The Amtrack Wars - Earth Thunder Part 47

'What I mean is you've got everything plotted beautifully up to the point when Ieyasu and Yoritomo are stopped in their tracks, but I'm still waiting to hear about our escape plan!" 'I'm working on it."

'I hope you are!" 'I am! But this could be a golden opportunity to grab a couple of hostages. Why rely on Brickman when we can set up a deal ourselves?!" 'Caddy! I've already told you! We've got enough on our plate as it is. These emissaries you're so excited about may not be as important as you think. We don't know why they're coming here and we're not going to have time to find out. Steve is still our best bet as far as Clearwater is concerned, so quit bad-mouthing him otherwise you and I are going to fall out. Okay?"

'Okay, okay. I'm not going to push you on this - ' 'You'd better not!'

'Just bear it in mind."

'Right! That's it!" Roz slapped two handfuls of water into his face, grabbed hold of his hair, and held him under.

As Cadillac and Roz struggled playfully, neither of them had any idea that Steve was one of the emissaries the Federation had selected. And because the mind-bridge linking her to Steve remained blocked, Roz was unaffected by his physical condition. Which at that moment was something to be thankful for.

The steam-powered junk Steve and Fran had boarded off Cape Fear was still two hundred miles south of Aron-Giren. After a second day and night of pitching and rolling in rough seas, Fran .lay, drained of colour, on her mattress bed, unable to stand on her feet without a.s.sistance. Faced with the grim prospect of another day trapped in a wooden box that heaved sickeningly in all directions, death seemed to offer a welcome release.

Steve, the nursemaid, comforter and macho mariner, was now feeling pretty wretched himself. His earlier feigned nonchalance had gone, along with all pretence at having a cast-iron stomach. The merest smell of food made him feel sick, and he had now reached the point where it was proving difficult to hold even a gla.s.s of water down.

All either of them could think of was that longed-for moment when they set foot on solid ground. Neither had any inkling they were soon to be swept into even more dangerous waters ....

Since the Shogun and the Lord Chamberlain had not yet arrived at the Palace, Kamakura's duties as the senior Captain of the Palace Guard were not particularly onerous. Apart from a meeting with Tokimasa, the Resident Steward, and Ichiwara, he was able to delegate inspections and guard-mounting ceremonies to his junior officers, giving him most of the day to attend to the needs of Lady Mishiko.

When night fell, he suggested that it would be wiser if she remained in his house with her children and retinue, leaving him to enter the Palace with the two spirit-witches via the secret tunnel. He had obtained the required information about Secretary Ichiwara, and as an officer privileged to bear arms in the presence of the Shogun, he had unchallenged access to all parts of the Palace.

If he were seen, no one would think to question his presence, and if by chance they did, he could say he was making a last-minute check on the security arrangements.

If Lady Mishiko, on the other hand, ran into a member of Lord Ieyasu's staff or one of his place-men, then the vital element of surprise would be lost.

Mishiko agreed without hesitation. Cadillac also voiced his approval.

It was a good move - always provided they didn't lose their way going through the tunnel. Asking for ink, writing brush and paper, Mishiko quickly prepared an annotated route map and handed over the key.

Once again, the conversation left Roz on the sidelines, but when she saw Mishiko prepare the map and give Kamakura the key, it all became clear. As soon as they were aboard the covered cart, with Kamakura seated up front with one of Mishiko's guards as driver, the rumbling clatter of the wheels allowed Cadillac to explain everything in detail.

By the time they reached the drop-off point for the mausoleum, Roz knew what she had to do. The final scenario would have to wait until she got inside Ichiwara's head.

Recruiting Kamakura onto their team proved to be their biggest stroke of luck so far. It was obvious from the purposeful way he walked that he knew his way around the Palace, but he hadn't known about the secret tunnels.

He had long suspected their existence, but actually seeing them, and the maze of run-offs, had come as a big surprise.

Once they were out of Mishiko's apartments, it didn't take long to reach the area occupied by senior administrators.

They encountered several guards on the way, but only one or two at a time. Roz dealt with them all in turn, taking control of Kamakura's mind on each occasion.

Cadillac had already warned the Captain that they would change their appearance if danger threatened, but he was still staggered by the speed and power of their witchcraft. Every time they sighted a guard, he turned to find that the white-masked figures behind him had been magically transformed into splendidly-dressed, high-ranking n.o.blemen.

It was little wonder that the guards dropped to their knees and kept their eyes on the floor until they had swept by.

On reaching Secretary Ichiwara's quarters, Kamakura gave them whispered directions on how to get to the bedroom, then remained on guard in the corridor while they went in. Cadillac and Roz tip-toed across the floor past Ichiwara's sleeping man-servant, grimacing at every heart-stopping creak as one of the ancient floor-timbers flexed under their weight.

The servant stirred, muttered something, then rolled over onto his back. His sleeping face with its half-open mouth slowly sagged towards them. His nose twitched.

A hand appeared from under the heavy quilted coverlet to rub the troublesome organ, then vanished.

Motioning Roz not to move, Cadillac caught Kamakura's eye and gestured towards the servant. Seeing their predicament, the samurai entered, moved soundlessly to the far side of the servant's floorbed and delivered a carefully-aimed punch just below the right ear. The sleeping body went completely limp.

Ichiwara opened his eyes to find his mother gently shaking him by the shoulder. Seeing her came as a shock because another part of Ichiwara's mind knew she had been dead for over ten years, having died after catching pneumonia at the age of sixty-nine. But here she was, with the lines etched in her face by the inexorable pa.s.sage of time magically wiped away.

This was the face he remembered leaning over his bed during his childhood years, a face filled with love, accompanied by gentle hands that caressed his brow. And he knew he was not really awake, for he often dreamt of returning home and discovering his parents - who he had seen cremated - were still living there. And they would explain their absence by saying they had just been away.

But this dream was so real! He could feel her hand on his shoulder.

But what was she doing in the palace?

'lchi! lchi! Wake up! There is an important message from Lord ieyasu!" 'Message? What does it say?"

'I don't know! Your father says it's something to do with Lady Mishiko! Quick! You must go and fetch it! There is no time to lose!'

'But Mother - I' 'Don't argue! Your father and I will come with you."

Ichiwara felt himself being lifted out of bed and set on his feet.

Message... important. he had to get the message. A lantern appeared in his hand.

Roz and Cadillac helped Ichiwara don a long robe, then stayed within arm's length as he gathered up a set of keys and walked out of his bed-chamber and past the unconscious man-servant. Ichiwara's eyes were open, but he was on auto-pilot. It was the first time Roz had taken control of someone's mind while they were asleep but it seemed to be working.

'Good boy, Ichi!" whispered Cadillac. 'Your mother and I are right behind you."

Kamakura joined them as they tailed the secretary along the corridor.

If there was a hidden radio transmitter then, reasoned Cadillac, it would be hidden within easy reach of Ieyasu's base of operations within the Palace.

And so it proved.

After climbing a couple of flights of back stairs, the semi-conscious Ichiwara used one of his keys to unlock a heavy door and led them into what looked like a records office.

There were several rows of low writing tables, and the wall s.p.a.ces between the narrow windows were lined with racks of pigeonholes and shelves, all stuffed with sheaves of doc.u.ments. Some of the rectangular compartments were fitted with doors.

Ichiwara, whose dark blank eyes gave no sign of registering his surroundings, shut and locked the outside door, then crossed the room and used a smaller key to open one of the sealed compartments at eye-level.

It was empty. He shut the door and withdrew the key.

'There is no message,' he murmured.

'There is! There is!" whispered Cadillac with a touch of desperation. 'So be a good boy and find it before we all get into trouble."

Ichiwara gave a long-suffering sigh, then bent down, reached under one of the lower shelves and pressed something. As he heard the oiled click, Cadillac waved frantically to Roz and Kamakura to take cover.

They dropped out of sight among the lines of writing tables.

He followed them to the floor and got a line of sight on Ichiwara as a door-sized section of shelving swung outwards on concealed hinges.

Behind it was a wall made of dressed, mortared stone.