Wxakgini increased the ship’s speed. “Fifteen minutes, yes, sir,” he announced.
Cole then ordered his other three ships to make their way to the wormhole. “Now let’s see if they bought it,” he said.
The Navy continued closing on the
Teddy R
for the next seven minutes, then eight, then ten.
“We will enter the wormhole in five minutes,” announced Wxakgini.
And then, just as the
Korabota
disappeared into the wormhole, Forrice, studying the sensor holoscreens over Domak’s shoulder, gave a hoot of triumph.
“They’re shearing off!” he said.
“
That’s
a relief!” said Cole as the last of the Navy ships changed course and headed back toward Meadowbrook. “I think when we retire from the mercenary business, Commander Jacovic and I have a definite future in the theater.”
“I disagree, sir,” said Christine.
“Oh?”
“After today, I see you as snake-oil salesmen.”
27
The
Teddy R
and its companion ships made it back to Singapore Station without any further problems. Cole declared a three-day shore leave for all but a rotating skeleton staff, made sure the galleys were re-supplied, and, accompanied by Sharon Blacksmith and David Copperfield, he soon made his way to Duke’s Place. Forrice contacted the Molarian whorehouse, found out that two of the new prostitutes had come into season, and went off to pay them a visit, promising to rejoin Cole’s party within two hours.
The casino was crowded as usual, and Cole noticed a certain tension as he entered the place. He spotted Csonti sitting at a
Khalimesh
table, looked around for Val, saw her at another table, and decided everyone was surprised to see both him and the redheaded Valkyrie alive and in the same place. Clearly they anticipated a fight, but Cole paid her no attention, and wandered over to where the Platinum Duke sat in isolated splendor, surveying this portion of his empire.
“I’m glad to see you all survived,” he said as Cole, Sharon, and Copperfield approached him. “Have a seat. The first drink’s on the house.”
“Thanks,” said Cole. “I’ll just have a beer.”
“An Antarean brandy,” said Sharon.
“And I’ll have a glass of 1955 A.D.
Dom Perignon
, preferably from the north slope,” added Copperfield.
“Come on, David,” said the Duke wearily. “No games.”
“I was quite serious,” said Copperfield. “However, until you see fit to properly supply your cellar, I’ll have a Cygnian cognac.”
“How did it go?” asked the Duke, as the table transmitted the drink orders to the bar. “Were you able to get your two crewmen out?”
Cole nodded. “Yeah. One’s back on duty, the other’s recuperating in our infirmary.”
“He did more than that,” said Copperfield proudly. “He evacuated the entire hospital station.”
“I wouldn’t think the whole station would fit on your ships,” commented the Duke.
“It’s a long story,” said Cole. “I’m sure Val has told you her side of it.”
The Duke shook his head. “She hasn’t even stopped by to say hello.”
“Well, with her and Csonti both here, I think we can assume they won,” said Cole as the drinks arrived.
“I wish Csonti would go somewhere else,” said the Duke. “He’s been drinking and drugging since he got back, and he’s pretty disruptive even when he’s sober.”
“So throw him out,” said Sharon.
“The only person who can throw him out is your Valkyrie, and she’s working for him.”
“She’s not
our
Valkyrie,” said Cole. “And I very much doubt that she’s working for Csonti now that they’re back from the Prometheus system.”
Val suddenly noticed them, got up from her table, and began walking over.
“You’re about to find out,” observed the Duke.
Cole watched Val approach, and stood up to greet her when she reached the table.
“Please sit down and join us,” said the Duke.
“Thanks, I will,” replied Val.
“How did it go?” asked Cole after she sat down.
“We won.”
“That much is obvious,” replied Cole. “After all, you’re here.”
“We lost six ships,” she continued. “That damned planet was better defended than we’d thought.”
“How much damage did you do?”
She shrugged. “As much as we had to. Csonti didn’t want to kill everyone. He just wanted to make sure they changed their minds about not paying their annual tribute.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong,” said Cole, “but didn’t you help us stop someone from doing just that on Bannister II?”
“Yes,” said Val. “And we were well paid for it. This time it was the extortionist doing the paying.”
“And you don’t see any difference?”
“We’re supposed to be mercenaries, remember?” Val shot back. “That means our services are for hire. It’s not our job to make moral judgments.”
“If we don’t, who will?”
“You know something?” she said. “This is the same attitude that made you a lousy pirate.
You
were the one who decided we were going to give up pirating and become mercenaries. Why don’t you look the word up in your computer’s dictionary?”
“I was
there
, Val. The hospital station wasn’t threatening anyone, and it had no defenses. There wasn’t a weapon, even a handgun, on the whole damned thing, just three hundred very sick Men and aliens, and some dedicated doctors.”
“You were there?” she said, surprised. “I never saw you.”
“We finished evacuating the station before you got there. You didn’t know that, and you blew it to pieces.”
“Not me,” she said. “I landed and took over the parliament building, or whatever they call the damned thing.”
“
Someone
in your fleet hit it. If we hadn’t gotten there first, you’d have killed four hundred people who had no means of defending themselves. Is
that
the kind of mercenary you want to be?”
“Damn it, Cole! I told you I didn’t do it!”
“And I told you the guy you work for did it, or ordered it done.”
“I’m not my brother’s keeper.”
“Any guy who goes after a hospital sure as hell needs one,” said Cole.
“You’re not paying attention,” said Val. “I had nothing to do with the fucking hospital station! I was fighting hand-to-hand on the planet.”
“Thereby freeing someone else to blow up the hospital station.”
“Someone else!” she snapped. “Not me! Were you responsible for every bomb the Navy dropped on Teroni civilians?”
“I don’t think I’m getting through to you at all,” replied Cole.
“I made three million Maria Theresa dollars for three days’ work,” said Val. “You have four hundred people who owe you their lives. How much did
you
make?”
“Not a single credit.”
“What happened on Prometheus III was going to happen whether I helped Csonti or not. There’s probably five thousand more people alive today
because
I helped end the action sooner. If I hadn’t signed on, someone else would have. This place”—she waved a hand to indicate the whole of Singapore Station—“is lousy with people who will hire out to do just about anything.”
“When we got the
Pegasus
back for you from the Hammerhead Shark, do you remember why you chose to stay on the
Teddy R
instead?” said Cole.
Val shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “Situations change,” she said.
“Some things change, some don’t,” said Cole. “You said you were going to stay because your crew had sold you out, while mine had given up their careers and even their citizenship for me, and you wanted to find out how to inspire that kind of loyalty.” He paused. “They didn’t do it because I side with extortionists. They didn’t do it because I ally myself with people who destroy hospitals. They didn’t do it because—”
“You’re Navy,” she interrupted. “You were all trained one way. I wasn’t. Damn it, you said we were going to be mercenaries. Well,
I’m
a mercenary. What are you?”
Cole was about to answer when there was a sudden commotion across the room.
“What the hell’s going on there?” said the Duke.
Suddenly bodies were being flung in every direction, and they could hear Csonti’s deep bass voice bellowing in rage.
“He’s destroying my place!” exclaimed the Duke, as a pair of tables crashed to the floor under the weight of flying bodies.
“He’ll calm down in a few minutes,” said Val. “He gets like that when he drinks too much.”
“In a few minutes?” repeated the Platinum Duke. “In a few minutes he’ll have killed a dozen people and destroyed most of my tables!” He looked around the table. “Will you back me up?”
“What’ll you pay me to take him?” asked Val.
Before the Duke could answer her, Cole got to his feet. “Keep your money. I’ll ride shotgun for you.”
“You think
you
can beat him in a fair fight?” said Val, amused.
“I don’t intend to find out,” replied Cole. He and the Duke walked across the casino to where Csonti was wrecking havoc. When they arrived at their destination, Cole adjusted his sonic pistol’s strength down from Lethal to Stun. “That’s enough,” he said in even tones.
Csonti looked up from the carnage. “Who the hell are you?”
“Why don’t we sit down quietly and I’ll be happy to tell you?” suggested Cole.
“Because I’m enjoying myself right here!” bellowed Csonti.
“I want you out of here!” demanded the Duke. “I expect you to pay for the damage, and from this day forward, you are barred from this casino.”
Csonti picked up a chair and hurled it at the Duke, who barely sidestepped it.
“That’s it!” said the Duke. “You are no longer welcome on Singapore Station!”
“Who’s going to put me off?” roared Csonti. “You?”
“No,” said Cole, firing his screecher. “Me.”
Csonti staggered backward as the force of the almost-solid sound stuck him. Blood began trickling from both ears and he seemed suddenly disoriented. He fell heavily to the floor, unconscious, a second later.
“Where’s your jail?” Cole asked the Duke.
“We don’t have one.”
“Wonderful,” muttered Cole. Then, to the assembled patrons: “Is there anyone here who serves with him? Anyone who can take him back to his ship?”
Three men at the
jabob
table indicated they were part of Csonti’s crew.
“But I’ll be damned if I’m going to carry him back to the ship,” said one. “I don’t want to be around when he wakes up.”
“Me neither,” said one of his companions.
“Hell, he just paid me off,” said Val, walking over. “I suppose I can take him to his ship in exchange for that.”
She reached Csonti’s huge, muscular body, picked it up as if it was a feather, hefted it over her shoulder, and carried the unconscious warlord out of the casino.
“These five are going to need medical attention,” said Sharon, indicating three Men, a Lodinite, and a Mollutei that were strewn across the floor. “I suppose I might as well have them brought to the
Teddy R
’s infirmary and see if that doctor we picked up from the Prometheus station is any good.”
“Yeah,” assented Cole. “No sense having him work on anyone real important, like us, until we know if we can trust him.”
“I assume that was a joke?” said Sharon.
Cole nodded. “But a true one.”
“Whatever that means.” Sharon contacted the ship and ordered five airsleds, then went around the casino recruiting volunteers to carry the injured parties back to the
Teddy R
.
“He’ll be back, you know,” said Cole as he and the Duke returned to the table.
“I know,” replied the Duke. “But at least he’ll be sober. I hope.”
Cole suddenly noticed David Copperfield crawling out from under the table.
“Thanks for protecting the floor, David,” he said sardonically.
“I’m a businessman, not a fighter,” replied Copperfield with as much dignity as he could muster.
“Did you get much business done down there?” asked Cole.
“I have never denied my limitations,” said Copperfield. “But it is unkind of you to refer to them, Steerforth.”
“I apologize, David,” said Cole. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“One friend cannot offend another,” replied Copperfield. “But he can
hurt
him with an unkind remark.”
“I’ll keep it in mind.”
“I assume you took care of that ruffian?”