the Olympus health spa. I'm assuming this is something important. Delia doesn't usually disturb me for anything less, but the Hadenman impressed her.' He looked Moon over thoughtfully. 'If you're looking to make some quick money, I've got several regulars who'd pay good money to take on an augmented man in the ring.'
'Thanks,' said Moon, 'but I tend to break things when I play.'
Sefka blinked at the inhuman voice, then turned back to Owen. 'So what can I do for you?'
'We're looking for Jobe Ironhand,' said Hazel, just a little breathlessly. 'It's really important that we talk to him.'
Sefka frowned. 'You had me called away from my work just for that? What the hell do you want with him?'
'We rather assumed he was the owner or business partner,' said Owen, and Sefka smiled unpleasantly.
'Hardly. You want Jobe, he's out back doing his chores. You can talk to him if you want, but don't keep him from his work. Come and see me when you're finished. You all look like you could use a little weight on your frames in the right places.'
Owen frowned. 'Won't Ironhand mind us just walking in on him?'
'It's not his place to mind,' said Sefka. 'He's only the janitor, after all. You'll find him through that door, second on the right and down the corridor. When you're finished with him, tell him the shower floors still need cleaning.'
He nodded to them all briefly and turned and left, disappearing through the far door. Owen was a little surprised the floor didn't shake beneath him when he moved. Hazel watched Sefka go with hungry eyes. Owen felt a little irritated. Sefka wasn't that special. Probably had muscles where his brains should be.
'Maybe we should see him afterward,' said Hazel. 'I'd just love to put my body in his hands.'
'If you could control your animal lusts for a moment,' Owen said icily, 'we really ought to find this Jobe and sort out what's going on here. The Abraxus must have got it wrong. Perhaps Random is someone else here at the spa.'
'Give me an hour alone with that body, and I'd show him some animal lusts he'd never forget,' said Hazel.
'Muscles aren't everything,' said Moon.
'How true,' said Hazel. 'It's not just his muscles I'm interested in.'
'I wonder if this place has cold showers,' said Owen.
'Let's go find Jobe Ironhand,' said Moon diplomatically. 'Maybe then we'll find out what a living legend is doing working as a janitor.'
'It's regular work,' said Hazel. 'Maybe the pay's good.'
Moon looked around him. 'It would have to be.'
Hazel shrugged. 'Even a professional rebel probably has to turn his hand to some honest work now and again to put food on the table between rebellions.'
'He must be working undercover,' Owen decided. 'Staying out of sight while Imperial agents are searching for him. It makes sense.'
He set off for the far door without waiting for the others to agree with him. The door led into a tiled corridor which branched in difference directions according to whether you wanted the signposted weights room, the steam room, or the showers. Owen took the second turning on the right, as directed. According to the handwritten sign on the wall it led to the locker rooms. Owen led the way at a brisk walk and tried not to think about the implications of what he'd been told. Jack Random,
The locker room looked like any other locker room, bare and functional, with a smell of perspiration and liniment. Most of the lockers stood open and empty, suggesting that the spa was going through a quiet time. As they moved further into the room, the air thickened with the scent of cheap disinfectant. The door at the far end opened, and a man entered carrying a mop and bucket. He was about five foot six and looked to be in his late sixties, with a lined face and thinning gray hair. He wore baggy overalls that looked as though they'd been made for someone rather larger, and he looked like he'd missed more than his fair share of meals lately. His hands were trembling, and his face had a pale, unhealthy look.
A wave of relief passed through Owen. Whoever this was, he clearly wasn't Jack Random. This half-pint in saggy overalls probably wouldn't even know which end of a sword to stab you with. Presumably a spa this size needed more than one janitor, and this was the other one. The janitor stared blankly at Owen and his companions, his watery eyes straining against the gloom.
'What are you doing back here? Locker room's closed.'
'Sorry to bother you,' said Owen graciously. 'We're looking for Jobe Ironhand. Do you know where we might find him?'
The janitor blinked at him. 'That's me. I'm Jobe Ironhand. What can I do for you?'
Hazel looked at Moon. 'Didn't you just know he was going to say that?'
Owen felt his jaw dropping and closed his mouth with a snap. There had to be a mistake. This couldn't be Random. The age was all wrong, for a start. Jack Random was a professional warrior, respected on a hundred worlds. This broken down old wreck barely had the strength to hold onto his bucket and mop. It couldn't be him.
'This can't be him,' said Hazel. 'I mean… look at him.'
'For once, I agree with you,' Owen said heavily. 'Someone's been leading us astray. Let's get out of here.'
'I thought you wanted Jack Random,' said Tobias Moon. 'This is him.'
Owen and Hazel looked at the Hadenman. 'What makes you think that?' said Hazel.
'I fought beside him in the rebellion on Cold Rock. A few augmented men had joined his army for the experience, and I was one of them. I saw Random several times at staff meetings, and I never forget a face.'
Hazel looked back at the janitor. 'This bag of bones faced down the Imperial High Guard on Cold Rock? Give me a break.'
'Oh, hell,' said the janitor. 'You'd better come with me.'
They all looked at him, startled. His voice had… changed. He put his bucket and mop down, and produced a battered silver flask from a pocket in his overalls. He rescrewed the cap with some difficulty and took a long drink. His Adam's apple bobbed jerkily in his scrawny unshaven neck. He lowered the flask, sighed deeply and carefully refastened the cap. His hands didn't seem to be shaking nearly as much now, and his gaze was sharp and direct. He looked Owen and Hazel over, and then he turned away and disappeared back through the far door, leaving the others to hurry after him.
He wandered down the corridor without looking back to see if they were following and pushed open a door almost hidden in shadows. He stood back and gestured for the three of them to enter. They did so, just a little diffidently, and found themselves in a boiler room that had also been pressed into service as living quarters. Apart from the boiler, most of the space was taken up with a long cot covered with disheveled blankets. Ironhand sank down onto it with a relieved sigh. Owen looked around for a chair, but there wasn't any.
'Shut the door and sit down,' the janitor said testily. 'You make the room look untidy.'
Owen shut the door and sat on the floor, drawing his legs awkwardly up beneath him. Hazel sank easily into a full lotus beside him. Moon stayed standing at parade rest. Owen looked hard at the janitor, trying hard to see some sign of the legendary warrior in this beaten down little man. The janitor looked back at him with a surprisingly steady gaze, and Owen slowly discerned that the man sitting opposite him didn't look nearly as unimpressive as he had before. His back was straight and his hands had stopped shaking, and there was a new strength in his unshaven face.
'I thought I'd hidden myself pretty well,' he said grimly. 'Suppose you start by telling me who gave you my name?'
'The Abraxus Information Center,' said Owen, and the janitor grunted irritably.
'Those damn telepaths get everywhere. Looks like I'm going to have to move again. Can't say I'll be sorry to go. The place is a dump, and the work stinks. They charge me rent for this room, you know. You wouldn't think they'd have the nerve, would you? Still, I've stayed in worse in my time. Spent most of my adult life on the run, one way or another, and people can always tell when the pressure's on you. That's when accommodation suddenly gets scarce, friends turn their back on you and the price of everything goes through the roof.' He broke off to take
