Why, even Li Yuan's request for some token of loyalty had barely brought a flicker of reaction.

Things were wrong. Things were badly wrong.

They left him at the pickup point just below the City's roof. Pulling off the blindfold, he opened his hand and, unfolding the paper, read the brief note.

It was from Visak. He wanted a meeting, tomorrow, at noon. Karr nodded. It was as just they'd thought-as their sources inside Leh-mann's organization had told them-things were not as rosy as they seemed. If Visak wanted a meeting . . .

He folded the note and pocketed it. Then, knowing that time was of the essence, he reached up and pulled down the trapdoor, reaching for the ladder, hauling himself up into the access tunnel.

On the roof his cruiser waited.

TWO hours later he was at Baku Spaceport, transferring to one of Tsu Ma's own cruisers for the twenty-minute flight north along the shore of the Caspian.

Karr sat to the right of the craft, directly behind the pilot, staring out of the cockpit window toward Asia, a sense of deep foreboding growing in him. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he wasthat Lehmann had spies within Li Yuan's household. And maybe more than spies. Maybe trained assassins, waiting to be triggered.

The next few days would be critical; he understood that now. Reading the secret briefing Rheinhardt had had prepared, he had realized just how near the brink they were. One thing-one single, crucial incident-could throw them into war, and having seen what had happened on Mars and in North America, that was the last thing any of them wanted.

Yes, and yet war is coming. . . .

Best, then, perhaps, to do as Li Yuan proposed and bring the armies home from Africa, whatever answer Lehmann gave them. Best break their word of honor than let the world slip into darkness.

He closed his eyes, feeling giddy. Marie . . . My darling May . . . It pained him to think what might happen to them. Yes, but they were better off in Tongjiang than Europe, that was certain.

He sighed heavily, opening his eyes again. Down below, the perimeter of Tsu Ma's estate came into view. There was a brief exchange of codes-the high-pitched chatter of computer language-and then silence.

The final days, he thought, remembering the man's pale hands spread on the table like demonic spiders.

These are the final days. . . .

They circled the palace, then descended onto a crowded overspill pad to the northeast of the main palace buildings. Rheinhardt greeted him as he stepped down from the cruiser.

"Come," he said, hurrying him along the path toward the palace. "The ceremony has already begun, but Li Yuan wants to see you at once." He stopped, looking at Karr closely. "Is it good news or bad?"

Kan let the General read the doubt in his eyes and saw the shadow of it reflected back at him. They walked on, silent now, each lost in his own thoughts, brooding on the war to come.

LI YUAN was waiting for them in one of the small halls in the Eastern Palace, a place of shadows and dampness, bare stone and high, echoing ceilings. Tolonen was with him and his Chancellor, Nan Ho.

They watched Karr cross the floor to them, their faces apprehensive.

"Well?" Li Yuan asked as Karr rose from his knees.

"He says he will give his answer within the week."

"Ah . . ."

Quickly he told them what had happened, leaving nothing out, not even the wording on the banner over the gate. When he had finished there was a long silence. Li Yuan turned away, pacing between the looming pillars, the hem of his silks whispering on the stone flags.

Finally, he looked to Tolonen. "Do you still think you are right, Knut? Even after what you've heard?"

Tolonen pushed out his chin, uncomfortable at being put on the spot. "I still think we should wait, Chieh Hsia. Let's hear his answer before we act. Things look bad, I admit. His arrogance"-the old man shook his head-"you should have crushed him when you could. Now . . ."

"You think it too late?"Tolonen looked down.

"And you, Master Nan?"

Nan Ho lowered his head. "Nothing 1 have heard changes my mind, Chieh Hsia. We must crush the man. The only question is when."

"And you, Colonel?"

Karr stared back at his T'ang a moment, surprised to be asked his opinion. Recollecting himself, he bowed his head, averting his eyes.

"I ... I was not sure before today, Chieh Hsia. I thought we could avoid war. Now I know that it is a certainty. Li Min prepares for it. Our delay is to his advantage. And I sense something more. I sense some deeper game of his. He is like DeVore, that one. Shifting, elusive."

Li Yuan waited, then, when Karr said no more, nodded. "Thank you, Colonel. Your first duty as Ssu-li Hsiao-wei will be to investigate the possibility that Lehmann has infiltrated our palace at Tongjiang. Until that is completed, we shall stay here with our cousin, Tsu Ma. 1 shall send for your wife and daughter, if that eases your mind. If there's to be any nastiness, it would be best if they were not there to see it, neh?"

Karr bowed low, grateful for his T'ang's concern. "Then go at once. The sooner done, the-" Li Yuan stopped, staring past Karr toward the doorway. Karr turned. It was Tsu Ma's secretary, Chiang K'o.

"Forgive me, Chieh Hsia," Chiang said, kneeling and bowing his head, "but news has come from Europe.

It appears that the Ebert Mansion has been attacked."

Tolonen stepped forward. "Attacked? How do you mean attacked? Is anyone hurt?"

Chiang looked to the Marshal. "The report mentions six dead and several injured."

"Aiya!" The old man looked to the ceiling, his face deeply pained. "Jelka and the boy . . . are they . . . ?"

"Your daughter was away when the attack happened. The boy . . ." Chiang swallowed and looked down. "I am afraid the boy was taken."

Tolonen shuddered.

Li Yuan stepped to him and held his arm. "You must go, Knut. At once. I shall explain things to Tsu Ma.

Take Karr. And, Knut?"

"Chieh Hsia?"

"Do whatever you need to. But get him back, neh?"

Karr shrugged. "We'll know soon. They're obtaining backup camera material right now. If any exists, that is. . . ."

"But Lo Chang . . ." Tolonen shook his head. "I can't believe Lo Chang was involved in this!"

It's always those we least expect, Karr thought, but aloud he said, "We don't know that yet, Marshal.

They may have taken him, too ... to have someone there the boy knows. They do that sometimes."

But Tolonen was shaking his head. "The Lo I knew would have died before he let them take the boy. He would have fought to the death."Yes, but he didn't-so either he was involved, or ...

"Did Steward Lo have any family?"

Tolonen nodded distractedly, then saw what Karr was saying. "I've the details in my study."

Karr followed him through, then waited while the Marshal accessed his records.

"Here," Tolonen said, turning the screen toward him.

Karr looked at it, then undipped his communicator. "It's Colonel Karr. Get me Central Security. . . ."

He gave them the details, then looked back at the Marshal.

"They'll let me know as soon as they've checked it out. It'll take them ten minutes maximum."

Tolonen looked away, sniffing deeply, clearly struggling to maintain his composure.

"We'll find him," Karr said. "We'll get him back."

Tolonen nodded, but he seemed unconvinced.

Karr hesitated. "Forgive me, Marshal, but we need to put someone in charge of this investigation. How about Major Haavikko?"

The mention of Haavikko's name seemed to bring the Marshal back to himself. "Yes . . . Good man, Haavikko. If anyone can do the job . . ." Tolonen offered Karr a smile that was closer to a grimace.

"Saved my life once." He held up his golden arm. "That's when I lost this. . . ."

Karr nodded, but he was thinking of what the duty captain had said when they'd first arrived. There had been no sign of a forced entry and no alarm had been sent. Which meant that whoever had done this had either been known to the guards at the gate, or ...

No. Now, that was being paranoid.

Tolonen was staring at him. "What is it, Gregor?"

"Security. The men who did this . . . they were Security. An elite squad. They'd have had proper passes, a reason to be her& They'ti have KARR watched the old man walk from room to room, disturbed by the vulnerability, the unexpected frailty, he glimpsed in that normally rock-hard face. He had always considered Tolonen a cold, heartless man, but watching him crouch over the shrouded body of a female servant, seeing him lift the white sheet and wince, real hurt, real pain, in his eyes, made Karr reevaluate all he knew about him. This had hit him hard. Had shaken him to the core.

Tolonen straightened up, scratching at his neck with the fingers of his flesh-and-blood hand, then looked across at Karr.

"Where's he gone, Gregor? Where have they taken him?"

known the layout and known how to erase all the security camera tapes."

"No." Tolonen shook his head, but his eyes said yes. After all, who else could have got in so easily? Who but one of the T'ang's own elite teams? His Shen T'se . . .Karr shuddered, then undipped his communicator and spoke into it once more.

"Central Security? Karr here. Look, were any of the Shen T'se teams out this morning? . . . Two of them, huh? And have they reported in?"

He waited, meeting Tolonen's eyes, both men quite certain now.

"No sign of it, huh? I see. Look, send me full details. Faces, files, psych profiles, the lot. To the Ebert Mansion . . . that's right. Use Marshal Tolonen's code."

He closed the circuit.

"So," Tolonen said quietly. "All we need to know now is who they're working for, where they've taken him, and what they want."

"Haavikko . . ." Karr said, feeling useless suddenly. "Let me contact Haavikko."

Tolonen laughed gruffly. "We have to keep busy at times like these, neh, Gregor? It doesn't pay to think too much."

Karr stared back at the old man a moment, feeling a new respect for him, then nodded and made the call.

JELKA ARRIVED BACK twenty minutes later. In the interim news had come that Lo Chang's family were gone. They had left home the previous evening and had vanished without a trace. Tolonen had taken the news badly, but the sight of his daughter at the door, safe but bewildered, brought a broad grin to his face. He went to her, hugging her tightly, almost lifting her off her feet.

"Jelka, my darling. Thank the gods you're safe! For a moment I thought . . ." He kissed her face and held her tight again. Then, as if remembering, he held her at arm's length from him.

"You've heard?"

She nodded.

Slowly his face collapsed. There was a sudden tremor in his voice. "If he's dead ..."

She held him to her, patting his shoulder, comforting him. "He's not dead. Not our Pauli. We'll find him.

You know we will."

She looked past her father at Karr, who looked down, embarrassed yet also moved by this show of emotion.

"Where were you?" Tolonen asked after a moment.

"I went to see a friend," she said, her eyes concerned for him. "They must have seen me leave. I couldn't have been gone more than five minutes. If I'd been here"-she swallowed and looked down guiltily- "I would never have let them in. Not without contacting you first."

"I know," the old man said, caressing his daughter's face.

Karr, however, was staring at her. "You knew they were Security?"

She moved away from her father, her blue eyes meeting Karr's clearly. "Who else could it be?""Aiya," Tolonen said, staring down at the golden fingers of his left hand as if at any moment they might reach up and tear at his throat. "All this betrayal . . ." He groaned. "Who would have thought?"

But Jelka wasn't listening to him. Her eyes had flown open. She turned to face her father again. "Where's Golden Heart?"

Tolonen reached out to her, his granite face distressed, tears beginning to trickle down his cheeks.

"She's dead, my love. They broke her neck. So Pauli-Pauli's ours now. Ours alone. So we've got to get him back, neh? We've got to bring him home, where he belongs."

"Kim?"

Kim lifted the bulky glasses from his eyes, then looked up at the screen. "Andrew? What is it?"

"You've a visitor," Curval said, smiling down at him. "Guy name of Neville from Product Development.

Says he knows you."

"Sure. I met him a week or so back. What does he want?"