第12节
didn't even know themselves!
The Clan M'Call got badly burned by The Lady. Cadillac and Clearwater
grabbed the opportunity to even the score. But it was more than
that.
They were testing me.
They wanted to see which way I'd jump when they started killing my own
kind.
'I objected- violently- but only on the grounds that the strike against
The Lady wasn't necessary. Any stronger reaction on my part would have
totally destroyed my cover. But I couldn't have stopped Clearwater
from using her magic on those Skyhawks even if I'd wanted to." He
turned to Nevill. 'When you acquire some firsthand experience of
summoners, you'll understand why.
At one point in the battle at the Heron Pool, there were fifty to sixty
samurai trying to cut her down. The guys with swords never got within
striking distance, and the arrows just bounced off this wall of light
she'd wrapped around herself."
Nevill's mouth twisted into a tight-lipped grin. 'And after all that,
some guy in a Skyhawk heading for home, clears the drum on a bunch of
breakers - and here she is.
Few dozen well-placed rounds. That's all it took."
'A fluke. A million to one chance that paid off because her mind was
engaged elsewhere,' said Steve. 'But don't worry, I know what you're
getting at." His voice hardened.
'You still think these three could have been lifted without all this
hassle. Isn't that right, major?"
Nevill caught Wallis' warning glance and held up his hands. 'Just
exercising my traditional right to engage in a free and frank exchange
of views..."
'Jake doesn't like sensitives,' explained Wallis.
Steve smiled. 'I'm not too happy about being one myself."
'I've always held there's nothing in this world that a bullet won't
cure."
It was clear from Wallis' expression that this was an old bone of
contention. 'Yes, well, you keep saying that Jake, but we both know
that the committee which is presently studying the tactical use of
psionics takes an entirely different view."
'They would, wouldn't they?" Nevill saw Wallis' brow darken. He
turned to Steve. 'So tell us - after the hit on the wagon-train, did
relations between you and Cadillac get any better...?"
'Yes. When we started our westward run he had other things to think
about. By this time he was into his 'I'm the leader of The Chosen
routine'. I went along with it. Everything was fine until we ran into
Malone, and Cadillac ran out of sake then shortly after that I got this
flash from Roz.
'Mother had put her on board Red River and had sent her north to help
neutralize Clearwater. By sending the train into Nebraska and having
it move parallel to our line of advance Mother hoped Roz would be able
to help keep my mind clear. To prevent Clearwater from doing to me
what she'd done to Kelso and Jodi."
Nevill laughed drily. 'That's why you were strip-searched before we
let you up the ramp."
'Wise move. Anyway, maybe it was a bad mistake, but I told Cadillac
that Roz had made contact and that she was on Red River. And because
of the story I'd fed him before about being pressurized into this job
by threats to her life I had to come out with this idea of trying to
rescue her. It would have seemed odd if I'd-passed up a
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity without making a positive response. I
didn't have any clear idea how it could be done, it was all off the top
of my head. But I suggested that if the M'Calls got together with
Malone's renegades - maybe in some kind of disguise - we might just be
able to pull it off."
'And how did Cadillac react?"
'He said that attacking the train was exactly what the Federation
wanted us to do. That was why they'd put Roz on board. She was the
bait that would draw me in if I had truly thrown my lot in with the
Mutes. And in the next breath he all but accused me of being prepared
to sell his people down the river in order to save her skin.
'As I said earlier, the M'Calls had already taken heavy losses in their
attack on the Lady. Cadillac wasn't going to repeat that mistake by
leading them into a trap. On the other hand, if I was