“How are the recruits coming?” I asked him.
“We lost five more people.”
“What? More?”
“Yeah. I think you were right. A lot of groups had us infiltrated. Now that the election is coming, they don’t need anyone in the Kommilaire and they are pulling them back to their regular armies. What happened to Fat Neep?”
“19-10 killed him.”
“Oh, I heard you did.”
“Yeah, I told them that. Until I can figure out some way to deal with 19-10 I’m not going to tell anyone he exists.”
“The Ank and the Reserve guards know,” MTB said.
“But they won’t tell anyone.”
“Isn’t that dishonest?” Valia asked, approaching.
“I’m not lying,” I said defensively. “Well, I guess I am. But it’s not like I’m benefiting from the lie. If I tell everyone about him, they’ll just say, ‘hey, stop him,’ which is what I’m trying to do anyway. And the city is on edge as it is.”
“The election has everyone anxious,” MTB agreed.
“It’s not just that. The city, the galaxy, is kind of like… balancing. It’s going to fall one way or the other. Three months ago the Ank Reserve Boards lost 50% of their value in one day because they ran out of white chalk to write the tickers and instead used red chalk. People went nuts and thought it was some Sign.”
“The Totki have been going around interrogating people. That’s going to get out of hand,” MTB said. “We don’t have enough people to stop them anymore. At least if you’re not there.”
“And they’ll just run away from you,” Valia chimed.
“I think I got a fix for the Totki nuisance. But check this out, Delovoa saw Two Clem a few weeks ago.”
“Where?” Valia asked.
“His place.”
“Did he break past Delovoa’s security?” MTB asked, amazed.
“No, no. Nothing like that. But the point is he’s alive. And Delovoa hinted Two Clem might have had some falling out with the Order.”
The pair was silent, so I continued.
“I’m wondering if Hobardi wants us to find Two Clem so he can kill him.”
“So should we stop looking?” MTB asked.
“Yeah. In any scenario at the very least it didn’t happen like Hobardi said. The Olmarr Republic didn’t take him. And he’s not captive. If they have organizational issues, that’s their own damn problem.”
“What’s your solution for the Totki, Boss?” Valia asked.
I smiled.
“Go get Rendrae and meet back at my place. I’m going to get something to eat first.”
CHAPTER 29
This was a gamble.
I had known Rendrae for a long time and I knew he loved news. Ate news. Dreamed news. Probably had little baby news somewhere he had birthed after being impregnated by other news.
But he was also pretty honest. Honesty was a good trait if you had the ability to turn it off when you needed to.
The city listened to Rendrae. He was their gossip god and “Force for Facts.”
I now had to do one thing I had never attempted or even heard of him doing in the century and a half I’d known him:
I had to get him to fake a story.
“Have a seat, friend,” I said.
Rendrae did so. He was guarded. He did not smile. He stared straight at me. I never went out of my way to speak to Rendrae, he went out of his way to speak to me. He knew something was wrong. It didn’t take the galaxy’s foremost journalist to figure that out.
It was just the two of us here as I didn’t think having witnesses would help.
“Would you care for something to eat or drink?” I asked.
Rendrae merely shook his head. I think he was honestly frightened.
“I found out who killed Su Dival,” I said.
Rendrae scooted forward in his chair, almost bursting out of his jacket.
“Who?” he asked.
“I haven’t decided yet.”
Rendrae, never at a loss for words, just sat there.
“But I know who ordered the assassination of Su Dival,” I said.
Rendrae squeaked.
“Who?”
“Judge Naeb.”
Rendrae’s brow furrowed.
“Or that’s who I’m going to say did it, anyway. He didn’t, obviously. The problem is, I know who killed Su Dival for real. But it doesn’t matter that I know. It won’t help anything. I have to stop the Totki from shaking-down the citizens. That won’t lead anywhere except to factional conflict. So I’m going to say Judge Naeb, who is now officially running for Governor, had Su Dival assassinated to take him out of the way. And then we can kill Judge Naeb, who is a terrible judge, as you know. And maybe kill a few more guys that I finger as the assassins.”
Rendrae’s mouth was open. He was sweating. He had slumped back on the chair.
“Why are you telling me this?” he asked.
“Because you can either report what I just told you, that Hank is framing a judge and doesn’t care about Su Dival—and I don’t, he was a lunatic—or you can report the fake story. And have… I don’t know, daily updates on the labyrinth of back-dealings and scheming that brought it all about.”
“You want me to make up the stories?” Rendrae asked weakly. “Like the-the bad fiction writers who tell pirate tales on the loudspeakers before bedtime?”
“I’m sure they’ll be much better than that, but yes. Rendrae, if you tell the truth, there won’t be anyone left to hear the tall tales.”
“I promised I wouldn’t falsify a story. That is the difference between me and everyone else. No matter what.”
“I remember you standing up for Belvaille. When the Navy came here to take us over. You were ready to give your life to spare the station. You won’t tell a lie to save it now?”
“Who really killed Su Dival?”
“An assassin named 19-10. He can portal short distances. He’s basically impossible for me to find. So telling people about him doesn’t help and it sounds like I’m making excuses.”
“You’ve seen this assassin?”
“Oh, yeah. On more than one occasion. And there was nothing I could do. But look, help me out here. I am struggling with this election. My Kommilaire are leaving in droves. I can’t maintain law and order in the best of times.”
“How will me lying about Judge Naeb help?” he asked.
“Besides removing the worst judge and a terrible candidate, and stopping the Totki intimidation squads, it will be hot! Belvaille’s longest-serving judge up on murder charges. We don’t even have a government yet and we have our first political scandal.”
“A fake one.”
“Do you think I always give the most appropriate punishments to only guilty people? I do what I can. Only good things will come from this. People will be entertained. And entertained people are less likely to murder each other. We have a perfect bad guy for them to hate.”
Rendrae sat there for a long while.
I said what I could say. I thought it best to ease back and wait.
“I’m not going to milk it,” he said finally. “I will start it but I won’t keep making up lies just to keep it going. If it has legs, and I imagine it will, then other people can report on it.”
“Great! That’s all I ask.”
Rendrae stood up.
“Why do you have all these statues in here?” he asked slyly. “And don’t say it’s because you’re a collector. I’ve known you too long.”
Now it was my turn to pause.
“Because I have about one heart attack a month, usually in the mornings, and I can’t stand up on my own without them.”
He looked at me momentarily in the face but then dropped his gaze and headed out my front door.
CHAPTER 30
I was waiting on the first floor of a building in the southeast for the owner to come down.