"Hi, Bel." Miles pulled up a station chair and hooked it into its clamps; Thorne greeted him with a friendly semi-salute. "Play me back everything the surveillance team picked up from Galen's house after Quinn and I rescued the Barrayaran military attaché and left to deliver him back to their embassy." Quinn kept her face quite straight through this bit of revisionist history.
Thorne obediently fast-forwarded through a half hour of silence, then slowed through the disjointed conversation of the two unhappy Komarran guards awakening from stun. Then the chime of the comconsole; a somewhat degraded image resynthesized from the vid beam; the slow toneless voice and face of Galen himself, requesting a report on the guard's murderous assignment; the sharp rise in tone, as he heard of the dramatic rescue instead—"Fools!" A pause. "Don't attempt to contact me again." Cut.
"We traced the source of the call, I trust," said Miles.
"Public comconsole at a tube station," said Thorne. "By the time we got someone there, the potential search radius had widened to about a hundred kilometers. Good tube system, that."
"Right. And he never returned to the house after that?"
"Abandoned everything, apparently. He's had previous experience evading security, I take it."
"He was an expert before I was born," sighed Miles. "What about the two guards?"
"They were still at the house when the surveillance guys from the Barrayaran embassy arrived and took over and we packed our kit and went home. Have the Barrayarans paid us for this little job yet, by the way?"
"Handsomely."
"Oh, good. I was afraid they'd hold it up till after we'd delivered Van der Poole too."
"About Van der Poole—Galen," said Miles. "Ah—we're no longer working for the Barrayarans on that one. They've brought in their own team from their Sector headquarters on Tau Ceti."
Throne frowned puzzlement. "But we're still working?"
"For the time being. But you'd better pass the word along to our downside people. From this point on, contact with the Barrayarans is to be avoided."
Thorne's brows rose. "Who are we working for, then?"
"For me."
Thorne paused. "Aren't you playing this one a tad close to your chest, sir?"
"Much too close, if my own Intelligence people are to remain effective." Miles sighed. "All right. An odd and unexpected personal wrinkle has turned up in the middle of this case. Have you ever wondered why I never speak of my family background, or my past?"
"Well—there are a lot of Dendarii who don't. Sir."
"Quite. I was born a clone, Bel."
Thorne looked only mildly sympathetic. "Some of my best friends are clones."
"Perhaps I should say, I was created a clone. In the military laboratory of a galactic power that shall remain nameless. I was created for a covert substitution plot against the son of a certain important man, key of another galactic power—you can figure out who with a very little research, I'm sure—but about seven years ago I declined the honor. I escaped, fled, and set up on my own, creating the Dendarii Mercenaries from, er, materials found ready to hand."
Thorne grinned. "A memorable event."
"But this is where Galen comes in. The galactic power abandoned their plot, and I thought I was free of my unhappy past. But several clones had been run off, so to speak, in the attempt to generate an exact physical duplicate, with certain mental refinements, before the lab finally came up with me. I thought they were all long dead, callously murdered, disposed of. But apparently, one of the earlier, less-successful efforts had been put into cryo-suspension. And somehow, he has fallen into Ser Galen's hands. My sole surviving clone-brother, Bel." Miles's hand closed in a fist. "Enslaved by a fanatic. I want to rescue him." His hand opened in pleading. "Can you understand why?"
Thorne blinked. "Knowing you . . . I guess I do. Is it very important to you, sir?"
"Very."
Thorne straightened slightly. "Then it will be done."
"Thank you." Miles hesitated. "Better have all our downside patrol leaders issued a small medical scanner. Keep it on themselves at all times. As you know, I had my leg bones replaced with synthetics a bit over a year ago. His are normal bone. It's the quickest way to tell the difference between us."
"Your appearance is that close?" said Thorne.
"Our appearances are identical, apparently."
"They are," confirmed Quinn to Thorne. "I've seen him."
"I . . . see. Interesting possibilities for confusion there, sir." Thorne glanced at Quinn, who nodded ruefully.
"Too right. I trust the dissemination of the medical scanners will help keep things dull. Carry on—call me at once if you get a break in the case."
"Right, sir."
In the corridor, Quinn remarked, "Nice save, sir."
Miles sighed. "I had to find some way to warn the Dendarii about Mark. Can't have him playing Admiral Naismith again unimpeded."
"Mark?" said Elli. "Who's Mark, or dare I guess? Miles Mark Two?"
"Lord Mark Pierre Vorkosigan," said Miles calmly. Anyway, he hoped he appeared calm. "My brother."
Elli, alive to the significances of Barrayaran clan claims, frowned. "Is Ivan right, Miles? Has that little sucker hypnotized you?"
"I don't know," said Miles slowly. "If I'm the only one who sees him that way, then maybe, just maybe—"
Elli made an encouraging noise.
A slight smile turned one corner of Miles's mouth. "Then maybe everybody's wrong but me."
Elli snorted.
Miles turned serious again. "I truly don't know. In seven years, I never abused the powers of Admiral Naismith for personal purposes. That's not a record I'm anxious to break. Well, perhaps we'll fail to turn them up, and the question will become moot."
"Wishful thinking," said Elli in disapproval. "If you don't want to turn them up, maybe you'd better stop looking for them."
"Compelling logic."
"So why aren't you compelled? And what do you plan to do with them if you do catch 'em?"
"As for what," said Miles, "it's not too complicated. I want to find Galen and my clone before Destang does, and separate them. And then make sure Destang doesn't find them until I can send a private report home. Eventually, if I vouch for him, I believe a cease-and-desist order will come through countermanding my clone's assassination, without my having to appear directly connected with it."
"What about Galen?" asked Elli skeptically. "No way are you going to get a cease-and-desist order on him."
"Probably not. Galen is—a problem I have not solved."
Miles returned to his cabin, where his fleet accountant caught up with him.
Lieutenant Bone fell on the eighteen-million-mark credit chit with heartfelt and unmilitary glee. "Saved!"
"Disburse it as needed," Miles said. "And get the Triumph out of hock. We need to be able to move out at a moment's notice without having to argue about grand theft with the Solar Navy. Ah—hm. D'you think you can create a credit chit, out of petty cash or wherever, in galactic funds, that couldn't in any way be traced back to us?"
A gleam lit her eye. "An interesting challenge, sir. Does this have anything to do with our upcoming contract?"
"Security, Lieutenant," Miles said blandly. "I can't discuss it even with you."
"Security," she sniffed, "doesn't hide as much from Accounting as they think they do."
"Perhaps I should combine your departments. No?" He grinned at her horrified look. "Well, maybe not."
"Who does this chit go to?"
"To the bearer."
Her brows rose. "Very good, sir. How much?"
Miles hesitated. "Half a million marks. However that translates into local credit."
"Half a million marks," she noted wryly, "is not petty."
"Just so long as it's cash."
"I'll do my best, sir."
He sat alone in his cabin after she left, frowning deeply. The impasse was clear. Galen could not be expected to initiate contact unless he saw some way, no
t to mention some reason, to control the situation or achieve surprise. Letting Galen choreograph his moves seemed fatal, and Miles did not care for the idea of wandering around till Galen chose to surprise him. Still, some sort of feint to create an opening might be better than no move at all, in view of the shrinking time limit. Get off the damned defensive disadvantage, act instead of react . . . A high resolve, but for the minor flaw that until Galen was spotted Miles had no object to act upon. He growled frustration and went wearily to bed.
* * *
He woke on his own in the dark of his cabin some twelve hours later, noted the time on the glowing digits of his wall clock, and lay a while luxuriating in the remarkable sensation of finally having gotten enough sleep. His greedy body was just suggesting, in the leaden slowness of his limbs, that more would be nice, when his cabin comconsole chimed. Saved from the sin of sloth, he staggered out of bed and answered it.
"Sir." The face of one of the Triumph's comm officers appeared. "You have a tight-beam call from the Barrayaran Embassy downside in London. They're asking for you personally, scrambled."
Miles trusted that this was not literally true. It couldn't be Ivan; he would have called on the private comm link. It had to be an official communique. "Unscramble and pipe it in here, then."
"Should I record?"
"Ah—no."
Could the new orders from HQ for the Dendarii fleet have arrived already? Miles swore silently. If they were forced to break orbit before his Dendarii Intelligence people found Galen and Mark . . .
Destang's grim face appeared over the vid plate. " 'Admiral Naismith.' " Miles could hear the quote marks dropping in around his name. "Are we alone?"
"Entirely, sir."
Destang's face relaxed slightly. "Very well. I have an order for you—Lieutenant Vorkosigan. You are to remain aboard your ship in orbit until I, personally, call again and notify you otherwise."
"Why, sir?" said Miles, though he could damn well guess.
"For my peace of mind. When a simple precaution will prevent the slightest possibility of an accident, it's foolish not to take it. Do you understand?"
"Fully, sir."
"Very well. That's all. Destang out." The commodore's face dissolved in air.
Miles cursed out loud, with feeling. Destang's "precaution" could only mean that his Sector goons had spotted Mark already, before Miles's Dendarii had—and were moving in for the kill. How fast? Was there still a chance . . . ?
Miles slipped on his gray trousers, hung ready to hand, and dug the secured comm link from his pocket and keyed it on. "Ivan?" he spoke into it quietly. "You there?"
"Miles?" It was not Ivan's voice; it was Galeni's.
"Captain Galeni? I found the other half of the comm link . . . ah, are you alone?"
"At present." Galeni's voice was dry, conveying through no more than the tone his opinion of both the misplaced comm link story and those who invented it. "Why?"
"How'd you come by the comm link?"
"Your cousin handed it to me just before he departed on his duties."
"Left for where? What duties?" Was Ivan swept up for Destang's man-hunt? If so, Miles could happily throttle him for divesting Miles's ear on the proceedings just when it might have done the most good—skittish idiot!—if only—
"He's escorting the ambassador's lady to the World Botanical Exhibition and Ornamental Flower Show at the University of London's Horticulture Hall. She goes every year, to glad-hand the local social set. Admittedly, she is also interested in the topic."
Miles's voice rose slightly. "In the middle of a security crisis, you sent Ivan to a flower show?"
"Not I," denied Galeni. "Commodore Destang. I, ah—believe he felt Ivan could be most easily spared. He's not thrilled with Ivan."
"What about you?"
"He's not thrilled with me either."
"No, I mean, what are you doing? Are you directly involved with the . . . current operation?"
"Hardly."
"Ah. I'm relieved. I was a little afraid—somebody—might have gotten a short circuit in his head about requiring it of you as proof of loyalty or some damned thing."
"Commodore Destang is neither a sadist nor a fool." Galeni paused. "He's careful, however. I'm confined to quarters."
"You have no direct access to the operation, then. Like where they are, and how close, and when they plan to . . . make a move."
Galeni's voice was carefully neutral, neither offering nor denying help. "Not readily."
"Hm. He just ordered me confined to quarters too. I think he's had some sort of break, and things are coming to a head."
There was a brief silence. Galeni's words drifted out on a sigh. "Sorry to hear that . . ." His voice cracked. "It's so damned useless! The dead hand of the past goes on jerking the strings by galvanic reflex, and we poor puppets dance—nothing is served, not us, not him, not Komarr . . ."
"If I could make contact with your father," began Miles.
"It would be useless. He'll fight, and keep on fighting."
"But he has nothing, now. He blew his last chance. He's an old man, he's tired—he could be ready to change, to quit at last," Miles argued.
"I wish . . . no. He can't quit. Above life itself, he has to prove himself right. To be right redeems his every crime. To have done all that he's done, and be wrong—unbearable!"
"I . . . see. Well, I'll contact you again if I . . . have anything useful to say. There's, ah, no point in turning in the comm link till you have both halves, eh?"
"As you wish." Galeni's tone was not exactly fired with hope.
Miles shut down the comm link.
He called Thorne, who reported no visible progress.
"In the meantime," said Miles, "here's another lead for you. An unfortunate one. The team from the Barrayarans has evidently spotted our target within the last hour or so."
"Ha! Maybe we can follow them, and let them lead us to Galen."
"Afraid not. We have to get ahead of them, without treading on their toes. Their hunt is a lethal one."
"Armed and dangerous, eh? I'll pass the word." Thorne whistled thoughtfully. "Your crèche-mate sure is popular."
Miles washed, dressed, ate, made ready: boot knife, scanners, stunners both hip-holstered and concealed, comm links, a wide assortment of tools and toys one might carry through London's shuttleport security checks. It was a far cry from combat gear, alas, though his jacket nearly clanked when he walked. He called the duty officer, made sure a personnel shuttle was fueled, pilot at the ready. He waited without patience.
What was Galen up to? If he wasn't just running—and the fact that the Barrayaran security team had nearly caught up with him suggested he was still hanging around for some reason—why? Mere revenge? Something more arcane? Was Miles's analysis of him too simple, too subtle—what was he missing? What was left in life for the man who had to be right?
His cabin comconsole chimed. Miles sent up a short inarticulate prayer—let it be some break, some chink, some handle—
The comm officer's face appeared. "Sir, I have a call originating from the downside commercial comconsole net. A man who refuses to identify himself says you want to talk to him."
Miles jerked electrically upright. "Trace the call and cut a copy to Captain Thorne in Intelligence. Put it through here."
"Do you want your visual to go out, or just audio?"
"Both."
The comm officer's face faded as another man's appeared, giving an unsettling illusion of transmutation.
"Vorkosigan?" said Galen.
"So?" said Miles.
"I will not repeat myself." Galen spoke low and fast. "I don't give a damn if you're recording or tracing. It's irrelevant. You will meet me in seventy minutes exactly. You will come to the Thames Tidal Barrier, halfway between Towers Six and Seven. You will walk out on the seaward side to the lower lookout. Alone. Then we'll talk. If any condition is not met, we will simply not be there when you arrive. And Ivan Vorpatril will die at 0207
."
"You are two. I must be two," Miles began. Ivan?
"Your pretty bodyguard? Very well. Two." The vid blinked blank.
"No—"
Silence.
Miles keyed to Thorne. "Did you get that, Bel?"
"Sure did. Sounded threatening. Who's Ivan?"
"A very important person. Where'd this originate?"
"A tubeway nexus, public comconsole. I have a man on the way who can make it in six minutes. Unfortunately—"
"I know. Six minutes gives a search radius of several million people. I think we'll play it his way. Up to a point. Put a patrol in the air over the Tidal Barrier, file a flight plan for my shuttle downside, have an aircar and Dendarii driver and guard meet it. Tell Bone I want that credit chit now. Tell Quinn to meet me in the shuttle hatch corridor, and bring a couple of med scanners. And stand by. I want to check something."
He took a deep breath, and keyed open the comm link. "Galeni?"
A pause. "Yes?"
"You still confined to quarters?"
"Yes."
"I have an urgent request for information. Where's Ivan, really?"
"As far as I know, he's still at—"
"Check it. Check it fast."
There was a long, long pause, which Miles utilized to recheck his gear, find Lieutenant Bone, and walk to the shuttle hatch corridor. Quinn was waiting, intensely curious.
"What's up now?"
"We have our break. Of sorts. Galen wants a meeting, but—"
"Miles?" Galeni's voice came back at last. It sounded rather strained.
"Yes."
"The private we'd sent to be driver/guard called in about ten minutes ago. He'd spelled Ivan, attending on Milady, while Ivan went to piss. When Ivan didn't come back in twenty minutes, the driver went to look for him. Spent thirty minutes hunting—the Horticulture Hall is huge, and mobbed tonight—before he reported back to us. How did you know?"
"I think I've got hold of the other end. Do you recognize whose style of doing business this is?"
Galeni swore.
"Quite. Look. I don't care how you do it, but I want you to meet me in fifty minutes at the Thames Tidal Barrier, Section Six. Pack at least a stunner, and get away preferably without alerting Destang. We have an appointment with your father and my brother."