"Lose her," said Alex. "How?" "Go to the washroom or something." "That won't work. Take my word for it." "What do you suggest?" Shiala was standing a counter away, looking at hats. "Tell them the truth." "I don't think that's a good idea." "Alex, if we take off, they'll think we're in trouble and call the police. They'll have us before we can get to the train station." So we took them to lunch. While we ate, we told them what had happened. We didn't tell them everything. Just that we had uncovered some corruption in high places. We told them about the plateau and why we had crashed. We told them we needed for them to say nothing until we got clear. Would they be willing to trust us? And do that for us? They listened. Surprisingly, Shiala was the more resistant. "They're wanted by the law," she told Orman. "We could get into a lot of trouble." "All you have to do," said Alex, "is explain that you didn't know. That we came into town, and we separated to do some shopping, and you didn't see us again." "I just don't know," Shiala said. Orman took a long look at both of us. "Sure we'll help," he said. "You folks get as far away from here as you can. Shiala and I will stay in town for the rest of the day. Make it harder for them to find us."
We took time to go to Korvik's CommCenter, where we bought new links and opened accounts under bogus names. Then we said good-bye to Shiala and Orman and caught a train headed north. Away from Rendel. By then, Krestoff and her people would have been rescued, and there was a good chance that Wexler would expect us to try to make the flight to the Lantner world. That would mean they'd be looking for us at the spaceports. And they'd probably have people alerted at Samuels as well. So we took a week and disappeared. We settled in at a northern seaside resort, played the gaming tables, hung out on the beaches, and generally had a good time. If there was a search on for us, we saw no sign of it. Eventually, Alex called Peifer. "Where the hell you guys been?" Peifer demanded. "I've been trying to reach you."
"Why? What's going on, Rob?"
"I have somebody I want you to meet."
"Okay. Best not to mention any names at the moment." The new links should have been safe, but you never knew.
"I understand. Sounds as if you've been making some progress."
"You remember where you met us?"
"Of course."
"There's a business with the same name."
"You're kidding."
"Check the listings." He needed a minute or two. "Okay. I see it." "Meet me inside the front door at noon tomorrow."
"Okay."
"And Rob?"
"Yes."
"We're in a little trouble." " You? How the hell is that possible? But okay. I never got this call. Have no idea where you are." "Thanks." "In fact I don't know where you are."
"We met him in the spaceport terminal," I said. "Right." Alex was enjoying himself. "What business incorporates 'terminal' in its name?" "They sell women's lingerie. It's called Terminal Attraction." "Ah. You did your homework." "I always do my homework, love." Next morning we took the train back to Marinopolis, and at a quarter to twelve we were posted in the Caribu Restaurant across the walkway from the lingerie store. The store advertised itself as THE HAPPY PLACE. At noon sharp Peifer showed up. He was in a white jacket with a broad-brimmed matching hat. We waited until he entered the store. No one else seemed to be watching, so I crossed the walkway and went in behind him. He was standing checking out the latest in casual underwear. There were a couple of customers. Both women. Neither looked like CSS. Of course, they weren't supposed to. "Chase," he said. "It's good to see you." It was an atmospheric place. Soft blue lights, diaphanous blue curtains twisting in a nonexistent breeze. Misty music. "And yourself, Rob. You want to follow me?" He looked around at the slips and panties. "I thought we were going to meet here." A clerk appeared on the scene and glanced from one of us to the other. "May I help you?" Peifer pointed toward a sheer nightie. "You'd look great in that, Chase." "Thanks," I told the clerk. "We'll pass for the moment." Neither of the customers showed any interest in us, and I saw no one outside. We left, but to be safe we circled the block. Still nobody. "You guys must really be scared," said Peifer. "Call it cautious." We went into the Caribu. He broke into a big smile when he saw Alex. They sat down together while I stayed near the window. They talked for a few minutes. When I was satisfied nobody was out there, I joined them. "I want you to meet Ecco Saberna," said Peifer. "He thinks he knows what got to Vicki Greene." "And what was that?" "I'll let him tell you. Why are you on the run?" "The CSS thinks we figured out what happened to Greene." Alex had suggested we not reveal Wexler's complicity until we had more information. Until we could prove it. "The CSS? They're the good guys." "It's news to me." Peifer leaned across the table and lowered his voice. "So did you?" "Figure it out? "Yes. What's going on? Why's the CSS involved?" We ordered. When the AI asked what I wanted, I asked for a beef sandwich. "And a boltslinger." "What's a boltslinger?" asked Alex. "Don't know," I said. I'd seen it on the menu. Peifer assured me I'd like it. Peifer was about average size, and he needed to get a workout program going. His beard was unkempt. Maybe it was that beards weren't fashionable back home. In any case, he came off like a guy who was pretending to be an intellectual. That characteristic gave him an air of vulnerability, though, and made him easier to trust. "Rob," Alex said, "we still don't know what's happening. "Give me a few days, and I think I'll be able to tell you." "Why would the CSS think you know?" "We were looking into the Edward Demery business." He looked surprised. "That's a coincidence."
"In what way?" "You're going to be interested in what Ecco has to say."
Peifer knew a hotel in Sikora, a town about forty kilometers west of Marinopolis. It was a cheap place with low visibility. For a small additional remuneration, the owner would neglect to enter guest information online for CSS, as hotels on Salud Afar routinely did. (Some absolutist tendencies from the Bandahriate remained in place.) He gave us directions, and an hour later we checked into the Starlight Suites. That evening, Peifer showed up with Ecco Saberna. He was another bearded guy, built low to the ground. Hard dark eyes like marbles. "The truth of the matter, Alex," Saberna said in a tone that suggested dark times were coming, "is that there's a rift out there. It's located somewhere near the Lantner asteroid." "A rift?" "A break in the time-space continuum." Alex frowned. I looked at Peifer. Was this guy crazy? "If I'm correct, and I think I am, it's moving at a substantial velocity. In this direction." He took a deep breath. "We're lucky it's as far away as it is." "A distortion?" Alex asked. He was having trouble grasping the concept. It was my turn: "They're supposed to be theoretically possible. But nobody's ever seen one." "Of course nobody's ever seen one, child," Saberna said. "If you get close enough to make the observation, you'll have a great deal of trouble talking about it later." He seemed to think that was funny, and he chuckled. It was an abrasive sound. Peifer had been standing quietly with his arms folded. "I know it sounds wild," he said, "but Ecco's a prizewinning physicist. He knows what he's talking about. And it would explain a lot." Alex took a moment to appraise Saberna. "You think," he said, "that the two ships that went out to the Lantner rock got swept up by this thing?" "Yes. That's exactly what I think happened." "And the people who were outside on the surface of the asteroid?" "They would have been caught as well. In the gravity field created by the passing rift." "So they'd have been dragged off?" "Yes." "Why wasn't the asteroid also sucked in?" He shrugged. The answer was obvious. "It was too massive. And the effect was only momentary."