Dragon and Liberator

"We continue on to the Advocatus Diaboli," Draycos said.

"Because of Alison, I suppose?" Langston said.

"In part," Draycos said.

"Yeah," Langston muttered. "I don't know, Draycos. Something about her seems fishy to me."

"Join the club," Jack said dryly. "But you know how stubborn K'da poet-warriors can get when they're being noble."

"I suppose." Langston looked sideways at Jack, a crooked smile on his lips. "Lucky for me."

"Jack?" a whispered voice came from Jack's comm clip.

Jack jerked in surprise. Had Alison gotten free?

"Who's that?" Langston asked, frowning at him.

And then Jack's brain caught up with him. "It's Taneem," he said. "Taneem? Are you all right?"

"For now, yes," Taneem said. Even in a whisper Jack could hear the misery in her voice. "Jack, she lied to us. She lied to all of us."

"Calm down, Taneem," Draycos said, gently but firmly "Tell us what she lied about."

"Everything," Taneem said. "She's not a thief. She's General Aram Davi's daughter. I heard her say so."

Jack frowned. Why did that name sound familiar?

"The Malison Ring's commander?" Langston demanded, sounding stunned.

And then it clicked. "Oh, boy," Jack muttered.

"No wonder she had his voice pattern on the Essenay's computer," Taneem continued. "No wonder she had such wonderful burglary equipment."

"Okay, calm down," Jack said. "Given Frost's shenanigans with Malison Ring men and equipment, having Davi's daughter in the game may not be such a bad thing."

"You don't understand," Taneem said. "She's gone over to them. She and her father both. She's not in danger—she just pretended to be to get you and Draycos out of hiding."

Jack felt his stomach tighten. "Then Neverlin wasn't going to pull the Brummgas off the Foxwolf and try to kill us?"

"He couldn't," Taneem said. "Alison wrecked the troop carrier."

"I'll be swiggled," Langston said, peering at one of his displays. "She's right. There's a great big air-leaking dent in its side."

"Okay," Jack said. He was rather surprised at how calm his voice sounded. "We're definitely butter side down now. What do you think, Draycos? Now do we make a run for it?"

For a few seconds there was nothing but the rapid flow of Draycos's thoughts against his mind. "No," the K'da said. "For one thing, Sergeant Langston's observations and conclusions haven't changed. If Neverlin truly hopes we'll try to escape, we must definitely not do so."

"So we just walk into this other trap instead?"

"If it is, in fact, a trap," Draycos said. "Taneem, where are you right now?"

"In one of the ducts near Neverlin's office," Taneem said. "Not close enough for him to hear us."

"How much of the conversation did you hear where Alison revealed her true identity?"

"All of it, I think," Taneem said. "They didn't believe her at first, but she had something hidden in her sleeve that proved it."

"I'm sure she did," Draycos said. "Question: did she ever mention you?"

There was a short pause. "No, she didn't," Taneem said. "She said her father wanted you alive so they could learn the secret of how you can go onto people's skin."

"But she never mentioned you?" Draycos persisted.

"No, not that I heard."

"So what does that prove?" Langston asked, frowning.

"It proves she's still playing games," Jack told him, some of the weight lifting off his lungs. "And not just with us."

"What do you mean?" Taneem asked. "Is she not General Davi's daughter, then?"

"I don't know who she is," Jack said. "Not that I ever did, come to think of it. But if she'd really betrayed us, she should have betrayed you, too."

"She did tell Neverlin you'd been a useful ally while your goals weren't bumping heads," Taneem said. "Maybe they still aren't."

"Maybe," Jack said. "Draycos?"

"I'm willing to trust her a while longer," Draycos said.

"That's good enough for me," Jack said. It was almost the truth, too. "Meanwhile, Taneem, you stay hidden. Listen in as much as you can, but stay hidden."

"What about my six-hour limit?" Taneem asked. "Over half of that has already passed."

And Alison was probably going to be cooped up with Neverlin and Frost for the rest of it, Jack suspected. "That's okay—you and Draycos can take turns on me," he said. "Just track us down after they lock us up."

"All right," Taneem said. "Be careful. I hope you're right about Alison."

"We will, and we hope so, too," Jack said. "We'll talk to you later."

The transmission clicked off. "That assumes they'll put you some place where she can get to you," Langston warned.

"And that we're not under constant surveillance," Jack said grimly. "I know. But I don't know what else to do."

"Maybe I can find an excuse to go aboard later," Langston suggested. "Do you still have that spare comm clip I lent Draycos?"

"Right here," Jack said, digging it out of his pocket and handing it to the other. "It's still set on our frequency."

"Good," Langston said, slipping it into his own pocket. "If I can get back in time, I'll give her a call and arrange a rendezvous."