office, barricaded the door to keep out unwelcome visitors, and sat down with
their feet propped up on either side of the desk.
'The more I learn, the less this case makes sense,' said Hawk disgustedly.
'There's no way anyone could have got those crates out of Stores without
somebody noticing, passwords or no passwords. I mean, you'd have needed at least
half a dozen people just to shift that many crates. Someone in Stores has got to
be lying.'
'But they all passed the truthspell.'
'That doesn't necessarily mean anything. It's possible to beat the truthspell,
if you know what you're doing.'
'It could have been sorcery of some kind,' said Burns. 'Morgan had one sorcerer
working for him in that factory; who's to say he doesn't have another one
working for him?'
'Could be,' said Hawk. 'Hell, I don't know. I don't know anything anymore. Did
you see their faces in the Drug Squad? I know those people. I've worked with
practically everyone in that room at one time or another, and they looked at me
like I was a stranger. It was the same with all the others; they don't trust me
anymore, and the fact of the matter is, I don't trust them either. I don't know
who to trust anymore. You heard what Intelligence said; it isn't just a Captain
who's on the take, it's a well-respected Captain. There aren't too many of
those.'
'Maybe we should go talk to Commander Glen.'
'No. I don't think so.'
Burns looked at him. 'Are you saying you don't trust Glen either? He's the one
who gave you this brief, told you to find out what's going on!'
'He's also the one who let Morgan go. And it's clear there's been a lot of
pressure coming down from Above to keep people quiet. What better way to conceal
a potentially embarrassing investigation than to be the one who set it up?'
'But why would someone like Glen bother about a few missing drugs?'
'He wouldn't. More and more it seems to me the drugs are only a part of this.
Something else is going on, something so big they can't afford for it to come to
light.'
'They?' said Burns.
Hawk shrugged. 'Who knows how far up the corruption goes? Why stop at a Captain
or a Commander? Morgan said there was a lot of money to be made out of this
super-chacal. Millions of ducats. And don't forget, most of the top people in
the Guard are political appointees, and there's a damn sight more corruption in
politics than there ever was in the Guard.'
'Hawk,' said Burns carefully, 'this is starting to sound very paranoid. We're
going to need an awful lot of hard evidence if we're to convince anyone else.'
'We can't go to anyone else. We're all alone now. We can't trust anyone—not our
colleagues, not our superiors, not our friends. Anyone could be working for the
other side.' Hawk hesitated, and looked intently at Burns. 'You know, you don't
have to stay with me on this. When I asked you to be my partner, I didn't know
what we were getting into. There's still time for you to get out, if you want.
Things could get very nasty very quickly once I start pushing this.'
Burns smiled. 'You're not getting rid of me that easily. Especially not now the
case is getting so interesting. I'm not convinced about this massive conspiracy
of yours, but there's no doubt something fascinating is going on. I'm with you
all the way, until we break the case or it breaks us. Morgan's people killed my
partner. I can't turn my back on that. So, what's our next step?'
'There's only one place we can go,' said Hawk slowly. 'The Guard Advisory
Council.'
Burns gaped at him for a moment. 'You've got to be kidding! They're just a bunch
of businessmen, Guard retirees and idealistic Quality who like to see themselves
as a buffer between the Guard and the Council's politics. They mean well, but
they're about as much use as a chocolate teapot. I mean, they're very free with
their advice, but they don't have any real power. They're mostly just public
relations. How can they help us?'
'They're all people in a position to have a finger on the pulse of what's
happening in Haven. And just maybe they're divorced enough from both Guard and
Council not to be tainted by the present corruption. Maybe we can get some
answers there we won't get anywhere else. It's worth a try.'
'Yes, I suppose it is.' Burns hesitated a moment. 'Hawk, this Captain who's
working for Morgan. What if it turns out to be someone we know? Maybe even a
friend?'
'We do whatever's necessary,' said Hawk flatly. 'Whoever it is.'
Burns looked as though he was going to say something more, and then both he and
Hawk jumped as someone knocked briskly on the office door. They both took their
feet off the desk, and glanced at each other.
'Captain Hawk?' said a voice from outside. 'I have a message for you.'
'How did he know where to find me?' said Hawk quietly. 'No one's supposed to
know where we are.'
'What do we do?' said Burns.
'Answer him, I suppose.' Hawk got up and walked over to the barricaded door.
'What do you want?'
'Captain Hawk? I have a message for you, sir. I'm supposed to deliver it in
person.'
Hawk hesitated, and then shrugged. He pulled away the chairs holding the door
shut, drew his axe, and opened the door. A Guard Constable looked at him, and
the axe, and nodded respectfully.
'Sorry to disturb you, Captain. It's about the child you rescued from under the
collapsed tenement. The little girl.'
'I remember her,' said Hawk. 'Has there been some improvement in her condition?'
'I'm sorry, sir. She's dead. I'm told she never regained consciousness.'
'I see. Thank you.' The Constable nodded and walked away. Hawk closed the door.
'Damn. Oh damn.'
Out in the corridor, the Constable smiled to himself. The news had obviously
shaken Hawk badly. And anything that slowed Hawk down had to be good for Morgan
and his backers. The Constable strode off down the corridor, patting the full
purse at his belt and whistling cheerfully.
Chapter Five
Under Siege
Fisher peered out the study window, chewing thoughtfully on a chicken leg she'd
liberated from the delegates' lunch time snack after they'd disappeared back
into the pocket dimension. She'd spent the last half hour checking out the house
security and searching for weak spots, but she had to admit ap Owen seemed to
know what he was doing. Every door and window had locks or bolts or both, and
they were all securely fastened. There were men-at-arms in servants' livery on
