He waited patiently, crouching halfway up that last flight. Sure enough, a minute hardly passed before the man cautiously poked his head out and looked around. Jeb Stuart Ho snapped off a single shot. It smashed the man’s forehead and pitched him back inside the room. There was another riot blast, and another burst of needles. Each hit an opposite side of the stairs. Jeb Stuart Ho remained very still and thought carefully.
At each end of the fifth floor landing, a corridor led away to the various rooms. From the way their shots were hitting the wall, he decided that the two men must be somewhere in the corridor, positioned at opposite ends of the landing, maintaining a crossfire on the head of the stairs. While he stayed where he was they couldn’t hit him, but once he set foot on the landing, one at least would probably get a shot at him while he was dealing with the other. He couldn’t afford to waste time. It seemed he would have to take a chance on their reactions being slower than his.
Jeb Stuart Ho took a step backwards. He tensed himself. He flashed up the stairs and hit the landing. He leaped and, curling himself into a ball, he crashed into the far wall. The riot gun exploded. The bulk of the charge missed him. A few particles ripped through the fabric of his suit. He could feel blood running down his arm. He fired at the man from a crouch. The impact of the bullet flung him backwards down the corridor. He twitched a couple of times and lay still. Ho swung round to face the killer with the needle gun. He couldn’t understand why he hadn’t shot at him. As he raised his gun he saw why. The riot blast that had been meant for Jeb Stuart Ho had caught the man squarely in the chest. He must have stood up to take aim and been caught in his partner’s fire. His body was almost cut in half. It lay in a rapidly spreading pool of blood. A grey fedora lay about a metre from the mutilated corpse.
Jeb Stuart Ho stood up cautiously. There were no more shots. It seemed as though there was nobody else lying in wait for him. He dropped his gun into its holster, and walked down the corridor. He still kept his sword in his hand. He stepped over the body, and looked inside the first room. It was empty. The door of the second was wide open. In one corner was a huddled figure. Its hands were tied behind its back. It looked up. Jeb Stuart Ho saw it was the Minstrel Boy. He lowered his sword. The Minstrel Boy grinned crookedly.
‘I was wondering when you’d get here.’
Jeb Stuart Ho sheathed his sword and stood looking down at the Minstrel Boy. His face was grim.
‘Where is A.A. Catto?’
‘She’s gone.’
‘Gone? How?’
‘She rented an airship. They left from the roof. They must have got well away by now.’
Jeb Stuart Ho’s jaw muscles tightened, but otherwise he showed no sign of the anger and frustration that welled up inside him. The Minstrel Boy struggled to sit up.
‘Aren’t you going to untie me?’
Jeb Stuart Ho didn’t move. A thought had just struck him. The Minstrel Boy’s voice took on a querulous edge.
‘Come on, Killer. Don’t just stand there, untie me.’
Jeb Stuart Ho stared hard at him.
‘It must have been you who informed them where I was.’
The Minstrel Boy adopted a look of pained surprise.
‘Who, me?’
‘It could only have been you.’
‘How would I know where you were?’
‘You must have used your credit card. I can think of no other way.’
‘You’re crazy.’
‘I could check with the bank.’
Jeb Stuart Ho moved towards the vid set. The Minstrel Boy sighed.
‘Okay, okay. It was me. I found you through the bank.’
Jeb Stuart Ho looked coldly at him.
‘So you changed sides.’
‘Does it look as though I changed sides? Would I be lying here tied up if I changed sides?’
‘You told them where I was.’
‘So? Who says I changed sides? Who says I was on your side in the first place? You forced me to guide you at gunpoint. That don’t mean I owe you anything.’
‘They threw a bomb into an eating house. A number of people were killed.’
The Minstrel Boy’s mouth set in a stubborn line.
‘So? What could I do? They beat me up. They would have killed me if I hadn’t told, them. I never asked to get involved in your private wars, and no way am I responsible for any bystanders who get in the way. Now, are you going to untie me or not?’
Jeb Stuart Ho reluctantly pulled one of his knives from the sheath on his arm and sliced through the Minstrel Boy’s bond. He stood up and began massaging the circulation back into his wrists. Ho put away his knife, and walked slowly out of the room. The Minstrel Boy paused for a moment, and then followed him. As he was about to start down the stairs, something on one of the bodies on the landing caught his eye. Around its waist was his knife belt. He walked over to the body, bent down and retrieved it. He strapped the belt round his own hips and followed Jeb Stuart Ho down to the lobby.
When they reached the ground floor, Chief-Agent Bannion and a squad of LDC patrolmen were waiting. Bannion stared at Jeb Stuart Ho with his hands clasped behind his back. The ever-present cigar was clamped between his teeth.
‘You just can’t stop, can you?’
Jeb Stuart Ho inclined his head.
‘The trials that beset us are as numerous as the flowers that bloom.’
‘I don’t give a fuck what besets you, brother. It’s the way you beset me that I care about. You are giving me ulcers.’
‘A careful diet might correct that.’
Bannion began to turn crimson.
‘Don’t get wise with me, buster. There’s two men dead here. The desk clerk says you killed them.’
Jeb Stuart Ho shrugged.
‘Didn’t he also tell you that they were trying to kill me?’
Bannion began to pace up and down. Finally he stopped in front of Ho. He thrust his face very close to Ho’s.
‘Your score so far is nine dead, including the five we pulled out of the burger joint.’
Jeb Stuart Ho looked at him calmly.
‘There are three more upstairs.’
Bannion looked as though he might haemorrhage.
‘Divine Marquis give me patience. I suppose you’re going to claim that was self-defence.’
Jeb Stuart Ho nodded.
‘That is correct.’
The Minstrel Boy began to edge towards the door. Bannion saw him out of the corner of his eye and swung round.
‘You! You hold it right there!’
‘Who, me?’
‘Yes, you. You’re mixed up in this somewhere.’
The Minstrel Boy became a picture of innocence.
‘Not me, mister Chief-Agent, sir. I was just passing through.’
Bannion snarled. He looked ugly.
‘Bullshit. You arrived in town with this maniac, and he paid you with a credit card. Right?’
‘I was only a guide. He forced me to lead him here.’
‘Okay then. You can just lead him away again. You’re both being expelled from the city. If you’re still here in one hour, my men will shoot you on sight.’
Jeb Stuart Ho’s face became set.
‘I have a task to complete.’
Bannion’s eyes narrowed.
‘I don’t give a fuck about your mission, you’re leaving town.’
Suddenly he seemed to relax. He half grinned.
‘Anyway, A.A. Catto’s gone.’
‘Gone?’
‘That’s right, gone. Much as it hurts me to give you any assistance at all, she’s left town. She’s in a rented airship. It’s passed the city limits and is heading for the nothings. So go. You hear me? Go!’
Jeb Stuart Ho nodded.
‘I hear you.’ Bannion pointed at the Minstrel Boy.
‘And take him with you.’