Sarah Zettel - Fool's War

Resit’s hands dropped to her sides. She bowed her head and pressed her fingertips to her forehead. “Qul a’udhu birabbin nas. Malikin nas. Ilahin nas. Min sharril waswasil khannas. Alladhi yuwaswisu fi sudurinnas. Minal jinnati wannas.” Say, I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind, the King of mankind, the God of mankind, from the mischief of the sneaking whisperer, who whispers in the hearts of mankind from among jinn and mankind. She raised her chin again. “So what do you need me for?”

Al Shei felt the strength in her knees begin to give out. She couldn’t remember when she’d last eaten, and for the past two nights she had done nothing but stare at the ceiling while she was supposed to be sleeping. She sat down heavily in the desk chair.

“I need you to go sign on with Tully as his lawyer. That way, anything he says to you can be called privileged, just like anything I say to you. I need you to find out from him how to breach Port Oberon security from the Pasadena . I don’t need any alarms going off when I go after that thing calling itself Curran.”

Jump.

Dobbs plowed down the repeater’s lines, not even trying to hide herself. She didn’t want to hide. She wanted someone, anyone, to find her as fast as they could, as long as they were from the Guild.

That was the problem. That was her fear. She had no idea where Curran had placed his “talents.” Anyone of them might be following in her wake right now, having jumped in right after her. It might be straining to catch up with her. What would she do then? Would she be able to kill one of them? She’d been ready to kill Curran once, but was she ready to kill someone who believed in him because the Guild had let them all down?

I don’t know. I don’t want to know.

Set the coordinates. Send the ping-copy to the receiver. Jump. Hit the lines in repeater #4259AH-IBN2481-H2, four minutes, three point nine seconds gone. Head for the transmitter.

“Dobbs!” A cry reached her. Dobbs stiffened involuntarily before she realized she knew the voice. Cyril Cohen. Of course it would be Cohen, she thought with nearly hysterical relief. He would have been searching for her for days.

He filled the path in front of her. She drove herself straight into him. Too shocked to resist, his inner self broke apart for her. She snatched up segments of memory and twisted them. When she withdrew, he knew all that had happened since Curran had taken her to his home.

“No,” he whispered and she thought they’d both melt from the fear that coursed through them.

“I’ve got to get to Guild Hall.” She tried to fill him with her urgency. It wasn’t needed. He had plenty of his own.

“Straight to the Guild Masters.” He was already flying. She darted after him, drew up beside him and touched his outer self. Linked together they almost blocked the repeater’s paths. They were delaying a million packets a second, but they didn’t care. If they didn’t get through, there would be nothing left to save or worry about. They both believed that.

Jump. Repeater 78140-HN-IBN2401-J8. Two more minutes gone.

What’s been happening? she asked him through their link.

A second Big Bang, he told her. They found out you were gone pretty quickly. They suspected me and Brooke of helping you, but they couldn’t prove it. There’ve been eighty-eight different kinds of rumors flying around that they’ve been trying to hush up. I’ve been spreading some of them, he added, and Dobbs felt an odd twinge of pride filter out from his private mind. Brooke and Lonn and I have been sounding out the Masters and Cadets who might be willing to hear what we’ve got to say about the Guild Masters. There’s a number of them.

Would they be willing to help us hold the network against Curran’s talents?

That’s what I’m hoping, Dobbs. That’s what I’m hoping.

Jump. Another repeater surrounded them.

Dobbs was silent as they raced for the transmitter, but she couldn’t keep her disquiet from reaching Cohen. Wordlessly, he urged her to share her thought.

You’d better go get them together, just in case the Guild Masters… won’t go along with this.

Cohen’s pace faltered for a bare instant. You’re right. Have you got enough time to… he stopped himself. Of course, you’ve got all the time we need, don’t you?

I hope so. She steeled herself. Get everyone you can and get to the XK350 repeaters. If I’m not there in five hours then… then I’m not coming and you’ll have to go in with what you’ve got. She touched his memory and left the location of Curran’s module with him.

She pulled away and didn’t even leave him any time to wish her luck. Every picosecond was precious right now. Curran might have moved up the timing of the randomizer matrices even farther. He might have decided to put off randomizing the bank accounts, and just take down Port Oberon in order to prevent Al Shei from causing any more trouble. He could be doing anything, and she wouldn’t find out about any of it until she got back there.

Yerusha jerked her spare clothes out of their drawer and stuffed them into her satchel. Fractured, crazy, groundhugging idiots! She threw down the last pair of socks and stared at the rumpled pile she’d made. What am I going to do now? She rubbed her face. After word about this run gets out, I’m not going to be able to get a job on a sewage ship, even if the greens don’t pick me up for having made idiots out of them last time I was here.

A day ago, a whole new world had opened up for her. She had rushed toward it and tripped over her own feet. Now she was so crippled, she couldn’t even move, couldn’t even tell anybody what she’d seen. Her face and eyes burned with loss.

Her desk chimed. Yerusha whipped around and saw the notice that Schyler was waiting outside written on the boards.

What’s he want now? She stomped across the room, almost lifting herself off the floor in the light gravity, and slapped her palm against the reader.

She stood back and let Schyler cross the threshold. He had his hands stuffed into his pockets as far as they would go. Yerusha felt her back stiffen. If you ask me to understand what’s going on Watch, you’re going to get your head taken off, so help me.

He settled his gaze on her and pulled his hands out of his pockets. “Yerusha, I need your help.”

“Why?” She turned away and, needlessly, began rummaging through her satchel, flattening the pile of clothing and accessories inside so she could close the bag more easily. “Half hour ago you fired me.”

“A half hour ago, I fired everybody.” He shrugged. “Given the situation, I don’t think it was such a bad idea. We’re about to get in so far over our heads we’re risking pressure sickness. I was wondering if you’d be willing to come with us.” He paused. “Even after I fired you in front of witnesses.”

Yerusha just looked up and waited. For the first time, she saw the hard light glinting in Schyler’s eyes.

“It’s looking like Curran’s AIs have kidnapped and murdered Asil Tamruc,” he said.

His words hit Yerusha like physical blows. She staggered away from him, catching herself against the edge of her desk. “What? Why? Why would they do that?”

“Off-hand I’d say to try to throw Al Shei’s family into confusion before the AIs attack the Intersystem Banking Network.”

The last of the strength went out of Yerusha and she collapsed into the desk chair. This was wrong. This was completely wrong. Why were they doing this? Why weren’t they coming to the Freers?

Because the Freers are humans, she answered herself. We believe the AIs are too, but they don’t. Perspective, you see, is important.