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"I know they've done studies on the cost of taking her out," Cassius said. "Us, too, for that matter. The base plan was to saturate her defenses with missile fire. Go for overload and totalkill. They'd love to have us open the door and let them get their hands on all that sweet information."
"Arrange it," Storm ordered.
"You sure? He takes the place and the government gets a hammerlock on every corporation in this end of Confederation."
"I know," Storm said. "I know. No matter what way you go, it's no-win."
"What about Blake Mining?" Helmut asked. "They've been crying like babies for two weeks. I got a full-time guy in Communications giving them the stall."
"Keep him on the job. Meantime, start your preliminary movement. Surprise them. I'll be along as soon as Medical turns me loose."
"One more thing," Wulf said, as Mouse started to roll his father away.
"What?" Storm snapped. "What the hell other bad news can you hit me with?"
"Good, bad, who knows?" Wulf asked. "A message from Lucifer. He's a little embarrassed. Turns out his wife is an agent. For Blake, of all outfits."
"So? Does it matter anymore?"
"Maybe not. But answer me this, Colonel. Why was she planted on us? She hooked up with Lucifer before any of this broke. Which to me means she can't have anything to do with the Shadowline."
"Wheels within wheels," Cassius observed. He laid a gentle hand on Mouse's shoulder. "Some of us get born into the game. The wheels turn each other. Sometimes they never find out why."
"Ach!" Storm growled. "Take me down, Mouse."
The Fortress was a citadel of gloom. There wasn't a smile in the place. The Legion was a worm wriggling on a hook. A big fish was coming up to bite.
"It looks hopeless, doesn't it, Father?" Mouse asked.
"So it does, Mouse. So it does. But maybe we'll fool them all. It's always darkest before the Storm."
"Is that a pun?"
"Me? Make a joke of the family name? Horrors."
Thirty-Nine: 3028-3031 AD
Moira strained to get used to the name she was supposed to assume at Weideranders. She tried even harder to become a genuinely creative artist. She failed abysmally. She had absolutely no talent for anything but acting.
Blake grumbled, "I guess that'll have to do."
"Do? What's wrong with it? It's legitimate. And dramatist White says Janos Kasafirek... "
"I said all right." Blake smiled. "He's been at me harder than you have, pretty lady. He says it's your future."
She was thrilled. She would really get to do what she wanted... She began cramming classical drama, the Old Earth classics, especially the Elizabethans. She was mad for Shakespeare. Dramatist White actually broke down and told her she played an inspired Ophelia.
She was floating. Her mission was going to give her a chance to realize her wildest dreams. She would get to study with the great Kasafirek.
"Slight change in plans," Blake said one day not long before she was due to leave. "They've tightened security in Twilight. You're going to leave here as Pollya
She was to be billed as the touring daughter of Amantea Eight, an under-minister in Confederation's Ministry of Commercial Affairs. The lady actually existed and was obscure enough to cause local officials some concern. The obscure career people were the real powers in Luna Command. The identity of surnames was serendipitous.
Moira thought the going would be easy once she left Blackworld. The character was more nearly the real her than the one she portrayed for Edgeward. Her daydreams often revolved around an acting career. She never had given that serious consideration before because Edgeward had such little use for actresses. She had not thought of leaving home except to go stalking after Plainfield.
It came time to leave. She went to the crawler locks reluctantly. This would be the end of one life and the begi
"Boss told me to go with you."
She spotted Blake, ran to his chair, gave him a quick little kiss. "Thank you. For Albin. I won't be nearly so scared."
"I thought not. And I thought we might learn something in Twilight. He knows the city. Be good, Moira. And be careful. You're going to be involved with some strange, dangerous men."
"I'll be all right."
She enjoyed the ride to Twilight. She had never been outdome before. She saw her world from an entirely new perspective.
Bleak ghosts of midnight landscapes slid by the crawler. Crewmen made garrulous by her beauty and exotic skin color provided her with a ru
She reached Twilight in a bright and cheerful mood. It quickly soured.
At first glance Twilight Town appeared to be a clone of Edgeward City. She started to say so to Korando. The human factor intervened.
Two hard-faced policemen began checking papers as the passengers started shedding their hotsuits. They were especially nasty to Edgewarders, but only slightly more civil to the Nighter crew and the citizens of Darkside Landing. They were revelers in petty power, the sadists who gave police a bad image everywhere. Pollya
"You," she snapped, using words as gently as a torturer uses small knives. "You with the face like a pig's butt. Yes. You. The one with the nose like stepped-in dog shit. We know your mother made a mistake when she decided against the abortion. You don't have to prove it. Go beat your wife if you have to mistreat somebody in order to feel like a man."
Korando flashed a desperate "Shut up!" look. She just smiled.
The policemen were stu
The man she had abused gri
Malice turned to uncertainty. He looked at her, at her travel pass. White. Meant offworlder. Youth and sex might mean she was the brat of power.
"These better be good, bitch," he muttered to himself.
"Give them here, Humph," his partner said. "And calm down."
"Can you people read?" Pollya
She expected more trouble than they gave her. The one officer became very solicitous once he saw the seals on her pass. "Be cool, Humph. This fluff's straight out of Luna Command."
Humph grabbed the pass, flipped through it. His eyes widened slightly. He thrust the booklet at Pollya
"I do believe you take after your father." She was a little frightened now. She had to concentrate to maintain her snottiness. "He never forgave your mother either."
And, before he could reply, in a gentler tone, she added, "A little courtesy doesn't hurt, officer. If you're nice to people, they'll usually be nice to you." She stalked away.
Korando came over while she was eating a snack at the station canteen. "That wasn't very smart, Polly. But I appreciate it. He forgot all about me."
For possible watching eyes they pretended to become acquainted. Korando told her he was going to stick a little tighter than he had pla
And stick he did, like a limpet. So tight that he got no chance to interview Blake's agent. He stayed beside her until he had seen her enrolled in the Modelmog.
The trip thither was an adventure, Edgeward having been her whole universe and most of his. The space flies were like a visit to a dome devoted to happy times. The big Star Liners were space-going hotels.