The Betrayers

Chapter Twenty-three

I WASN'T QUITE aware of making the decision. The mental computer just ran the tape through on its own, and came up with an answer. Without really thinking it over consciously I found myself closing my fingers hard on Isobel's arm, warning her to lie perfectly still.

To mask the signal, I lowered her to the ground at last, making it look, I hoped, like an act of rejection.

"Well, I guess she isn't playing possum this time," I said loudly. "She fooled a couple of Monk's men that way once, pretending to be unconscious when she wasn't. At least she said she did, but I guess it was just part of the act." I gave the bare arm another sharp little squeeze to call attention to my words, and went on harshly for Jill's benefit, "I should have realized she played too smart and cool all along for the simple society bitch she was supposed to be."

Jill just dropped the lighter back into the purse, snapped the purse closed, and tossed it back onto the rock. I got up, and glanced at my hands, and wiped them on my coat. Then, as an afterthought, I tossed the coat over the woman on the ground, ostensibly as a Christian gesture, and flung my shirt over her legs to finish the job of covering the body decently. I turned to face Jill.

"All right, little girl," I said. "So the old pro is just an impressionable sucker after all. Is that why you shot her?"

"Well, I knew she was dangerous. When she went for the gun…" Jill shrugged.

That reminded me that I'd forgotten the weapon once more. I just couldn't seem to keep my mind on it, any more than if it had been a toy pistol. I got it and tucked it into my pants, making room for it by taking out Jill's silvery weapon and giving it back to her apologetically.

"Sorry I was rough on you. I suppose you had to play it cagey, sneaking up on us. You couldn't know how she'd react."

"That's right, Matt. I knew she'd probably guess I'd picked up enough information to expose her. I had to take her by surprise. I'm sorry it worked out so badly. I… I'm not really very experienced at this sort of stuff, you know."

The little hesitation was very convincing. I regarded the girl thoughtfully, noting that her gaudy shirt had lost a strategic button and most of a sleeve, but that it looked just a little like the kind of phony-ragged garment, artfully tattered with scissors, that you'd wear to a masquerade. I was willing to bet, now, that she'd smeared the mud on her jeans with her own hands, to emphasize the hardships she'd endured to reach me. But she was still a lovely thing, with her fine tan and her striking blonde hair and her frank blue eyes. It was just too bad she was a goddamn liar.

Either that or she'd been deceived, although it was hard to see how it could have been done. Or I was the world's biggest sucker, because I didn't believe a word she'd said against Isobel. I mean, as I'd said earlier, there are times in this faithless business when you've simply got to haul off and have a little faith in somebody.

What it amounted to was that I had to choose. I had to choose between the tall blonde girl who sounded very convincing and had a trick cigarette lighter for evidence, and the slim dark-haired woman who'd said to me softly, "Matt, don't laugh, but I'm happy." I could believe that the woman who'd said that, in the way she'd said it, was exactly what she'd claimed to be, or I could believe that she was the world's most consummate actress.

I didn't think they came that good. And the cigarette lighter didn't really count. It could have been planted in her purse at any time, without her knowledge. They're made by the millions, they burn for months, and one looks just like another-at least, a duplicate wouldn't have been hard to find. For a choice, the switch had been made when Francis and his sidekick searched her room, mauling her in the process. There had never been a really good explanation for that whole clumsy performance until now; and Francis had been trying to warn me about something in this connection when he died.

I could have misunderstood the warning. He could have been trying to warn me against the lighter, instead of against the person who carried it.

In any case, I'd made my choice. I was putting my money on the woman on the ground. I was gambling that she was exactly what she'd said: Isobel Marner, from Frisco, Cal, although they don't like that name up there.

I was betting on her screwball streak, and on the guts she'd displayed in the Pablo Channel.

I was also gambling, of course, that she wasn't so badly hurt she'd go and die on me after all. Actually, I told myself, the amount of blood I'd seen could be considered a good sign rather than a bad one. They don't generally bleed like that when they're shot through the lungs or heart. Most often, in such cases, the hemorrhage stays internal and all you see outside is a small, red-rimmed hole. Copious bleeding there indicated a flesh wound, a nasty, open bullet furrow along the ribs, perhaps, very painful and messy but seldom fatal. l was betting my life, and perhaps a lot of other people's lives-depending on what Monk had in mind- that she was not too badly injured to be listening now, and that she'd be strong enough and smart enough and brave enough to understand my instructions and follow them. It was a lot to ask of a sheltered woman, inexperienced in violence, and badly hurt. It was a lot to ask of anybody, but I bad to give it a try.

Of course, I would have preferred to rush over and bandage her tenderly and load her into the boat and get her to a doctor-but then, I'd also have preferred to be somewhere far away, taking the vacation that was coming to me. My preferences were strictly irrelevant. If Isobel could play possum well enough and listen hard enough, she could be useful; if not, I'd have to do my job without her help. In neither case was I here to make like Florence Nightingale: she'd have to patch up her own damn holes. I was leaving her my shirt to do it with. Our jungle idyll was over and it was time to go to work.

I said to Jill, "Okay, kid. Give it to me fast. What have you learned? First of all, where's K?"

"It's over there about five miles," she said, pointing. "Down the coast to the west. Not the next bay but the one after that. It would be easy enough in a boat, but it's kind of a rough trip overland, everything from gooey swamps and jungle to sharp lava rocks. Well, look at me! Matt, I-"

"You say Monk knows I'm here. What's he doing about it?"

"Nothing, at the moment. They're all busy working on the boat. He figures, with the woman to watch you, and her transmitter to show when you change position, you'll keep until he's got a couple of men free to go after you. Of course, once he learns I'm missing…"

"That's the next question," I said. "Just why the hell are you missing? I told you to get to K and stay put. I told you I'd find you."

"But I had to warn you!" she protested. "I had to let you know you were walking into a trap, with a traitor at your back. Didn't I? Mart..

I said, "Maybe I wanted to walk into a trap. Maybe that's why I sent you on ahead, so you'd be there to get me out of it. Next time, Jill, just follow instructions and don't worry so damn much about other people's safety. Little angels of mercy we can do very well without."

Her eyes flashed angrily, but her voice was humble. "Yes, Matt. I'm sorry if I made a mistake. I thought it was the thing to do."

So I knew she was a phony-a lovely, hypocritical phony-and not just an innocent girl being used as a patsy in some clever Monkish way. Well, she'd always been kind of a question mark; I'd even commented to Mac about the inconsistency of a girl who looked like a tall young goddess and acted like a small white mouse.

It remained to be seen whether she was a truly sinister and complex person, much more deeply involved in Monk's intrigues than anyone could have guessed, or whether she'd simply been caught, exposed, and frightened into changing sides. There are a good many threats that can be used against a pretty girl, particularly one with no great reputation for courage, and Monk would know them all.

"Well, we'll just have to refigure the program," I said easily. "Can you lead me there in such a way that we're not spotted? Or maybe you can just tell me how to find the place and get past the guards-I suppose he does have guards out."

Jill hesitated. "I'd better guide you. I can save you some time and a lot of nasty climbing and wading, and I know where Monk's men are posted. Mali-"

"And now for the big question," I said. "What's he up to? Have you been able to learn that?"

"Of course I have!" she said quickly. "That's what I've been trying to tell you. Matt, it's horrible. It's the General Hughes!"

"The what?"

"The Hughes. The General Herman Hughes. The transport, Matt. The troop transport!"

I looked at her for a moment, but I was thinking of the boys with the dog tags I'd seen on the beach. They hadn't impressed me too favorably. In my book, punks who lounge around making audible comments about strangers should have their tails kicked up between their ears, in the armed forces or out. Nevertheless, I didn't particularly want anything more drastic to happen to them. Hell, there might even be a nice, quiet, respectful young fellow in the lot, and we couldn't risk losing such a rare specimen.

"I see," I said softly. "I see. I presume he's going to sink it?" She nodded. I asked, "How? No, don't tell me. It's the Monk, so he'll blow it up dramatically. Lots of noise and smoke and flame. He likes big bangs. Particularly big bangs with people inside them."

Jill nodded again. "Yes, of course. The explosives have already been planted on the ship."

"Where? I mean, is he using limpet mines of some kind stuck to the outside of the hull, or did they smuggle the stuff aboard somehow?"

"I… I don't know where it is. I just know that end of the job has been taken care of to everybody's satisfaction."

"Okay," I said. "Now, how's he planning to detonate, with a timing device or something? No, it wouldn't be that, not with the Monk. He likes to push his own buttons and see them blow. How has he got it rigged?"

"I don't know the technical details, Mali, but it's a radio-type gadget in one of the boats. The bigger one, the inboard-outboard. They're fixing it up for the skis now. That's how I got to K. He needed somebody to ride them, somebody who… who'd look good in a bikini."

I looked at her sharply. "You're going a little too fast for me. Skis?"

"Yes. Water skis. Don't you see? Who'll suspect a speedboat towing a… a pretty girl with long blonde hair, on water skis? Why, the boys will line the rails and whistle and hoot and throw down the leis the girls gave them in town, as we come alongside. And then… and then, after we've swung off to a safe distance, Monk will push the button…" We didn't say anything for a little. I didn't look toward the coat-covered shape by the rock. Presently Jill went on dully, "They made it easy for him, docking in Honolulu instead of Pearl Harbor. They leave early tomorrow morning, and tomorrow's Saturday. That means the Lurline will be coming in. That means the whole ocean will be full of boats anyway, waiting to greet the liner. One more won't attract any attention at all. Even after the explosion, Monk figures, we won't be noticed particularly. Everybody'll be watching the Hughes."

"What happens then?"

"We just slip away in the confusion and rendezvous somewhere-I don't know where-with the other boat, the one with no incriminating gadgets on board. We'll switch boats and head out to meet a getaway ship. I haven't learned the details of that. Monk said leave it all to him. He… he thinks I'm in love with him. He thinks I'm doing it all, not only for my political beliefs, but because I want to go away with him. I… I had to let him think that." She was blushing a little. I wasn't as impressed as I might have been if I hadn't seen her instant blush before.

I said, "And what about his political beliefs? Just why is he doing all this?"

"Isn't it obvious? To protest against the war, of course. And to keep all those troops from getting there to fight."

I said, "It doesn't sound like the Monk to me. He never impressed me as the peaceful type. Of course he may have got soft in his old age, but what about this lady from Moscow? I can see how the Peking bunch got into the act, if he needed technical assistance, although the Monk I used to know wouldn't have needed anybody's help with explosives and detonators. But what's a Russki agent doing here? You did say she was Moscow, didn't you?"

"Yes, of course, but I don't know what her function is. Does it matter? Those communists all work together, don't they?"

I laughed. "Don't bet your life on it. Well, if you don't know, you don't know." I frowned. "This changes things a bit. We've got to get word to Honolulu somehow. There's a boat hidden over there in the reeds; that's your baby. First give me directions to K. I'll do what I can there. But you take that boat and hide it somewhere close until dark, so it won't be found when Monk's men come prowling around. Then you put to sea and steer west towards Kalaupapa, the leper colony. It shouldn't be more than a two or three hours' run downwind, if the trades blow as hard as they did last night. There's a lighthouse at the end of the Kalaupapa peninsula, according to the chart. You can home in on that. Swing around it and land on the leeward side of the peninsula. That seems to be where most of the installations are. They'll have communications equipment available. Make sure the word gets to Honolulu right away. That ship mustn't sail tomorrow. Okay?"

I spoke as loudly and clearly as I could without arousing Jill's suspicion. I was careful not to look toward Isobel. There was no sign of life under my coat and shirt. I wondered if I'd misinterpreted the faint stirring I'd felt.

Well, either she was alive or she wasn't. Either she'd heard or she hadn't. Either she'd get word to Kalaupapa or she wouldn't. I couldn't do it. If I put to sea now, the lookouts would spot me from K, just down the coast, and the speedboats would run me down within a mile. If I tried to cross the mountains to the south on foot. I might take days trying to find my way through the jungles and up the spectacular precipices this volcanic geology seemed to favor. We didn't have that much time.

And if I just waited for darkness, the Monk would come after me long before I could slip away unseen. My best bet was to keep him away from this place by going to him. That gave Isobel an escape, if she was strong enough to use it; and it might put me in a position for some judicious sabotage, if I was smart enough to take advantage of it. Of course, I had to get Jill away from here, too, but I didn't think she was going to make it hard for me, and she didn't.

She said, hesitantly, "Well, all right, Matt, but-"

"But what?"

"There's lot of time before dark. At least let me guide you part way, far enough that I can point out to you.

Let me feel I haven't altogether fallen down on this job. Then I'll come back and take care of the boat."

I shrugged. "Sure. Whatever you say. Just so you've got the directions clear. Straight downwind to Kalaupapa as soon as it's dark…

There were, of course, no good-byes. I didn't even glance back; I just followed the girl away from the quiet jungle pool, out of the thick stuff, and up over the lava rocks of the promontory to the west. It was a healthy climb and the day was bright and warm; I was glad I'd started this job with a pretty good tan or I'd have been well cooked without my shirt. We were both perspiring freely by the time we got far enough around the point to see into the next bay.

It was a little larger than the one we'd left, the valley above it was wider, and the inlet looked deeper. There was no sparkling fall of water down the mountains behind it. It wasn't quite the Garden of Eden that Isobel and I had found, but then, this was no longer dawn and a lot of things had happened and Paradise was a long way off.

I could see no sign of human life ahead as I followed Jill around the point until the harsh black rocks gave way to tropical vegetation again. Here she stopped and turned to face me.

"It's just over that next ridge," she said, pointing. "You'll have to cross at the high saddle, there. A man is standing watch just below. You'll be able to make out the others, one on the next point, and one up on a kind of cliff behind the camp. If you cut well back, crossing this valley, you won't have as much trouble with the swampy stuff as I did." She grinned. "Luckily, there are no water snakes on Hawaii, or any other snakes, for that matter. You don't have to worry about that."

I regarded her for a moment. You never quite know if you're right, of course. It's always a throw of the dice, a flip of the coin. She was a very attractive young lady, even in her dirty boy's clothes. She stuck out her hand abruptly.

"I… I'd better get back and hide that boat, Matt."

"Sure." We shook hands. "Have a good sail, kid."

"I'll send some help. Right away."

I shook my head. "Better wait till you're sure the ship is safe, before you let them disturb things around here. I may be able to jimmy the works somehow, but not if they come charging up clumsily and spook him. We don't want to take any chance of both the detonator boat and the ship getting loose on the same ocean. Your job is the ship. I take the speedboat if I can. Make sure your job is done this time, before you worry about mine. Or me. Okay?"

She took this pompous lecture without resentment. "Yes, of course. I understand… Matt?"

"What is it?"

"You don't think… you don't think I've done too badly, do you?"

She was really very good, or I was very wrong. I grinned, and took her shiny face in my hands, and kissed her lightly on the forehead. I felt her arms go around me impulsively, and she turned her face up for a real kiss, and got it. Then the gun was gone from my belt, and she'd jumped back, aiming it at me.

"It's all right, Monk," she called. "I have his gun. Come and get him, darling."

I raised my hands cautiously, regarding the weapon as if I had a great deal of respect for it. Well, I'd been trying to peddle that damn castrated pistol for days. It was about time I found a taker, even though I couldn't see just how it was going to help me now.