It was the man he'd called Snake Voice. The man who had framed him for robbery, and then for murder, and then had forced him into his plan to kill Cornelius Braxton.
A man who'd also been present when Draycos's advance team was slaughtered by the Valahgua.
"Well, well," Jack said as calmly as he could. "Mr. Arthur Neverlin. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, sir."
CHAPTER 29
Neverlin's face didn't even twitch. But Gazen's did. Rather strongly, in fact.
"I thought you said he didn't know you," he said, flashing a glare at Neverlin.
"I said he'd never seen me," Neverlin corrected. "We have met, though, after a
fashion."
"Of course we've met," Jack said, with a heartiness he didn't especially feel.
So there it was, the connection he and Draycos had been searching for all this time: Arthur Neverlin, the Chookoock family, and the Malison Ring, an unholy alliance tied together with the Valahgua. "Didn't he tell you, Panjan Gazen?
He tried to kill Cornelius Braxton and take over Braxton Universis. That's why he's on the run now, from Braxton and most of the law enforcement agencies in the Orion Arm."
"As you can see, he's also been listening to Braxton's lies about me,"
Neverlin said, lifting his eyebrows at Jack. "I don't suppose he bothered to mention that I've been his chief troubleshooter for over twenty years. Or that I've pulled Braxton Universis out of trouble more times than you could count or that he could remember."
He leveled an accusing finger at Jack's face. "And while I'm slaving away running his empire, he's spending his time dabbling in his little charities and getting his picture taken with Internos politicians. I'm the one who keeps the company running. I'm the one who does the work. Why shouldn't I have the title and the authority?"
"Gee, I don't know," Jack said. "Maybe because it isn't yours?"
"That's rich, coming from a professional thief," Neverlin said scornfully.
"You've got a lot to learn about how the real world operates."
Jack grimaced. "You sound like Uncle Virge."
"No doubt," Neverlin said, turning to Gazen. "Speaking of whom, you say he's sitting on the ground at Ponocce Spaceport?"
"That's where their ship is, anyway," Gazen bit out, glaring blackly at Jack.
"I knew there was something bent about this whole thing. What do you think they're up to?"
"No idea," Neverlin said. "But we can figure that out later. Right now, the trick will be to actually get hold of the man. He's as slippery as greased ice."
"Why don't I send some Brummgas over there, backed up by some Djinn-90s?"
Gazen suggested. "He'll either come quietly, or he'll have his ship turned into Christmas tinsel around him."
Neverlin shook his head. "I want him alive and in one piece, not scattered across the Brum-a-dum landscape."
"He'll surrender," Gazen insisted. "What other choice will he have?"
"I don't know," Neverlin said. "But it's not wise to underestimate Virgil Morgan. I did that a couple of months ago, to my regret."
He shrugged. "Still, the game goes on. And we do hold an important pawn. You said he's been treated?"
Gazen looked at Jack. "Actually, we're not sure," he said carefully. "The, uh—"
"If you're talking about the poisoned food, the answer is no," Jack offered.
"I didn't eat any of it."
Gazen's eyes narrowed. Neverlin merely smiled. "As I said, slippery. Both of them."
He lifted a finger, and one of the two bodyguards stepped forward. "But the time for subtlety is past," Neverlin went on. "We'll pour some of it down his throat, then call his uncle and have a little chat."
"Wait a second," Jack said hurriedly as the bodyguard got a none-too-gentle grip on his upper arm and hauled him to his feet. "You don't have to do this. Let me call Uncle Virge and tell him what you're planning. I'm sure he'll be happy to talk with you."
Neverlin smiled thinly. "Thank you for the kind offer. But I've already seen what happens when I let you set the terms of a deal." He gestured, and the bodyguard started toward the door, pulling Jack behind him. "No, you're the sort of untrained puppy who does best with a good solid leash attached."
The second bodyguard pulled the door open. "These two are going to the medical suite," Gazen informed the two Brummgas waiting outside the room, gesturing at Jack and the bodyguard. "You'll escort them there. I'll call the doctor and give him his instructions."
"And when he's ready, take him to my shuttle," Neverlin put in.
"Just a minute," Gazen said, holding out a hand. "I'm sorry, Mr. Neverlin, but you can't do that."
"Morgan won't just meekly give in," Neverlin said patiently. "He'll attempt a rescue or some other equally insane thing. We don't want him to know exactly where the boy is."
"Then we'll hide him somewhere on the grounds," Gazen said firmly. "He's still Chookoock family property."
"Fine," Neverlin said disgustedly. "Then I'll just buy him. All right?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that, either," Gazen said. He looked uncomfortable, but his voice was firm. "We've offered him for sale and asked for bids. I can't sell him—to you or anyone else—without giving an equal chance to all those bidding. It's strict Chookoock family policy."
"Then the Chookoock family had better learn when to make exceptions,"
Neverlin warned. His voice was quiet, but there was a dark menace sliding beneath it like a shark in murky waters. "Or had you forgotten what's at stake here?"
"Maybe he's just wondering if your side is really the smart one to bet on,"
Jack murmured.
Neverlin favored him with a tight smile. "How little you know," he said softly.
"But you'll learn. As will the rest of the Orion Arm." He looked back at Gazen.
"Remind your superiors of the power they stand to gain. And then I will take the boy out of here."
Gazen's lip twitched. "I'll give them the message," he said. "But that's all I
can do."
Neverlin snorted. "Underlings," he said contemptuously. "Fine; I will talk to them. Take me there."
"As you wish." Gazen threw a dark look at the Brummgas. "What are you waiting for? I told you what to do. Do it."
"Yes, Panjan Gazen," one of them said. "Come, humans."
The Brummgas led the way back across the entryway chamber. "And here we go,"
Jack commented, glancing part way over his shoulder. The bodyguard was following behind him, staying a cautious three steps back. Too far away for Draycos to get to, at least not without being seen. "It might not be a bad idea for you to think about which side you're on, either," he suggested.
"I'm on the right side," the bodyguard countered calmly. "You will be, too, in a
couple of minutes."
They reached the far side of the chamber and headed into a deserted corridor Jack had never been down. "I just thought you might want to reconsider," he went on, glancing over his shoulder again. Aside from their little group, he couldn't see anyone else in either direction. This was probably the best chance he and Draycos would have. "You too, of course," he added, turning around to look at the Brummgas on either side of him. "Lucky for you, the Chookoock family isn't the only one hiring on Brum-a-dum."
"He's a talky one, isn't he?" the bodyguard grunted.
"All you humans are talky," one of the Brummgas growled. "He is one of you.
You keep him quiet."
"You hear that?" the bodyguard said. Jack held his breath; from the sound of the voice, he could tell the man was moving forward, closing the gap between them.
"Shut it off, or we'll do it for you."
"Oh, come on," Jack argued. "Freedom of speech comes right after the preamble in the Internos Constitution—"
"I said shut up," the bodyguard snarled. He stepped up behind Jack and gave him a hard slap across the side of the head for emphasis—
And Jack was shoved forward as Draycos boiled up out of the back of his shirt.