"Pity," said Fisher. "It would have simplified things. He said the drug was
developed by outside money… so presumably the people behind Morgan are our real
enemies. Whoever they are. It's not just the drug; they've got to be connected
with the Peace Talks in some way as well. Maybe they were banking on the chaos
the super-chacal would cause to break up the Talks, or at least keep the Guard
so occupied they couldn't protect the delegates properly. Wait a minute… wait
just a minute. All that talk of outside money could refer to outside the Low
Kingdoms; meaning Outremer."
"Right," said Hawk. "I thought that as well. We need a wedge, something or
someone we can use to force open this case and let in a little light. Look, just
because you're not a traitor, it doesn't mean there isn't one. Someone removed
those drugs from Headquarters, and sabotaged the Talks by revealing the house's
location and the coordinates of the pocket dimension. Who is there that's been
as closely involved in this case as you and I, and had the opportunity to do all
the things you've been accused of doing?"
"If the rumors are to be believed, it's a Guard Captain," said Fisher, scowling
thoughtfully into her drink. "A well-respected Captain, too honest and too
trusted ever to be suspected. But the only other Captain in this case is…" A
sudden inspiration stirred in her, and she stared at Hawk, her eyes widening.
"No, it couldn't be. Not him. Not Burns."
"Why not? He had the opportunity." Hawk nodded grimly, his thoughts racing
furiously. "It has to be him; he fits all the facts. And remember, one of
Morgan's people at the drug factory said he recognized one of the Captains who
took part in the raid as someone who worked for Morgan. He actually fingered
you, but presumably by then he'd been got at. So, if it wasn't you, it had to be
one of the other Captains. We can forget Doughty because he's dead, and we know
it wasn't us, so that just leaves Burns! Dammit, I always thought he was too
good to be true!"
"Wait a minute," said Fisher. "Let's not get carried away with this. How could
Burns have sabotaged the Peace Talks?"
Hawk frowned. "It wouldn't have been difficult for him to get the information.
He's been in and out of Headquarters all day, just like us. I feel like an
idiot, Isobel. It's no wonder I've been walking into traps all day; Burns must
have been reporting our position every time my back was turned!"
"It also explains why he killed Morgan," said Fisher. "He was afraid Morgan
might finger him, as a way of saving his own neck. We've found our traitor,
Hawk. Burns is behind everything bad that's happened to us today."
"Never liked him," said Hawk. "I wish now I'd hit him harder, when I had the
chance."
"A well-respected Captain that no one would suspect. The rumors were right about
that, at any rate. I never even heard a whisper about corruption concerning
Burns." Fisher frowned suddenly. "You know, Hawk, this isn't going to be easy to
prove. Who's going to take the word of two suspected traitors and renegades like
us against a paragon of virtue like Burns?"
"We'll just have to find him, and persuade him to tell them the truth."
"No rough stuff, Hawk. He'd only claim he was intimidated into saying what we
wanted him to say, and with our reputation, they'd believe him. We need
evidence. Hard evidence."
"All right, but first we've got to find him. And that's not going to be easy
either. He could be anywhere in Haven. Where are we supposed to start looking?"
"Right here," said Burns.
They looked up quickly, hands dropping to their weapons, and there was Burns
standing by the bar, with ap Owen beside him. Guard Constables were filing
quickly into the inn, swords at the ready. Once again the customers scrambled to
get out of the way. Hawk and Fisher rose slowly to their feet and moved away
from the table, ostentatiously keeping their hands well away from their weapons.
More Guards entered the inn. Hawk counted twenty in all. If the situation hadn't
been so grim, Hawk might have felt flattered they'd felt it necessary to send so
many men after him and Isobel. As it was, he was more interested in trying to
spot a quick escape route.
"Getting old, Hawk," said Burns casually. "You weren't even bothering to watch
the door. There was a time we wouldn't have caught you this easily."
"We're not caught yet," said Hawk. "But I'm glad you're here, Burns. There's a
lot of things Isobel and I want to discuss with you."
"The time for talk is over," said Burns. "In fact, your time has just run out."
"Drop your weapons on the floor, please," said ap Owen steadily. "You're under
arrest, Captains."
Burns looked around, startled, and glared at ap Owen. "Those were not our
orders! You obey Commander Glen's orders, or I'll have you put under arrest!" He
gestured quickly to the watching Constables. "You have your instructions. Kill
them both."
Hawk's axe was suddenly in his hands, the heavy blade gleaming hungrily in the
lamplight. Fisher stood at his side, sword at the ready. Hawk grinned nastily at
the other Guards.
"When you're ready, gentlemen. Who wants to die first?"
The Guards looked at each other. Nobody moved.
"I think we'll be leaving now," said Hawk calmly. "If anyone tries to follow us,
I'll take it as a personal insult. Now, stand clear of the door."
He almost brought it off. He was Hawk, after all. But Burns suddenly stepped
forward, sword in hand, and his angry voice broke the atmosphere.
"What the hell are you waiting for?" he said to his men. "You outnumber them ten
to one, and they're both dog-tired from chasing round the city all day! Now
carry out your orders, or I swear I'll see every man of you arrested for aiding
and abetting known traitors!"
The Constables' faces hardened, and they moved slowly forward, fanning out to
attack Hawk and Fisher from as many sides as possible. Hawk and Fisher moved
quickly to stand back to back. Fisher looked appealingly at Captain ap Owen.
"Listen to me, ap Owen. You know this isn't right. This whole thing's a setup.
There are things going on here you don't know about. Listen to me, please, for
Haven's sake."
Ap Owen looked at her uncertainly. Burns glared at ap Owen.
"Don't listen to her. The bitch would say anything to save her neck."
"Watch your mouth, Burns," said ap Owen. "Stay where you are, men. No one is to
start anything without my order. Unless any of you really want to go one-on-one
with Captain Hawk."
The Constables lowered their swords and relaxed a little, some of them looking
openly relieved. Burns started to say something angrily, and then stopped when
he realized ap Owen's sword was pressed against his side.
"I think we've heard enough from you, Captain Burns," said ap Owen. "Now please
be quiet, while I listen to what Captain Fisher has to say."
"To start with," said Fisher, "take a look at Hawk. Does he really look like
he's gone kill-crazy? The only person here who fits that description is Burns,
the very person who's been supplying all the evidence against Hawk. As for me, I
was s
et up. Do you really think I'd have stuck around to defend the Talks if I'd
known there was an army of mercenaries on the way? Or retreated into the pocket
dimension with you if I'd known it was going to be under attack, too? No,
there's only one traitor here, and he's standing right beside you."
"You see," said Burns. "I told you she'd say anything. She'll be accusing you
next. We have to kill them, or the Outremer delegates will walk out! Dammit, ap
Owen, you follow your orders or I swear I'll see you hanged as a traitor
yourself!"
"Oh, shut up," said ap Owen. "I'm getting really tired of the sound of your
voice, Burns." He looked at Hawk and Fisher. "Let's assume, just for the moment,
that there may be something in what you say. That buys you a reprieve. But I've
still got to take you in. If you'll hand over your weapons, I give you my word
that I'll get you back to Headquarters alive and unharmed, and you can tell your
story to Commander Glen. Sound fair to you?"
"Very fair," said Fisher. "I promise you, you won't regret this."
Ap Owen smiled slightly. "I'm already regretting it. Ah hell; I was never that
interested in promotion anyway."
uneasily and looking at each other. "Men, Commander Glen himself put me in
charge of you, along with ap Owen. You know what your orders are. Now, whose
orders are you going to follow—your Commander's, or a Captain who is clearly
allied with the traitors Hawk and Fisher?"
The Guards looked at ap Owen, and then back at Burns. They didn't have to say
anything; Burns could see the decision in their faces. They didn't trust him,
and they weren't going to take on Hawk and Fisher if they didn't have to. Burns
turned suddenly, slapped ap Owen's sword aside, and ran for the door. The
Constables moved instinctively to stop him, and Burns cut about him viciously
with his sword. Hawk and Fisher charged after him. Men fell screaming as blood
flew on the air. Burns plunged forward, his eyes fixed on the door.
He'd almost made it when Hawk brought him down with a last, desperate leap. They
rolled back and forth on the floor, kicking and struggling. The Constables
crowded in around them, hacking and cutting at Burns, furious at his treacherous
attack. Hawk fought back with his axe, as much to protect himself as Burns. He
shouted that they needed Burns alive, but the Guards were too angry to care. Ap
Owen yelled orders that no one listened to. Fisher threw herself into the fray,
hauling Guards away from the fight by main force and sheer determination, but
there were too many Guards between her and Hawk, and she knew it. The Constables
fought each other to get at Burns, blinded by blood and rage. Hawk tried to get
his feet under him, and failed. Swords flew all around him, and blood pooled on
the floor. He braced himself for one last effort, and hardened his heart at the
thought of the innocent Guards he'd have to kill. He couldn't let Burns die.
And then a thick fog boiled in through the open door, filling the inn in a
matter of moments. A hundred clammy tentacles tore the combatants apart and held
them firmly in unyielding misty coils. There was a pause as they all struggled
futilely, and then the sorceress Mistique stepped delicately in through the open
door. Hawk relaxed and grinned at her.
"I was wondering when you were going to turn up again."
"You didn't think I was going to miss out on the climax, after all I've been
through today, did you, darling?" Mistique smiled back at him, and then looked
around sternly. "I'm going to let you go now. But anyone who misbehaves will
regret it. Is that understood?"
The Constables nodded, their anger already cooling rapidly. Some of them
realized they'd been fighting Hawk and Fisher, and went pale as they considered
how lucky they were to still be alive. Mistique gestured gracefully, and the
mists fell away from everyone, dissipating quickly on the warm air. Hawk and
Fisher pushed the Guards out of the way and knelt down beside Burns. There was a
gaping wound in his side, and a lot of blood on the floor around him. Fisher
pulled out a clean folded handkerchief and pressed it against the wound, but it
was clearly too little too late. Burns turned his head slightly, and looked at
Hawk. His face was very pale, but his mouth and chin were red with blood.
"Almost had you," he said quietly.
"Why, Burns?" said Hawk. "You were one of the best. Everyone said so. Why betray
everything you ever believed in?"
"For the money, of course. I spent years overseeing transactions of gold and
silver and precious stones, protecting men who had more money than they knew
what to do with, and eventually I just decided I wanted some of that wealth for
myself. I wanted some of the luxuries and comforts I saw every day and couldn't
touch. Honor and honesty are all very well, but they don't pay the bills. I was
going to be rich, Hawk, richer than you've ever dreamed of. Almost made it.
Would have, too, if it hadn't been for you and that bitch."
"You were Morgan's contact inside the Guard, weren't you?" said Fisher
impatiently.
"Of course," said Burns. "I went to Morgan and suggested it. It was perfect. Who
would ever have suspected me?"
"People died because of you," said Hawk. "People who trusted you."
Burns grinned widely. There was blood on his teeth. "They shouldn't have got in
my way. I killed Doughty, you know. He was there when that little bastard at the
implicate Fisher instead."
"You killed your own partner?" said Fisher, shocked.
"Why not?" said Burns. "I was going to be rich. I didn't need him anymore."
"Why did you betray the Peace Talks?" said Hawk.
Burns chuckled painfully, and fresh blood spilled down his chin. "I didn't. That
wasn't me. See, you're not as smart as you thought you were, are you?"
"Who was it, Burns?" said Hawk. "Who were you working for?"
"Go to hell," said Burns. He reared up, tried to spit blood at Hawk, and then
the light went out of his eyes and he fell back and died.
"Great," said Hawk. "Bloody marvelous. Every time I think I've found someone who
can explain what the hell's going on, they bloody up and die on me."
He closed Burns's staring eyes with a surprisingly gentle hand, and got to his
feet again. He made to offer ap Owen his axe, but ap Owen shook his head. Fisher
stood up, looked down at Burns a moment, and then kicked the body viciously.
"Don't," said Hawk. "He was a good man, once."
"I'm damned if I know what's happening anymore," said ap Owen. "But Burns's
dying confession seemed straightforward enough, so as far as I'm concerned,
you're both cleared. But you'd better stick with me until we can get back to
Headquarters and make it official. There's still a lot of people out on the
streets looking for you, with swords in their hands and blood in their eyes. The
Council has done everything but declare open season on you both."
"We can't go back," said Hawk. "It's not over yet. You heard what Burns said; he
didn't betray the Peace Ta
lks. Someone else did that. Which means the delegates
are still in danger. And the two people who should be in charge of protecting
them are right here in this room with me. It's more than possible that Isobel
was deliberately set up to draw attention away from the real traitor, so that
security round the delegates would be relaxed."
"We've got to get back there," said Fisher. "Those poor bastards think they're
safe, now I'm not there! They're probably not even bothering with anything more
than basic security."
"Let's go," said ap Owen. "Anything could be happening while we're standing
around being horrified." He turned to the silently watching Constables. "You
stick with us. From now on, you do whatever Hawk and Fisher say. They're in
charge. Anyone have any problems with that?" The Guards coughed and shrugged and
looked at their boots. Ap Owen smiled slightly. "I thought not. All right, let's
move it. Follow me, people."
He led the way out of the inn at a quick, impatient pace, followed resignedly by
the Guards. Hawk and Fisher brought up the rear, along with Mistique. Hawk
cleared his throat.
"Thanks for the help," he said brusquely. "Of course, we could have beaten the
Guards by ourselves, if we'd had to."
"Oh, of course you could, darling," said Mistique. "But you wouldn't have wanted
to hurt all those innocent people, would you?"
"Of course not," said Fisher, looking straight ahead. "That's why we were
holding back. Otherwise, we could have beaten them easily."
"Of course," said Mistique.
The Peace Talks had ground to a halt yet again, and the four remaining delegates
were taking another break in the study. None of them minded much; they all knew
nothing important was going to be decided until the new delegates arrived to
replace the two who'd died. And in particular, the Haven delegation wasn't going
to agree to anything until they had a sorcerer on their side who could
counteract any subtle magics the Lord Nightingale might or might not be using to
influence things. No one admitted any of this out loud, of course, but everyone
understood the situation. They still kept the Talks going. They were, after all,
politicians, and there was always the chance someone might be manoeuvred into
saying something they hadn't meant to. Careers could be built by pouncing on