place? He had a nice little racket going here. Judging by the records we found,
he was already making more money than he knew what to do with. So why risk it
all, by dealing with a traitor? He didn't need the money, and there's nothing in
his file to suggest he was at all political.'
'Maybe he just liked the excitement, the intrigue,' said Hawk. 'He wouldn't be
the first fool to be seduced by dreams of making history, of playing with the
real shakers and movers. Or maybe he just had some kind of grudge against the
Council, and saw this as his chance for revenge. I've known stranger motives.
Doesn't make much difference now, anyway. The man is dead, and our case died
with him. Odds are we'll never find out what it was all about.'
The low, steady clamor of a brass bell filled both their heads as the Guard
communications sorcerer made contact. Hawk shook his head gingerly as the deep
ringing sound faded away. 'I think I preferred it when he used the gong. That
bloody bell goes right through me.' He broke off as the bell gave way to the
rasping voice of the communications sorcerer.
Captains Hawk and Fisher are to report to Commander Dubois at Guard Headquarters
immediately. This instruction has top priority. All other orders are rescinded.
Hawk and Fisher waited a moment to see if there was any more, and then looked at
each other. 'Didn't take long for the news to reach our superiors, did it?' said
Hawk.
Fisher shrugged. 'Haven loves bad news. And you can bet there were people lining
up for the chance to drop us in it. We've always been too honest to be popular.'
'What the hell,' said Hawk. 'We've weathered worse storms than this.'
'Right,' said Fisher. 'Just keep our heads down, and it'll all blow over.'
'You really believe that?'
'No. How about you?'
'No. Even so, Dubois had better not shout at me,' said Hawk firmly. 'I'm not in
the mood to be shouted at. In fact, if he raises his voice to me I think I'll
hit him somewhere low and painful.'
'How is that going to help us?'
'It couldn't hurt.'
'True.'
Hawk and Fisher had barely walked through the front door at Guard Headquarters
when a Constable appeared, seemingly from nowhere, and insisted on escorting
them straight to Dubois' office. Other Guards avoided Hawk's and Fisher's eyes
as they made their way through the Headquarters building. Word had got around
and no one wanted to risk guilt by association. Hawk smiled humorlessly, and let
his hand drift down to the axe at his side. He glanced across at Fisher, and saw
that her hand was already resting on the pommel of her sword.
The Constable brought them to Dubois' office and knocked briskly on the door.
There was barely a pause before the Commander's voice summoned them in. The
Constable opened the door, and stood back for Hawk and Fisher to enter. Hawk
strolled casually in, Fisher at his side. The door shut behind them. Hawk
listened carefully, but didn't hear any sound of the Constable departing. Now,
that was interesting. It meant that the man was still there. Presumably on guard
to keep people out… or in. Hawk smiled inwardly as he and Fisher bowed formally
to Commander Dubois. If he and Fisher decided it was in their best interests to
leave in a hurry, it would take a lot more than one Guard Constable to stop
them.
Dubois glared at Hawk and Fisher from behind his desk and sniffed disgustedly.
'Gods, you're a mess. I've seen beggars in the Devil's Hook who looked more
presentable than you two do right now. You're a disgrace to your uniform.'
Hawk looked down at himself, and had to admit the Commander had a point. His
clothes were badly torn and soaked with blood from the various fights he'd got
involved in that evening. A quick glance at Fisher revealed she hadn't fared any
better. Her furs were stained and matted from the garbage she'd fallen in
outside Madam Zara's. And what with all the exertions of the evening, the fact
was they both smelled pretty bad. Hawk had a sudden intense desire to stand
downwind of himself. He looked back at Dubois, and put on his best innocent
face. Dubois glared at him even harder. The complete lack of hair on his head
somehow made his scowl all the more impressive.
'And you've lost your cloak again, Hawk! What happened this time? Someone sneak
up behind you and steal it while you weren't looking? Where the hell is your
cloak?'
Hawk had to stop and think, so Fisher quickly answered for him. 'It's pinned to
a wall in a spiritualist's house.'
Dubois winced. 'I'm not even going to ask you what you were doing at a
spiritualist's. I don't think my nerves could stand it. Do you realize, Hawk,
you go through more new cloaks in a year than most Guards use up in a lifetime's
service to the city? Do you know how much those cloaks cost?'
'Yes,' said Hawk. 'Because you always deduct the cost from my wages.'
'Damn right!' said Dubois. 'You're not screwing up my budget for the year.
Perhaps you would also like to explain why you failed to turn in your suppressor
stone to the Armory, as ordered.'
'Would that help to get us off the hook?' said Hawk.
'Not in the least.'
'Then I don't think I'll bother.'
Fisher butted in quickly as Dubois' face darkened. 'Be fair; it saved both our
arses tonight. If the stone hadn't blown up in Grimm's face when it did, we
might both have been killed.'
'I could live with that,' said Dubois.
He picked up a sheet of paper from his desk and frowned at it. Hawk studied the
Commander's bowed head thoughtfully. Something was going on. Dubois should be
tearing strips off them for letting Fenris get away, not carping about their
appearance, or niggling over lost cloaks and the illegal use of a suppressor
stone. Dubois had never made any secret of the fact that he didn't approve of
Hawk and Fisher's methods, and was usually only too happy to find something
about their work he could criticize. The Fenris debacle should have been just
what he needed to bust them down to Constable, or worse. Instead, he hadn't even
mentioned the spy. If he hadn't known better, Hawk would have sworn Dubois was
trying to avoid telling them something unpleasant.
Hawk's mind raced furiously. Maybe the Council had found out about Fenris
getting away, and had decided to blame everything on the two Guards. It wouldn't
be too hard for the Council to make out a case of treason against them. They
could claim the Guards had deliberately let the spy escape, and then killed
Grimm to cover their tracks. Hawk forced himself to calm down. It needn't be
that bad. It could be that Dubois just had some really nasty job lined up for
them, as penance for failing to bring in Fenris. Now, that was much more likely.
Hawk began to relax a little. Whatever it was, he and Fisher could handle it.
