The Peace War

'Where are you calling from?'

'The ridgeline southwest of you. I don't want to say more — I still don't trust your friends... It's just that I trust mine even less.' This last was spoken low, almost muttered. 'Look. There are other things you don't know. The Tinkers know exactly where your bobbler is hidden.'

'What?' Avery turned abruptly to the situation board and motioned for Maitland to check it out.

'How can they know? You have spies? Carry-in bugs?'

Mike's forced chuckle echoed from the speaker. 'It's a long story, Della. You would be amused. The old US Air Force had it spotted — just too late to save the world from you. The Tinkers stumbled on the secret only a few weeks ago.'

Della glanced questioningly at the Director, but Avery was looking over Maitland's shoulder, at the terminal. The general's people were frantically typing queries, posting results. The general looked up at the Director. 'It's possible, sir. Most of the infiltrators are north and west of the Enclave. But the ones closest to the inner zone boundary are also the closest to the generator; they seem to have a preference for that sector.'

'It could be an artifact of our increased surveillance in that area.'

'Yes, sir.' But now Maitland did not sound complacent. Avery nodded to himself. He hadn't believed his own explanation. 'Very well. Concentrate tactical air there. I see you have two armored vehicles already tracking along the boundary. Keep them there. Bring in more. I want what infantry we have moved there, too.'

'Right. Once we locate them, they're no threat. We have all the firepower.'

Della spoke again to Mike. 'Where is Paul Hoehler — the man you call Naismith?' Avery stiffened at the question, and his attention returned to her, an almost physical force.

'Look, I really don't know. They have me working a pointer relay; some of our people don't have their own satellite receivers.'

Della cut the connection and said to Avery, 'I think he's lying, Director. Our only lever on Mike Rosas is his hatred for certain Tinker potentials, in particular bioscience. He'll resist hurting his personal friends.'

'He knows Hoehler?' Avery seemed astounded to find someone so close to the ultimate antagonist. 'If he knows where Hoehler is...' The Director's eyes unfocused. 'You've got to squeeze that out of him, Della. Take this conversation off the speaker and talk to him. Promise him anything, tell him anything, but find Hoehler.' With a visible effort he turned back to Maitland. 'Get me Tioulang in Beijing. I know, I know. Nothing is secure.' He smiled, an almost skeletal grimace. 'But I don't care if they know what I tell him.'

Della resumed the link with Mike. Now that the speaker was off, his voice would sound in her ear only. And with the throat mike, her side of the conversation would be inaudible to those around her. 'This is just you and me now, Mike. The brass thinks they got everything they can out of you.'

'Oh yeah? And what do you think?'

'I think some large but unknown percentage of what you are telling me is bullshit.'

'I guessed that. But you're still talking.'

'I think we're both betting we can learn more than the other from talking. Besides — ' Her eyes fixed on the Renaissance trigger box sitting on the table before Hamilton Avery. With a small part of her attention she followed what Avery was saying to his counterpart in Beijing. 'Besides, I don't think you know what you're up against.'

'Enlighten me.'

'The Tinker goal is to bobble the Livermore generator.

Similarly for the attack on Beijing. You don't realize that if we consider the Peace truly endangered, we will embobble ourselves, and continue the struggle decades in the future.'

'Hmm. Like the trick we played on you at Mission Pass.'

'But on a much larger scale.'

'Well, it won't help you. Some of us will wait — and we'll know where to wait. Besides, the Authority's power isn't just in Livermore and Beijing. You need your heavy industry,

too.'

Bella smiled to herself. Mike's phrasing was tacit admission he was still a Tinker. There were deceptions here deceptions she could penetrate given a little time — but neither of them was pretending loyalties they did not have. Time to give away a little information, information that would do them no good now: 'There are a few things you don't know. The Peace has more than two bobble generators.'

There was a moment of silence in her ear. 'I don't believe you — How many?'

Della laughed quietly. Maitland glanced up at her, then turned back to his terminal. 'That is a secret. We've been working on them ever since we suspected Tinker infiltration — spies, we thought. Only a few people know, and we never spoke of it on our comm net. More important than the num-ber is the location; you won't know about them till they come out at you.'

There was a longer silence. She had made a point.