sentence he received was ten years in prison. I don't know what's happened to him since then, although I intend to find out.

  "I was telling you, though, about the memory of the necklaces. While gathering evidence, I visited Loxner as a prospective patient. My first sight of him was when he came out of his office, saying goodbye to an elderly woman and setting up another appointment for her. Loxner was in his sixties and the woman looked even older, easily in her seventies. I never saw her again; she apparently had no connection to the case I was working on.

  "But I remember most clearly the fact that both Loxner and the old woman were wearing identical necklacesintegrated circuit chips on golden chains. Loxner was fingering his necklace nervously; in retrospect, I'm guessing that the woman may have been a superior in the organization. At the time, of course, the necklaces meant nothing to me, but I recall thinking how odd it was that two people would be wearing the same distinctive article of jewelry. Today I find it more than odd, I find it downright suspicious that such a coincidence should happen on Durward-a planet with such a scandalous past and now with a question mark for a present. Do you agree, Captain?"

  Fortier's eyes were alight with the challenge of this puzzle; he was clearly as hooked on the mystery as the rest of them. "I'm not sure this business with the necklaces has anything to do with the case against Gospozha von Wilmenhorst's father," he said slowly.

  "But you're right, it's too coincidental to be ignored. Something more is happening here on Durward, and I'd like to know what it is as much as you would. Tracking down people after twenty years can be difficult. . . ."

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  "This is where I'm sure you'll be most helpful, Captain," the Duke smiled slyly. "You currently have the full cooperation of the police and other agencies, while I'm acting unofficially. You were very adept at tracking down tiny clues on the trail to Helena's father; I'm sure you'll prove no less skilled on this case."

  Fortier's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. "There's just one thing. Putting the gun away was a nice show of trust, but it was still meaningless since you outnumber me three to one. You've still offered me no credentials to prove I should cooperate with you, merely old tales and innuendos. I do want to investigate this Dr. Loxner, but how do I know it's for the best to share my data with you?"

  "You couldn't stop me from doing my own investigation. I might still hold you here against your will, though I promised I wouldn't and I won't. My investigation will go more smoothly with your help, but it will get done one way or another. It seems more efficient for both of us to work together.

  Fortier still looked doubtful. He had no firm proof that the other three still weren't members of the conspiracy trying to trick him into doing some work for them. The doubts and suspicions could have been argued for hours, so Helena took matters into her own hands.

  "Trust must always be mutual, Captain," she said to Fortier. "Perhaps if we give you an indication of our trust in you, you'll give more to us in return. You came here to recapture me. I am willing, here and now, to surrender myself into your custody if you will help with Page 143

  this case. I'd like to work at your side, if I may; I'm not inexperienced at piecing puzzles like this together. But if you want you may put me under guard, handcuff me, do anything that will assure you I mean what I say. Does that add up to the right hour on your timepiece?"

  Fortier stared deeply into Helena's face. He recognized the sacrifice she was prepared to make on behalf of this case. After all, her father had just been executed for treason and she could conceivably share that fate. She was literally putting her life in his hands.

  But more than that, her final words sent a chill down his back. "Timepiece" was his undercover codename. For her to know it at all meant she must have some high connections in intelligence circles, with access to his dossier. His entire perception of her shifted immediately. Who was she, to be given such knowledge? It occurred to him for the first time that she might know far more about him than he knew about her.

  "Khorosho," he said slowly, nodding, "If you can trust me that much, I think I can risk trusting you. You have yourselves a deal, tovarishchi."

  The next morning Helena returned with Fortier to police headquarters. The Naval officer made no mention of her, no report to his superiors, nor did he insist on restricting her motions in any way. He did ask, when they were alone, how she knew his codename and she admitted she'd been given legal access to his files at one time. She would say nothing beyond that, however, and Fortier had to content himself with that tantalyzing piece of information. Helena found, though, that he was watching her more critically out of the corners of his eyes when he thought she wouldn't notice. His opinion of her was Page 144

  undergoing a thorough re-evaluation, and she didn't mind that a bit.

  The first item they checked was the police file on Dr. Loxner. The surgeon had served seven years of his sentence in prison, where he'd been such a model prisoner he was released on parole. He adhered strictly to the conditions of the parole and, at the end of his appointed time, was freed from constraints. There was no record, at least on Durward, of his ever being in trouble with the law again.

  They next checked with the Durward Medical Association and the Durward Board of Surgery. Dr. Loxner had kept up his membership in both organizations even while in prison, and had never been uncertified. Upon his release on parole, he was permitted to open a new practice in tandem with another doctor, and that practice had continued for another six years, until Dr. Loxner retired.

  Helena stared at the file and went suddenly pale. Sensing her reaction, Fortier asked, "Is there something significant about that?"

 

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