‘I hear there’s a boat leaving tomorrow?’
The little man nodded.
‘Pier six, eleven in the morning.’
‘Could you fix it so me and my partner were on it?’
‘Very simple. I get you tickets.’
‘How much would it be for a good-class cabin for the two of us?’
‘Two hundred crowns.’
Billy dropped the coins in Lo Yuen’s hand.
‘There’s an extra fifty. It’s for your trouble.’
He gave the little man a hard look.
‘I wouldn’t like it if anyone else heard about it.’
Lo Yuen smiled blandly.
‘You no worry. Me soul of discretion. Ask anybody.’
‘Okay. Thanks.’
‘Okay. I go now.’
The little man hurried off to take care of his customers, Reave came down to the parlour rubbing his eyes. He flopped into the chair next to Billy and glanced at the men in the corner.
‘I see they’re still here.’
‘Did you really expect them to be gone?’
‘I guess not. What are we going to do?’
‘Nothing. Nothing at all. We’re just going to sit here and drink. Lo Yuen’s getting our boat tickets, and at about ten thirty tomorrow, we’ll do a run for pier number six. Okay?’
‘It’s okay with me. I guess you know what you’re doing.’
‘I hope so. I don’t fancy being dragged back to Dur Shanzag.’
They spent the rest of the day sitting at their table in the parlour, drinking in a leisurely manner, and watching the two agents watching them. Towards the end of the evening they each found themselves a girl and retired behind the bolted doors of their rooms. Billy spent a pleasant night informing a second Port Judas whore of the joys that could be had from oral-genital contact. Billy reflected that if the idea spread round the town, he would probably be responsible for yet another addition to the Port Judas city ordinances.
The next morning Billy got up, dressed, crossed the corridor and tapped on Reave’s door.
‘Who is it?’
‘Billy, let me in, quick.’
He slipped inside, and Reave bolted the door behind him.
‘You got the tickets?’
Billy nodded.
‘Lo Yuen gave them to me last night, I also paid our bill.’
‘So we can walk straight out of here?’
‘If you’ve got everything together.’
Reave struggled into his jacket.
‘I’m ready.’
‘Okay, let’s go.’
They hurried down the stairs, and went straight across the parlour and out of the door before the two agents had a chance to move. Once in the street, they hurried along for a couple of blocks, and then ducked into an alley. Reave glanced behind.
‘Think we’ve lost them?’
‘I don’t know. Let’s keep moving.’
They doubled back through the narrow streets of the outlanders’ quarter, crossing the same route a number of times, before heading for the pier. There was no sign of the two men when they finally emerged on the quayside. They were jostled by sailors and dock workers as they looked for pier six. The smell of the river seemed like the scent of freedom. At last they came across a sign that read Pier Six and they hurried out to board the river boat.
The Maria Nowhere was a floating palace. It looked as though it had been designed by a fin de sičcle shipwright with an obsession about decorative wrought iron. It lay low in the water, but its elaborate white and gold superstructure was a maze of saloons, companionways and promenade decks. Towering above the wheel house were the ship’s pair of slender smoke stacks, and in the rear, the huge single paddle wheel that drove the river boat.
Billy and Reave breathlessly hurried up the gangway. At the top, they were stopped by the purser.
‘You have tickets, gentlemen?’
Billy produced the tickets and they were directed to the first-class berths. Halfway there, they were met by a steward and showed into a large, comfortable cabin. Reave grinned at Billy.
‘This is the way to travel.’
The cabin followed through the same design style as the outside of the boat, except that the wrought iron and white timber had been replaced by inlaid veneer, crystal mirrors and dark red plush. Billy flopped into an armchair while Reave wandered round the cabin looking in cupboards and opening drawers.
‘This sure is an improvement on anything else we’ve had.’
Billy laughed.
‘It’s a pity we’re so scruffy. That steward couldn’t believe we were first-class passengers.’
‘Fuck him. We’ve got money, and that’s what counts when you get down to it.’
There was a shudder as the boat’s engines began to turn over, and then after a few minutes an even tremor began. Reave went to the porthole.
‘We’re moving, Billy. We’re under way. Come and have a look.’
Billy moved across to the porthole. The waterfront of Port Judas was slowly receding. Billy put a hand on Reave’s shoulder.
‘Looks like we’re out of it, old buddy. We’ve got away from it all, Dur Shanzag and the good people of Port Judas. I got a feeling that life is going to get better. I got a good feeling, old buddy.’
Reave smiled.
‘I got a feeling that I need a drink now all the excitement’s over.’
Billy grinned.
‘Good idea, let’s go up to the saloon. I think it’s on the next deck up.’
They both stowed their porta-pacs in one of the cupboards, hid their surplus money under the mattress, and started for the door. Billy opened it, and found himself staring down the muzzle of a heavy-calibre automatic pistol. Behind the gun were the two men in trench coats.
‘Oh no!’
They pushed Billy back into the cabin. The agents’ eyes glittered from behind their hat brims and upturned collars.
‘You will not move or make a sound.’
‘Turn round and place your hands on the wall.’
The agents’ voices were little more than a cold hiss. Billy and Reave did as they were told, and were patted down and relieved of their guns. They were then ordered to sit on the bed. Billy decided to try and bluff it out.
‘Who are you, and what do you want?’
Silently one of the agents reached in his pocket and produced a black leather billfold. He flicked it open. Inside was an enamel badge with the eye and flames emblem in red on a black background.
‘We are agents of the Ghâshnákh. We are taking you back to Dur Shanzag for interrogation.’
Billy started to get up.
‘Listen, you’ve made a mistake. I don’t know who you’re looking for but …’
One of the agents hissed at him.
‘Sit down. If you move again I shall blow your head off. One would suffice to take back for interrogation.’ Billy sat down abruptly.
‘As for being mistaken, there is no possibility of that. You are without question the deserters who stole a fighting machine. We found it where you abandoned it in the desert. Your accessory the albino pervert also told us much before he died. There is no mistake.’
Reave leaped to his feet.
‘You mean you killed Burt the Medicine?’
‘Obviously, and we’ll kill you if you don’t sit down.’
Reave sank to the bed.
‘What are you going to do with us?’
‘You’ll be taken back to Dur Shanzag for examination by the Eight.’
‘And then?’
‘You won’t survive examination.’
There seemed to be nothing more to say. Then Billy had an idea.
‘You’ll have to get us off the boat.’
‘You’ll be taken off at the next place we land. The crew won’t interrupt us. There are no laws on river boats except those the captain cares to invent.’
This time there was nothing at all to say. The little tableau remained totally static. Billy and Reave sat side by side on the bed. The two agents stood slightly apart, with their backs to the door, watching them.