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«To the best of my knowledge.»
«Exactly twenty of these notes were minted last year. All are on deposit in Terran treasuries. How did you get hold of these two?»
«Mr. Sheffield?»
«Who else? How did you get hold of these notes?»
«Bribery.»
«Why?»
«I thought at the time that it might be convenient to have them available.»
«For what? More bribery?»
«If legal fees are bribery.»
«I set my own fees,» Sheffield said. He tossed the notes back to Foyle. «You can produce them again if I decide to take your case and if I decide I've been worth that to you. What's your problem?»
«Criminal.»
«Don't be too specific yet. And . . .
«I want to give myself up.»
«To the police?»
«Yes.»
«For what crime?»
«Crimes.»
«Name two.»
«Robbery and rape.»
«Name two more.»
«Blackmail and murder.»
«Any other items?»
«Treason and genocide.»
«Does that exhaust your catalogue?»
«I think so. We may be able to unveil a few more when we get specific.»
«Been busy, haven't you? Either you're the Prince of Villains or insane.»
«I've been both, Mr. Sheffield.»
«Why do you want to give yourself up?»
«I've come to my senses,» Foyle answered bitterly.
«I don't mean that. A criminal never surrenders while he's ahead. You're obviously ahead. What's the reason?»
«The most damnable thing that ever happened to a man. I picked up a rare disease called conscience.»
Sheffield snorted. «That can often turn fatal.»
«It is fatal. I've realized that I've been behaving like an animal.»
«And now you want to purge yourself?»
«No, it isn't that simple,» Foyle said grimly. «That's why I've come to you . . for major surgery. The man who upsets the morphology of society is a cancer. The man who gives his own decisions priority over society is a criminal. But there are chain reactions. Purging yourself with punishment isn't enough. Everything's got to be set right. I wish to God everything could be cured just by sending me back to Gouffre Martel or shooting me. . .»
«Back?» Sheffield cut in keenly.
«Shall I be specific?»
«Not yet. Go on. You sound as though you've got ethical growing pains.»
«That's it exactly.» Foyle paced in agitation, crumpling the banknotes with nervous fingers. «This is one hell of a mess, Sheffield. There's a girl that's got to pay for a vicious, rotten crime. The fact that I love her…No, never mind that. She has a cancer that's got to be cut out . . . like me. Which means I'll have to add informing to my catalogue. The fact that I'm giving myself up too doesn't make any difference.»
«What is all this mish-mash?»
Foyle turned on Sheffield. «One of the New Year's bombs has just walked into your office, and it's saying: 'Put it all right. Put me together again and send me home. Put together the city I flattened and the people I shattered.' That's what I want to hire you for. I don't know how most criminals feel, but…”
«Sensible, matter-of-fact, like good businessmen who've had bad luck,» Sheffield answered promptly. «That's the usual attitude of the professional criminal. It's obvious you're an amateur, if you're a criminal at all. My dear sir, do be sensible. You come here, extravagantly accusing yourself of robbery, rape, murder, genocide, treason, and God knows what else. D'you expect me to take you seriously?»
Bu
«What? Who?» Sheffield demanded.
«Don't you know him, Chief?» Bu
More than a year ago, Regis Sheffield had been hypnotically fulminated and triggered for this moment. His body had been prepared to respond without thought, and the response was lightning. Sheffield struck Foyle in half a second; temple, throat and groin. It had been decided not to depend on weapons since none might be available.
Foyle fell. Sheffield turned on Bu
A strange cry was torn from Foyle's lips; the tattooing showed livid on his face. Before the stu
He arrived in the middle of the Four Mile Circus in Old St. Pat's. It was a daring but calculated move. This was the last place he would be expected to go, and the first place where he might expect to locate the PyrE. He was prepared to deal with anyone he might meet in the cathedral, but the interior of the circus was empty.
The vacant tents ballooning up in the nave looked tattered; they had already been looted. Sheffield plunged into the first he saw. It was Fourmyle's traveling library, filled with hundreds of books and thousands of glittering novel-beads. The Jack-jaunters were not interested in literature. Sheffield threw Foyle down on the floor. Only then did he take a gun from his pocket.
Foyle's eyelids fluttered; his eyes opened.
«You're drugged,» Sheffield said rapidly. «Don't try to jaunte. And don't move. I'm warning you, I'm prepared for anything.»
Dazedly, Foyle tried to rise. Sheffield instantly fired and seared his shoulder. Foyle was slammed back against the stone flooring. He was numbed and bewildered. There was a roaring in his ears and a poison coursing through his blood.
«I'm warning you,» Sheffield repeated. «I'm prepared for anything.»
«What do you want?» Foyle whispered.
«Two things. Twenty pounds of PyrE, and you. You most of all.»
«You lunatic! You damned maniac! I came into your office to give it up hand it over . . .»
«To the O.S.?»
«To the . . .what?»
«The Outer Satellites? Shall I spell it for you?»
«No. . .» Foyle muttered. «I might have known. The patriot, Sheffield, an O.S. agent. I should have known. I'm a fool.»
«You're the most valuable fool in the world, Foyle. We want you even more than the PyrE. That's an unknown to us, but we know what you are.»
«What are you talking about?»
«My God! You don't know, do you? You still don't know. You haven't an inkling.»
«Of what?»
«Listen to me,» Sheffield said in a pounding voice. «I'm taking you back two years to 'Nomad.' Understand? Back to the death of the 'Nomad.' One of our raiders finished her off and they found you aboard the wreck. The last man alive.»
«So an O.S. ship did blast 'Nomad'?»
«Yes. You don't remember?»
«I don't remember anything about that. I never could.»
«I'm telling you why. The raider got a clever idea. They'd turn you into a decoy . . . a sitting duck, understand? You were half dead, but they took you aboard and patched you up. They put you into a spacesuit and cast you adrift with your micro-wave on. You were broadcasting distress signals and mumbling for help on every wave band. The idea was, they'd lurk nearby and pick off the IP ships that came to rescue you.»
Foyle began to laugh. «I'm getting up,» he said recklessly. «Shoot again, you son of a bitch, but I'm getting up.» He struggled to his feet, clutching his shoulder. «So 'Vorga' shouldn't have picked me up anyway,» Foyle laughed. «I was a decoy. Nobody should have come near me. I was a shill, a lure, death bait….Isn't that the final irony? 'Nomad' didn't have any right to be rescued in the first place. I didn't have any right to revenge.»