A Gathering of Widowmakers (The Widowmaker #4) (16 page)

"Are you all right?" he said, walking over, kneeling down next to her, and gently removing her gag.

She nodded. "What was that all about?"

"I'll tell you all about it later," said Nighthawk, helping her to her feet. "Let's get a drink into you first, or a tranquilizer, or whatever you think you need."

"I don't need anything," said Sarah. "When they didn't kill me immediately, I knew they were just planning on using me as bait. After that I wasn't worried anymore."

"Why the hell not?" asked Nighthawk. "They had all the advantage—numbers, the house, a hostage."

"Yes," she agreed, reaching out and taking hold of his hand. "But I had the Widowmaker."

18.

Kinoshita tossed uneasily on his bed, then suddenly sat up. Something was wrong, but it took his sleep-laden senses another moment to figure out what it was. That was when he saw the young man sitting on a chair in the corner of the room.

"How the hell did you get in?" he demanded.

"Hello to you too," said Jeff.

Kinoshita shook his head vigorously. "You cracked the code on the lock."

"It's one of the things I do really well."

"I never heard you enter the room."

"I didn't want to wake you," said Jeff. "But now that you're up, put on your pants and let's get some breakfast." He smiled. "I'll avert my eyes if you're feeling shy."

Kinoshita swung his feet onto the floor, rubbed his eyes, stood up, walked to the wooden chair where he'd tossed his clothes the night before, and began dressing.

"How did you find me?" he asked.

"I didn't know you were hiding," said Jeff. "In fact, I got the distinct impression that you
wanted
to be found."

Kinoshita slid his feet into his shoes. "Okay, let's go," he said, commanding the door to iris.

Jeff followed him to the airlift, and they descended to the hotel's shopworn lobby. The walls needed a paint job, the metal trim was showing signs of rust, a few of the floor tiles were miscolored and one was cracked.

"You can afford better than this," commented Jeff.

"It's temporary."

"All hotels are temporary—and you can still afford better."

"I'm not trying to draw any extra attention," said Kinoshita. "There are a lot of people on this planet who'd like to see me dead."

"But they're probably all in the District," said Jeff. "As long as you don't go in and they don't come out, you're safe." He looked into the hotel's restaurant, which was about half full. "Is this place any good?"

"There are better."

"Lead the way," said Jeff. "It's my treat."

Kinoshita walked out onto the slidewalk, accompanied by Jeff, and rode it two blocks to a little eatery he'd discovered the day before. When they got there he stepped off and entered the place, nodded to the robot cashier, which gave no indication of recognizing or even seeing him, and walked to a table along the back wall.

"What do you recommend?" asked Jeff.

"The coffee's good. The food's palatable."

Jeff studied the menu, then ordered an omelet made from the imported eggs of a half-avian half-reptile creature with an unpronounceable name that lived in New Barcelona's arid equatorial desert. Kinoshita settled for some coffee imported from Pollux IV and a plain muffin.

"Very good," said Jeff, taking a tentative sip as their coffee appeared almost instantly. "Nice strong flavor." Then: "Where is he?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"He sent for me. Here I am."

"He's on Goldenhue," said Kinoshita.

"Are you trying to tell me you took Hairless Jack Bellamy and Cleopatra Rome yourself?" said Jeff with a smile. "Because if you are . . ."

"Of course not," replied Kinoshita. "
He
killed them. You knew that before you came to New Barcelona. In fact, it's
why
you came, isn't it?"

"It was as clear a signal as he could send," agreed Jeff. "He had to know I'd be curious about what another Widowmaker was doing here, especially after he killed two of the people at the top of my list."

"That's what he figured."

"If he wants to talk, why didn't he just send me a subspace message?"

"We didn't know where you were," answered Kinoshita.

"Working," said Jeff noncommittally. "What's he doing on Goldenhue after he went to all the trouble of drawing me to New Barcelona?"

"A couple of men from the District, men with a grudge against him, found out he lived there."

"Sarah," said Jeff.

"That's why he went," said Kinoshita. "He should be back before long."

"I hope so. But he's an old man, and everyone who's not dead is unbeaten in mortal combat."

"He's an old man who killed Bellamy and Cleopatra Rome," replied Kinoshita.

"Okay, he's a formidable old man," said Jeff. "Now let's get down to business: what does he want with me?"

"He wants to talk to you."

"What about?"

"I'll leave it to him to tell you."

"It's got to be about the clone that calls himself Jason Newman," said Jeff. "I mean, hell, he's had close to two years to talk to me if he wanted to, and he acted like he couldn't care less that I was alive until you told him about Newman." He paused. "That
is
where you went after you took Newman to the hospital, isn't it?"

"Yes," said Kinoshita, as their food was transported to their table.

"How
is
Newman?" asked Jeff, starting in on his omelet.

"He's alive."

"I know he's alive," said Jeff irritably. "If I'd wanted to kill him, I would have. How is he recovering?"

"Slowly," said Kinoshita. "They're cloning a new spleen and liver for him, and he needs a prosthetic arm."

"I'm sorry," replied Jeff sincerely. "But I couldn't take any chances, not with him. It was hard enough to beat him without killing him."

You could have just believed him,
thought Kinoshita bitterly—but he elected not to say it. It would be argumentative coming from him, whereas hopefully it would be authoritative coming from Nighthawk.

"When did he leave?" asked Jeff when it became apparent that Kinoshita wasn't going to pursue the subject of his fight with Jason Newman.

"Two days ago."

"Figure at least a day to get to Goldenhue, maybe a day and a half. Give him a couple of hours to take care of business. No way Sarah lets him leave right away. So he's probably still there, or just taking off. That means we've got another day, maybe more, before he gets back to New Barcelona."

"Yes, I suppose so," said Kinoshita. "Why?"

"No sense letting all that time go to waste," replied Jeff. "We might as well make the galaxy a little safer while we're waiting him to return."

"I don't do your bidding anymore," said Kinoshita.

Jeff stared at him for a long moment, and even though he had an unlined, youthful face, it was a stare that made Kinoshita increasingly uneasy. He'd seen it before, and usually it presaged someone's death. Then, as quickly as it came it vanished, and Jeff shrugged. "That's up to you," he said. "Are you going to make me tie in to my ship's computer, or are you going to tell me who's worth taking in the District?"

"Jefferson said there were three people who were big enough to attract your attention. He killed two of them. The third is the Wizard."

Jeff nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, he'd draw anybody's attention. What do you know about him?"

"Just that he's carrying a four-million-credit bounty," answered Kinoshita.

"There's more than that—a lot more."

"Oh? What?"

"That's not a dead-or-alive bounty," said Jeff. "They only pay off if he's dead." He smiled. "Which figures."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because he's the Wizard."

"I don't follow you," said Kinoshita.

"He spent twenty years as a stage magician, using the Wizard as his stage name. From everything I've been able to find out, he was pretty damned good at his job. There's probably not a cell door lock he can't pick, not a force field he can't deactivate, not a pair of tightly-bonded manacles he can't slip in half a minute's time."

"Okay, it makes more sense now," said Kinoshita.

"Let me finish my coffee and I'll see if I can come up with a spell or two of my own," said Jeff.

"You're going into the District after him?" said Kinoshita. "Just like that?"

"It's what I do. You know that."

"But you don't even know your way around there," protested Kinoshita.

"I don't know my way around any planet until I land on it," said Jeff.

"A lot of people in the District are looking to kill the Widowmaker."

"I don't doubt it," answered Jeff with no show of concern. "And they all know that he looks pretty much the way I'll look in another forty years or so."

"But—"

"Suppose you stop raising objections that you know I'm going to ignore and tell me what your real problem is."

"I can't do it!" said Kinoshita unhappily.

"What is it you can't do?" asked Jeff.

"I can't let you go into the District alone."

Jeff looked amused. "You're going to stop me?"

"No one can stop you from doing something you want to do," answered Kinoshita. "We both know that."

"Ah," said Jeff. "You're going to tag along and
save
me from the denizens of the District."

"Stop it!" said Kinoshita angrily.

"You're under no obligation to come with me," said Jeff. "We no longer travel together, in case it's escaped your notice."

"I'm coming."

"Suit yourself."

Kinoshita looked his annoyance. "It doesn't suit me at all."

"Then why bother?"

"Because I serve the Widowmaker—and until Jefferson Nighthawk comes back or Jason Newman gets out of the hospital, you're the only Widowmaker I've got."

"Thanks for that ringing endorsement."

"Would you rather I lie to you?"

"Much," said Jeff, getting to his feet and tossing a couple of platinum coins on the table. "Time to go to work."

Kinoshita grabbed his half-eaten muffin and carried it out to the slidewalk. They rode the walk north for half a mile, transferred to a westerly walk for two blocks, and then crossed the street that marked the border of the District.

"I'd always meant to get by here sooner or later," commented Jeff, looking around at his surroundings. "I don't subscribe to law-free zones."

"Somehow I'm not surprised," said Kinoshita.

"Where do they all congregate?" asked Jeff, "I might as well start asking around until someone can tell me where to find the Wizard."

"What makes you think anyone will tell you?"

"They usually do," replied Jeff, and for just a second Kinoshita thought the tone and tenor were those of Nighthawk's voice.

Kinoshita turned to his right. "The heart of the District's about five blocks ahead," he announced.

"The District doesn't have a heart," said Jeff. "Just a groin and a couple of veins covered with puncture marks."

"And a Wizard."

"Temporarily," said Jeff, increasing his pace. "Very temporarily."

19.

They walked to the center of the District. Then Jeff entered a nearby drug den. There were two men and a woman there, all semi-catatonic after chewing alphanella seeds, and a Canphorite whose large eyes couldn't focus.

"Can I help you?" asked the proprietor, a burly woman with a deep voice and too much make-up. Her fingers were still recovering from having the prints removed, and her eyes still showed the tiny scars that came with a change of retina patterns.

"Just looking for a friend," said Jeff. "But he doesn't seem to be here."

"Perhaps he comes in from time to time," said the woman. "What's his name?"

"Beats me," said Jeff. "But he calls himself the Wizard."

"I didn't know he
had
any friends."

"Well, actually we're not really friends," amended Jeff. "I just owe him money."

"And you're going out of your way to find him and pay off your debt?" she said dubiously.

"He's the Wizard. Would you want him mad at
you
?"

"You have a point," admitted the woman. "I can't help you, though. He's never come to my place."

"Have you got any idea where I can find him?"

"I know he's somewhere inside the District," she said. "That's enough. Once he knows you're looking for him,
he'll
find
you
."

"Thanks for your time," said Jeff. "Perhaps I'll make use of your services next time I'm on New Barcelona." He turned and walked back out onto the street, where Kinoshita was waiting for him.

"Any luck?" asked Kinoshita.

"It's early yet."

Jeff walked into half a dozen bars and a pair of drug dens with the same question and the same story. No one seemed to know where the Wizard could be found. When he walked out of the last bar, he joined Kinoshita once again.

"Okay," he said. "I've laid the groundwork. Now it's up to him."

"I don't think I follow you."

"About three hundred residents of the District know I'm looking for the Wizard. At least a few of them have to know where to find him—and since he knows I don't owe him any money, he should be curious enough to come looking for me."

"After the way Nighthawk took care of Bellamy and Cleopatra Rome, he'll probably come looking to kill you," suggested Kinoshita.

"I doubt it. Everyone got a good look at me, and the ones who are sober and clear-headed enough to find the Wizard will be able to tell him I'm not the man who's been collecting bounties in the District. I think he'll be curious to find out who I am and what I want."

"So what do we do now?" asked Kinoshita.

"We stay on public display so he knows I'm not laying a trap for him," said Jeff. "If he shows up after the old gentleman gets back, I'll step aside and let him take another bounty. But if the Wizard makes contact before then, he's mine."

"And if he shows up with some friends?"

"Then their life expectancy can be measured in hours," said Jeff with no more passion than if he were discussing the weather. A brief pause. "You know, I've never seen a magician," he continued with youthful enthusiasm.