Cerberus: A Wolf in the Fold

CHAPTER SIXTEEN Wagant Laroo

I spent an extremely comfortable night in one of the guest rooms, surrounded by old masters and sleeping in the kind of computer-controlled luxury I’d almost forgotten existed. I slept late, knowing I might need all my wits about me, and had a sumptuous brunch; then, with the permission of the National Police, and under their extremely watchful eyes, I toured the collections upstairs. All in all it was a fascinating day as well as providing solutions to enough unsolved spectacular thefts to earn any cop a seat in the hall of fame, if they have one.

In the late afternoon a flier approached and landed on the front lawn I still found so nice. Out stepped five men, each carrying a briefcase. There was nothing particularly unusual about any of them, so I could only stare out the window and wonder which was Laroo.

That, it seemed, was the real trick.

“You never know which one of the party is him,” Bogen warned me. “He has about two dozen people that are so good at acting that they actually represent him at various functions, and he usually travels with a group. He can be any one of them—and you’re never sure if you’re talking to the real one or not.”

That made me a little nervous. “So the real one might not be here at all.”

“Oh, one of ’em’s him, I guarantee. This is that kind of decision. The best way is just to treat any of ’em as if he were Laroo. The real one’ll get everything.”

I nodded uneasily, and we went down to the Lord of the Diamond’s elaborate office. The idea that Laroo played such tricks made me a bit uneasy. Another thing that could go wrong, I thought nervously.

I was ushered in and introduced to a tall, handsome man with prematurely white hair that gave him the look of a distinguished politician. I looked over at the others. One of them was short and fat and looked a little like Otah, but hardly anything like I imagined the Lord of Cerberus should look. I’d pick that one, I noted to myself. Nobody could ever take somebody who looked like that seriously as a dictator. I looked around at the others sitting there, relaxed, eyes on me. I wondered if they knew who was who right now.

I went up to the Laroo indicated, stopped, and bowed slightly.

He put out his hand and flashed a politician’s smile. “You don’t have to go through that shit,” he told me pleasantly. “We’re all businessmen here. Here, have a seat and make yourself comfortable.”

I did as instructed. He just sat there a moment, looking me over. “So you’re a First-Class Assassin,” he finally said.

“Was,” I responded, relaxing a bit “I’m no longer interested in that part of the work.”

“I’ve viewed the tape of your conversation with Bogen yesterday and checked the instrument readings. It seems we have a truly valuable and interesting man in you, Zhang. I’m curious, though. If you volunteered for all this, why did you turn yourself around?”

“I didn’t volunteer,” I told him truthfully. “I was nominated, elected, put to sleep, briefed, and woke up on the prison ship.”

He laughed at that. “Sounds like ’em, all right. And now you’re in business for yourself. Well, I have a few more questions of a more practical nature.”

“Fire away.”

“First, assuming we let you go ahead with this, what guarantees do we have that you won’t double-cross us?”

It was my turn to laugh. “Double-cross you? All by myself? Look, turn it around. Once I’ve done it, what guarantee do I have that you won’t then decide just to terminate me?”

“Fair enough. So we’re starting on the basis of mutual trust. A good foundation. You know what we expect to gain. What about you? What do you want out of this?”

“Well, before we go anywhere with this, I’d like my wife’s judgment set aside. She’s got some mental problems and the judgment stands in the way of solving them. That comes before anything—as a gesture of trust. Also, I’m going to need her, since she’s the only check I have that the Confederacy’s agents won’t pull a fast one on me.”

Wagant Laroo seemed more than a little amused, as did the others. I noted with some discomfort that their reactions to my statements were virtually simultaneous—and identical.

“You know, I like you, Zhang, or whatever your name really is. Here you are, a prisoner on my island, and with a flick of a finger I could sweep you away as if you’d never been. Considering this, you start demanding terms and advance payment! I really do like that.”

“If you accept my idea, then it’s perfectly reasonable,” I told him. “If you don’t, then I’m gone anyway.”

He nodded, liking the answer. “That’s true. You already know I’m interested, or I wouldn’t have interrupted my very busy schedule to get here. More, there’s an extra feeling of urgency on my part to accomplish something, purely for my own protection. Marek Kreegan, Lord of Lilith, was assassinated yesterday.”

“What!” I felt a rise of excitement within me that I could not suppress.

He nodded gravely. “Actually, it was something of a fluke, I’m told, but it was a direct result of the Confederacy putting somebody there to do it. I, and the other planetary leaders, must assume that there are Confederacy assassins out to get all of us, a clever and backhanded way to strike at us. Tell me, wasn’t that really your assignment?”

Honesty was the best policy. Besides, they probably had already burglarized Dumonia’s office and records anyway. “Yes, it was. Deep down there’s still a psych command to that effect in my brain, but if you’ll check with Dr. Dumonia he’ll tell you it isn’t an imperative in any way—and I have already changed my game plan. I would have anyway after discovering that. I don’t like people, even those people, messing with my mind,”

“I think I believe you,” he told me. “But that doesn’t alter the fact that you’re probably not the only one.”

“Almost certainly not,” I agreed, feeding his paranoia with the truth. “They told me at the time that there might be others.”

“Exactly. That means Project Phoenix is even more urgent in my case. You know, I was giving your proposal much thought, and I got to wondering why I shouldn’t just have a robot made of you. That would most certainly assure your loyalty, honesty, and cooperation.”

I felt a tinge of panic. That was a line I’d thought of as one of the major risks—and one I had no real counter for.

“It won’t work,” I lied as smoothly and convincingly as I could. “The kind of mental training I had for my entire life would be placed into direct conflict with the robotic programming. An internal war would ensue, and at best, insanity.”

He thought it over. “Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t know. We’ve never had someone of your unique training and upbringing before. Still, I can see the logic in it, and I’ll check it out with a psych. Go get some dinner now—Bogen will show you where—while we discuss this and while I check out that particular point.”

The interview was over, but I didn’t feel too good about it nor did I feel much like eating. Bogen, who stuck with me, seemed quite satisfied with himself, so I knew immediately where the idea had come from. After killing some after-dinner time, we were summoned back into the five presences, this time with even less ceremony.

“All right,” Laroo began, “you win this round. We contacted five of the top psychs in the area, including your own, and two out of five agreed with you while the other three weren’t sure. All things considered, I can’t take the chance on you right now. I also toyed with the idea of replacing your wife—a very simple procedure, really.”

I tensed, but said nothing.

“However,” he continued, “Dumonia said that doing so would eventually turn you into a suicidal assassin of the first rank, which would mean killing you immediately. It’s still an attractive idea—and you might consider that you won’t know if and when I decide to do it—but I won’t for now. The fact is, your kind of mind comes along all too seldom around here, and your type is one I find fascinating and useful.”

“Aside from the fact that if you replaced Dylan I’d know the first time we swapped minds, assuming I survived the swap.”

He sighed. “Yes, that is the compelling reason. See what I mean? You think right. And because you think right, I’m inclined to give you a chance. I’m inclined to let you try.”

I relaxed. Second big hurdle crossed. “When?”

“As soon as possible,” he told me. “Ordinarily I’d take this up at the semiannual meeting of the Lords of the Diamond, which is the day after tomorrow, but with Kreegan gone I can no longer afford the luxury of committee decisions. He usually made them, anyway. I will, however, bring the matter up at the time.” He rose, as if to dismiss me.

“My wife,” I reminded him. “The down payment.”

He hesitated, then sighed. “Very well. Call Dumonia when you get back to shore. I’ll arrange things through him. Get it done quickly. But the psych commands and network remain. You understand that? And the credit dependency. If she tries to get out of the motherhood again, I’ll fix it so she’ll beg for mercy—and you, too. Also, her life as well as yours is in your hands as of now. One cross, one little slip by either of you, one thing going even slightly off—even if it’s something beyond your doing or control—and both of you won’t be dead, but you’ll wish you were. You understand?”

I nodded seriously, noting the vicious undertone in his voice. It was an edge, a very slight chilling undertone, that had been absent before. I realized suddenly that I was facing the real Wagant Laroo, although I hadn’t the first time, and I felt the odds tilt very slightly back to me. I could recognize him if I was careful. Could pick him out in his room full of doubles. Those others, that first one, were damned good actors, but the kind of emotional undertone here had to be, I felt, unique to the real one.

Bogen suddenly paled as a worthy opponent’ in my eyes. I could see him shrink into insignificance in my mind, a minor-league security chief. Wagant Laroo was the most chillingly dangerous human being I had ever met. I never doubted for a second his threat, or his ability to make good on it.