The Thousand Emperors

pointed out. ‘What do you intend to do now?’

‘Just what I was going to do anyway,’ he said, feeling the first curdling threads of betrayal knot themselves around his stomach.

‘Then you’d better start now,’ said Maxwell, ‘because they’re going to be here any second.’

Luc nodded tightly. ‘Good luck.’

‘My luck ran out long ago, Mr Gabion,’ Maxwell replied with a sigh. ‘If I had any to spare, I’d let you have it. You’re going to need it.’

Luc’s data-ghost vanished from Maxwell’s side, reappearing a moment later at the far end of the library’s central atrium, and positioned slightly behind one of several pillars supporting a first-floor gallery. Local micro-relays fed him the sound of voices echoing from the high, vaulted ceiling, and he peered round the side of the pillar to see Cripps emerge from the stairwell, followed by Eleanor and the Sandoz. A library mechant came swooping down, falling into a stationary position to the one side of and slightly above Maxwell, its audio circuits open so Luc could hear everything that was said.

Cripps stepped up to Maxwell while the Sandoz hung back, their eyes scouring the library.

‘It’s been a long time, Bailey,’ said Maxwell, stepping towards him. ‘What brings you here?’

Luc saw Cripps unfasten the holster at his side. ‘Master Rachid,’ Cripps said over his shoulder, ‘tell your men to search everywhere until you find Gabion.’

Luc pulled his data-ghost back into the shadows, not wanting it to be seen just yet, and watched as Rachid ordered four of the soldiers to the nearest elevator platforms. At the same time, he fired a command to Maxwell’s flier. It lifted up from the frozen concrete, the tarpaulin that had been covering it falling away as it rose. Within seconds it was accelerating towards the clouds covering the nearby mountain peaks.

‘To be honest, Javier,’ said Cripps in that same moment, turning back to Maxwell, ‘it’s not been nearly long enough.’ Eleanor remained silent by his side, her expression pale and nervous. ‘Why don’t you save us the time and trouble and tell us where Luc Gabion is?’

Maxwell affected mild confusion. ‘Who?’

Cripps’ face darkened. ‘Don’t waste my time. We both know Zelia de Almeida sent him here. Where is he?’

Maxwell affected a tone of distant curiosity. ‘Why are you looking for this man?’

‘Zelia has been conspiring to assassinate Father Cheng and destabilize the Tian Di – a conspiracy I have reason to believe you are part of. Gabion is a Benarean Black Lotus agent under her command. Now tell me where he is.’

‘Or what? You’ll kill me? Surely you can do better than that.’

‘I know where every one of your backups are located,’ Cripps barked. ‘Don’t think I would hesitate to wipe every damn one.’

‘It makes no difference,’ Maxwell replied with a shrug. ‘I have no idea who or what you’re talking about.’

‘Fuck it,’ said Cripps, sliding the pistol from its holster and shooting Maxwell at close enough range that the blast very nearly decapitated him. Blood hissed as it splashed against the floor and nearby furniture.

Cripps turned to the two remaining Sandoz and muttered something indistinct as Javier Maxwell’s body crumpled to the floor. A moment later one of the Sandoz opened fire on the library mechant. It jerked backwards under the sudden assault, and Luc lost contact with it. He saw its blackened remains thud to the floor.

‘Hey!’

Luc glanced up from behind the pillar to see a Sandoz staring down at him from the upper gallery. He darted backwards, moving fast, and a loud, hollow thud filled the air at the same moment that a crater appeared where his data-ghost had been standing only a moment before.

Maxwell had allowed Luc to upload a map of the library once he had explained his intentions, and he now retreated towards a doorway leading out of the atrium and into a maze of reading rooms. He ran past low tables and couches and through several more doors connecting each room to the next, hearing muffled shouts and heavy footfalls following not far behind.

By now, Maxwell’s flier had very nearly reached low orbit. Luc felt his weight begin to fall away. He squeezed his eyes shut, sweat trickling down his brow, and focused on what was happening in Maxwell’s library, already some hundreds of kilometres behind him.

‘Gabion!’ Cripps’ amplified voice boomed through the library as he ran. ‘My men are seeding this place with explosives. You can either surrender, or go down with it. Your choice.’

Go to hell, thought Luc, guiding his data-ghost into a corridor lined with yet more doors. He checked Maxwell’s map and saw that the corridor joined another up ahead to form a T-junction. That second passageway angled back at both ends to wrap around the reading rooms.

Another Sandoz appeared from around the corner of the T-junction, taking aim.

Luc dived through a door to one side, finding himself inside a reading room indistinguishable from any of the others, then ran through the door set into its opposite wall. He could hear the Sandoz stamping after him.

He passed through more doors and more rooms until he came out into a corridor, and saw an elevator platform tucked into an alcove to his left, right where he’d known it would be. Heavy, muffled footsteps came slamming through the reading rooms behind him, getting closer with every second.

In the blink of an eye, Luc was standing on the first floor gallery, looking down at Eleanor, who hadn’t moved. There was no sign of Cripps.