A woman-the mother?-came out of the house, leading the little girl. Theyfollowed the same routine they had before, taking the uncrowded street uphill.
Meaning they would walk about two hundred yards and be admitted to the home ofanother well-to-do family. They would stay three hours, then would return.
Possibly it was something they were not supposed to do. Near as Sadat couldtell, the woman and child left home only when no one else was there and theywere certain no one would be aware that they had stepped out.
In this area women did not go out into public without a male companion. Aconceit of the prosperous.
There was only one way to do it under the circumstances. And as far as Sadatcould see, there was no opportunity to create more favorable circumstances.
He slouched after them, trying to look disinterested and innocuous, justsomebody headed in the same direction and walking a little faster.
He had worked it out a dozen times. His timing was exact. He overtook them asthey reached the mouth of the only alley and escape route leading off thatpart of the street. The woman glanced back just as he moved.
Her eyes widened and she tried to duck, but his blow put her down. He grabbedthe girl.
The child screamed. Someone yelled. The woman wailed. Sadat charged into the alley carrying the girl. She was not heavy. As he went he fumbled out a wad ofwet cotton. He forced that into her face.
A few blocks away he would be just some fellow carrying his sleeping daughter.
The blow to the mother had not fallen solidly. She staggered down the alleyafter him, wailing. Damn! And now a couple of men were with her, asking whatha'd happened.
Sadat Agmed ran. But the child slowed him. He distanced the woman but not themen who took up the chase. Each time he glanced back there were more of them, shouting louder and looking meaner.
He became frightened. Frightened, he did not think ahead carefully enough.
When he realized there would be no escape while he was burdened with thechild, he abandoned her and took off toward the Hahr. But he misremembered ashortcut by one turn and ended up darting into a dead-end alleyway. Dead endin more ways than one.
The mob pulled him off the wall he was trying to climb. Many were men who hadsmall children, men who had become intimate with fear of child-stealersrecently. They had no mercy in them, and no thought to ask questions. Theywere not armed, but that did not matter.
Sadat used two packs of flash and after each almost broke free. He flailedaway with his knife till someone knocked it out of his hand. The slashes onlyenraged the men more. They punched and kicked and stomped him till he had beendead for several minutes.
Then, horrified by what the animal in them had made them do, they ran away anddid not talk much about the affair.
A Dartar patrol reached the scene only after it was too late for anything buta cleanup.
Azel reported his conversation with Torgo to the General. The old man was morethan ordinarily irritable. His aches and pains were piling up.
"He'll let you take the traitor to see the boy, at least?"
"He gave me that much."
"I presume you don't want to be recognized any more than he wants the citadelto be. Have you a way to handle that?"
"Have somebody deliver him blindfolded to the third alleyway south of Muma'sPlace. I'll pick him up after the delivery boys go. After I bring him out I'llwalk him home."
"When?"
"As soon as it's dark. There's nobody up there after sundown."
"Be careful. The best men in the organization will be handling somethingelse."
"I'm always careful."
"I know. Good day."
"Same to you." Azel eased out the door after a glance to make sure no one waswatching. He was uneasy, suddenly. Like it was not a good time for ...
He caught the tail end of a shout. Puzzled, he looked downhill. And saw aDartar pointing at him.
Another Dartar appeared, looked, nodded, and started heading toward him.
Azel did not believe it for a moment. Why would they single him out? Must beone of the ones he had run into in the maze. Damn the luck!
He bulled into the crowd, where they would have trouble spotting him becauseof his stature. He reviewed his choices, supposing they were serious enoughactually to come after him. His favorite tool, the maze, was no good. A hordeof those bastards were in there. He couldn't fight them all.
A horn sounded behind him. "Shit!" They had sounded an alarm. They wereserious.
Why? What the hell was the matter with them? What did they have on him? Whythe hell should they give a damn about a kidnapping? Unless Fa'tad had begunto sense a pattern?
He glanced back.
They had stolen his physical advantage. One man had mounted a camel and waskeeping him in sight. Two more were pushing through the press on foot.
"All right, you treacherous sons of bitches." He pushed harder, edging towardthe north side of the street, away from the maze and the Dartars uphill. In aconversational voice he said, "Make way for the Living, please," repeating itover and over, hoping it would not do more harm than good.
The horn sounded again. Answers came from uphill and down.
The crowd began to chatter and grumble. Somebody tripped one of the Dartars.
That started a fight that threatened to become a free-for-all. The camel riderbegan laying about with the butt of his lance.
Azel chuckled. A long shot had come in.
An uphill Dartar pushed into his path, threatened him with a lance he heldlike a quarterstaff. Azel did not slow. When the Dartar swung the butt of thelance Azel grabbed it and yanked, kicked the man in the groin, punched hishead, and pushed on. He reached the mouth of an alley running north.
He looked back again. The camel rider glared helplessly from a hundred feetaway. Azel saluted him and entered the alleyway. As soon as he was sure no onewas watching he climbed to a rooftop.
He continued to move warily there. Qushmarrah's rooftops, in the dense OldCity, were another world, like the Shu maze, but one he did not know as well.
He could not be sure he did not have enemies up there.
The crowd had begun to disperse by the time Aaron got out to see the cause ofthe uproar. Qushmarrahans did not want to be around when Dartars gathered instrength.
Two Dartars were lying in the street. One of them looked like the kid he'dbeen talking to a while ago. A man on a camel stood guard over them.
Aaron did not think. He just ran out, arriving as the camel rider brought hismount to her knees. That was the one who had watched over the prisoners whilehe had spoken with the younger one. Yoseh?
Aaron dropped to one knee. Both men were breathing. "What happened?"
The rider said, "Yoseh saw the child-stealer from the maze. We went after him.
He said something to the crowd. They attacked us."
The boy opened his eyes. He tried to get up. Aaron offered a hand. The boyflinched away, then accepted. Aaron lifted him, slipped an arm around hiswaist, helped him stumble back to where he had started. He did not notice theDartars gathering like ravens. He did not notice the scowls of Laella and hermother, watching from the doorway.
He set the boy down, looked back to see if the other needed help. That one wassurrounded by Dartars. He looked at the boy again, intrigued by the scars andtattoos revealed when his face cloth was gone.
"Thank you," the boy said.
"Are you all right?"
"I'll have a lot of scrapes and bruises. Otherwise, yes."
Aaron assayed a weak sally. "You're going to have to quit chasing that man.
You keep ending up ..."
"We'll get him."
A one-sided row broke out at the house, Raheb so excited her voice squeaked.
Aaron was surprised to see Mish headed his way with a bowl, rags, and whatpassed for medical supplies in their household. She settled on her kneesbefore the boy, dipped a rag in the bowl, began cleaning the street dirt offhis face.
Aaron settled on his haunches. He wondered what Mish thought of the boy'sscars and tattoos. He smiled when she tried to scrub the latter away.