Juete wore a smile for him. He hugged her, and she returned the embrace, but the desperate quality was gone. She had to give him credit for some preception; he noticed the lack.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I'm fine. Glad to see you."
He untabbed the front of his coverall, grinning. "I'm glad to see you, too."
Afterwards, he lay with her on the bed.
"So, how are things out there?"
"Not much different. That bastard Maro didn't crack in the Zonn Chamber. Some kind of mind control, I think. Kamaaj knew. The rinthsucker is setting me up to fall if he doesn't get what he wants from Maro."
"What can you do about it?"
"Not a lot. He said he'd be in the city for a week, but he could come back at any time. And if I don't have Maro ready to leak information like an unshielded microwave caster, Karnaaj will skewer me, somehow."
"Can't you convince this Maro to give you what Karnaaj wants?"
"I don't think so." He shifted on the bed and cupped one of her pale breasts.
Inwardly, she shuddered; no ripple of it showed on the pale surface.
"Then you're in danger?" she said.
"Maybe not." He rubbed the pink nipple with his thumb and forefinger. It erected under his touch. "I have a final token I can play in this little game. I can mindwipe Maro, if it comes to that. I'm hoping he'll spill something to one of my dips with the right prodding, but if he doesn't, I can clean his slate and give the recording to Karnaaj in a neat little package."
He leaned over then and kissed her on the neck, and she stroked his back mechanically as she thought about what he had said. A week. Dain only had a week at most, to make good his—and their—escape. After that he might be little more than a mental infant if Stark carried out his plan. She would have to get this information to him as soon as possible.
It was that thought which made her realize that she had shifted her allegiance from Stark to Dain Maro. Stark was her jailer and Maro might be her saviour.
The choice was simple, and it had been made.
"You look pretty good for a man who spent four days in the Zonn Chamber,"
Sandoz said.
Maro grinned. Standing around him in the yard along with Sandoz were Scanner, Raze, Chameleon and Patch. Maro said, "Ah, I needed the rest. Nice and quiet in there. If the warden offers it, you might spend a couple of days; it'd do you good."
"No, thanks," Chameleon said. Everybody laughed.
"So, Scanner tells us you've got a plan working. You want to let us in on it?"
That from Raze.
Maro nodded. "I need a couple of minutes with Scanner, first. You can listen."
The circuit-rider said, "I've got the confounder specs and the basic hardwiring is done. It'll take some programming to make it work, but I think I can manage it.
The biochips for the Bender and the stick-links are on the way. Parker is helping; he thinks he gets the pornoproj unit when we're done. I had to use Fish and Berque, they had contacts we needed, and I'm stalling them, but they'll want to know what we're doing pretty soon."
"Berque is a pipe to the warden, you said?"
Scanner nodded.
"All right. We can use that to feed him what we want him to know, maybe. What about Fish?"
"He's crazier than a burnt din, but he wants out pretty bad. I dunno. You'll have to decide on him."
Sandoz said, "Come on, Maro. What's the play here? Scanner has been laying smoke since you went into the Zonn Chamber."
Maro took a deep breath. "Okay. There's a theory about the Zonn: the walls of the cities they built aren't walls at all, but energy fields. And they have locked up, somehow, the same kind of power that a Bender uses to shift from real to sub-space for FTL travel. I knew some scientists who owed me favors, and I had it all checked out before they shipped me to the Cage. The story's in pieces— some on one world, some on another, some in the Galax InfoNet, some of it not. But if you put it all together, it might mean a way out."
Raze looked at Sandoz. "I think I understand. You said it before,
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I'm fine. Glad to see you."
He untabbed the front of his coverall, grinning. "I'm glad to see you, too."
Afterwards, he lay with her on the bed.
"So, how are things out there?"
"Not much different. That bastard Maro didn't crack in the Zonn Chamber. Some kind of mind control, I think. Kamaaj knew. The rinthsucker is setting me up to fall if he doesn't get what he wants from Maro."
"What can you do about it?"
"Not a lot. He said he'd be in the city for a week, but he could come back at any time. And if I don't have Maro ready to leak information like an unshielded microwave caster, Karnaaj will skewer me, somehow."
"Can't you convince this Maro to give you what Karnaaj wants?"
"I don't think so." He shifted on the bed and cupped one of her pale breasts.
Inwardly, she shuddered; no ripple of it showed on the pale surface.
"Then you're in danger?" she said.
"Maybe not." He rubbed the pink nipple with his thumb and forefinger. It erected under his touch. "I have a final token I can play in this little game. I can mindwipe Maro, if it comes to that. I'm hoping he'll spill something to one of my dips with the right prodding, but if he doesn't, I can clean his slate and give the recording to Karnaaj in a neat little package."
He leaned over then and kissed her on the neck, and she stroked his back mechanically as she thought about what he had said. A week. Dain only had a week at most, to make good his—and their—escape. After that he might be little more than a mental infant if Stark carried out his plan. She would have to get this information to him as soon as possible.
It was that thought which made her realize that she had shifted her allegiance from Stark to Dain Maro. Stark was her jailer and Maro might be her saviour.
The choice was simple, and it had been made.
"You look pretty good for a man who spent four days in the Zonn Chamber,"
Sandoz said.
Maro grinned. Standing around him in the yard along with Sandoz were Scanner, Raze, Chameleon and Patch. Maro said, "Ah, I needed the rest. Nice and quiet in there. If the warden offers it, you might spend a couple of days; it'd do you good."
"No, thanks," Chameleon said. Everybody laughed.
"So, Scanner tells us you've got a plan working. You want to let us in on it?"
That from Raze.
Maro nodded. "I need a couple of minutes with Scanner, first. You can listen."
The circuit-rider said, "I've got the confounder specs and the basic hardwiring is done. It'll take some programming to make it work, but I think I can manage it.
The biochips for the Bender and the stick-links are on the way. Parker is helping; he thinks he gets the pornoproj unit when we're done. I had to use Fish and Berque, they had contacts we needed, and I'm stalling them, but they'll want to know what we're doing pretty soon."
"Berque is a pipe to the warden, you said?"
Scanner nodded.
"All right. We can use that to feed him what we want him to know, maybe. What about Fish?"
"He's crazier than a burnt din, but he wants out pretty bad. I dunno. You'll have to decide on him."
Sandoz said, "Come on, Maro. What's the play here? Scanner has been laying smoke since you went into the Zonn Chamber."
Maro took a deep breath. "Okay. There's a theory about the Zonn: the walls of the cities they built aren't walls at all, but energy fields. And they have locked up, somehow, the same kind of power that a Bender uses to shift from real to sub-space for FTL travel. I knew some scientists who owed me favors, and I had it all checked out before they shipped me to the Cage. The story's in pieces— some on one world, some on another, some in the Galax InfoNet, some of it not. But if you put it all together, it might mean a way out."
Raze looked at Sandoz. "I think I understand. You said it before,
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