Hendrin and the girl were nearly at the door. “What?”
“I’ll let you in,” he said. “I’ll let you see Darrien and take him the girl. It’s rare to let a common soldier in, but in this case perhaps it can be done.”
“And how much do I bribe you?”
“Crudely put,” said the Venusian. “But I ask no money of you. Simply that—if Darrien, for some reason, should not care to buy the girl, I get her. Free.”
Hendrin scowled, but his active mind had already jumped to that conclusion. It was too bad for the girl, of course, but what of that? At least he’d definitely get to see Darrien this way—which was his whole plan. And the chance of Darrien’s turning down the girl was slim.
“Fair enough,” he said aloud. The girl uttered a little gasp of mingled shame and rage at this latest bargain. “How do I reach Darrien?”
“I’ll give you a pass to the tunnel leading to the throne-room. The rest is up to you. But remember this: you won’t live long if you try to cheat me.”
“I’m a man of my word,” Hendrin said, meaning it. He accepted the pass from Dorvis Graal, grinned wolfishly, and seized the girl’s arm. “Which way do I go?”
“The tunnel entrance is down there,” Dorvis Graal said, pointing. “And here’s hoping Darrien isn’t in a buying mood today.” He leered suggestively as Hendrin led the girl away.
Lon Archman watched, puzzled as the Mercurian and the girl disappeared into Dorvis Graal’s office. He had followed them this far without difficulty—but now that he was within Darrien’s compound, he had no idea where he was heading now. His body writhed impatiently, longing for action, but his mind kept careful check, holding him back. This was a game that had to be played cautiously.
The Mercurian was selling the girl to Darrien. That seemed like a good dodge, thought Archman—except where was he going to get another girl to take to the tyrant? He’d have to find some other way of working himself into the palace. It was too late to overpower the Mercurian and take the girl from the Planetoids to Darrien himself.
Or was it? He wondered…
Suddenly the door of Dorvis Graal’s office opened and Hendrin and the girl stepped out into the street again. Archman noticed that the girl no longer wore her tattered clothes; she had been stripped bare in the Viceroy’s office, it seemed. Now she wore the Mercurian’s cloak loosely around her shoulders, but it concealed little.
And Hendrin was clutching some sort of paper in his hand. A pass?
Yes. It had to be a pass. A pass to see Darrien!
A plan formed itself instantly in Archman’s mind, and he broke from the shadows and dashed toward Dorvis Graal’s office just as the girl and Mercurian disappeared into another door.
A figure stepped forward to intercept him after he had run no more than a dozen paces. Archman felt a stiff-armed fist hurl him back, and he stared into the barrel of a cocked zam-gun.
“Where are you heading so fast?” The speaker was a Martian guard.
“I have to see Dorvis Graal. It’s on a matter of high treason! Darrien’s in danger of an assassin!”
“What?” The Martian’s expression shifted from one of menacing hostility to keen interest. “Are you lying?”
“Of course not, you fool. Now get out of my way and let me get to the Viceroy before it’s too late!”
The zam-gun was holstered and Archman burst past. He reached Dorvis Graal’s office, flung open the door, and bowed humbly to the glittering-eyed Venusian, who looked up in some astonishment.
“Who are you? What’s the meaning of this?”
“I’m Lon Archman of Darrien’s brigade. Quick, sir—have a Mercurian and a girl been through here in the last minute or so?”
“Yes, but—say, what business is this of yours?”
“That Mercurian’s an assassin!” Archman got as much excitement into his voice as he could manage. “I’ve been following him all morning, but he shook me just outside the entrance to the compound. He intends to kill Darrien!”
A mixture of emotions played suddenly over the Viceroy’s face—greed, fear, curiosity, disbelief. “Indeed? Well, that can easily be stopped. He’s in the tunnel, on the way to Darrien. I’ll have the tunnel guards intercept him and send him up to Froljak the Interrogator for some questioning. Thanks for your information, Archman.”
“May I go after him, sir?”
“What?”
“Into the tunnel. I want to kill that Mercurian, sir. Myself. I don’t want your tunnel guards to do it.”
“They’re not going to kill him,” Dorvis Graal said impatiently. “They’ll just hold him for questioning, and if you’re telling the truth that he’s an assassin—”
Archman scowled. This wasn’t getting him into the tunnel, where he wanted to go. “Let me go after him, sir,” he pleaded. “As a reward. A reward for telling you. I want to be in on the capture.”
Dorvis Graal seemed to relent. It was pretty flimsy, Archman thought, but maybe—
Yes. “Here’s a pass to the tunnel,” the Viceroy said. “Get going, now—and report back to me when it’s all over.”
“Yes, sir. Thanks!”
Archman seized the pass and streaked for the tunnel at top speed.
After he had left, Dorvis Graal lifted the speaking-tube that gave him instant contact with the tunnel guards.
“Holgo?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Has a Mercurian passed through the tunnels yet? He’s got a naked wench with him.”
“Yes, sir. He and the girl came by this way two minutes ago. He had a pass, so I let him through. Is there anything wrong?”
“No—no, not at all,” Dorvis Graal said. Craftily he reasoned that even if the Mercurian reached Darrien safely, which he seemed likely to do, he’d probably not be facing the leader himself but only an expendable orthysynthetic duplicate. There was always time to catch him, if he really were the assassin.
And as for the Earthman—well, just to be safe Dorvis Graal decided to pick him up. He had seemed just a little too eager to get into the tunnel.
Into the tube he said, “There’s an Earthman coming into the tunnel now. He’s also got a pass, but I want you to pick him up and hold him for questioning. Got that?”
“Yes, sir.”
Dorvis Graal broke the contact and sat back. He wondered which one was lying, the Mercurian or the Earthman—or both. And just what would happen if an assassin reached Darrien.
Perhaps, Dorvis Graal thought, it might mean I’d reach power. Perhaps.
He sat back, an amused smile on his cold face, and contemplated the possibilities.
Hendrin reached the end of the long corridor and folded Dorvis Graal’s pass in his pocket. He would probably need it to get out again.
He turned to the girl. “Pull the cloak tight around you, lass. I don’t want Darrien to see your nakedness until the proper moment. And try to brighten up and look more desirable.”
“Why should I?” she sniffled. “Why should I care what I look like?”
Patiently the Mercurian said, “Because if Darrien doesn’t buy you I have to give you to that Venusian out there. And, believe me, you’ll be a lot better off with Darrien than in the arms of that foul-smelling tailed one out there. So cheer up; it’s the lesser of the two evils.” He closed the cloak around her and together they advanced toward Darrien’s throne room.
A stony-faced Martian guard stood outside the throne room. “What want you with Darrien?”
“I bring him a girl.” Hendrin pointed to Elissa, then showed the guard Dorvis Graal’s pass. “The Viceroy himself sent me to Darrien.”