William Wu - Emperor

“You sure?” Steve asked. “As far as immediate harm to Jane goes, he can’t let her get hurt. Just how much leeway do you robots have in your interpretations?”

Steve doubted he could change Hunter’s mind about a First Law interpretation, but he wanted to try. He trusted Ishihara to keep Jane safe. The team could save a lot of time.

“Well, Hunter?”

“I cannot go on without Jane,” said Hunter. “I agree that Ishihara would protect her from clear and immediate harm, but his judgment is in doubt regarding more complex situations. Further, I still remain responsible for Jane as part of my team. Also, if we can apprehend Wayne or even just Ishihara, we can eliminate further interference from them. That will make the rest of this mission and all of the next one much easier for us. I must pursue them and free Jane.”

“Then we should split up,” said Steve. “I don’t know how many times I’ve suggested it already, but this time I’m really serious. You go after Jane, and Marcia and I can return to the inn for some sleep. Tomorrow we’ll go north for the Polos. When you have Jane, come after us.”

“As you know, I consider dividing the team to be a mistake.”

“You let Jane and me sail back to Jamaica on a pirate ship without you. This is a much safer environment. Our real trouble seems to have been instigated by Wayne, not the local situation. Even the people who grabbed you and Jane would never have acted without Wayne.”

Hunter turned to observe Marcia. “You are very cold and tired, are you not?”

“I’m afraid so,” said Marcia. “And what he says makes some sense. Besides, you could probably help Jane a lot faster alone than you could with me along.”

“And we’ll blend into the crowd,” Steve added. “Without you and Jane, we look like locals.”

“The same people who kidnapped Jane and me have almost certainly returned to the inn. I cannot have them carry you two away. I suggest you take rooms at the other inn we saw.”

“No need.” Steve grinned. “Now that we know they think you’re a spirit, we can manage them, I think. Anyhow, they’ve probably gone to bed. We’ll be careful about going back inside. If we don’t see them, we’ll go upstairs.”

“This is also a great danger,” said Hunter. “At the very least, you should take a room at the other inn.”

“Maybe not,” said Marcia. “I think they focused on you and Jane in part because of your European appearance. And they were running pretty fast when they passed us on the road a while ago. Maybe they’ve had enough.”

“We’re wasting time,” said Steve. “Every minute we debate, Jane is being taken farther south. But I also want to return to the same inn because of the innkeeper. He made a point to come and tell me that Jane had been taken.”

“You feel safer with him?” Hunter asked.

“Yeah, you could put it that way,” said Steve.

“I will return to the inn with you,” said Hunter. “If it is quiet, and you can return to your rooms unseen, then I will allow us to separate. Clearly, you both need to stay warm and get some sleep.”

Steve hiked back up the road with Hunter and Marcia, relieved that Hunter had given in. The mountain air had grown very sharp, and by the time they returned to the inn, he was even more ready than before for a warm bed. Hunter stepped up to the front door, preparing to open it.

“I should do it,” Steve said quietly. “If those guests are awake, they may react to seeing you.”

Hunter moved back to make room for Steve.

Steve found the front door of the inn barred. That was certainly normal for this hour. He rapped on it sharply.

“Who’s there?” The innkeeper’s voice was cautious and fearful, but clearly wide awake.

“Three of your guests,” Steve called. “We are well. Please open.”

He heard the bar slide to one side. The innkeeper opened the door a crack and glanced at them all before opening it wide and stepping back. He bowed to them repeatedly, expecting them to come right inside.

“Are your other guests awake?” Steve stayed where he was, with Hunter and Marcia behind him.

“Eh?” He gestured for them to enter.

“Your other guests, who took our woman friend. They came running back here, didn’t they?”

“Oh, yes. They were all very excited about something when they first came back. Now they have all gone to sleep up in their rooms.”

“We would prefer not to be seen by them.”

“Of course. Please come in. Your friend is not with you?” He glanced past Steve.

“No. But we are not blaming you. In the morning, we will remain in our rooms until you tell us they have left. Is this agreeable?”

“Of course.”

Steve turned to Hunter. “I really think we’ll be okay. In the morning, we’ll stay in our rooms until he tells us the others have hit the road. They won’t bother us.”

”All right. But I am concerned that you will take unnecessary risks.”

“There shouldn’t be any risks,” said Steve. “We’ll just let the others get a head start on us in the morning. Then during the day we’ll make sure we don’t catch up.”

“Is it okay?” Marcia asked. “I’d like to do this. I’m really cold.”

“It is fine,” said Hunter. “I will go prepare my horse. I will take Jane’s, too.”

“Good night,” said Steve. He stepped aside for Marcia to enter first, as Hunter left for the stable.

“Night,” Marcia muttered, yawning as she turned and went inside.

Steve followed her. Behind them, the innkeeper barred the door again.

Several minutes later, Hunter forced his weary horse into a canter; the reins of Jane’s mount were tied to his saddle. He was not comfortable with the further splitting of his team, but he could also see that Marcia badly needed rest. Even Steve, though he was more accustomed to physical activity than Marcia, would quickly become too tired to act efficiently unless he slept for the remainder of the night.

In the absence of a more pressing emergency, Hunter had to let them sleep in the relative comfort and safety of the inn. He accepted that Steve and Marcia would be reasonably secure at the inn as long as the other guests did not see them. He also trusted Steve to act wisely.

At the same time, he felt he he’d failed to take proper care of his team. Wayne had already succeeded in interrupting their search for MC 5. Now Hunter had to prevent him from taking full advantage of the situation.

As Hunter rode down the moonlit mountain road, he slowed the horses to a walk to preserve their energy. With his vision on maximum light receptivity, he identified the fresh tracks that matched the sounds he had heard earlier. The most recent donkey tracks leading south were much deeper than the same ones Xiao Li’s animal had made riding north; the horse tracks with them were deep enough to have been made by the horse whose heavy hoofbeats he had heard.

Hunter had to plan his approach to his quarry. He chose not to radio Ishihara with any sort of threat or argument, since Wayne clearly had become more persuasive in making his case to Ishihara. Any such transmission would merely reveal to Ishihara that he was chasing them and give Ishihara some fix on the. distance between them. Hunter’s best chance to rescue Jane and apprehend Wayne would be to sneak up on them.

Hunter did not know if Ishihara’s hearing ability was fully equal to his own. Since Hunter had been designed specifically to search for MC Governor, he had been given some abilities greater than most robots, but he had never specifically compared his hearing to Ishihara’s. However, he was certain that Ishihara’s aural sense was greater than any human’s. That lessened his chance of making an unheard approach.