Authors: Mike Resnick
Oracle (23 page)
"If you're on my side, you don't sneak off and commit murders without my approval."
They heard the sound of footsteps outside the door, as a very heavy-footed alien walked to its room.
"This is neither the time nor the place to discuss this,” said Chandler. “These bodies aren't going to stay undiscovered all night.” He paused. “Timo and one of his bodyguards were in one of the bedrooms. For all I know, they sent for help before I killed them."
Jade considered his statement, then nodded. “All right,” she said, lowering her pistol. “We'll continue this discussion back at the Womb."
They walked quickly to the airlift, floated down to the lobby together, then left the building.
"Did you bring your vehicle?” he asked.
"It's around the corner,” she replied.
They entered the landcar and drove back to The Womb in silence. She pulled into the sunken garage, and a moment later they ascended to his room and immediately went to her quarters.
"Well, what now?” she asked.
"Now we choose another target."
She shook her head. “I'm not helping you until I know that I'm not being manipulated into it."
Chandler shrugged. “Then I'll have to do it myself."
"Without my help, all you'll be doing is slaughtering a bunch of innocent Blue Devils who may not have any connection to the Oracle at all."
"I won't have to kill that many of them,” responded Chandler. “If I put the Oracle's insignia on each victim, she'll either come up here to stop me in a couple of weeks, or I'll know she can't leave Hades and I'll have to go after her.” He paused. “But it would save me a lot of trouble if I knew who worked for her or communicated with her."
"Not until I sort things out,” said Jade adamantly.
"The only thing you have to know is that whether I kill her or take her out, you're going to get rich—or, rather, richer,” said Chandler. “As for the rest of it, we simply don't have enough information. You could consider the problem halfway to eternity, and you still wouldn't know if we're doing what she wants or acting on our own."
"There's one piece of information that you haven't considered."
"Oh? What is that?"
"You told me that the Democracy tried to kill you back on Port Marrakech. Why?"
"I don't know. Probably they didn't want me to fulfill my mission."
"Which mission?” asked Jade. “Bringing her out, or killing her?"
"I don't know."
"Well, it's something you ought to consider,” she continued. “If they've managed to learn something about the Oracle since you were hired, something that makes them think she's too dangerous to be allowed to live, then the last thing you want to do is bring her out alive."
"By the same token,” he replied, “if you're convinced she can manipulate you and me without our knowing it, she can probably manipulate them."
"But why would she have them try to kill you if you were going to bring her out?"
"Any number of reasons,” answered Chandler. “First, she may be very happy where she is. Second, she may have arranged the attempt on my life, knowing I'd survive it, as a way of making me move my base of operations from Port Marrakech to Port Maracaibo, where I'd have a better chance of convincing the Blue Devils to bring her to me. Third, there's every likelihood that she's carrying a grudge against the man who hired me; maybe with me dead, he'd have to come here and try to fulfill the contract himself.” He paused. “There's no way to know until I come face-to-face with her."
"By that time it'll probably be too late,” said Jade. “I don't know if she can control events from Hades, but everything you've told me leads me to believe she can control them when she's in the same room with you."
"I haven't come to kill her,” answered Chandler. “She'll know that."
"But you will kill her if you have to,” said Jade. “She'll know that, too."
"Unless I know for a fact that she's amenable to coming away with me, I'll probably have to kill her. She's too dangerous to try to deal with."
"She'll know that."
"Then I'll have to put her in such a position where knowing it doesn't do her any good."
"There's no possible way to do that."
"We'll see,” replied Chandler with more confidence that he felt. He paused. “Do you have anything more to say?"
"Not at the moment."
"Then if you don't mind, I'm going to go get something to eat."
"You'd better have something sent to your room,” she said. “You'll want whoever delivers it to be able to testify that you were there."
He nodded, then left her suite and returned to his own quarters. He ordered a sandwich and an imported beer, and watched the artificial scenery through his window while he waited for the meal to arrive.
The vidphone flashed, and he activated it.
"Yes?” he said.
The image of a Blue Devil appeared above the phone.
"It won't work, Whistler."
"What are you talking about?"
"Go home, Whistler,” said the Blue Devil. “Go home and stay alive."
It broke the connection.
He immediately returned to Jade's suite, where he found her sitting at her desk, staring at a computer with a frown on her face.
"What's the matter?” she asked, looking up.
"It worked,” he said. “Much faster than I thought it would."
"What worked?"
"I've just been warned off."
"By the Oracle?” asked Jade.
"In essence,” he replied. “By some Blue Devil."
"How did they find you so quickly?"
He shrugged. “For all I know they've been watching me since I landed here."
"And you led them right to The Womb?"
"Not on purpose,” said Chandler. “Besides, they contacted me, not you. They know who's responsible for what happened at The Uncut Diamond. They have no reason to suspect you of any complicity."
"If they saw you at The Uncut Diamond, then they saw me, too. What exactly did this Blue Devil say?"
"That what I was doing wouldn't work.” He paused. “That's her way of telling me to go in after her."
"You're jumping to conclusions."
"I don't think so."
"Maybe the Blue Devils are trying to scare you off before they have to bring the Oracle to Port Maracaibo."
Chandler shook his head. “This has the Oracle's signature on it, believe me."
"What makes you so sure?"
"Because if she wanted me dead, the Blue Devils know where I am. They'd have sent me a bullet or a laser beam, not a vidphone call.” He paused. “But if she wants me to bring her out, this is exactly the way she'd tell me."
"You killed seven Blue Devils tonight,” said Jade. “Why wouldn't they retaliate regardless of her wishes?"
"Because she told them not to,” said Chandler. “And because she and she alone has manipulated things to keep them from being assimilated by the Democracy."
"That doesn't make any sense,” said Jade. “First you make her sound like a prisoner, and now you're telling me that they're afraid to disobey her orders."
"Maybe the two aren't mutually exclusive,” suggested Chandler. “Maybe as long as she gives them valid information, they let her live ... and if she ever misleads them, they'll kill her. Under those circumstances, they'd give her the benefit of the doubt, because the alternative would be to kill her and they don't want to do that if there are any other options. Besides, look at her message: it sounds like she's dealing from strength and trying to frighten me off."
Jade was silent for almost a full minute. Finally she looked directly into Chandler's eyes.
"You can't go,” she said.
Chandler frowned. “More doubts?"
"While you were in your room, I tied into the Master Computer on Deluros."
"And?"
"And I told it to locate any information that was available about the Oracle,” she continued. “It qualified its information by saying that it was only valid if she had once been known as the Soothsayer—but some of the details matched what you've told me about her."
"What point are you trying to make?” asked Chandler.
"When she was eight years old, she was able to kill some of the best bounty hunters on the Inner Frontier,” said Jade. “And that was when she was just a little girl. She's a grown woman now, and it's reasonable to assume that she's even more powerful now than she was then.” She looked across her desk at Chandler. “She killed eight armed bounty hunters in a single afternoon on a planet called Killhaven. I don't want any part of her—it's not worth the risk."
"If she was easier to kidnap or kill, the rewards wouldn't be this great."
"Don't you see?” said Jade in frustration. “This woman has the power to hold the Democracy at bay. Those Blue Devils aren't even cold yet and she already knows you killed them. If she's being kept on Hades against her will, then I say: good for the Blue Devils, and let's leave her there.” She paused. “The Blue Devil who contacted you gave you good advice: go home."
"I've got a job to do first,” said Chandler. “Besides, aren't you curious to see her, and find out what she can really do? I am."
"I don't want to be the one who turns her loose on the galaxy."
"You don't have to have anything to do with it,” he said. “I just need to find some way to get to the planet without being detected."
"You aren't going to have anything to do with it, either."
"Don't try to stop me,” he said ominously.
"I won't let her escape from Hades,” she replied firmly.
"You don't have a choice."
"Of course I do,” she said, producing her pistol. “I told you once: you're not the only killer in this room. I let you live before, but I'm afraid now you've left me with no alternative."
"You really intend to kill me?” he asked.
"I do."
"How do you know that this isn't what the Oracle wants?"
Jade frowned, as if considering the question, and in that instant, as her concentration wavered, he made a swift motion with his hand. She grunted and dropped her pistol as a knife buried itself in her throat.
Chandler walked over to her. “I'm sorry,” he said. “But you were going to kill me."
"You're a fool,” she whispered hoarsely. “You've destroyed us all.” Then she slumped over and died.
He left her where she was sitting, pausing only long enough to retrieve his knife, then returned to his room, took the airlift down to the garage, and walked out into the Port Maracaibo night.
The Iceman took the shuttle down to Philemon II, made his way to the large hexagonal building that was his destination, and flashed his temporary pass at the door. Once inside he walked directly to the Information computer, queried it briefly, and walked to an airlift. He was required to display his pass again and undergo a retina scan, after which he descended almost 200 feet below ground level.
He stepped out into a maze of shining, brightly-lit corridors, waited for an armed soldier to approach him, displayed his pass a third time, and was ushered to a small waiting room. He barely had time to light a small cigar when a door slid back and another soldier stepped through.
"He'll see you now, Mr. Mendoza."
The Iceman walked to the door, then entered a large office as the soldier moved aside and the door closed behind him.
"Carlos!” said 32, looking up from his chrome desk and smiling. The wall behind him was filled with the memorabilia of a lifetime devoted to government service, including a personally inscribed holograph of the current Secretary of the Republic. “It's been a long time."
"24 years, give or take a month,” replied the Iceman.
"You haven't changed much."
"Maybe you'd better have your eyesight tested,” said the Iceman. “I'm a 63-year-old man with a pot belly and an artificial leg."
32 smiled. “No, you haven't changed at all, Carlos,” he said. “Always a little too blunt, always inclined to disregard a well-meant social lie.” He uttered a terse command to his computer and a chair floated over. “Won't you have a seat?"
The Iceman sat down. “How about a drink?"
"Name it."
"Whatever's wet. Unless you've changed more radically than I think, you haven't got anything cheap lying around."
32 chuckled in acknowledgment. “How about some Alphard brandy?"
"Sounds good,” said the Iceman.
32 walked to a wall that appeared to be covered with bookshelves, pressed a certain spot on it, and a section of the holographic projection vanished, to be replaced by a well-stocked bar. He filled two glasses with brandy, handed one to the Iceman, and returned to his desk.
"Thanks,” said the Iceman.
"It's from a new vineyard,” said 32, straightening the glowing fabric of his expensively-tailored tunic, which had wrinkled slightly when he sat down. “I'm anxious to have your reaction."
The Iceman shrugged. “What the hell,” he said. “I've got all day. Let me know when you want to talk business."
"You never believed in small talk, did you?” said 32 wryly.
"It's your money,” replied the Iceman. “Chatter all you want. But when you're through, I hope you'll get around to telling me why you promised me three million credits if I'd come to Philemon II."
"I didn't think you'd come for less,” said 32 frankly. “It's my understanding that you've become a very wealthy man."
"I get by."
"But you were still willing to come for three million credits,” noted 32.
"It's a lot of money, just to take a trip."
"There's more where that came from."
"I'm listening,” said the Iceman.
"We've got a serious situation on our hands, Carlos,” said 32.
"Who's ‘we'?"
"You know who I work for."
"All right, you've got a serious situation on your hands. What has that got to do with me?"
"Well, to be perfectly candid, Carlos, you're working for me."
The Iceman smiled. “So you sent Bettina Bailey, or whoever she really was, to Last Chance.” He paused. “I knew someone in the Democracy sent her, but I didn't know who."
"I sent her,” confirmed 32. “And you accepted her commission."