Nightside City

The cyborg took the apartment door for his post, first watching out, then watching in, in quick, steady alternation; good, solid work.

"Now, Mis' Paul Orchid," I said. "We have a few things to get straight."

He didn't say anything. He couldn't, with the gun where it was. His eyes widened a little, though, and I think it was only then, when he heard my voice, that he recognized me. I looked pretty different with just a thin fuzz on the top of my head, instead of real hair, and with hardly any eyebrows.

Besides, he'd thought I was dead.

"First off," I said, "I know why you tried to kill me. I know all about the scam you're ru

He made a noise, but I wasn't finished.

"Now, you may be recording this. You may think you've got me on charges of trespassing, and assault, and terroristic threatening. You may even be right. But, you stupid son of a bitch, I've got you for kidnapping and attempted murder even if I don't give Nakada the code on your program. Did you really think I was so dumb I didn't have any security you didn't bypass? I have full-spectrum authentic vid of you and Bobo carting me out to the cab and sending me east over the crater wall. I have witnesses. I won't even mention that I have all the evidence I need in my head and in the cab itself. And it's all on record in a dozen places where you can't get at it."

He made a sort of a squeak. I rammed the gun against his teeth. "Now," I said, "if we've got it all very clear as to what the basis for negotiation is-which is, that I'm in charge, I know what's going on, and I've got you a hell of a lot tighter than you've got me-then I can let you up and we can talk business. What do you say?"

He squeaked again and tried to nod.

I had been kneeling on top of him, my face centimeters from his; now I backed off and got up.

"One more thing," I said, while he was picking himself up and fastening his pants. "If we do wind up pressing charges against each other, I want you to know that I didn't like the dayside at all, and I do hold grudges. I'm big on revenge. If you go to trial and they convict-and by god they should, with what I've got on record-then I've got my victim's privilege coming, and I have it all picked out. I had time to think about it out there in the sun, plenty of time. I want your balls cut off, permanently and without anesthetic. Drastic, I know, but for kidnapping and attempted murder I think I could get it. You just keep that in mind while we talk, okay?"

Actually, I didn't really think I'd ask for that, but it made one hell of a good threat for someone like Orchid.

He nodded, rubbing his jaw.

He thought I had more to say, but I waited. It was his turn.

"All right, Hsing, what do you want?" he asked at last.

"It's about time, damn it, that you bothered to ask me that before you started giving me trouble. It's simple enough. But I'm going to keep you in suspense until you answer a question for me. Just who did you think hired me?"

He stared, then blinked. Those fancy eyes of his looked stupid when they blinked. "Ah…" he said. "I thought the New York…"

He let it trail off.

I'd been expecting something like that, but I still couldn't really believe it. The adrenaline I'd built up in tackling Rigmus got to me, with no symbiote to cut it back, and I lost control. I shoved the gun under his nose. "You stupid, worthless piece of shit!" I screamed at him. "You coprophagous cretin! The New York wouldn't touch me with a goddamn run of scrubware! Don't you know anything? Are you too dumb to ask anyone a simple question? I can't get work in the Trap. I haven't been able to for years!"

He stammered something, but I wasn't listening. He was backed against the bed, his knees starting to buckle as my gun forced him back.

"I wasn't investigating you, or Nakada, or the Ipsy-I was hired to find out why somebody was trying to collect rent in the West End! I was hired by a bunch of squatters, you poor fool! That's all! You could swindle Nakada out of her liver, and I wouldn't have cared, if you hadn't hassled the squatters out there! You… you…"

I ran out of words and felt my finger tightening on the trigger; I forced it to loosen, forced myself to calm down. I stepped back and lowered the gun, and then I took a deep breath.

He sat down on the bed. "So what do you want?" he asked, his voice unsteady.

"It's simple," I told him. "I want you to stop hassling me. I want you to stop hassling the squatters, even if it means you have to pay Nakada's rents out of your share of the take from your scam. I want guarantees on both of those, recorded with the city and with the cops-we can word it so we don't have to incriminate anybody. I want it understood that if you ever come near me again I'm going to use this gun, without warning, and plead self-defense with those kidnapping records to back me up. I want all of that from both you and Rigmus, and if you can get it, from Doc Lee and the others at the Ipsy. If you can't get it from them, tell me, and I'll go talk it over with them. I know your scheme to stop the city is phony, and you can tell them that I know, and I can prove it. I don't want them trying any stupid demonstrations for Nakada-if you can't string her any farther just with words, then take your money and exit, don't try and push your luck, or I'll see that you regret it. And I want you to know that if you try to kill me again, even if you succeed, you're dead meat. I'm not stupid enough to make a play like this without backup, not when you've taken one shot at me already. These three aren't the only friends I've got. You got all that?"

He nodded. "I've got it."

"Any problem with any of it?"

"No," he said, and he shook his head. "No problem."

I smiled. "There!" I said. "That wasn't so bad, was it? There is one more little detail, but we'll get to that in a minute. First I want to see you make those guarantees I mentioned." I pointed toward a nearby screen and jack. "Go to it."

He did. I think I'd made an impression; he didn't try anything at all, did it all up properly. The contracts didn't mention reasons-they just stated that Paul Orchid undertook to remove himself and any agents in his employ from all self-initiated contact with Carlisle Hsing and with all persons resident within a half-kilometer radius of the intersection of Western and Wall. Breach of contract would be punishable to the fullest extent of the law-and in Nightside City, with its casino-based economy, that was plenty.

The muscle with the claws dragged Rigmus in, more or less conscious, jacked him in, and had him thumb his copies of the same agreements.

Then Orchid called the Ipsy and relayed my messages to Doc Lee. "She means it," he told them.

And I did mean it, every word of it, except the bit about the victim's privilege.

Lee seemed shaken, but he swallowed and smiled and agreed, then put it on record over the com. Each of the five others then took a turn doing the same. Nobody gave me any back talk this time.

When that was taken care of I said, "All right, Orchid, just one more detail, and you and your woman can get back to what you were doing, if I haven't spoiled the mood."

The woman made a noise, but I ignored it. This wasn't her business. The muscle with fangs still had his gun at her throat, and that was fine with me. I didn't know anything about her; for all I knew, if he hadn't had the gun there, she might have jumped me. Of course, attacking me would have been stupid, but I had serious doubts about the good sense of anyone I found in bed with Paulie Orchid-particularly someone dressed like that. Her outfit was mostly greens, which went nicely with her skin but clashed with the room she was in, and it floated off in various directions, giving fleeting glimpses of bare flesh-not exactly your practical garment.