The Devil's Eye (41 page)

I wondered whether Wexler might not have been right.

When I got back to Samuels, there was no trace of Alex. I left a message saying hello, sorry to have missed you, catch you next time. They gave me almost
three
hours to relax, then I was back at the boarding area to pick up my next set of passengers. They were kids this time. All four years of age or under, plus two mothers. They screamed and cried their farewells, and we finally got them all on board. I took a deep breath, and we launched. The kids cried round the clock. The mothers did what they could, and showed, I thought, endless patience. I tried to help to the extent I could. But none of us knew how to calm the ongoing hysteria. By the third day, they both had bloodshot eyes. "Got to be a better way to do this," I told them. I decided a couple of cats might help, and I made a mental note to put in a request. The older of the two mothers, an attractive blonde, commented that they only had to put up with it for two weeks. And the other one immediately dissolved into tears. After I delivered them, I sent a message to the people running the evacuation, ordering my cats, and informing them that, even though I understood the reasoning behind trying to save the kids first, separating children from their mothers was cruel. I knew that if they responded at all, which was unlikely, they'd ask me for an alternative. And of course I wouldn't have one. It didn't matter. They never asked.

I made the jump back into Salud Afar space and was beginning to wonder whether I could really continue like this for three years. I knew they were trying to train more pilots to give us a break in the routine, but it would take a while. I was about two days out, sitting feeling sorry for myself when Belle came to life:
"Chase."
"Yes, ma'am. What've you got?"

"Intruder alert?"

"Where?"

"What kind of ships?"
"All kinds. Cruisers, escorts, destroyers-
thousands
of them."
"Hell, that's
good
news. Belle, the Confederacy has come to the rescue, after all."
"Chase, they're
not
Confederates. They're Mutes."

"Belle, are they reacting to us?"

"Okay, give me manual."

They were all around us. None that I could see without the scopes. But the kinds of weapons these

things carried made that dim consolation. "Let me know if we light up, Belle."

"Okay, give me a channel to the station."

"You're open."
"Samuels, this is the
Belle-Marie
. Approaching from Sanctum. What is status, please?"
"You'll have to get in line,
Belle-Marie
. We see you. Hold steady on present course. I'll give you instructions in a few minutes."

"Ops, I'm out here surrounded by Mutes."

"Why not?"

"How do you know?"

"You believe them?"
"What's the alternative?"
He signed off. Moments later he was back.
"You're Chase Kolpath, right?"

"Yes."

"Samuels, can you tell me why?"

The head of the line doesn't mean a whole lot when you're two days out. But I proceeded accordingly. On the way in, I picked up reports that the evacuation was going to go a lot more quickly, and that work was moving ahead on a second, larger, space station. Meanwhile, more shuttles were coming online. Spaceports were being designated around the globe, where landers could descend to pick up passengers. Ships coming in from the Assemblage had already arrived at Sanctum, carrying supplies and engineers. I got in as quickly as I could, burning extra fuel on the way, and reported to the chief of the watch. He said he was proud to meet me, told me a private shuttle was waiting, and handed me two sealed envelopes. One contained the following:
Celebration tonight (the 20th) at the Sariyavo Hotel. Your attendance mandatory. Congratulations. Tao Kilgore.

"You Sirian Koslo?" I asked. He grinned "Yes." "Thanks." "My pleasure. Go get 'em, Chase." The other was from Alex:
Chase, they're telling us that if you make a reasonable jump, you'll be able to get to the Sariyavo for the party. If not, the Administrator promises me they'll throw another one tomorrow. Or over the weekend. Or whatever it takes. You're the lady of the hour.

If the situation had improved, I wouldn't have known it charging through Samuels. The children were still there, surrounded by dismayed adults, waiting for their rides to arrive. There was still only a handful of Mutes in the concourse. And, considering the way the locals steered clear of them, it was just as well. I was halfway to the shuttle launch area when two CSS agents scooped me up. "Heard you were on the way, Ms. Kolpath," one of them said. "If you'll follow us, please." I love playing the VIP. They opened the hatch for me, the pilot asked to shake my hand, and they provided a box of goodies to munch on on the way down. My luggage arrived, and they stowed it in cargo. Was there anything else they could do for me? "Sure," I said. "What's it about?" "You don't know?" "Should I?"

"Chase, you're the woman who brought the Mutes."

There were no other passengers. As soon as I was belted down, we were on our way. We passed through some storm clouds and arrived at the Marinopolis spaceport in a driving rainstorm. They transferred me to a government skimmer, and we took off and headed east toward the center of the city. Fifteen minutes later we landed on the roof of what I assumed to be the Sariyavo, where I was handed over to two other agents. They collected my luggage, refused to allow me to touch it, took me inside, down one floor, and opened a door to a luxury suite. Lights were on, candy had been placed on the bed, music was playing softly. "Your room while you're here, ma'am," one of them said. She opened a closet to reveal an exquisite black gown. "I think you'll find it's the right size." "It's nice," I said. And I know that was a dumb response, but I wasn't functioning at full capacity. "They're just getting started in the main ballroom. When you're ready, call us, and we'll escort you down." She smiled. "Take your time. The party won't really start until you get there."

I could hear the noise before I got out of the elevator. Music. People laughing and cheering. The agents took me to the entrance and turned me over to one of the best-looking guys I've ever seen. Mash Kavalovski. He was the son of a treasury secretary from one of the associated states. The music stopped, and the crowd cleared a space for us. He kissed my hand, and said he was honored to meet "the hero of the hour." A cheer went up. A few Mutes were sprinkled through the crowd. Times were changing quickly. Mash danced with me while everybody backed away. Then they all joined in. When the music stopped, Mash handed me over to Alex. "Alex," I said, "how've you been? I missed you." He was all smiles. "I missed you, too, love. How was life with the Transit Authority?" Somebody brought me a purple-colored drink that left me feeling as if I owned the world. There were more introductions to people from around the globe. To more people from the Confederacy. To fleet officers. And to Mutes, some in uniform, some not. Eventually I wound up back in Mash's arms. "Chase," he said, "I don't suppose I could talk you into running off to the Golden Isles, could I?" I wasn't very familiar with what passed for dancing in Marinopolis, but I'm fairly flexible. Mash and I were gliding around the floor when the music changed tempo, slowed, and switched to "Time of Glory." It was the cue for the Administrator to make his entrance. And there he came, through a side door, still in conversation with someone. He broke it off quickly, mounted a rostrum, and waited for quiet. The music stopped. Everyone turned to watch. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," he said. "I'd like to welcome you all to this special celebration in honor of some very special people. These have been a pretty happy few weeks. And we have more good news tonight. "The good news first: The Confederacy has announced that the bulk of its fleet is being committed-" It was as far as he got. The crowd applauded loudly, and for several minutes it would not stop. Finally, when it did, he proceeded: "-The bulk of the Confederate fleet, virtually all of it, is coming here to assist us-" The applause started again. Kilgore tried to continue, but his voice got drowned out. The crowd was out of control, cheering, clapping, embracing each other. I got hugged and kissed and passed around, and I didn't mind it a bit. Eventually he got control: "-There's more-" he said. "Ladies and gentlemen, it's my happy duty to inform you that we believe we now have the resources to put a shield in front of the world. Even as we speak, work has begun." If the other announcements had gotten everyone excited, that one blew the roof off. The Administrator took a few sheets of notepaper from his pocket, glanced at them, shrugged, and put them back. It was, I thought, not a time for details. While the hall continued to rock, he shook hands with everyone he could reach, including several of the Mutes. Those who were not in fleet uniforms wore brilliantly colored robes. I knew enough about them now to understand bright colors reflected good times.

Eventually, the audience subsided. "There's something else," he said. "The Coalition wants to recognize some of the people who made this night possible." An aide wheeled a table out, up an incline in the side of the rostrum, and placed it beside him. There were medals on the table. With ribbons. "The Grand Award of the Coalition is bestowed for outstanding service. It has been given to only four individuals during the entire thirty-year history of the Coalition. We will double that number tonight. "To Alex Benedict, who was first to grasp what had happened, and whose quick action to bring it to our attention made it possible to confront the problem. Alex, would you come forward, please?" Alex loved public recognition. Well, in all honesty, who doesn't? He strode through the crowd and up the three steps of the rostrum. The Administrator examined the medals, selected one, and placed it against his breast. He let go and took a moment to admire the award. "Thank you, Alex," he said. Kilgore invited him to speak. Alex looked out over the crowd. "It's an honor," he said, "to have been in a position to assist the people of Salud Afar." More applause. And the Administrator picked up a second medal. "Is Chase Kolpath in the audience, please? Chase, are you out there?" My heart stopped. Now, I'm not going to pretend I didn't think I'd made a major contribution to what was happening. But I didn't expect to get any recognition for it. Usually the recognition goes to Alex, Alex says something nice about me while he's accepting the award, and that's the end of it. And it struck me as I left Mash on the edge of the dance floor and walked forward that he hadn't mentioned my role.
He'd known.
I mounted the steps. Kilgore gazed happily out at the crowd. "I'm not sure where we'd have been without Chase. She did much to bring the Ashiyyur and the Confederates here tonight. And she was largely responsible for sidestepping efforts by a rogue unit of this government to keep the Callistra event secret." He smiled at me. "We'll always think of her as the lady who rode the taxicab into orbit." Of course I hadn't had the acceleration to achieve orbit, but that seemed picky at the moment. He pressed my medal to my gown and gave me the floor. I tend to get stage fright, so I just said thanks and hustled back down off the podium. "Next," said Kilgore, "the Coalition would like to recognize the lady who helped mobilize support for us in the Assemblage: Bon Selvan. Bon, would you come forward, please?" I hadn't realized she was there. The crowd quieted as she strode across the dance floor. The three steps up to the podium didn't fit her very well, so she simply ignored them and climbed up in one stride. It broke what might have been an awkward moment. There was some laughter, then a wave of applause. Kilgore held her medal and looked up at her. The audience laughed again, as did Kilgore. He couldn't reach an appropriate place on the robe, so she bent down, and he smiled and attached the medal. Then he got serious. "I don't know what to say, Proctor Selvan, except that we will always be grateful to you and your companions. We know it wasn't easy to do what you did. And that the Ashiyyur were willing to take a risk in sending their fleet here. I hope this will be the beginning, as someone once said, of a long and beautiful friendship." She turned to face the audience. "Thank you, Mr. Administrator. Thank you all. We share your sentiments. Unfortunately, our joint history has not been an admirable one. Let us begin today. Let us

"The final award," said Kilgore, "recognizes the contribution of a young lady from Rimway, who came here seeking inspiration, and who discovered the terrible danger that was rushing toward us. She sacrificed her life and a brilliant career in an effort to warn us. This award will be placed in a special station in the Coalition Hall of Fame. Ladies and gentlemen, we all owe a great debt of thanks to Vicki Greene."

The celebration lasted well into the night. I danced with Alex and Mash and half the males in the place, including several of the Mutes. I won't try to describe how that must have looked. You'd have had to

see it. I talked with Proctor Selvan, and received an invitation to visit her whenever I could. "How did all this happen?" I asked her. "How is it possible?" She gazed serenely down at me. "It was too good an opportunity to miss. We knew that from the moment the situation first developed. But we needed someone to help us pull the trigger. To create the political wave. You did that rather nicely when you spoke to the Chief Minister." She drew back her lips. "That's the wrong word.
Connected
is as close as I can get. When you
connected
with the Chief Minister." "You mean the interview?" "Of course." "But I wasn't talking to him. I had the Director in mind. Whiteside." I got the fangs again. "You were talking to
both
," she said. "And it appears both got the message."