The Stainless Steel Rat Joins the Circus

Chapter 22

Dawn was lightening the western sky when I exited the repository. I shuffled off to our meeting place where Igor was already waiting. We rode in silence back to the warehouse where I saw, as the door swung open, that Kaia's car was there already. He strode out and stopped the truck with the upraised palm of his hand. I climbed wearily down.

"Igor," he commanded. "Machine empty. Go buy beer." "No money."

"Here money. Go."

I was sure that it was privacy he wanted, not beer.

"How did it go?" he asked as soon as the door was closed. "A piece of cake. I can get into that vault and have those bearer bonds out of there within ten minutes. Most of that time will be spent in carrying them away."

"Splendid."

"It is, isn't it? However there is one slight problem in this otherwise most successful robbery plan."

"Problem? What do you mean?"

He looked worried. I turned the knife in the wound.

"Although I can get the bonds out of the vault-there is no way to get them out of the building the same night."

"I don't know what you are taking about." He spoke the words slowly through tight-clamped teeth:

"It is really so simple that Igor could understand it. Take bonds out room, no out building."

He was flushed with rage; I was making a big mistake in taunting him at this stage. I hurried to make amends.

"It can be done, I can get the bonds out of the vault, and eventually out of the building, that I can assure you. It is just that it will take more time. You'll have your bonds, do not fear. But not on the morning after the theft. I toured that building and checked every entrance. They are all locked from the outside. So I would need an accomplice outside to open the door. And there would have to be a truck waiting there as well to carry away the loot."

"There is a possibility that could be arranged."

"But not easily. The street gates for vehicles are locked at night as well. There is no nighttime traffic. The truck would be too easy to see, the risk too great. But there is another way the job can be done with no risk at all. And I can do it alone, so no one else will need to be involved. And I must give you all credit for the plan. It is a variation of the scam you used to rob your own bank. You have a genius for this sort of thing."

He preened a bit; there is a rule that no egotist can recognize false flattery.

"If I were not a genius I would not be the richest man in the galaxy. Go on."

"Follow closely. Before I empty the bond vault I go to storeroom number eight zero three. This is where the stationery supplies are kept. Bureaucracies thrive on paperwork so, as you can well imagine, this is a very large room. I will go to the rear of the stacks, which won't be touched for months-if not years-and remove a volume of paper equal in size to the bonds to be stolen."

"Why?"

"Stay with me for a bit longer. After opening the bond vault I stack the paper in the middle of floor, then I remove the bonds. Next I put a time-fused thermite bomb-I do love thermite-on the piles of paper. Next I place, a stroke of genius if I may say so, some of the stolen bonds, half-burned and scorched, about the rom. As though the heat of the flame blew them there …"

"Let me finish! " Chaise shouted enthusiastically. "You take the stolen bonds to the stationery storage room! Where you bury them in the back, in the empty space were you took the paper earlier! Then you leave the building at the usual time in the morning-and the thermite goes off after you are gone. You leave the bond room locked?"

"Of course."

"Then there is a mystery. Did the bonds light spontaneously? Who piled them up? What happened? A sealed-room mystery? Investigation and suspicion. Theft not considered at the time. Certainly not a theft that leaves the bonds still in the building."

"May I add a few facts to your masterful reconstruction?" I smarmed. He nodded condescendingly. "Orders for stationery are forwarded from the various departments to the central ordering room. Which sends it to the supplier. Who brings the ,supplies once a week." He leaned forward expectantly as I played out my story for all it was worth.

"The next delivery will be in three day's time. The driver, accompanied by one of the building guards, takes it directly to the storage room. But this time I will be the driver. After delivering the stationery the guard will fall asleep. The bonds will be loaded onto the handcar, the sleeping guard left in their place. Exit the building. The crime of the century."

He sighed and leaned back in his chair, smiling, contemplating this perfect crime. Igor came in and Chaise grabbed one of the beers, opened it and took an immense swig. Then looked at me speculatively. "You can do this?"

"I can. But I'll need some more equipment."

"Give me the list. You will have it before you leave tonight."

"Fine. Now I am going to get something to eat, then get me some sleep."

He did not try to stop me. Knowing that he had absolute power over me as long as Angelina was his prisoner. I slowly strolled the streets among the wage slaves hurrying to work. Entered the now familiar environs of the mechomart and buried myself in its depths. If I were being followed I wanted to lose my tail. I entered the first office building I came to. Up the elevator alone. Down the stairs and out the rear door-did this sort of thing a number of times until I was sure I wasn't being followed. Only then did I go and buy a cheap telephone. After I first threw mine away. Chaise had had the entire night to bug this phone-and to plant more of his bugs on me.

"Waiter. Come here," I said as soon as Bolivar answered it. "Let me remember what I ate the last time I was here. Yes, a bearburger and some beer."

I hung up and strolled away. And dropped the phone in the nearest waste receptacle. Hoping that Bolivar would catch on that I was still probably bugged, and letting him know I would be at the restaurant we had met in before. I knew I had not been followed. But I also knew that I was undoubtedly still bugged.

I moved about, never staying in one place very long-in case there was a tracker on one of my bugs. It was on my third pass that I saw Bolivar sitting in a corner booth. I made a wide circle, then went back and moved as quickly as I could to the restaurant. I came up behind him and held up a card when he turned. Which read:

SEARCH ME FOR BUGS

Which he instantly did-after one shocked look at my face. Whipping out the detector and passing it down my body. Three coins, the usual, but one of my metal fly buttons turned on the red light as well. Chaise was getting trickier all the time. I tore off the button and handed it to Bolivar along with the coins. He took the insulated pouch from his pocket and tipped all the miniature transmitters into it, then sealed it shut.

"They're shielded now and can't transmit," Bolivar said. "I barely recognized you-great makeup. And I have some good news. Bolivar has found Kaia's house."

"But you are Bolivar!"

"James, Dad. You'll never get it right."

"Is she there?"

"We don't know. But it is a very big place, and there is a prime-class robot in the house."

Prime class. Intelligent and expensive. We would have to be very careful before we tackled it.

"While you and Bolivar were holidaying in Swartzlegen I finally cracked into the local government files in Sunkistbythe-Sea. I had to do it physically."

"You've lost me."

"I mean that their anti-hacking programs were unbeatable without leaving signs of forced entry. So I did a little burglary one night and stole some office machines as a cover. Since I had planted a transceiver inside their main computer bank. The computer is now wide open. I left Bolivar tracking down the construction details in the government files. Planning permission and such should tell us everything about the house that we need to know."

"I've had a long night," I said and punched for the drinks menu. I ordered double eye-openers for both of us. "Let me tell you all about it."

"Wow!" he said when I had finished, took too big a slug of his drink and started coughing. I slapped him on the back, which worked. "That is the most ambitious caper I have ever heard of," he wheezed.

"Thank you. I am proud of it. But I am afraid that I was a little untruthful to my employer about one detail."

"Which is?… "

"The stationery delivery will be in two day's time-not three."

He instantly assessed the importance of this fact. And smiled broadly.

"You plan to get the bonds out-and keep them!"

"Exactly. But before we even consider doing that we have to be absolutely sure that your mother is safe. And I have another assignment for you. This is not a casual disguise that I am wearing-I look like an employee of the depository named Iba. I'm worried about him. Chaise says that he left on a spacer yesterday, got paid off."

"And you think differently? That is not Kaia's way."

"Exactly. Find out who did leave the planet yesterday. And look at all the news reports as well."

"Good as done. Any way that I can report to you?"

"I doubt it. I think it is best if we stay away from each other. If Chaise gets any hint that I am seeing you we are in deep doodoo. I'll phone you again, early, about this time tomorrow. After the bond operation."

"Take care of yourself," he said. He looked worried.

"I always do," I said, putting more enthusiasm than I felt into my words. I was more than a little stressed out.

He passed me the shielded bag and I shook out the bugs and put them into my pocket. He took back the bag and we waved good-by in silence. I made my way back to the warehouse and a bit of a rest.

I thought. Igor looked at me when I came in, then turned away. Chaise glared at me and had other ideas. "I don't like you wandering around the city alone."

"What harm can I get into?"

"I don't trust you, diGriz. You are too smooth." He pointed to the parcels on the table. "Here are all the items you will need for tonight's operation."

"Good."

He reached into his bag and took out his handgun. "I want you to sit very still while Igor puts the handcuffs on you."

There was absolutely nothing that I could do. The big thug came from behind me: the gun pointed unwaveringly. The cuffs clicked into place. And if this wasn't bad enough he locked myankles together with another pair. Chaise put the gun away and smiled.

"Get some sleep," he ordered. "You have a big night ahead of you."

They both looked on as I struggled to my feet, then turned and hopped to my cot, fell heavily onto it. Struggled about until I was lying on my back. Looked down at the handcuffs and knew why Chaise had smiled. I couldn't use a picklock on these. They had a combination lock inset so deeply that I couldn't have turned it, even if I could have reached it by twisting my fingers around. I tried. It couldn't be done.

I was tired enough to sleep deeply despite the cramped position. I woke a bit when I heard voices, fell asleep again almost instantly. It wasn't until I felt Igor's hot breath on my cheeksmelled it as well-that I awoke fully. He was bent over and trying to work the combination lock. I opened my hands ready to throttle him, when I saw Chaise in the doorway, gun pointed.

"Bring him in here where you can see better."

Igor grabbed me by the ankles and dragged me off the bed. I threw myself sideways so I landed on my shoulder instead of my head. He hauled me, bumping and cursing into the other room. Then sat on me while he opened both pairs of cuffs.

"Is this the way you treat a loyal employee?" I said as I pushed myself up from the floor and sat down in the chair.

"Igor will take you to the depository now," he said. "I will be right behind you in my car. All of the way. I 'will also be close by when you come out in the morning. If I have any suspicion at all that you have not done exactly what you described, you can be perfectly sure that you will never see your wife again."

I couldn't trust myself to answer him. He took my silence as assent. He looked at his watch. "Time to go. Take your lunch box. All the equipment you will need is inside it, under that repulsive food."

The same drive to the same corner. The same walk to thefront door of the repository. The only difference was the black car that drove silently behind me, waited across the street from the entrance.

I was happy to leave it behind. My contact lens stayed in place this time. My palm unlocked the door and I walked in.

"Hey you. Iba, I'm talking to you."

"Bowb off," I said sullenly, not looking at the speaker. What had gone wrong?

"Come here. Got something for you." I had to stop and look at him. At the newspaper he was holding out to me. "Some guy gave me this for you. Gave me five credits too, can you believe that? Nothing special, I looked at, just today's paper. Almost threw it away." He dropped it to the floor and walked off.

Newspaper? Who? Certainly not Chaise. It could only have been James. But why?

I could not look at it now. The inside guard was staring at me suspiciously as it was. "Bowb off," I called after the retreating back. Scooped up the paper and hurried to my waiting charges.

As they surged into pseudolife I opened the newspaper. Quickly looked through it. I didn't have the time to read it now-no, wait. On the last page a tiny semicircle had been torn off the edge of the paper. Next to advertisement for a Doit-Yourself hernia repair kit. That couldn't be it. I looked at the other side, at the small news item there.

DROWNING SUICIDE IN CENTRAL PARK LAKE

I felt suddenly very cold. Scanned the report quickly.

Person unknown … ragged clothing … water in lungs … no identification.

And then the last line.

Disfiguring scar on face.

There would no need to check the passenger lists now. Iba had missed his connection. He had known too much about Kaia's business.

So I knew exactly what was in store for me as well.