By the time he reached the administration building, Xris was having second thoughts about the delights of a rainy day. His clothes were soaked. He was soaked. The water ran off him in rivulets, dripped onto the floor. And, of course, the building was air-conditioned.

He was shivering so hard by the time they had taken the elevator up the thirteen stories to the warden's office that even his plastiskin had goose b.u.mps.

"Sit there," ordered the guard.

Xris glanced around, saw a chair, sat down. The guard tromped over to report to a man seated at a desk.

"Prisoner Tampambulos."

The man nodded. "I'll tell the warden."

The guard stepped back to stand beside Xris.

The man touched a b.u.t.ton, reported to Montieth, who mumbled something that no one, including his secretary, could comprehend. The secretary didn't care, apparently. He went back to work, reciting a long a list of numbers into a computer.

Xris waited, clutching his soaked underwear and shivering.

The secretary looked up, fixed Xris with an accusing eye.

"You're dripping on the floor."

"Sorry," Xris returned pleasantly. "I fell off my yacht while I was deep-sea fishing. I didn't have time to change."

"Get him a towel," muttered the secretary.

The guard clamped ordinary metal restrainers on Xris's wrists, even the cybernetic wrista"not too bright, this guarda"and tromped off down the hall. He returned from the men's room with a handful of paper towels, which he handed to Xris.

"I can't very well..." Xris exhibited the restrainers.

The guard glared and tossed the towels into Xris's lap. He unlatched the restrainers, but by that time the paper towels had sopped up the water from Xris's uniform and were now as wet or wetter than he was.

"Could I trouble you for few more towels?" Xris asked. "Oh, and make them heated this time, will you?"

The guard glowered. "Stuff 'em up youra""

"The warden's ready," the secretary interrupted coldly. "Take him in."

The guard relatched the restrainers. Xris dropped the soggy paper towels onto the floor. He grinned at the secretary's yelp of irritation, realized then how low he'd sunk. A man who had helped bring a king to power was now snickering at watching some poor dilbert in a cubicle wipe up a mess on the floor.

"Sorry," Xris said, and his apology was sincere.

Warden Montieth sat behind a desk that was absolutely empty; nothing on it, not a phone, not a computer terminal, not a drinking gla.s.s or a picture of the wife and kids. Montieth was leaning back in his chair, watching the rain fall. He glanced at Xris over his shoulder, stared at him without interest a long moment; then, with a sigh, he shifted his around in his chair to make the stare personal and concentrated.

"It seems you have friends in high places, Tampambulos. I just want you to know that they may not be high enough. I'm letting you off this once because I don't have much choice in the matter. But if you go around beating up any of your fellow inmates again, the Lord Almighty Himself could come down off his throne and ask me to spare you and I'd spit in His face."

Montieth swiveled in his chair, clasped his hands over his belly, and went back to watching the rain.

Xris had been entertaining himself during his walk through the rain with the witty things he intended to say to warden Montieth. The man's cold nonchalance and supreme dispa.s.sion were so impressive that Xris could think of only one insult out of an entire repertoire, and somehow, "You're even uglier in person"a"though delivered in admiring tonesa"would have seemed flat and uninspired.

The guard marched Xris into an adjoining room that contained a metal table and two metal chairs and Jafar el Amadi, who might have pa.s.sed for metal. Xris went on high alert, forgot that such insignificant a.s.sholes as Montieth and his pet pit bull existed.

"Leave us," Amadi said to the guard.

"You want me to activate them restrainers, sir?"

"That won't be necessary." Amadi smiled ingratiatingly. "I'm his attorney. I don't think he will harm me."

"He'd like to," Xris a.s.sured the guard. "But he won't."

The guard, looking dubious, stepped through another door that led to a hallway. "I'll be right outside. Watching the monitor." He pointed to a vidcam on the wall.

Amadi was setting up a portable computer, which he carried inside a plastisteel briefcase.

"Sit down," Amadi said.

Xris sat. Resting his arms on the table, he let his wrists fall. The restrainers. .h.i.t the metal tabletop with a bang.

Amadi glanced up. He got the message, apparently, for he smiled briefly and without humor, then looked back at his computer, whicha"Xris noticeda"Amadi was careful to keep shielded from the cam.

"We're discussing your case," he said with a sideways glance at the guard.

"Can he hear?"

"No. The room is soundproofed. Attorney-client privilege. But he can see. So don't go for my throat."

"I won't. But consider it merely a pleasure deferred. What about Ghengis Kahn in there?"

"Montieth?" Amadi shook his head, his gaze still fixed on the computer. "He couldn't care less. He probably wouldn't mind if you did go for my throat. He and I don't exactly get along."

"But he takes your money quick enough. How much did you pay him to let me out of solitary?"

Amadi glanced up again. "I really don't think that's anything you need to know."

"Yeah, I guess not. Say, you wouldn't have a twist on you, would you?"

Not allowed." Amadi continued to search his files. Apparently he found what he wanted, for he frowned at the screen.

"I have contacted Harry Luck, given him the date and time, told him what to do. He's going to ask Bear Olefsky to loan him a suitable s.p.a.ceplane." Amadi's frown deepened. "I don't doubt your judgment, Xris, but Harry Luck is ... well, he's..."

"My friend," Xris said quietly. "Don't worry, Amadi. Harry'll get the job done."

Amadi shrugged. "You know him best, I suppose. All right. He'll be here at 0200 hours Friday morning."

"What's today? I've lost track of time."

"Wednesday." Xris stared. "That's d.a.m.n quick! Why the rush?"

"Things are happening. Sooner than we'd antic.i.p.ated," Amadi said. His gaze shifted back to his computer screen.

"Yeah? What things?"

"Nothing you need concern yourself about. Now, here's the plan. Harry will land his s.p.a.ceplane on the golf course at 0200, somewhere around the fourteenth hole. You and the three Hung leaders will be there to meet it."

"Provided Slovenski doesn't kill them first." Amadi glanced up, perplexed. "Who the h.e.l.l is Slovenski?"

"The prison bad boy. He's been beating them up on a regular basis. Not that I really minded seeing them get the c.r.a.p beat out of them, but since I'm being paid by the head, I'm bound to lose money if one of them ends up with his head pounded into his shoes. I put a stop to the beatings. That's how I ended up in solitary. Didn't Montieth tell you?"

"I didn't ask for details," Amadi said dryly. "You'd been here nearly one week. I figured it was about time you got into trouble. Look, Xris, see if you and your little friends can't play nice for the next few days, all right? I don't want anyone to get suspicious. Just make sure you get them on that G.o.dd.a.m.n plane!"

Xris grunted. "Speaking of the plane, it's going to be fairly difficult to take off in it after it's been attacked by the patrol planes, then vaporized by the lascannons and the surface-to-air missiles and G.o.d knows what else they've got in the way of security devices. Or do you plan to ask Montieth if he'll be an angel and shut them down for that night?"

"Shutting the ground weapons down is your job, Xris." Amadi smiled faintly. "As for the patrol planes, I've given Harry Luck the access codes to the early warning system. Once he disables it, you won't be bothered by patrol planes. What's the matter, Xris? I thought you might find disabling lascannons a welcome change from sorting the colors from the whites."

"It will be." Xris's hand reached automatically for twist. He halted the hand's progress, annoyed at himself. "But I think the guards might get suspicious if I start tossing wet clothes into the lascannons to dry."

"I'm going to show you something, Xris," Amadi said, resting his hands on the briefcase. "This cost us a fortune. You'll have to memorize it. I don't dare make a hard copy."

He swiveled the briefcase for Xris to see. It took Xris a moment to figure out what he was looking at, then he realized it was a diagram of the power grid for the prison. He stared at it for a few seconds, blinked twice, then nodded.

"I got it."

"Are you sure?"

Xris tapped his enhanced left eye. "I take the term 'photographic memory' literally."

"I'm impressed," said Amadi.

"Yeah, I got myself blown to bits in that factory just so I could take digital shots of my kids on holiday."

Amadi said nothing. Xris and Marjorie had once planned on a having a large familya"something that wasn't likely to happen now or ever. Amadi hit the delete b.u.t.ton and the diagram of the power grid disappeared.

"I presume you have some means of shutting the grid down? I told Dr. Quong what might be requireda""

Xris grinned. "That's something you don't need to concern yourself with, Mr. Trevor."

Amadi gazed at Xris in silence, probably wondering if it was worth his time to argue. Amadi knew Xris, however. He shut the briefcase.

"What about backup systems?" Xris asked.

"There's only an instant's delay in bringing the lights to the buildings and the compound back on. It takes longer to switch over power to the lascannons and pulse cannons. They suck up a h.e.l.l of a lot of juice."

"How much longer?" Xris asked.

"Ten minutes," said Amadi.

"So I have ten minutes to get everyone loaded onto the plane, lift off, and escape out of range of lascannons?" Xris ground an imaginary twist between his teeth. "It can't be done."

"Sure it can." Amadi smiled expansively. "My experts say five minutes with a fast plane and a good pilot. That gives you a whole extra five minutes to relax."

"Thanks a lot." Xris grunted. "Maybe I'll use them to work on my putting."

"I'm going to be in that plane, too, Xris," Amadi informed him, more gravely. "I'm seeing to the ... um. . . 'arrests.' "

"You and me and the leaders of the Hung in a s.p.a.ceplane with six lascannons pointed right at us. h.e.l.l, it must be my birthday!"

Amadi didn't reply. Shutting the briefcase, he rose to his feet. "Friday night, then. At 0200."

Xris stood up. He was tired for no reason at all, since be done absolutely nothing the last few days. Nothing except daydream that he was back at that house by the beach, sitting in his chair, watching the waves chase each other to the sh.o.r.e. A stupid dream. He'd been angry at himself for thinking it up. But it was like one of those irritating songsa"it was in his head and he couldn't get rid of it.

"What happens after we board the plane?" he asked.

"You'll receive your instructions."

"Oh, and about that a.s.sa.s.sina""

"What a.s.sa.s.sin?" Amadi stared intently. If he was acting, it was d.a.m.n good.

"Oh, hadn't you heard?" Xris feigned surprise. "The one who thought he was going to turn me into a colander there back in the holding prison."

"I didn't hear about it. Good G.o.d, Xris. You don't suspect me? Why would I want you killed?"

"You tell me, Amadi."

"I swear..." Amadi paused. "I know you hate me, Xris, and that you'd sooner trust the devil himself, but I give you my word that I didn't set you up for the kill. Think about it, Xris. If I'd wanted you dead, there are any number of waysa"" He stopped.

"Yeah. Like maybe rig a factory to blow up when I'm inside."

"Xrisa""

"Hey, look. Forget it. I have. You're saying you didn't pay to have me killed this time and, you know, for once I believe you. But then if you didn't, who did?"

Amadi's face was gray and troubled. "Have there been other attempts?"

Xris thought back, remembered the enthusiastic food tray, the setting off of the chair alarm in the night. He nodded. "Yes. Twice. Not very serious, though. Or very professional."

"I'll see what I can do," Amadi said. "In the meantime, take care of yourself."

"That's it?" Xris was angry. "Take care of yourself? Now, look, Amadi! If you knowa""

"Guard!" Amadi tapped on the plastisteel window.

"Wait!" Xris said urgently. "One more thing we have to get straight."

The guard stepped over, began to punch in the code that would open the door.

"The Hung leaders. They're going to die, Amadi," Xris said. "They're not stepping off that plane alive. I just want to make that clear."

Amadi twitched down the sleeves of his expensive suit coat. He smoothed imaginary wrinkles from his silk tie.