high midnight.'
'C'mon, Massha,' I ordered, heading for the door. 'We're heading back to Blut.'
'What for?' she demanded. 'What can we do without a tracker?'
'We've tried being nice about this, and it isn't working,' I responded grimly. 'Now we do it the other way. You wanted action, apprentice? How do you feel about giving me a hand with a little jailbreak?'
Chapter Ten
'What's wrong with a little harmless crime once in a while?'
'BUT I'm telling you, Boss, jailbreak is a bad rap. With you operating at only half power in the magic department, there's no tellin' what can go wrong, and then…'
'Before we get all worked up about what can go wrong, Guido,' I said, trying to salvage something constructive out of the conversation, 'could you give me a little information on exactly how hard it is to break someone out of jail? Or haven't you been involved in any jailbreaks, either?'
'Of course I've been along on some jailbreaks,' the bodyguard declared, drawing himself up proudly. 'I've been an accomplice on three jailbreaks. What kind of Mob member do you take me for, anyway?'
With a heroic effort I resisted the temptation to answer that particular rhetorical question.
'Okay. So how about a few pointers? This is my first jailbreak, and I want it to go right.'
I was all set to settle in for a fairly lengthy lecture, but instead of launching into the subject, Guido looked a bit uncomfortable.
'Umm… actually, Boss, I don't think you'd want to use any of the plans I followed. You see, all three of 'em were busts. None of 'em worked, and in two of the capers, the guy we were tryin' to save got killed. That's how I know about what a bad rap a jailbreak is, know what I mean?'
'Oh, swell! Just swell! Tell me. Mister bodyguard, with your allergies and zero-for-three record at jailbreak, did you ever do anything for the Mob that worked?'
A gentle hand fell on my shoulder from behind.
'Hey! Ease up a little. High Roller,' Massha said softly. 'I know you're worried about your partner, but don't take it out on Guido… or me, either, for that matter. We may not be much, but we're here and trying to help as best we can when we'd both just as soon be back at the Bazaar. You're in a bad enough spot without starting a two-front war by turning on your allies.'
I started to snap at her, but caught myself in time. Instead, I drew a long ragged breath and blew it out slowly. She was right. My nerves were stretched to the breaking point… which served me right for not following my own advice.
We were currently holed up at the Dispatcher's, the only place I could think of for an in-town base of operations, and as soon as we had arrived, I had insisted that both Massha and Guido grab a bit of sleep. We had been going nonstop ever since stepping through the door into Limbo, and I figured that the troops would need all the rest they could get before we tried to spring Aahz. Of course, once I had convinced them of the necessity of racking out, I promptly ignored my own wisdom and stayed up thinking for the duration.
The rationalization I used for this insane action was that I wanted some extra time uninterrupted to recharge my internal batteries, so whatever minimal magic I had at my disposal would be ready for our efforts. In actuality, what I did was worry. While I had indeed taken part in several criminal activities since teaming up with Aahz, they had all been planned by either Aahz or Tananda. This was my first time to get involved in masterminding a caper, and the stakes were high. Not only Aahz's but Massha's and Guide's futures were riding on my successful debut, and my confidence level was at an all-time low. After much pondering, I had decided to swallow my pride and lean heavily on Guide's expertise, which was why it hit me so hard when I discovered that he knew even less about successful jailbreaks than I.
'Sorry, Guido,' I said, trying to restructure my thinking. 'I guess I'm more tired than I realized. Didn't mean to snap at you.'
'Don't worry. Boss,' the bodyguard grinned. 'I've been expectin' it. All the big operators I've worked with get a little crabby when the heat's on. If anything, your temper gettin' short is the best thing I've seen since we started this caper. That's why I've been so jumpy myself. I wasn't sure if you weren't taking the job seriously, or if you were just too dumb to know the kind of odds we were up against. Now that you're acting normal for the situation, I feel a lot better about how it's goin' to come out in the end.'
Terrific! Now that I was at the end of my rope, our eternal pessimist thought things were going great.
'Okay,' I said, rubbing my forehead with one finger, 'we haven't got much information to go on, and what we do know is bad. According to Vilhelm, Aahz is being held in the most escape-proof cell they have, which is the top floor of the highest tower in town. If we try to take him from the inside, we're going to have to fool or fight every guard on the way up and down. To me, that means our best bet is to spring him from the outside.'
My assistants nodded vigorously, their faces as enthusiastic as if I had just said something startlingly original and clever.
'Now, with my powers at low ebb. I don't think I can levitate that far and spring the cell. Massha, do you have anything in your jewelry collection that would work for rope and climbing hooks?'
'N-no,' she said hesitantly, which surprised me. She usually had a complete inventory of her nasty pretties on the tip of her tongue.
'I saw a coil of rope hangin' just inside the door,' Guido supplied.
'I noticed it, too,' I acknowledged, 'but it isn't nearly long enough. We'll just have to use up my power getting up to the cell and figure some other way of opening the window.'
'Ummm… you don't have to do that. High Roller,' Massha said with a sigh. 'I've got something we can use.'
'What's that?'
'The belt I'm wearing with all my gear hung on it. It's a levitation belt. The controls aren't horribly reliable, but it should do to get us to the top of the tower.'
I cocked an eyebrow at my apprentice.
'Wait a minute, Massha. Why didn't you mention this when I asked?'
She looked away quickly.
'You didn't ask about a belt. Only about rope and climbing hooks.'
'Since when do I have to ask you specific questions… or any questions, for that matter, to get your input?'
'All right,' she sighed. 'If you really want to know, I was hoping we could find a way to do this without using the belt.'
'Why?'
'It embarrasses me.'
'It what?'
'It embarrasses me. I look silly floating around in the air. It's okay for skinny guys like you and Guido, but when I try it, I look like a blimp. All I'd need is Goodyear tattooed on my side to make the picture complete.'
I closed my eyes and tried to remember that I was tired and that I shouldn't take it out on my friends. The fact that Massha was worried about appearances while I was trying to figure out a way to get us all out of this alive wasn't really infuriating. It was… flattering! That was it! She was so confident of my abilities to get us through this crisis that she had time to think about appearances! Of course, the possibility of betraying that confidence set me off in another round of worrying. Wonderful.
'You okay. Boss?'
'Hmmm? Yeah. Sure, Guido. Okay. Now Massha floats up to the window, which leaves you and me free to…'
'Hold it, Hot Stuff,' Massha said, holding up a hand. 'I think I'd better explain a little more about this belt. I
