第16节

Steve stared at him. 'Sir... I don't understand."

'It's very simple." Bart laid his swagger stick down at ninety degrees

to the edge of the desk, picked up his stetson and used both hands to

position it at the correct angle on his head. He then retrieved his

stick and thwacked it against the palm of his left hand: 'As far as

they, and the rest of this base is concerned you crashed into a burning

cropfield. Bang into the middle of a whole screaming mess of Mutes

right?"

'Right..."

'So that's it. What do I have to do - spell it out? MutEs don't take

prisoners. You're dead."

'But, sin' 'There are no "buts", Stevie. Be reasonable. You can't

expect Grand Central to start rewriting Federation history just on

account of what happened to you."

Steve's satisfaction at scoring points off Bart was replaced by a

feeling of uneasiness. 'So . . . what are they planning to do with

me?"

'You mean after they get through with you at Grand Central?" Bart

spread his hands. 'That's not for me to say, Stevie. The Federation's

a big place. There's all kinds of things going on. Maybe they'll give

you a new assignment. On the other hand. who knows? I guess it all

kinda hangs on the way you shape up from here on in." Bart stepped out

from behind the desk and gripped Steve's shoulder as he went past.

'Let me give you a last piece of advice. We know all there is to know

about you.

Don't think you can fool the First Family. No one can.

You think I'm crazy ' 'Sir, I -' 'Don't interrupt me, boy. How d'you

think I got where I am? I can read you like Page One of the Manual.

You know why I had you figured out to go places? It's because I've

spotted a lot of me in you. I guess we've both got a bit of the same

little something from the President-General. You're a survivor ' Once

again, Steve went to reply.

Bart held up a warning finger. 'No. Don't deny it. It's a good thing

to be. In the world we're trying to build we need men with the

qualities you have. But don't ever make the mistake of trying to

survive at the expense of the system." He gave Steve's shoulder a

friendly pat.

'One of these days, if you ever get where you're aiming to go, you'll

see things a whole lot differently. And you'll think back to your good

old Uncle Bart and you'll say "Yup, there was a man who did what he had

to do"..."

Steve swivelled round after him and felt the chains tug at his knees.

'Sir -I' Bart paused at the door, a faint mocking smile on his face.

'... Will Jack and Annie ever know?"

Barr's eyebrows went up, lifting his eyelids clear of his cold blue

eyes as his mouth went down at the corners.

'That all depends on the First Family, Stevie." He gave him a

friendly poke with his swagger stick. it'S been mighty good talkin'

with you. Be sure and take care of yourself now, d'ya hear?"

Steve watched the door close then turned back to face the empty desk

and the blank walls with a long sigh. When he'd been up in the hills

above the Wind River in Wyoming, he had been faced with three possible

options.

One - remaining a prisoner of the Mutes and probably getting himself

killed, either because of what had happened with Clearwater or because

of his unlooked-for feud with Motor-Head, two - escaping and becoming a

renegade, a wandering outcast who, sooner or later, would die from

radiation sickness, three-returning to the Federation and a hero's

welcome. At the time, the third option had seemed like his best bet

but, up to now, it wasn't quite working out the way he'd expected.

He heard footsteps and took a deep, calming breath as the door

opened.

Boots crashed on the floor. Once again he was seized from behind and

everything went black as the hood came down over his head. There was a

metallic jangle as the chain anchoring him to the floor was

withdrawn.