All too, Sam thought.
“I can see that you are.”
Sam relaxed the muscles in his face, realizing it wouldn’t take a mind-reader to see his hate. “Do you want to help me bring him to justice? He has deaths to answer for.”
“Death is the only answer for death, Samuel Verner.
“Though you have tasted his violent villainy, he has caused little harm to me and mine as yet. Were he to do so, I would take action and openly chastise him. But a solution suited to me is not necessarily suited to you.
“Any direct action by me would be hard to justify in your world’s courts. He has committed no crime against me. Has he stolen from me or killed any of my retainers? Until now, he has only taken advantage of a faithless person, who will face his own reckoning in the fullness of time.
“Whether by plan or chance, all evidence of the misuse of Genomics resources leads only to Doctor Wilson. The doctor has been deceived by a lying tongue into believing that he works in his own interest. In the end, Doctor Wilson will be returned to the Earth and I will be deprived of the benefits that I sought to nurture.
“It is presumptuous of this plotter to believe that he may cull his feast from a herd that I have bred. And I find this schemer and his presumption… offensive.” Contempt hung in the air. “I am informed that you too find this Mister Drake offensive. And that is where our mutual interest lies.”
“So you want me to do something about Drake.” Sam sensed the Dragon’s agreement, and suspected he knew what Lofwyr wanted him to do. “I won’t kill him for you.”
“I understand, If you killed him, it would be for yourself.”
“Just what do you want?”
“I have yet to determine the exact nature of Mister Drake’s plans. I find that vexing. What I want is for you to continue your efforts against Mister Drake, to uncover his scheme, and report it to me.”
“Why not have Jacqueline do it? She seems quite good at finding things and she’s already on your payroll. Why me?”
“You are an unanticipated player.”
Player? People had suffered and died, but this creature seemed to think it was all part of some game. Did the Dragon see Humans as nothing more than pawns to be shuffled around a gameboard?
The Dragon stretched a paw and raked talons through its hoard. Sam took the motion to indicate its response to any refusals.
“Will you do as I ask?”
Sam feared to say no and dreaded saying yes. He needed a way out that would not anger the Dragon. “What do I get for doing your dirty work?”
“A great deal of money and a new identity, both of which you will need to find your sister and return her to her former estate.”
“How do you know about her?”
“Research, Samuel Verner. Surely you understand the value of good research.”
“And when it’s all over, I end up working for you?”
“If you find that congenial. I can be a generous employer, as Jacqueline will tell you.”
As long as you are a good little samurai, blind to everything but orders, Sam suspected. “And what if I kill Drake? Do you keep murderers in your employ?”
“How you resolve your differences with Mister Drake will be your own affair. I have asked only for information. When the affair is settled and if you have not compromised yourself with the local authorities, after all is said and done, then you may contact me through the commcode you will receive on your way out.
“I can make your new path easier, Samuel Verner.”
The Dragon’s voiceless words implied that his help would be more than merely mundane; an offer of magical instruction from a Dragon was hardly an everyday occurrence. Why did every powerful figure Sam met want to teach him magic? He didn’t want to learn it. He just wanted to be himself. Couldn’t they see that? “I don’t need your help.”
Disbelief swelled between them, then ebbed into amusement.
“This Mister Drake who you seek to topple is not all that he seems. You will find him a formidable foe.”
“I have other resources.”
The disbelief returned as the dracofonn’s eyelids dropped, half-closing off the fluid orbs. “Very well. Arrangements have been made for your return to Seattle.”
“I haven’t agreed to work for you.”
“You will do my work.”
The eyes closed. He had been dismissed.
— PART 3 -
38
Dr. Andrew A. Wilson sat at his desk, scanning the letter of introduction. As he waited, Sam studied his own image on the accompanying corporate identification tag. The well-trimmed blond hair and newly grown beard framed a narrow face with calm hazel eyes and a slightly bored look. He had lost weight, but that hadn’t hurt him. What showed of the suit he wore was a conservative, mid-level administrator’s cut. The man in the picture looked to be a good salaryman.
What didn’t show were the beginnings of toughness and smarts Sam had acquired during his recent ordeal. He hoped they’d be enough to get him through this little charade in the corporate world.
As the woman he knew as Jacqueline was hustling him onto the jet that would bring him to the Genomics reservation, she had told him that the I.D. card would only last the day. While it did, he was Samiel Voss, a Genomics certified accountant on assignment to investigate the books of Doctor Wilson’s staff.
“Purely routine, doctor.”
Wilson nodded, but his expression was sour as he ejected the disk from his desk console. “Everything does appear to be in order, Mr. Voss. I hope the wait hasn’t inconvenienced you.”
“Not at all,” Sam said with a bland smile. He hoped that was the right response for an accountant kept standing while a corporate superior displayed displeasure at an interruption. It would have been the correct one at Renraku, but he didn’t know the subtleties of Genomics corporate protocol.
“Fine.” Wilson seemed satisfied. “I’ll arrange for a work station to be assigned to you.”
“I believe that my others specified that I was to work in your office, Dr. Wilson.”
“That’s quite out of the question.”
“Your station provides the most direct access to your staff’s files, sir. Then there is the matter of confidentiality. I’m sure that Vice President Fleureaux…”