Chung Kuo - The Marriage Of The Living Dark Part 63

"Think what, Edmund? That you betrayed me, perhaps? That you've been feeding insider information to one of my enemies?"

Wyatt laughed, but he was clearly uncomfortable. "You can't be serious, Howard. How long have we known each other? Forty years? And you think I'd do something like that to you?"

"I don't know," DeVore said coldly. "But I'm going to f.u.c.king well find out. And when I do ..."

The screen clicked on again. DeVore turned back, finding himself looking at his Head of Security, Hart. The man looked troubled. "What is it, Don?"

"Those men you wanted sent to the apartment building in Beijing..." "What of them?"

"They're dead, thaf s what. They stumbled across a couple of a.s.sa.s.sins in the lobby. The local police have the place surrounded. I thought. .." "Don't think," DeVore said, interrupting him, "just get on to the Head of Police... his name's Ch'ang San... and tell him not to precipitate anything until I get back I don't want any of his men going in there, guns blazing, you understand? Containment" "But what if he says no?" "Then that big fat cheque he gets every month isn't going to arrive anymore. You understand?" Hart grinned. "I understand, sir." "Then see to it" DeVore sat back, sighing deeply. "Just what the f.u.c.k is going on?" he glanced sideways at Wyatt, but Wyatt was brooding, chewing on a thumbnail thoughtfully. "I said," DeVore repeated, raising his voice, "just what the f.u.c.k is going on?" "A player," Wyatt said after a moment "Someone you p.i.s.sed off years ago, but who's kept a low profile all this time. Someone who's been waiting to pay you back." "Are you talking about yourself now, Edmund?" Wyatt looked to him and glared. "Leave it Howard. Okay?" DeVore raised a hand. "Okay. I believe you. But f.u.c.k it someone must have let slip, and who knows more than you?" Wyatf s eyes narrowed suddenly, as if he suddenly saw it "Your AI. Your so-called discreet system."

"b.o.l.l.o.c.ks! Why, I'm more likely to have given the game away than the computer's DS. It's programmed to self-destruct before anyone can tamper with it" "Then what if someone hacked into it and re-programmed it?" DeVore gave a laugh of disbelief. "No. They'd have to be some kind of super-genius to do that!" "Right! The kind of super-genius who'd not worry about losing thirty billion in an hour just to stop you."

"And the rest? Are you saying that he's behind it all? The bungled a.s.sa.s.sinations? The mistimed bombs?" Wyatt smiled. "Thaf d be my guess." "Then who the f.u.c.k is he? And why don't we know him?" "Maybe we do. Maybe he was one of those guys you killed in the apartment building."

"No. They were just messengers. Hackers. Else they'd have covered their tracks a d.a.m.n sight better than they did."

"You should have kept one of them alive. Then you could have tortured him. Found out what he knew." "Maybe. But I didn't have time." "Thaf s not like you, Howard."

DeVore shrugged, then said casually, "No ..." But he was thinking, No. But I won't make the same mistake twice. I'tt make sure I take my time over you, my erstwhile friend. Ill make sure I rack you well and good. He laughed. "Do you recall that fat c.h.i.n.k I introduced you to ... w.a.n.g Sau Leyan?"

Wyatt turned, a faint amus.e.m.e.nt in his eyes. "The one who liked f.u.c.king Western women two at a time?"

"Thafs him. I had him tortured. He owed me money. Arrogant b.a.s.t.a.r.d wouldn't pay me. Said I'd have to wring it from him. So I did. His brothers were furious - wanted me dead. So I racked them, too. All four of the f.u.c.kers in one room. Sang like a choir." "And the money?"

"Oh, f.u.c.k the money. I had more fun than I'd had for a long time. Had to dump them when I'd finished, mind. Couldn't let them loose to tell the tale, could P" "No," Wyatt said, looking away thoughtfully. "No." There was a knock on the part.i.tion between them and the driver's seat. DeVore opaqued it "News from the tower, sir. It seems the shuttle's due down any moment."

They felt the rumble. As DeVore opaqued the outer windows of the glide, they saw - far off to their right, almost a mile away - the shuttle descending on a point of flame.

"There," DeVore said, grinning suddenly. "There he is."

"Who?" Wyatt asked, intrigued.

But DeVore merely smiled. "Just wait and see."

THE MARRIAGE OF THE LIVING DARK.

Joseph stepped out from the lobby of the Tung Chan Building and stepped into his glide, which hovered five centimetres above the surface of the transit pad. It was a fairly modest machine; enough to confirm his status as a top financier, but not grand enough to mark him as a player.

Which was exactly how he wanted it, for the idea was to blend in, not to stand out That was how he'd evaded notice all these years. As the glide lifted and he relaxed back into his seat, Joseph recalled his first sight of DeVore.

He had not gone there to see DeVore, but to get a glimpse of his genetic father, Wyatt To try and discover just what kind of man Wyatt was. And there, standing right next to Wyatt, talking to a group of leading businessmen, was DeVore. He had sensed at once that there was something wrong. The man was charming - he went out of his way to be charming - but Joseph could see the brutality that lay beneath every gesture.

Certain that he was imagining it, he had wandered away. But later in the evening he had come across DeVore in one of the corridors leading off the central hall, speaking quietly to one of his minions, such casual threat in his voice that Joseph had felt a small ripple of fear run up his spine. He had said nothing. He had not even let on that he'd seen a thing. But that brief glimpse of DeVore had intrigued him enough to want to know a little more about this man who was his father's constant companion. Alarm bells had rung almost instantly. One could not make a computer query without triggering counter-queries of the "Who wants to know?" variety. Which was when he began to get devious, and to use those skills he had been born with: the ability to take a system - any system - and turn it inside out DeVore had never known. He hadn't even guessed. Until tonight But now he would be looking for him.

The thought of that ought to have chilled him, for he knew exactly what DeVore was capable of, but sitting there he felt a strange confidence in his own abilities. Besides, he had his "coat"."Daniel. .. turn on the news for me, will you? Channel 96." At once the wavering light of the screen filled the back of the glide.

First up was the latest on the business at the Eight Dragons Hotel. The Americans, it seemed, were vigorously denying reports that President Newell had been shot, but the President himself hadn't been seen now for almost four hours. The dead woman had now been identified as Susan Callaghan, an "escort", while reports from Washington revealed intense activity there, with Vice President Wetton arriving at the White House for an unscheduled meeting with senior aides. Bad, Joseph thought, yet without his intervention it could have been so much worse. Wetton would have been dead, yes, and half his cabinet. And then the Generals would have been in charge and war would have been a certainty. A war that, on top of the economic collapse DeVore had triggered, would have wiped out ninety-five per cent of humanity.

It was hard to imagine any man wanting that. Which was why Joseph had developed his pet theory. That DeVore was not, in fact, a man. A fact he could not prove, yet which seemed to be borne out by the record. For he could find no trace that DeVore had ever been born. Oh, there were strong indications that the man was in his forties, but no specific date was given for his birth. Not only that, but the man seemed to have been in his forties now for well on forty years.

Stranger yet was something he had stumbled upon one rainy afternoon three years back.

Idly trawling the web for new information, Joseph had come upon the file of a man - one of DeVore's employees - who seemed familiar to him. It was some facial characteristic that had made him sit forward and frown at the screen. It wasn't, of course, who he thought it was, but the idea that one might perhaps trawl the historical record for a specific face -DeVore's face - occurred to him in that instant Over the following week he had written a programme that would do just that And then he'd let it run.

The results were astonishing. Not one or two, but hundreds of sightings, going back over not eighty years, but close on eight hundred, the oldest of them a figure in Piero della Francesca's painting, The Recognition of the True Cross, which was painted no later than 1460.

It was possible, of course, that these faces were simply similar. Were the natural result of genetics. Until one started to place them side by side and saw the unchanging nature of them. They were never young, never old. And always - always - there was that look in the eyes: that cold brutality that contradicted the smiling lips.

Which raised the question: could a man live eight hundred years and never age? On the screen the news ran on. Joseph blinked then sat forward slightly, suddenly attentive again.

"... have confirmed that the starship is of human construction and manned by a human crew, but as yet no one has claimed ownership of the craft..." Joseph cut in, speaking to his AI. "When did this happen?" "An hour back," the computer answered him. "If s currently in geostationary orbit immediately above Beijing. A shuttle from the craft touched down at Tientsin s.p.a.ceport two minutes back" Joseph nodded thoughtfully. "When you know anything more, let me know." He raised a hand. At once the sound from the news screen began again.

"... leaving two dead and one seriously injured. The two men are still holed up in the lobby of the apartment block, which has been surrounded by armed police ..."

As the camera zoomed in on one of the men inside the lobby, Joseph gave a strange laugh of recognition. "But thaf s impossible ..." The face on the screen had been that of Kao Chen, one of his men. But right now Chen was in Washington, along with Karr. It was they who had saved Wetton's life. Again he spoke to the air. "Where are Karr and Chen?" "Washington," came the immediate reply. "You want me to patch them through?" "No." Joseph shivered. What was going on? Starships ... and now this. "Where is that building?" "Central Beijing. If s called the Tang Li Building." "Buy it."

There was no argument, just a pause, then. "We now own the Tang Li Building."

"Good. Now lef s divert there. And get security there at once. Two dozen of our best men. And make sure the police don't do anything stupid." A pause, then. "Done."

Joseph let out a breath, then sat back agaia Something was happening. Something he didn't yet understand. But he would. He had only to fit the pieces together and it would all come clear.

On the screen, the camera panned across until it came to rest on the face of Gregor Karr, who squatted behind a barrier, a huge gun clutched to his chest That's you, Gregor, he thought, narrowing his eyes. That's unmistakably you. Yet if, at this moment, you're in Washington, how can it be? Unless ... Joseph spoke to the air. "Emily? What have we got on multidimensional physics?"

"So what do we do now?"

Karr, crouched down behind the reception desk, glanced across at his friend. "I guess we wait and see. If they wanted us dead, we'd be dead by now." That much was true. The cover in the lobby was poor. A good marksman would have had no trouble picking them off. And without exposing themselves fully, there was no way they could change that situation.

"Who were they, do you think?"

"I'd say they were working for whoever did that, upstairs."

Chen gave the tiniest nod. One thing was sure. The men they'd run into weren't Security. If they had been, they'd have been dead by now, because Security looked after its own.

Then again, there was little chance they'd get out of here alive. The only possible reason they were still alive was that someone wanted to know who they were, and where they'd come from. And as they had no intention of being taken, that left pretty few other options.

What wotdd I do? Karr asked himself.

He'd use gas, of course. Or stun guns. Or ...

He swallowed, saddened suddenly by the thought that they would die here, in a strange universe. And for what? Why, they wouldn't even get the chance now to take a pop at DeVore.

Outside, beyond the security cruisers that surrounded the front of the lobby, a craft was setting down: a big, black, shiny thing that was different in kind from the bulkier, armoured Security vehicles. It looked the kind of thing a businessman might fly.

Karr raised his gun, looking through the sights as the craff s door hissed open then folded back into the roof.

A big man stepped out, a multi-coloured coat draped about him, its surfaces seeming to wink like a prism in the late afternoon sunlight The figure was unfamiliar, but the face, even without its bulging eyes, was unmistakable. "Kim!"

Chen raised his gun and looked through the sights. "It can't be. Look at the size of him. He's got to be six-six easily."

But Karr was certain of it Staring at the man, he saw what the Kim he knew could have been under different circ.u.mstances. Saw just what physical handicaps he had overcome in their own world.

Whereas here, in this world ...

Kim was talking to the Security chief. Karr saw anger on the man's face, but Kim stared him out, then gestured for him to go.

There was a moment's tense eye to eye confrontation between the two, then, furious, the Security man turned on his heel and, gesturing angrily to his men, began to leave.

At the same moment craft were setting down. Men spilled out. Armed men, who looked to Kim for instructions. "What are they doing?" Chen asked. "I don't know. But it looks like he's taken over from Security. Maybe he owns the building."

"Well... it looks like we're about to find out He's coming over. What do you want to do?"

Karr looked to Chen and shrugged. "I guess I'd better speak to him. Cover me.

But don't fire unless they fire first"

Lowering his gun, Karr stood, then stepped out from behind the reception desk. Up ahead of him the outer gla.s.s doors of the lobby hissed open and the man in the many-coloured coat stepped through. He took a further couple of paces towards Karr then stopped, frowning.

"Gregor? What the h.e.l.l are you doing here? I thought you were in Washington?"

Karr narrowed his eyes. "Kim?"

The man shook his head, then. "Do you know me?" "I think so. In my world your name is Kim. But you are not half the man you are in this world."

At the mention of different worlds, this other Kim nodded, his eyes widening.

"So you are from elsewhere."

Karr hesitated, then. "If you're not Kim, then who are you? What do you call yourself?"

The man smiled, then put out a hand to Karr. "My name is Mister Joseph Josephs.

But you can call me Joseph."

The girl's mother was surprised to see him back so soon.

"Mister Huang ... Is something wrong?"

"We have to leave here earlier than we planned. Pack two bags, Madam Yin.

Essentials only. I can buy whatever else we need when we get there."

The Madam looked alarmed. "Where are we going?" "To Tientsin s.p.a.ceport I have a craft there. From there we'll fly out to my country place, in Sichuan Province."

"Sichuan?' She stared at him, highly dubious now.

"Sichuan. Now get ready. And send the girl to me!" The tone of command in his voice - one he but rarely used - did the trick She turned and disappeared inside A moment later the girl appeared Her eyes looked tired, as if she'd just been woken.

"What is it?" she said, coming across and putting her arms about him, as if he had been her lover months and not a single day. "Mama says we are to go to Sichuan."

"I have a summer place there. An estate. Up in the hills. You'll like it I've horses ..."

"Horses?" She looked excited. "I love horses."

The closeness of her aroused him. Despite the urgency of the moment, he wanted to f.u.c.k her once again. He reached down and placed his hands over her b.u.t.tocks, the thinness of the garment she was wearing letting him feel the warmth of the flesh almost as if he touched it She looked up at him, wide-eyed. "You want to? Now?" He shivered, recalling how she had bewitched him the last time he'd been with her. "Not now," he said, denying the need he felt. "Now go and help your mother pack. We must be gone from here."

Fei Yen clung to him a moment longer, then turned and disappeared back through the door. Li Yuan stood there, staring at the doorway, then sniffed the air. Mei met. Plum blossom. He shivered, then turned, confused momentarily. Tongjiang. If they could get to Tongjiang they would be safe Even if the world collapsed about them.

The two men met on the ap.r.o.n just beneath the shuttle. Though they were dressed differently, they looked identical, and Wyatt, looking on, stared in disbelief. "Howard!" the two men said as one, embracing each other warmly. "You're looking good," the newcomer said, standing back a little. "So what's happening here?"

"A little setback. But I'm dealing with it" The newcomer nodded, then looked past his double. "Wyatt! How good to see you. You're dead back where I came from. They had you executed in public. Big f.u.c.ker with an even bigger sword took your head from your shoulders. I'd have brought a tape if I'd known."

Wyatt had blanched, but the paradigm DeVore seemed amused by the news.

"Executed, eh? Who would have thought it? And you, Howard?" "My world is dead. Or as good as. Thaf s why I came to lend a hand."

There was a narrowing of eyes. Both men looked at each other intently a moment, then, as if they had come to some perfect understanding, grinned again. "So who are we fighting?" the newcomer asked. "Ward? Li Yuan? Karr?"

DeVore shook his head. "None of those. Our enemy here is a man named Josephs.

Joseph Josephs."

"Never heard of him."