Crisis On Doona Part 26

The Treaty Controller lived in style. The fine green carpet was deep and soft, and took footprints all too easily. Her sandals made smaller impressions in it than slender Hrruban feet would. Would the nap spring up to erase her inward path? Or would he notice? His furnis.h.i.+ngs were lavishly decorated and suited to Hrruban anatomy. Not a single Hayuman-style chair or stool. The walls were hung with warmly colored Hrruban tapestries. All manner of Rralan-made crafts were displayed in wall niches and on small stone-topped pedestals1 presents from Hrruban villages on the planet.

Grudgingly she admitted that the old torn had gooc taste, but the furnis.h.i.+ngs also afforded numewu hiding places for the doc.u.ment box she sought.

As the tapestries were stened to the wall fron rods on a picture rail, she could look beneath then and tap the bright orange-dyed rla wall for hollov places. She found nothing and was examining the walls in the sleeping chamber when she heard thi front door swing open and bounce against it hinges.

She froze and listened, hearing with great relie the sighing of a breeze. She tiptoed back to thi door and peered around the corner, trying to keel out of sight. Someone stared right at her. Shocke' and still in a half-crouch, Kelly stared back. But i wasn't the Treaty Controller. It was a small, coffee skinned Hayuman with gray hair twisted into coronet on her head. A Councillor's robe was slung casually over one arm.

"who - . who are you?" Kelly asked meekly.

"I was going to ask you the very same question1 girl,' the woman replied in a stern voice. "I thought the wind had blown the door open but I see he has a snooper going through his possessions. A thief on Treaty Island itself! Disgraceful! Give me your name this instant and your business here."

"Please, Madam Dupuis,' for Kelly recognized her, "I'm not stealing anything. I'm Kelly Solinari of First Hayuman Village and I'm trying to help Todd Reeve." "In the Controller's bedroom?" Madam Dupuis's eyebrows rose in amused query. "He doesn't like Hayumans, you know.

"Don't I just!" Sensing a sympathetic relaxation of the Councillor's disapproval1 Kelly decided the truth would do her more good than any invention.

So she summarized her illegal return to Earth and approaching Inspector DeVeer for a.s.sistance, and how she had overheard mention of a very special doc.u.ment box from Hrruba anxiously awaited the Treaty Controller. "We've got Todd and Hrriss cleared of one charge,' and Madam Dupuis nodded, so Kelly didn't bother to explain other matters of which the Councillor would have more intimate knowledge than she did.

"But it's more than just an attempt to ruin the Treaty, Madam Dupuis.

We think it's a conspiracy between certain Hayuman and Hrruban elements that might lead'-this was the hardest part to say aloud-'might lead to an interspecies war. ." Madam Dupuis's hand went to her throat and her complexion paled noticeably.

"A war that is meant to leave only one species on Doona and only one dominant species in the known galaxy." Madam Dupuis regarded her for a very lon moment with eyes dulled with sorrow.

"I fear you may be right, Kelly Solinari, though] have not had the courage to admit it to myself. i have always known that our current Controller wa one of Third Speaker's nominees, but he has, until recently, been scrupulously fair in his judgment during our negotiations." She bowed her head for long moment, her hand idly stroking her robe. "l have suspected a subtle alteration in his mien.

Yoi don't live for twelve years in close contact will someone, even of another species1 and no notice'-her fingers flickered-'little things.

I'v wondered about his much-vaunted impartiality1 hu then,' and she gave Kelly a rueful grin1 "mine ha been slipping somewhat, too.

With all of my hear I want Doona to remain as it is." Her manne altered abruptly. "It is extraordinary behavior for born and bred Doonan to break and enter, but you can keep it to yourself and can find what yo seek, I shall forget I've seen you."

"You will?" Kelly couldn't believe her escape.

"Hmm,' Madam Dupuis murmured in an abser fas.h.i.+on. "I just came over to shut his door. I ha noticed that the wind must have blown it aja Surprising how strong the breeze can be when th temperature starts to fall at this time of day." Sb started back to the door then turned, hand on the k.n.o.b. "Have you found what you're looking for?" Kelly shook her head. "I only just got here."

"Then for the sake of us all, find it,' she said in a voice of command. "I'd help you myself because I believe you have seen the true reason behind all this maneuvering.

I've got a boondoggle that I've been waiting to raise before the copies of the Treaty are written up. A Human outpost on Hrruba, similar to the facility Hrringa occupies on Earth. I want to see equal treatment for our species, but it's a sticking point I haven't been able to maneuver that old tomcat past. That should make a good long point to argue. I will make certain that you have an hour to search, but that is all I can hope to extend the argument. His patience isn't infinite.

Will that suffice?"

"It will have to,' Kelly said, her tone expressing her intense grat.i.tude for understanding and a.s.sistance.

Just as Madam Dupuis was about to close the door behind her, she added, "If you need a haven, my office is on the first floor above the commissary." Then she closed the door firmly behind her.

The first thing Kelly did was to look about the sleeping quarters for a hiding place for herself. The heavy curtains would do and they gave onto a small shrub-lined yard but the bushes would be nothing for her to scale.

His closets yielded nothing except that the Controller was a fastidious person, for everything was neatly hung and arranged in outfits for lounging, public appearances, and ceremonial receptions.

Nothing among the films and flimsies in his desk looked like official doc.u.ments or reports. She read Hrruban, High, Low, and Middle, but a quick scan told her there was nothing incriminating in the drawers.

The communications unit was like any other on Doona or Earth, with no place for concealment in, on, or under the console. Brus.h.i.+ng her hands on her legs to dry nervous perspiration, she started on the other furnis.h.i.+ngs.

She was halfway through her hour's dispensation when she found her prize. The doc.u.ment box was hidden underneath the last drawer in the bedroom bureau. The Treaty Controller had sawn out and removed half of the supporting board under the drawer, leaving a large hiding place accessible without turning the heavy chest over. Kelly drew the box out and rested it on her knees.

It was a very ordinary doc.u.ment box, like any other used for conveying official papers back and forth between offices. Kelly had seen, and handled, dozens like it at Alreldep. She hefted it: light, couldn't be much inside. But then she didn't need much, only the right sort of doc.u.ment.

She examined the lock and here the resemblance to ordinary courier boxes ended. It was fitted with a custom lock intended to discourage unauthorized entry. The lock was flat, but a glance inside the keyhole with her tiny torch showed that it was made to accept a key with multiple wards each as narrow as a strand of hair. Box in hand, she looked about the room for something she could use to manipulate the lock. She found a straight pin but it was no use.

She didn't dare try to force the box or break it open and her time was nearly up.

She started to put the box back into its place of concealment, but stopped when she noticed the remains of an official seal on the untied tapes that dangled from the sides of the container. It reminded her of something, and the memory tickled at the back of her mind. She had seen a seal used by the High Council of Speakers of Hrruba.

This one was a lot like it, but not as complex. Using the point of a pin and an old sc.r.a.p of film she found in a wastebin, she copied down as much of the seal as she could.

Madam Dupuis's gift of an uninterrupted hour was definitely over.

Not daring to try the lock any longer lest she be caught there fiddling with it when the Treaty Controller returned, Kelly put the box away and replaced the drawer.

On her knees, she backed out pr the room, fluffing up the woolly carpet with her hands. At the door, she stopped, and tried to remember if there was anything she had left open or out of place. No, she had been thorough, if unsuccessful.

"There,' she said. "I hope he doesn't check for fingerprints." Striding with as much nonchalance as she could, Kelly made her way to the research quarters where she knew Hrruvula was quartered for the hearings.

Without explaining her presence or her occupation the past hour, she showed him her drawing of the seal. He gave her a startled glance and peered at it closely. when she opened her mouth to explain, he held up his hand, his eyes dark and inscrutable.

"You are not my client, Kelly Solinari, so anything you might wish to impart to me would not be done under the cloak of confidentiality,' he said, still studying the sc.r.a.p of film. "You have not been here.

We have not talked of anything, especially about a replica of the private insignia of the Third Speaker.

He handed it back to her, gestured politely for her to exit as quickly as she had entered, and turned his back on her.

She left Hrruvula's office at a trot, heading for the transport grid. So that was it! The Treaty Controller was, against all the precepts of his current position, actively collaborating with his sponsor to prevent the renewal of the Treaty! She hoped the evidence Dalkey had found was indeed on the next s.h.i.+pment. There wouldn't be another medical s.h.i.+pment for weeks, and by then Doona might be just a memory. The thought scared her so much she ran all the way back to the grid station.

The grid operator transferred Kelly and the remaining pallet directly to the transport station in First Village. She all but fell off the platform into Todd's waiting arms and let him sustain the embrace to restore her self-confidence. Hrriss watched the salutation with glowing eyes, Nrrna beside him, delicate hands nervously clasped together.

"It's here,' Kelly said excitedly, thrusting the dark gray envelope into their hands. "He came through.

I just love Dalkey. He did it." Todd eagerly opened the packet which contained a sheaf of printouts, folded neatly in half. To the top a note in Dalkey's precise, impersonal handwriting was attached, which Todd read aloud. "None of these account numbers Earth-based.

Good luck.

D." Todd's fingers fumbled as he opened the sheets and glanced quickly through them. "He's done it.

We've got it!" Hrriss hissed softly. "This will take time to decipher,' Hrriss said, reading over Todd's shoulder. "First it must be determined which numeric prefixes pertain to which worlds.

"A lot of money changed hands,' Todd said, and whistled at the size of separate amounts. "I don't think it'll be that hard with so many good minds'he grinned about him-'focused on the job. Look.

The numbers repeat. Some of these accounts have had several deposits. With what we already know, we ought to be able to figure out which worlds are involved. We can start by checking the amounts against what we've got in Klonski's."

"Shouldn't we take this right to Poldep?" Kelly asked.

"Call me paranoid if you want, Kelly, but I want to decipher this for ourselves first before we show it to anyone else."

"Yeah, if they turned out to be legitimate supply payments,' Kelly said with a grimace, "we'd damage our cause. We can't afford to do that! And'-her voice strengthened and her eyes flashed up at him-'you're not paranoid-not any more than you have reason to be." Todd grinned down at her, really enjoying their newfound intimacy. "These could turn out to be quite legitimate remittances to free-lancers on infrequent invoices.

"I think Dalkey would know if that's what they were,' Kelly said, slightly defensive. Dalkey had taken risks to get these to her, and he wasn't stupid.

"But you're right. Let's divvy them up among us so it'll go faster." "All for one and one for all,' Nrrna startled Todd and Kelly by saying. Seeing their surprise, she smiled in pleasure at the effect. "I found that quote in one of your Earth cla.s.sics." Todd grinned. "I think a more appropriate quote might be "If we don't hang together, we will most a.s.suredly hang separately." Any luck on the other half of Project Infiltrate?" he asked Kelly, his arm still lightly about her shoulders.

Kelly rolled her eyes over that little escapade and then gave her friends a quick summary.

"Madam Dupuis is on our side?" Todd exclaimed when she had finished. "That's a real plus." Then he shook his head. "It's just tough luck that you couldn't get inside the doc.u.ment box, but the seal's incriminating. The Treaty Controller is supposed to be impartial. He certainly shouldn't be receiving doc.u.ments from Third Speaker. No wonder he collected the s.h.i.+pment himself. Let's get cracking on what we do have.

They quickly determined that what Dalkey had sent was the complete printout of all transactions within the slush fund account for a period of fifteen years, ending two years before the present date.

Once decoded, it might provide the hard doc.u.mentation they needed.

"Three eight one is the prefix for Zapata Three,' Todd said, referring to the printout that had been presented to the Treaty Council by Landreau. "So shall we a.s.sume that this first number is the account opened by "Rikard Baliff"?" He compared the dates with missions he and Hrriss had been on: those which Rogitel had intimated had included nefarious side trips. "Well, whaddya know? Every single transaction date matches with one of our trips, Irrriss. The Hrruban hissed softly between his teeth.

"Someone has most scrupulously kept track of our journeys. But that could be anyone on Rrala. We made no secret of our departures and of our estimated time of return."

"And told their Zapatan contact just when to make lodgments,' Kelly said, seething at the complicity and the way it had been turned against her friends. "Isn't that a second Zapatan account?" and she tapped her stylus on another 381 listing.

"Is that our rustler being paid off? It's too neat to be mere coincidence, especially when all the figures match all that incriminating junk Rogitel was waffling on about. Sure looks like a connection between s.p.a.cedep and that rustler to me. Let's take it to Inspector DeVeer.

Todd grinned at her for her enthusiasm. "Not yet,' he said, ticking off the entries they had identified. "I'd rather find out where all these other entries fit in." He held up his index finger.

"One correlation is not sufficient. We present the entire package and they have to believe us. Someone has gone to a lot of trouble to make us look as guilty as possible. We have to shoot down all the brrnas in the flock." Rogitel left the official chamber as soon as the Treaty Council adjourned for the day and transferred by grid back to Earth.

Without a word to Hrringa in the Hrruban Center, he made his way swiftly out of the Alreldep block and directly to Landreau's office at s.p.a.cedep. The secretary silently admitted him to the director's small private office.

He stood vector-straight before Landreau's desk while his superior finished a comp call.

"I have information from our contact in the Archive,' Rogitel reported as soon as Landreau had completed the call. "Inquiries are being made through to Zapata and several of the other worlds where the Reeve accounts are being maintained.

They are in possession of specific deposit information, so they must have a source, within s.p.a.cedep, providing them with data from our records."

"So that is what's going on,' Landreau said, his face suffusing with anger. He began scrolling through his console, his finger hard on the key. "A report came to my notice a few days back but I couldn't see why I should be bothered with minor infractions.

Here it is!" And he gestured for Rogitel to scan it. "Trivial matters must never be ignored: even something so insignificant as a junior making copies of old screens. Take this Dalkey Petersham into custody, for illegal copying of official doc.u.ments. Find out who he's been working for, if he's sent on the doc.u.ments and to whom. Take his brain apart if you need to. Use querastrin if you must.

But get a full confession from him." .Landreau sprang out of his seat, pacing up and down, his stocky body quivering with fury.

"A confession under duress, sir? That's not altogether prudent.

Nor can we obtain permission to use the truth drug on him for copying old, decla.s.sified accounting records. Wouldn't it be wiser, Admiral, to leave him in place and watch him? If he thinks he has gotten away with this first foray, he'll feet bolder aut repeating his success.

If you catch him in the process of committing a crime, you have far more lat.i.tude in extracting information from him. "I don't like it,' Landreau said, sitting down again, and flicking his fingers at the d.a.m.ning report on the screen. "I don't like it in the least." He pressed hard on the scroll key, stopping it and rewinding to position a new doc.u.ment, bearing the Poldep seal. "Reeve has had the d.a.m.nedest luck.

Couldn't you have done something to keep that beacon from being discovered?"

"Admiral, we had to get it out of the way as fast as possible and that meant using the most accessible transport, a merchant s.h.i.+p. Safe enough under most circ.u.mstances."

"But it wasn't! And that Mayday has removed one of our weapons against the Reeves. How did they find that s.h.i.+pment, Rogitel? That beacon should never have seen the light of day and it surfaces . plainly marked to s.p.a.cedep."

"Freak accident, sir,' Rogitel replied calmly. He had often discovered that the calmer he remained, the sooner the Admiral's rages cooled.

"Meteorite hole penetrated the hull and the carton, setting off the Mayday. I interviewed the captain himself. He was eager to talk about it. He appears to have been "dining out" on it. Fortunately I was able to cancel the pickup and the crate remains unclaimed. If someone inquires, we say that it could well be an attempt on the part of the Reeves to implicate s.p.a.cedep to clear themselves of complicity."

"Good thinking, Rogitel, good thinking,' and Landreau began to relax, even to smile. "But we'd better find out if there's any connection between this Petersham clerk and Doona. They can't slip out of any other charges or our plans will be ruined." He rattled his fingers on the desktop. "And I've an unsettling report from Varnorian's contacts in Codep. A Dr. Walter Tylanio from Prueba V was hired for a special job by someone from Doona." Landreau's eyes narrowed. "The only laser technology that Doona has is in its security satellites." $ogitel could well appreciate how serious that could be, but he didn't know how anyone had discovered Klonski. Surely not the Petersham clerk. Maybe he had better acquire a vial of querastrin from his sources. Then an angry thump brought his attention right back to Landreau.

"I want Doona to be totally discredited. I want our plans to succeed in every particular, and for that to happen, the Doonan Exeriment has to fail.

Fail! Be wiped clean of its contaminated Humans and especially those misbegotten animals."

"Sir, calm yourself,' Rogitel said, leaning across the desk toward his superior. "Your plans will succeed. while it's too late for subtlety, it's not too late,' and he paused to smile rea.s.suringly at Landreau, "to remove the primary cause of the entire problem."

"what?" Landreau said, staring fiercely up at his subordinate.

"Really quite simple. Remove the Reeves from Doona. I think they are at the bottom of much unfavorable publicity about Doona. Surely they should report-in person-to their Codep superiors here on Earth. Landreau's ruddy face slowly broke into a smile.

"See to it,' he ordered. "Varnorian will oblige. Get them here and get them eliminated!" Admiral Landreau was the epitome of regret and sorrow when he informed the Amalgamated Worlds Congress of the dreadful situation which existed on Doona when so much was at stake in the renewal of the Treaty. He stood in the beam of a pinpoint spotlight, addressing the half-seen figures illuminated by twelve identical cones of light in the vast chamber. In the blackness between was the faint peeping sound of the court reporter's machine.

"The Reeves are threatening the very safety of your design to form a Federation of Sentient Planets. Their activities destroy the very integrity and credibility of the Amalgamated Worlds and our dream for a united galaxy! Once the models of probity and dedication, both father and son have conspired to seize Doona for their own, and, had it not been for the discovery of their heinous infractions of the most basic Treaty stipulations, they might have succeeded in their scheming." "Treaty Councillors are supposed to deal with such infractions, aren't they?" one of the panel inquired.

"Not when the crimes have such far-reaching consequences. No, honored sirs, this matter goes far beyond the Doonan system. It has most certainly raised awkward questions in the Hrruban Speakers Council and the Treaty Council as well!" Landreau shook his head sadly to add that detail.

"I am deeply concerned that the Hrrubans will feel obliged to alter their opinions of us all, if these deplorable men remain in so public a position on Doona. The least that will happen is for the Hrrubans to pull out of the Federation or, worse, decide that we Humans must be rigorously schooled in their ways. They will undoubtedly impede our reach for the stars, cut short our explorations, confine us to the few planets we already own. Since Todd Reeve has not, cannot be cleared of his alleged crimes, I call for the removal of the Reeves from Doona to Earth for being detrimental to the renewal of the Treaty of Doona.

I am sure your counterpan on Hrruba will also withdraw their, er, embarra.s.sment from the colony, for that young male causes his people great sorrow. You must surely understand why we cannot have people of questionable integrity involved in high-level positions in the colony at this critical time. Remove the Reeves from Doona and let that situation resolve itself without further detriment." There was a lot of muttering among the panel as Landreau's suggestion was discussed. He waited patiently, knowing that he had presented a valid and timely argument. He was rather pleased by his eloquence and the way he had deftly emphasized the salient points.

Landreau was even more pleased when the prevailing sentiment favored his solution. He had also counted on the fact that trade agreements had been drawn up and were awaiting the renewal of the Treaty before Hrruban ratification. That factor had probably contributed to the necessity of removing such controversial persons.

"You have made a plain case of a disgraceful situation,' the chairman said. "At such a critical stage, nothing may be permitted to jeopardize the Treaty Renewal. Bailiff, give orders for Ken Reeve and his son Todd to be immediately brought to Earth to appear before this panel. Make the necessary representations to the Hrruban Center for the use of grid transportation of these two." Then the chairman inclined his head toward Landreau. "You may, of course, be present at the hearing, Admiral.

"Gladly,' Landreau said. "I wish to further the cause of justice in every way within my power.

With some effort he restrained his elation. He must now make arrangements so that when that pair arrived, the Hrrubans on duty at that wretched grid would be those who would deliver the Reeves into his keeping. Soon, soon, he thought, rubbing his hands together in smug antic.i.p.ation, he would be rid of Ken Reeve and that hyperactive son of his forever. Then his most ambitious plan could be initiated. Instead of the panel of inquiry meeting them, there would be an entirely different kind of reception committee awaiting the Reeves. Landreau smiled.

"My eyes will be ruined reading this small print, Todd said, briefly knuckling his eye sockets as he wearily turned over another one of Dalkey's printouts. "Some of these entries date back from when we were kids. Have you found anything relevant?" he asked Hrriss, who was as diligetly examining his share of the packet. He paused, stretching his arms above his head to release the tension across his shoulders.

"They may be old but we have decided that the conspiracy against us was very carefully put into motion long before there was any reason to suspect one,' Hrriss replied, but he also took a moment to stretch cramped muscles. "These entries,' and he tapped a claw tip on the sheets, "are all from Darwin II-MFA, a very remote colony world, not yet qualified for full status.

"Could be a place to s.h.i.+p stolen livestock, Todd said. He bent to his task again, stylus poised to cross off an entry, as he peered at the next line.

"whoa! Here's an account number right here on Doona!"

"whose?" Hrriss asked. Todd swung around to the computer and inst.i.tuted a name search. Madam Dupuis had arranged for them to use Archival records to match numbers with names, providing they limited their inquiries to that.