Dragonback 06 Dragon and Liberator (12 page)

I'm positive
, Draycos said.
The metallic sound seems to
be coming from the left
.

Carefully, Jack took a step into the corridor and started to turn
that direction—

"Move and you're dead," Chiggers said quietly from somewhere
behind him.

Jack froze.
Draycos
?

He's too far back
, the K'da said, his tone grim.

Just chill it, then
. "I'm not moving," Jack assured the
other. "Take it easy, okay?"

"Oh, I'll take it easy," Chiggers said. "I'll take it plenty easy.
Drop the weapon and kick it down the corridor to your right."

Jack obeyed. "Now put your hands on top of your head," Chiggers
ordered. "Fingers laced together."

"Yeah, yeah, I know the drill," Jack said, again doing as he was
told. "I don't suppose we might be able to come to some agreement?"

"The only agreement I'm interested in is you dead and me rich,"
Chiggers said. "Where's that frunging dragon? Dragon? Show
yourself—right now—or I kill him."

"I'm here," Draycos said, lifting the top of his head over the
back of Jack's collar. "Don't shoot."

"I would if I had any sense," Chiggers muttered. "All right. Keep
going—straight ahead—face to the wall. Back on his skin, dragon.
All
the way on. I so much as see your nose and he's dead."

Move all the way to the wall
, Draycos's thought whispered
into Jack's mind.

Way ahead of you, buddy
, Jack assured him. He took two long
steps forward to the far side of the corridor and leaned against the
wall, pressing his chest firmly to the cold metal.

And with a flicker of sensation, Draycos leaned off his skin and
fell over the wall.

"This ought to look really good on your service record," Jack
commented, speaking loudly enough to cover any sound the K'da might
make as he landed on the concrete floor below. "Neverlin and Frost have
both tried to nail me and neither of them even came close."

"Yeah, and I'll bet you tried to talk
them
to death, too,"
Chiggers growled. The patrol ship vibrated slightly with the other's
footsteps as he strode the rest of the way up the ramp and stepped
through the hatchway. "What we're going to do—"

Abruptly, there was a hollow-sounding thud, followed by a sort of
crumpling sound. "All right, Jack," Draycos said.

Jack turned around. Chiggers was sprawled half inside the airlock,
unconscious. He was wearing a Malison Ring flight suit, though with the
helmet still off. A large and unpleasant-looking gun lay on the deck
near his right hand. "Nice job, symby," Jack said, stepping over and
retrieving the weapon. "Too bad, though. I was looking forward to
hearing how he thought he could put a K'da poet-warrior out of action
without killing him."

"Perhaps keeping me alive was never part of his plan," Draycos
said.

"Probably not," Jack conceded. Stuffing Chiggers's gun into his
belt, he retrieved his tangler and peered aft down the corridor. "So if
that noise isn't him working on the leak, what
is
it?"

"Obviously, some sort of bait," Draycos said. "Hence the unusual
rhythm I noticed earlier. He must have become suspicious of my sabotage
and decided to lie in wait to see if anyone came calling."

"And we walked right into it," Jack said, feeling his cheeks
warming. Uncle Virgil had warned him over and over about both
sloppiness
and
overconfidence. "If it hadn't been for your
jump-the-wall trick, we'd have been up the creek for sure."

"We wouldn't have been there for long," Draycos said, his voice
dark. "Still, without the trick I
would
probably have been
forced to kill him."

"Lucky Chiggers," Jack murmured. Draycos was so civilized and
pleasant most of the time that the boy sometimes forgot the sheer raw
power that lay beneath those red-edged golden scales. "Let's get to the
cockpit and see if all this was worth the effort."

It was.

"Here we go," Jack said, peering at the navigational display.
"It's even called Point Two, in fact. It's out past Trintonias, about a
two-day trip from your new home on Iota Klestis."

"If that
will
, in fact, be our new home," Draycos said.

Jack grimaced. Iota Klestis was probably still owned by the Triost
Mining Group, which was itself owned by Braxton Universis. If Harper's
appearance on Brum-a-dum meant that Braxton had now become a part of
Neverlin's conspiracy, the K'da and Shontine would probably have to
hunt up a new place to move into.

Assuming the refugees even survived that long. "We'll make it
work," Jack told Draycos firmly. "Anyway, it's about a four-day trip
from here. We'd better grab some supplies and get moving."

"Supplies?" Draycos asked, his tail curving in a frown.

"Didn't I tell you?" Jack asked. "We're taking the ship and
heading to Point Two."

Draycos's neck arched. "We're
what
?"

"Well, we're sure not taking the
Essenay
into Neverlin's
hornet's nest," Jack pointed out. "How did you think we were going to
get there?"

"I assumed we would now try to make a deal with Harper and
Braxton."

"I don't trust Harper," Jack said flatly. "
Or
Braxton."

"I believe Braxton to be trustworthy," Draycos said, a bit
hesitantly. "From comments Alison has made, I gather she also has no
reason to distrust him."

"Well, cheers for Alison," Jack said. "If it comes to
that
,
I don't necessarily trust
her
, either. She and I might be on
the same side at the moment, but she's not leveling with us. Not
completely."

"Probably not," Draycos conceded. "On the other hand, the only
people we'll find at Point Two will
definitely
not be on our
side."

"Leave that to me, symby," Jack told him. Reaching to his collar,
he turned on his comm clip. "Uncle Virge?"

"Right here, Jack lad," the computerized voice came back
instantly. "You all right?"

"We're fine," Jack said. "You want to bring the
Essenay
over? We've got another passenger for you, and I don't feel like
lugging him through the streets."

There was a short silence. "Another passenger?"

"Don't worry; I'm sure he and Harper will get along like a house
on fire," Jack said. "Now, move it. We're on a schedule here."

Harper, as it turned out, was not at all pleased with his new
roommate. "This is ridiculous," he fumed as Jack secured Chiggers to a
thick metal cable fastened to one of the pipes on the far side of the
cabin.

"I know," Jack said. "But what can I say? The
Essenay
hasn't got a proper brig."

Chiggers muttered something nasty sounding, his breath a puff of
warmth against Jack's cheek as the boy double-checked the mercenary's
handcuffs. The man was seething, but there wasn't a thing he could do
about his situation. Not with Draycos standing watchful guard at his
side.

"I've already told you I'm on your side," Harper said. "I can help
you."

"And all who believe that raise their hands," Jack said, backing
away from Chiggers. "Okay. You can both get to the food and water
supply and the bathroom. But there's nothing either of you can use to
cut your tethers or unlock your cuffs."

"You got something to keep me from killing him while he sleeps?"
Chiggers demanded, glaring across at Harper. Without his fancy Malison
Ring flight suit, Jack reflected, Chiggers looked and sounded more like
a street punk than a big bad mercenary soldier.

Harper apparently thought so, too. "I'd be real careful about
trying something like that, sonny boy," he said, his voice sending a
shiver up Jack's back. "Half-asleep, I could still take you."

"I guess maybe we'll find out about that," Chiggers retorted.

"I guess maybe we won't," Jack put in. "Because Uncle Virge is
going to be keeping an eye on you. Say hello to the nice men, Uncle
Virge."

"I don't think you've really thought this through, Jack lad,"
Uncle Virge said darkly. "What if they
do
make trouble? For me
or
each other?"

"Then you crack open one of the sopor mist canisters from Alison's
collection that I've hooked into the air system," Jack said. "There are
three of them, wired separately, in case you feel like giving them more
than one chance."

"And what happens when I've used up all the canisters?" Uncle
Virge persisted.

"Then they'll
really
be sorry they made trouble," Jack
said, watching both men carefully. "Because if and when you have to
crack the third one, you're to fly them to Roarke's Mill on Cavendish
while they're sleeping."

Harper frowned. Clearly, the name meant nothing to him.

Chiggers's reaction was far more interesting. There was a catch in
his breath, and his eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare," he said.

"Oh yes, I would," Jack assured him.

"What's Roarke's Mill?" Harper asked.

"It's a hangout for killers and thugs," Chiggers growled. "The
Internos has tried a dozen times to clear it out, including hiring the
Malison Ring and a couple of other merc groups to handle the grunt
work. But the scum just keep coming back."

"It's also a hangout for less violent people, like con artists and
safecrackers," Jack said. "Uncle Virgil and I visited the place a
couple of times, and he still has acquaintances there. I'm sure that
once Uncle Virge explains the situation they'll take good care of you
until I come back."

"You send us there and we're dead," Chiggers said flatly.

"Very possibly," Jack agreed. "Reason enough for you to behave
yourselves."

Harper shifted his shoulders. "Jack—"

"Have a nice time," Jack said, backing out of the room.

Draycos didn't speak again until they were loading their supplies
aboard the patrol ship. "I still don't know what you're planning,
Jack," he said. "But I have to agree with Uncle Virge. You may not have
thought this through."

"I'm not all that crazy about it myself," Jack admitted. "But I
actually
have
thought it through. Remember, I was brought up to
be a con man. I know how people think."

"I appreciate your talents in that area," Draycos said. "But none
of that will matter once they see you're not Chiggers."

"There are ways around that," Jack assured him. "Or at least ways
to delay the magic moment. The bottom line is that Neverlin's group is
on the move and this may be our only chance to hook up with them. If
you've got a better idea, I'm all ears.

"You've already heard my idea: to make a deal with Harper and
Braxton," Draycos said. "You've already rejected it."

"Though not without some regret," Jack said. "I'd love to show up
at the rendezvous with a wedge of Braxton Universis Security ships
behind me. But I don't trust Harper
or
Braxton."

"So you've said." Draycos gave a quiet sigh. "Very well. If we're
going to do this, we'd best be on our way."

Jack took a deep breath. "Yeah."

The next four days went by quickly. Far too quickly for Draycos's
taste.

Heading into battle was nothing new for him. Heading into battle
without knowing everything his commander was planning also wasn't new.

But this was different. This was heading into a battle where he
didn't even know the basic strategy Jack had in mind.

And never had he fought a battle with so much at risk. So terribly
much at risk.

But worse than the concerns—and, yes, the fears—were the doubts
that began to creep into his thoughts. The question of whether,
ultimately, the risk he and Jack were taking was even worthwhile.

After all, the refugee fleet was hardly an easy target. There were
fifty-eight escort warships, manned by experienced K'da and Shontine
warriors who would be alert for every possible danger. Surely they
could defeat Neverlin's force, no matter how many Death weapons the
Valahgua had given them.

But what if they didn't? Neverlin and Frost would hardly be going
forward with their plan if they didn't think they had a reasonable
chance of success. What if they'd put together such a powerful force
that even the refugees' escort was overwhelmed?

What if they
were
, in fact, able to destroy the fleet?

And if that was the case, what would he and Jack be able to do in
the face of such a force? Could they get close enough to do anything,
let alone to do enough to make a difference?

Probably not. Almost certainly they would be detected, identified,
and killed long before they even got close enough to the attackers to
use their new patrol ship's weapons.

But there was an alternative . . . because Draycos knew now that
the K'da on those refugee ships were
not
, in fact, the last of
their kind.

The Phookas of Rho Scorvi were also of K'da blood. Taneem's
experience had shown they could also be K'da in heart and mind.

But they could never become true K'da without someone to teach
them their people's history and heritage. Draycos could be that
teacher. And wouldn't that be a better use of his life—
and
Jack's—than walking uselessly to their deaths?

It was a persuasive argument. A horribly persuasive argument, and
over those four long days Draycos spent many hours struggling with it.

But in the end there was really no question as to what he had to
do. Alison and Taneem were trapped aboard the
Advocatus Diaboli
,
with no one but Jack and Draycos standing between them and their own
deaths. Whether Draycos gained or lost—whether he lived or died—K'da
warrior ethic demanded that he make every possible effort to save them.

Besides, how could he presume to teach the Phookas what it meant
to be a K'da if he himself had failed this final test?