“I’m a Three Cities citizen,” said Will, and was stopped by a fit of coughing. He tried to talk again, and was stopped again. One of the state security men handed him a canteen, warily, and he drank a good part of it. “I’m a Three Cities citizen,” he finally managed. “I’ve been aiming to reach Everun Port, but I don’t seem to be,” a final spate of coughing, “getting very far.”
“You wouldn’t, in the direction you were going,” said one of them. They looked at each other and lowered their weapons. “Where are you coming from?”
He wasn’t sure why he didn’t tell them about the Minister of Truth, except that Miranda was involved in that story and the whole concept of Miranda made him very nervous. Besides, why lead up to a moment when he’d have to tell security personnel that an officer of their organization shot at him? They might figure she had a reason.
“I was sightseeing in the mountains. Hiking. You don’t see many mountains where I come from … I guess I got lost.”
They looked at each other again. “So you haven’t heard? You don’t know any of the news?”
“What news?” He tried to look dumb. It probably wasn’t hard, he thought, under the circumstances.
One of the guards spit. “We’ve got a slight problem,” he said, “with a revolution.”
“Shut up, Tev. Listen, friend, these hills are more dangerous than you know right now. We’d better take you back to our camp. They’ll know what to do with you.” He motioned for Will to hang onto the canteen. Will i followed his new friends—or whatever they were—
! farther up the mountain.
“So you’re a Three Cities citizen.” The camp commander was middle-aged, bearded, and wore the same camouflage outfit his people did. He looked Will up and down. “You’re not used to this sort of terrain.”
“No, sir.”
“Well, neither are most of the boys and girls here. We’re mostly city people, from Everun. But those of us who aren’t shooting rebels down there have to shoot rebels up here. It’s the luck of the draw. The medtech handle your arm all right?”
“Yes, sir.” The pulsing pain had cut down considerably.
“I’m not a cyr,” he said, misunderstanding Will’s pronunciation, “I’m a commander.”
“Yes, si— Commander.”
The commander stood up and walked around Will. “There’s something military about you, Diamonder. I’ve been in state security for fifteen years, it’s not something I would miss. Were you in the army up there in your City?”
“I’m a City Guard, commander. Internal security. We don’t have an army as such.”
“I didn’t think I was mistaken. Good, you’ll be useful.”
“Sir? Commander?”
“Face it, son, you’re not going to reach Everun Port any time soon. Things have gone a lot further a lot faster than anybody thought, even yesterday. You heard about troop landings on Western Continent? It’s no secret anymore.”
“The guards who brought me in mentioned something about it,” he agreed.
“We thought this was a simple roundup here in the capital. A good two-thirds of the rebels were cleaned out yesterday, mostly down in the city itself. The rest of ’em are up here, or that’s my opinion. So why aren’t we happy?”
This was a rhetorical question. Will waited.
“Because, Diamonder, I’ll tell you why. Because yesterday morning five of the chief government ministers were assassinated. Throats slit in their beds. Just like that.” *
Will remembered the empty halls in the villa of the Minister of Truth.
The commander said, “Things are in chaos. Everyone who could get out of Everun got out. More troops are landing on Western Continent. And why am I telling you this?” He paused. “Because I want you to understand my position. We need manpower. Welcome to state security, son.”
“What? I’m a citizen of the Diamond.”
“Got any ID?”
“Well,” said Will, “not on me—”
“Welcome to state security. Tev will show you where to sleep and see what you know about weapons.” Suddenly Will felt faint again. He swayed. The commander got up, took hold of him, and walked him out to the firelight. “Tev! Jenny! Get this boy some food.”
He let Will gently onto the ground. Will must have fallen asleep, because when he opened his eyes, he found the guard Tev standing over him with a bowl of something hot. He had a wild memory of running along a grid at Everun port, pounding after a ship that was already i lifting—obviously a dream. He wrenched his mind back to the reality of Tev and supper, and took the bowl.
“We’re low on spoons,” said Tev. “But there’s water to clean your hands later.” He was staring at Will curiously. “You’re one crazy outworlder, friend. Did you know you were flailing around in your sleep, beating on the ground and yelling? You tried to hit Jenny.”
“What was I saying?”
Tev shrugged. “Couldn’t make it out—real funny accent, not like what you’re talking now.”
“Maybe I wouldn’t make a reliable soldier.”
Will pulled out two finger of stew and put them in his mouth. Tev grinned. “The commander did say to make sure you were entirely awake before we gave you a rifle.”
Tal inched around the ledge on the second floor of the Arbriths’ villa. How did he let Adrian get him into these positions? Below him a floodlight showed on one of the Arbriths’ personal guards walking the perimeter of i the house. Tal glanced back toward the utility run he’d climbed over to pass the wall. Barely accessible, if none of the guards was looking when he came out. If he came out.
Most of the rooms he’d passed were bedrooms and sitting rooms. There was one large hall suitable for parties. Not promising; humans tended to keep their vaults in better-protected locations, usually in the basement—some ancient digging instinct, perhaps. Unfortunately the bottom floor was too well defended. He’d have to go in here and make his way down.
The lock on the bedroom window was pitiful. In any case, it they were
