Dragon and Liberator

"Maybe we can draw them out some other way," Harper said. "I could try my Virgil Morgan impression, see if I can get Jack to show himself. At least maneuver him into a trap where we can grab him."

"Grab?" Neverlin asked, raising his eyebrows. "Not kill?"

"Grab," Harper said firmly. "If the K'da's not with him, we'll need a live hostage to draw him out." He smiled tightly. "Besides, the Patri Chookoock still wants to talk to Jack about his friend Alison Kayna."

"Does he, now," Neverlin said, his voice suddenly thoughtful. "Did I ever mention that I called the Patri a few days ago, after we went on ECHO?"

Harper shrugged. "You'd said you were going to."

"And I did," Neverlin said. "Would you like to know what he told me?"

It seemed to Taneem that a hint of a frown crossed Harper's face. "I assume he confirmed my story."

"Actually, I never talked to him," Neverlin said. "Somehow, the communications to the Chookoock family estate were always out."

Harper grunted. "That's Brummgan efficiency for you."

"Perhaps." Neverlin lifted a finger.

And suddenly there was a gun in Frost's hand.

Pointed squarely at Harper.

"Or perhaps it was someone else's efficiency," Neverlin went on quietly. "Someone with the resources of, say, Braxton Universis. So Braxton sent you to track me down, did he?"

For a moment Harper studied Neverlin's face, as if he was trying to decide what to say. Then, he gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "Actually, my job was to locate Alison Kayna. He has a whole army of other people working on you."

"I'm flattered," Neverlin said. "What's Alison Kayna to him?"

"A corporate thief," Harper said. "She stole an especially important trade secret. He wants it back."

"Of course he does," Neverlin said, in a tone that suggested that he didn't believe a word of it. "Well, we'll see. Colonel?"

Keeping his eyes and gun on Harper, Frost reached over to Neverlin's desk and touched a button on the intercom. "This is Frost," he said. "Close and drop ship."

"Wait a minute," Harper said, the first signs of concern or uncertainty crossing his face. "What are you doing?"

"If you're fronting for Braxton, he must have a way of tracking you," Neverlin said. "That's why we just spent six days chasing our tails through hyperspace, actually. Now we say good-bye to your ship and head for the rendezvous point."

"This isn't it?" Harper asked. This time, there was no doubt about the concern in his face.

"You didn't really think I'd take you anywhere important on nothing but your word, did you?" Neverlin asked scornfully. "I hope Braxton's people bring enough supplies to have themselves a party. That's all they're going to get here."

"Essenay closed," a voice came from the intercom. "Confirm drop."

"Drop confirmed," Frost said.

Taneem didn't hear anything, but she felt the duct around her give a slight lurch. "Essenay away," the intercom said. "Drifting free and clear."

"Acknowledged," Frost said. He touched another intercom button. "All ships: you're cleared to proceed to rendezvous point. Repeat: all ships to rendezvous point. Go on ECHO when ready."

There were a dozen acknowledgments from a dozen different voices. "May I ask what you intend to do with me?" Harper asked as Frost shut down the intercom.

"That's entirely up to you," Neverlin said. "If you behave yourself, you might even live through all this."

Harper lifted his eyebrows. "Really."

"Really," Neverlin assured him. "You know a great deal about Braxton's security setup, knowledge that could come in handy when I'm ready to make my move against him."

"You really think I'll give any of that up?"

"I'm sure you will," Neverlin said casually. "With the proper persuasion, of course."

There was a beep from the intercom. "Mr. Neverlin, all ships except our fighter escort have gone on ECHO," the Advocatus Diaboli's captain reported.

"Thank you, Captain," Neverlin said. "Signal the escort to follow, and take us out."

He clicked off the intercom. "And now it's time for you to go back into storage," he added, gesturing to Harper. "The guards outside will escort you to your stateroom."

"As you wish," Harper said, standing up. "You realize, of course, that this little maneuver has just given Morgan and Draycos more time to sabotage the Foxwolf."

"Hardly," Neverlin said. "It's only another two hours from here to the rendezvous point. I doubt even they can do much damage in that short a time."

"Not to mention that they've already done as much as they can," Frost said. He smiled. "Though not nearly as much as they think they have."

"But that's not your concern," Neverlin said. "Good-bye, Mr. Harper."

"Good-bye, Mr. Neverlin," Harper said. Inclining his head briefly to both Neverlin and Frost, he turned to the door and keyed it open. Peering through the grille, Taneem caught a glimpse of several armed humans waiting outside in the corridor.

The door closed behind him. "You think he'll behave?" Frost asked, putting away his gun.