“Does it matter?”

“It damn well does. Don’t be a dumb ox, Nick. If other people are playing games with the schedule, the chance goes way up that what we’re doing will be found out.”

“I don’t know who or what is responsible for the Sky City murders. But I do know this: They’re a definite distraction, and they certainly contribute to unplanned schedule delays. You and I need to be the only people pulling the strings out there.”

“Good.” Rolfe tilted his head and peered knowingly at Lopez. “So you will approve if I take steps in that area?”

“Of course.” Nick saw a glint of something — triumph? lunacy? — in the other man’s eyes. Rolfe the gnome, Gordy the evil goblin. Childhood memories of Rumpelstiltskin. “Why wouldn’t I approve?”

“I just want to be sure that the murders aren’t something you have — well, let’s say a direct and personal interest in.”

Nick had in his time been accused of everything from rape to incest, but the serial murder of teenage girls was a new one.

“I’m not doing anything on Sky City that you don’t know about. I haven’t been there for years. And I’m not having anything done on my behalf. I doubt if I could, and I doubt if you can.”

“You’re wrong. I’m going to find whoever or whatever is responsible for the killings.”

“Gordy, the WPF had a team looking into the killings for months. We got nowhere. If you try the same thing, your team will get nowhere, too.”

“No team. I have only one man at work on the problem.”

“What can he do that others can’t?”

“He has a knack for seeing things that no one else notices, and he’s efficient. He gets the job done. He also tells me that he has access to special expertise on the subject of similar killings. I’ll leave it at that.” Gordy’s smile was not a thing of beauty. “He’ll be going up to Sky City in the near future. I didn’t want your people and mine falling over each other. I’m reassured.”

“And I’m not. Does your man know that we’ve been playing games with shield schedules and delivery of goods to Sky City?”

“Of course not. Doesn’t know, and won’t know. That’s not his assignment.”

“Maybe, but I’ll quote your words. ’He has a knack for seeing things that no one else notices.’ Gordy, if this man is as good as you say, suppose that he also starts to see too much?”

“Then it will be my job to make sure that he stops seeing.”

“By then it may be too late.”

“Not for me. I’ll take care of it. I have methods.”

Was Rolfe suggesting what it sounded like? “Gordy, suppose the murders are the action of one person, the way it seems?”

“That’s fine. We’re not in law enforcement. We’ll know we don’t have business competition, and that’s all that matters. Are you going to argue with that?”

“You know my philosophy. As one of my fellow Senators said long ago, I’m opposed to any conspiracy of which I am not a part.”

“So we’re agreeing. There’s just one indispensable person in the Argos Group, and you’re looking at him. And you deliver whatever we need from the WPF. We tolerate no other players, anywhere.” Rolfe stared calmly at Nick. “End of discussion. What else is on your agenda?”

“Well, there’s Milton Glover and his Trust In Government group.”

“Old Numb Nuts. What about him?”

“That information we sold him. Are you sure it’s accurate?”

“Better than that. I’m sure it isn’t. The test-drilling reports he’s buying aren’t from anywhere on this continent. He thinks they’re of Nevada, but they came from South Africa.”

“Gordy, I talked him into paying a bundle for that data. You might have mentioned this to me.”

“So you could have done what?” Rolfe peered at Nick Lopez. “Suppose he does find out before they start digging — which I don’t think he will, because he and his millionaire buddies are all as thick as treacle. What’s he going to do, complain that the information he bought illegally was wrong?”

“He bought it on my recommendation.”

“Tell him you got tricked, too. Cry on each other’s shoulder. Remember, he gave us money when we most needed it. And their digging takes attention away from all your digging. You should be delighted with what he’s doing.”

“If they dig where we said, they’ll be lucky if they don’t drown.”

“Yeah.” Gordy laughed. “Big tragedy, eh? Death of rich idiots. End of discussion. What else?”

Nick shook his head. “Nothing.” He had a strong urge to get away from Gordy Rolfe and his underground lair. “Nothing that can’t wait until we have a better handle on John Hyslop. Will we be able to control him in his new job?”

“Yes. Maddy Wheatstone will take care of that.” “I don’t know her. What will she do?” “Maddy will do whatever she has to do. I handpicked her and I’ve watched her grow for nine years. When you meet her, remember that she’s tougher than she looks. Tougher than you, Lopez. If she had to take you down, she could do it.” Rolfe stood up from the table, grunting as he tried to level his twisted shoulders. His big head tilted back to stare at the ceiling, where the light was noticeably dimmer. When he spoke his voice was far-off and dreamy. “Take you down, Lopez, all the way. End of discussion. It’s getting dark in there, Lopez. Dark. So let’s have a little excitement, shall we? Let’s explore the habitat.”

9

Gordy Rolfe went over to the transparent door, and for an unpleasant moment Nick thought that he was going to open it. The plant life on the other side was dark, lush, and somehow ominous in the fading light. But Gordy sidled along the wall, looking through and beyond it until he had reached the rolfe rovers.

“How do you get them into the habitat without animals in the habitat getting back in here?” Nick asked.

“You’ll see.” Rolfe pressed a rover’s back simultaneously in three marked places, and the rolfe came alive. It stood, rotated the blunt vertical column of its neck, and clicked along on jointed legs to stand in front of the door.

“Same principle as an air lock,” Rolfe said. “You can’t have both sides open at the same time unless you take special steps to neutralize the controls. Which we’re not going to do.”

He went to the communications console and changed a setting, then came back to the wall and operated two mechanical switches. Nick realized that the thick door, apparently solid, was built in two parts with a sizeable space between. When the nearer side swung open there was space within for a rover or a small animal.

But not big enough, thank God, for a tall human or a dangerously large animal. Nick watched as the rover stepped forward into the opening. The nearer side of the door closed, and the far side opened to allow the rover into the interior. The door closed again to a seamless whole. The machine stood for a moment, as though making up its mind, then pushed its way into the green gloom beyond.

“Where is it heading?” In spite of himself, Nick was intrigued. He was seeing a new side of Gordy Rolfe.

“Nowhere special. Questing.” Rolfe walked back to the middle of the room, where the displays were located, and sat down. “Come join me. I have no idea how long this will take.”

“Questing for what?” Nick sat down also and stared at the display.

“Particular life forms. Animals. The rovers rely on olfactory signatures as well as visual ones, but it’s still not easy to track because the vegetation was designed to be dense. In most places the visibility is only a few yards. That makes the thermal infrared sensor useless most of the time.”

The field of view on the display changed constantly as the rover advanced and shifted and sometimes backtracked. Twice Nick saw animals, once a possum and once something, maybe a fox, that ran so fast into the undergrowth he couldn’t be sure. Those were apparently not what the rover was after, because the machine made no attempt to follow.