stopped rejecting each other.’ Skade’s eyes flashed to Khouri. ‘Don’t even think about taking her back into your womb now. I’m afraid the two of you just aren’t remotely compatible.’
Khouri started to say something, but Clavain quickly raised his good hand, talking over her. ‘Then you are willing to negotiate,’ he said, ‘or else you wouldn’t have needed to warn her about compatibility.’
Skade’s attention remained on Khouri. ‘You can walk out of here with Aura. There should still be functional surgical tools aboard this ship. I can talk you through the Caesarean. Otherwise, I’m sure you can improvise. After all, it’s not
‘Of course.’
‘Then we’re all set. I still have neural connections with Aura’s mind. I can put her into a temporary coma until the surgery is over.’
‘I’ve found a surgical box,’ Jaccottet said, shoving a heavy black case across the ruined floor. A bas-relief caduceus stood out from its surface, rimed with frost. ‘Even if this doesn’t work, we’ve probably got all the tools we need in our own emergency kits.’
‘Open it,’ Clavain said. There was something hollow about his voice, as if he grasped something that everyone else was missing.
The box sprung open, seals hissing, divesting itself of many cunningly packed trays. Surgical instruments made of matt-white metal sat in neat foam inlays. The instruments — all looped fingerholes and precisely hinged mechanisms — made Scorpio think of some weird alien cutlery. They were all made of dumb matter, designed to be used in field surgery situations where rogue nanomachinery might corrupt smarter, more subtle instruments.
‘Need some help?’ Skade asked.
Jaccottet’s gloved fingers lifted one of the instruments from its nest. His hand trembled. ‘I’m not really a surgeon,’ he said. ‘I’ve had Security Arm medical training, but that didn’t stretch to field operations.’
‘No matter,’ Skade said. ‘As I said, I can talk you through it. It has to be you, you see. The pig lacks the necessary dexterity, and Khouri has far too much of an emotional investment. And Clavain… well, that’s obvious, isn’t it?’
‘It isn’t just because of my hand,’ Clavain said.
‘No, not just that,’ Skade agreed.
‘Tell them,’ Clavain said.
‘Clavain can’t do the procedure,’ Skade said, addressing the other three as if Clavain were not present at all, ‘because he won’t be alive: not by the end of it, anyway. This is the arrangement: you walk out of here with Aura, and Clavain dies, here and now. No negotiation, no argument over the terms. It either happens this way or it doesn’t happen at all. It’s entirely up to you.’
‘You can’t do this,’ Scorpio said.
‘Perhaps you didn’t hear me. Clavain dies. Aura lives. You walk out of here with what you came for. How can that not be a satisfactory result?’
‘Not this way,’ Khouri said. ‘Please, not this way.’
‘I’m afraid I’ve already given the matter a great deal of consideration. I am dying, you see. This palace will also be my mausoleum. The options — for me, at least — are remarkably restricted. If I die, I take Aura with me. Humanity — whatever
‘She might make more of a difference than that,’ Clavain said.
‘Well, that’s not something you or I will ever know, but I take your point. Aura’s value is — as yet — indeterminate. That’s why she remains such a prized asset.’
‘So give her up,’ Khouri said. ‘Give her up and do something good for once in your fucking existence.’
‘Brought her along to help oil the negotiations, did you?’ Skade asked, winking at Clavain. For an agonising moment they might have been old friends sharing a humorous recollection.
‘It’s all right,’ Clavain said to Khouri. ‘We’ll get Aura back for you.’
‘No, Clavain, not this way,’ she said.
‘This is the only way it’s going to happen,’ he said. ‘Trust me, I know Skade. Once she’s made her mind up, it stays made up.’
‘I’m glad you understand that,’ Skade said. ‘And you’re right. There is no flexibility in my position.’
‘We could kill her,’ Khouri said. ‘Kill her and operate quickly.’
‘Worth a try,’ Scorpio said. Often in Chasm City — for the purposes of deterrence — he had been called upon to kill people with maximum slowness. He thought now of all the swift ways he knew to end the life of a sentient being. Those methods had their uses, too: mercy executions, button jobs. Some of them were very swift indeed. The only drawback was that he had never knowingly tried any of his methods on a Conjoiner. He had certainly never killed a Conjoiner carrying a hostage in their womb.
‘She won’t let it happen,’ Clavain said soothingly. He touched Khouri’s arm. ‘She’d find a way to kill Aura before we got to her. But it’s all right, this is the way it has to be.’
‘No, Clavain,’ Khouri repeated.
He shushed her. ‘I came here to secure Aura’s release. That’s still my mission objective.’
‘I don’t want you to die.’
Scorpio saw a smile crinkle the skin at the corners of Clavain’s eyes. ‘No, I doubt that you do. Frankly, I don’t want to, either. Funny how these things seem a lot less attractive when it’s someone else doing the deciding for you. But Skade’s made up her mind, and this is how it’s going to happen.’
‘I suggest we get a move on,’ Skade interrupted.
‘Wait,’ Scorpio said. The words had an unreality in his head as he marshalled what he was about to say. ‘If we give you Clavain… and you kill him… what’s to stop you reneging on your part of the deal?’
‘She’s thought of that,’ Clavain said.
‘Of course I have,’ Skade answered. ‘And I’ve also considered the opposite scenario: what’s to prevent you from taking Clavain away if I give you Aura first? Clearly our mutual trust is an insufficient guarantee of compliance. So I’ve devised a solution I believe both parties will find entirely satisfactory.’
‘Tell them,’ Clavain said.
Skade gestured at Jaccottet. ‘You — security man — will perform the Caesarean.’ Then her attention flicked to Scorpio. ‘You — pig — will perform the execution of Clavain. I will direct both procedures, incision by incision. They will take place in parallel, step by step. One must last precisely as long as the other.’
‘No,’ Scorpio gasped, as the horror of her words slammed home.
‘The message isn’t getting through, is it?’ Skade asked. ‘Shall I kill her now, and be done with it?’
‘No,’ Clavain said. He turned to his friend. ‘Scorp, you have to do this. I know you have the strength to do it. You’ve already shown me that a thousand times. Do it, friend, and end this.’
‘I can’t.’
‘It’s the hardest thing anyone’s ever asked you to do, I know that. But I’m still asking.’
Scorpio could only say the same thing again. ‘I can’t.’
‘You must.’
‘No,’ said another voice. ‘He doesn’t have to. I’ll do it.’
All of them, including Skade, followed the voice to its source. There, framed in the ruined bulkhead, was Vasko Malinin. He had a gun in his hand and looked as cold and bewildered as the rest of them.
‘I’ll do it,’ he repeated. He had obviously been standing there for some time, unnoticed by those present.
‘You were given orders to stay outside,’ Scorpio said.
‘Blood countermanded them.’
‘Blood?’ Scorpio repeated.
‘Urton and I heard gunfire. It sounded as if it was coming from inside here. I contacted Blood and he gave me permission to investigate.’
‘Leaving Urton alone outside?’
