The Chairman kind of shook himself, like he was comin’ out of a blackout or somethin’. He looked at me again. «Education is the key, my young friend,» he said to me. «If we are to build a new world, we must educate the people.»
«You mean, like school?» I asked him.
«Schooling is only a part of it,» he said. «If we survive this, will you allow me to get you started on a decent education?»
«School? Me? You gotta be kiddin’!»
Jade said, «But Vic, he’s giving you a chance—»
She never got no farther. Moustache came in, with Lou and Rollo behind him.
Moustache looked funny. Like he was real tired, all wiped out. Or maybe that was how he looked when he was scared. He stood in front of the Chairman, who stayed in his seat lookin’ up at him. I kept my eye on Lou; he was watchin’ Jade like he was thinkin’ what he’d do with her later on. Like he already owned her.
«We are at an impasse,» Moustache said to the Chairman. «Your security forces seem perfectly content to sit and wait for us to give up.»
«They have standing orders for dealing with terrorists,» said the Chairman. «This is not the first time someone has attempted to kidnap a Council member.»
«They will not attack us?»
«There is no need to, as long as they are certain you will not harm your hostages.»
Moustache said, «We have only one hostage, but a very important one.»
«Then all the others who were with me are dead?»
«Unfortunately, yes.»
The Chairman seemed to sag back in his seat. «That is truly unfortunate. It means that you will not be allowed to escape. If no one had been killed …» His voice trailed off.
«Are you telling me that the troops will risk your life in order to punish us for killing a few of your bodyguards?»
«Yes.» The Chairman nodded slowly. «That too is their standard operational procedure. No negotiations with terrorists. And no leniency for murderers.»
«They were armed! They killed four of my men!»
«Only six of them were armed. There were nineteen all together, most of them harmless administrators and my personal aides. Five of them were women.»
Moustache sank into the empty chair across the aisle from the Chairman. «It was those Moslem madmen. When the shooting started they killed everyone, indiscriminately.»
«They were under your command, were they not?»
«Yes, but not under my control.»
«That makes no difference.»
«You leave us no course, then, but to use you as a shield to cover our escape.»
«The security forces will not allow it. Their orders are quite specific. Their objective is to capture the terrorists, irrespective of what happens to the hostages.»
«They will let you be killed?»
«I am already dead, as far as they are concerned.»
«You will pardon me if I fail to believe that,» Moustache said.
«It doesn’t matter what you believe,» said the Chairman back to him. «That is our standard operational procedure. It is based on the valid assumption that there are no indispensable men. The Chairman of the World Council can be kidnapped or even assassinated. What difference? Another will take his place. Or hers. You can do what you want to me, it does not matter. Violence will not deter us. Threats will not move us. The work of the Council will go on regardless of the senseless acts of terrorists. All you can do is create martyrs—and damage your own cause by your violence.»
Moustache looked up at Lou, who’d been standin’ there through all this talk with a kind of wiseguy grin on his face.
With a sigh, Moustache said, «We will have to try your way, then.»
I got to my feet, facin’ Lou. Without even thinkin’ about what I was doin’. Like my body reacted without askin’ my brain first.
«Don’t try to be a hero again, Sal,» Lou said to me. And Rollo took a step toward me. But Lou went on, «We ain’t gonna use any rough stuff—not unless we got to. We’re just gonna sneak him out through the tunnel.»
«But the soldiers got the tunnel blocked off,» I said. «All the entrances—»
«Not all of ’em,» said Lou. «There’s a side passage for the electric cables and water pipes and all. It’s big enough for maintenance workers to crawl through. So it’s big enough for us to get through, too.»
Lou yanked a map of the tunnel system outta his back pants pocket. It was all creased up and faded, but Moustache pulled a little folding table outta the wall and Lou spread his map on it. Then he pointed to where we was and where the nearest door to the maintenance tunnel was. Moustache decided that only the six of us would go. The rest of his men would stay with the train and keep the soldiers thinkin’ we was all still in there.
While Lou and Moustache were talkin’ all this over, Jade leaned over to me and whispered, «Vic, you gotta do something.»
«Do? What?»
«You can’t let them sneak him outta here! You gotta figure out a way to save him.»
«Me? What the [deleted] d’you think I am, Superman?» She just looked at me with those eyes of hers. Beneath the fancy surgery that had made her Jade Diamond her deep brown eyes were still Juanita’s. I loved her and I’d do anything for her and she knew it.
«You’ve gotta do something,» she whispered.
Yeah. What the whole [deleted] World Council and half the U.S. Army can’t do she wants me to do.
So Moustache calls in a couple of his men and gives them their orders. You can see from the looks on their faces that they don’t like it. But they don’t argue. Not one word. They know they’re gonna be left hangin’ out to dry, and they take it without a whimper. They must’ve really believed in what they were doin’.
Me, I’m tryin’ to look like I’ll do whatever they tell me. Rollo is just waitin’ for Lou to give him the word and he’ll start poundin’ me into hamburger. And I figure Lou will give him the word as soon’s we got the Chairman outta this trap and someplace safe. Lou wants Jade, so he’ll give me to Rollo to make sure I’m not in his way. Moustache wants the Chairman so he can get what he wants back in his own country.
And the Chairman? What’s he want? That’s what I was tryin’ to figure out. Was he really willin’ to get himself smacked around or whacked altogether, just for this dream of his? A better world. A better life for people. Did he mean he could make a better life for Jade and me?
Well, anyway, all these thoughts are spinnin’ around in my head worse than when Rollo had slugged me. We get down off the train with Lou in the lead, Moustache with his big pistol in his hand, the Chairman, me and Jade all in a bunch, and Rollo bringin’ up the rear. Lou’s kinda feelin’ his way through the tunnel, no light ’cause he don’t want the soldiers to know we’re outta the train.
So we’re headin’ for this steel door in the side of the tunnel when I accident’ly-on-purpose trip and fall to my knees. Rollo grabs me by the scruff of the neck hard enough to make my eyes pop and just lifts me back on my feet, one hand. But not before I slip my blade outta the tape on my ankle. It’s dark so Rollo don’t notice; I keep the blade tucked up behind my wrist, see.
All of a sudden my heart’s beatin’ so hard I figure Rollo can hear it. Or maybe the army, a couple hundred yards up the tunnel. Half my brain’s tellin’ me to drop the blade and not get myself in any more trouble than I’m in already. But the other half is tellin’ me that I gotta do somethin’. I keep hearin’ Jade’s voice, keep seein’ whatever it was that was in her eyes.
She wants a better life, too. And there’s no way we can get a better life long as guys like Lou and Rollo can push us around.
So I let myself edge up a little, past Jade and the Chairman, till I’m right behind Moustache. It’s real dark but I can just make out that he’s got the gun in his right hand.