"Weapons?"

"None in sight."

Xris looked back at Darlene, who was standing stubbornly in the middle of the room, not wanting to leave.

"Harry, carry her if you have to," Xris said grimly.

Darlene glanced at Harry, who was quite prepared to carry out Xris's least order, and she stalked off to the garage.

The hover, a newer model, stood on its pads. Harry went to take a discreet look out the garage's front windows. Expecting to see the street lined with helo-tanks, he was astonished to see only one vehicle parked outside, a hover painted an una.s.suming gray. Unfortunately, the hover was parked directly behind Harry.

"Don't worry, Darlene." Harry eased himself into the front seat, studied the instrument panel as Darlene climbed into the pa.s.senger seat. Harry was pleased with what he saw. This was a good machine. He located the control that would open the garage door, considered whether or not it would be best to use it or just blast his way through. "We'll get you out of here."

"Sure, Harry. Thanks," Darlene said quietly. She was nervous, but not for herself. She was worried for Xris.

"We're all set here," Harry reported in.

No answer.

"Tap it," Darlene reminded him.

Harry tapped the communicator devicea"a small metal commlink inserted beneath his skin behind his left ear. He could now hear what was happening back in the house.

"Everyone in place?" Xris was asking in low tones.

Soft responses from Jamil and Quong.

"Just putting on my lipstick now." That was Raoul.

"Here goes." The squeak of the front door hinges.

Xris sounded grim. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"Xris Tampambulos?" This was a man's voice.

"Who wants to know?"

"Agent Jonathan Fisk, FISA. This is Agent Rizzoli. I have a warrant for your arrest."

"What's the charge?"

"The murder of Dalin Rowan, senior agent with the Federal Intelligence Services Agency."

"Oh, dear G.o.d!" Darlene whispered.

CHAPTER 6.

The fox condemns the trap, not himself.

William Blake, "Proverbs of h.e.l.l"

Xris had experienced a lot of unpleasant surprises in his life. The time when a munitions factory had blown up in his face. The time when he had discovered there were two a.s.sa.s.sins out to kill the king, when he'd only expected one. The time a deadly antique robot that wasn't supposed to work, worked. This unpleasant surprise ranked right up there with the worst of them.

"What was that remark you made about my wife?" Xris demanded.

Two agents stood on the porch. The two men approaching the house from the beach were undoubtedly connected with the Bureau as well. Standard procedure, in case the suspect tried to escape through the back. The Bureau didn't expect trouble from Xris, however. Fisk didn't have his gun drawn. Neither did the agent behind him, an attractive, energetic-looking, and excited young woman, who was trying hard to look cool and professional. This was probably her first field a.s.signment.

Fisk was obviously an old hand at this. Middle-aged, with a roll of fat around his middle, he didn't look cool and professional. He just looked bored.

By now it had occurred to Xris what was going on. Amadia"that son of a b.i.t.c.h! So this is how he's going to get to Rowan. He knows darn good and well I didn't kill Rowan because he knows dark good and well Rowan's not dead! I hand her over to prove I'm innocent. Nice try, ex-boss, but it won't work.

So what to do? The team was ready. Xris knew without looking that Jamil had moved to a better location, was now taking aim through the kitchen window. Quong was guarding the rear with a beam rifle from the cedar chest in the bedroom. Xris had only to say the word and Fisk and the pretty, perky agent would be smoking corpses on his front lawn, with two smoldering agents on his back deck.

And what then?

Fisk cheerfully filled in the details.

"This is a nice house," he stated. "Nice neighborhood. I'm sure you wouldn't want to do anything that would upset your neighbors or damage your wife's reputation. She teaches school near here, doesn't she? They're very particular about the people they hire to teach our kids. And I hear she's been accepted by some high-powered university for graduate work. Universities like publicity, but not that kind. Not GNN interviewing a student who's also the wife of a murderera"a cop-killer." Fisk's voice grated. "So tell your people to put down their guns."

"Xris!" Darlene spoke urgently through the comm. "I'll turn myself in. I'll explain everything."

"n.o.body fires!" Jamil ordered. "n.o.body moves. Everyone stays put until Xris gives the word."

Give the word. And what happens? Xris knew well what would happen. Four bodies. Four dead federal agents. Sir John Dixter would renounce him. The king himself would be forced to sign the order for Xris's execution.

And not just his execution. Jamil, Quong, Harry...

"You're a clever b.a.s.t.a.r.d, Amadi," Xris muttered to himself. "Choosing the one place where you knew I wouldn't be able to put up a fight. How did you know Marjorie would invite me here? Unless..."

No, Marjorie never would have agreed to trap him. He knew that. But what if she didn't know? What if she hadn't been the one to send the invitation? What if, after all, she didn't really give a d.a.m.n...

Stop it! he ordered himself. He couldn't be distracted.

"I'll come to the Bureau with you," he offered. "Just promise me that my wife won't be involved. You can make that promise, can't you?"

He stared hard at Fisk, who didn't blink an eye.

"Yeah, I can promise that."

"I don't want her name on the vids or splashed all over the mags."

"We don't want publicity over this case any more than you do, Mr. Tampambulos," the woman stated.

"Rizzoli's right," Fisk reiterated. "We don't want anything about you on the nightly news. We don't want the public to know about a rogue agent, a traitor to the force. A man who murders not only another agent but one who was his best friend." His voice hardened. "Not the type of publicity the Bureau wants. And just so you know, Mr. Tampambulos, I can call in all the firepower I need, have it here the moment I touch this b.u.t.ton. I repeat, tell your mercenary pals to put away their guns."

"Give the word, Xris." That was Quong. "I have a clear shot."

"My people are not involved in this," Xris said. "They had nothing to do with any of it."

"We're aware of that, Mr. Tampambulos. They'll be asked to come down to the office for routine questioning, but after that they'll be free to leave the planet. They'll be encouraged to leave, in fact," Fisk added dryly.

Harry's plaintive voice came over the communicator. "What's the deal here? Xris didn't kill Rowan. Rowan's sitting right next to me."

"Cut the chatter," Jamil returned tersely.

"Jamil, Quong, put down your weapons," Xris ordered.

Harry was baffled. Darlene Mohini, who used to be Dalin Rowan, was pale and shocked and distraught, but she was most definitely not dead.

He started to say something to her, but she pinched him on the arma"hard, it hurta"and gestured to the commlink. Harry went back to listening.

"You have the right to remain silent," Rizzoli was saying. "You have a right to retain counsel. Anything you say may be used in evidence against you. Do you understand these rights?"

"Yes." Xris sounded tired. "I understand. Look, I'll make a deal with you."

"You're not in much of a positiona""

"Yeah, Fisk, I know all that. I used to be on the other side of that badge. But I also figure you'd like to wrap this up without any trouble. If you've read my files, you know the reputation of the people in this house. You know that if I decide to refuse to cooperate, my people will back me up. You might capture mea"might, I saya"but I guarantee you'll lose some good people in the process, not to mention the fact that this lovely neighborhood will look like a war zone when we're finished."

"Are you threatening us, Mr. Tampambulos?" Fisk demanded. "I have to warn you that this will be taken into account at your triala""

"What the h.e.l.l did you do to me? That business about my wife! Oh, yeah, it was a good ploy. It got my attention. But wait until my attorney hears about that one! Can you spell coercion?"

Fisk was silent a moment, then said, "What's the deal?"

"Let me walk out of here without restrainersa""

"You're a G.o.ddam murder suspecta""

"A murder that happened ten years ago!" Xris returned. "Look, Fisk, if you've read my file, you know that there aren't any restrainers made that can hold me if I want to bust loose."

Harry could hear the whine of machinery and guessed that Xris was flexing his fake hand.

"I don't want the neighbors to see me being hauled off like a common criminal. My wife has to live here."

"Anything else we can do for you, Mr. Tampambulos?" Fisk had gone from cold to sarcastic. "Maybe we should send for a limo."

"Let me have one minute to talk with my people."

"Absolutely nota""

"We'll hold our conversation right here on the front porch. You can see everything, hear everything."

The sound of a crash exploded in Harry's communicator.

"Xris!" he shouted, then drew his gun and jumped out of the hover.

"Harry, stop!" Darlene made a grab for him, but missed.

Harry could move with surprising speed for a man built along the lines of an armored bunker-buster.

"Harry!"

He ignored her.

Noise and confusion were the only sounds coming over the commlink now. Harry dashed through the door into the kitchen, gun raised. Quong had his beam rifle aimed at the patio doors. The two beachcombers were nowhere in sight. They had disappeared, probably run around the sides of the house. Jamil, his back against the wall, held his .44-decawatt lasgun in both hands. At the word, he'd turn and fire down the hallway. The Little One had his preferred weapon, a blowgun that fired poisonous darts, in his hand. He was deadly accurate. Raoul was applying a second coat of lipstick, either to enhance its deadly effectiveness or because he thought the color was a shade too pale. It was hard to know.

And then Xris's voice, strong and urgent, came over the comm.

"Stand down! Everyone! It's only a broken flower urn. Stand down! That's an order."

Jamil glanced at the others, shook his head peremptorily. He and Quong maintained their positions. Catching sight of Harry, Jamil motioned him to keep back out of sight. Harry did as he was told, flattened himselfa"and there was a lot of himself to flattena"against the refrigerator.

"What the h.e.l.l did you do that for?" Xris demanded angrily. "You nearly got us all shot!"

"Sorry about that," said Fisk, chagrined. "It's Rizzoli. She's a Talisian. Why don't you go wait in the car, Rizzoli? She's great with computers," he said, by way of apology. "The Bureau will reimburse your wife for the damages, of course."

"Since when did the Bureau start hiring Talisians?" Xris demanded. In an undertone, he spoke two words into the commlink, "Rizzoli. Computers."

"His Majesty's new nondiscrimination act," Fisk was saying. "Talisians can supposedly control their weird kinetic energy field with medication, but that doesn't seem to work with Rizzoli." He sounded resigned. "I'll give you your minute's meeting, Tampambulos. Right here. Where I can keep an eye on you. And I'll invite my friends to join us, if you don't mind." He lifted his wrist, spoke into a commlink. "Move in."

Harry looked to Jamil. This was their chance.

Jamil jerked his head toward the patio door. Harry sneaked a peek around the fridge and through the pa.s.s-through window that opened into the living room. Two men could be seen coming from around the side of the house. Dressed in sweatsuits, they looked like ordinary tourists, except for the guns in their hands.

Harry lifted his shoulders slightly. There were only two of them.

"Xris?" Jamil asked over the commlink.

"No!" was Xris's urgent response. "Come out here on the porch. I've got instructions for you. Put your weapons down and come out. All of you."

"He's got a plan!" Jamil whispered. "Follow orders."

Replacing his gun in the holster he wore at his waist, gun at his back, he smoothed his shirt and walked down the hall. Quong tossed the beam rifle he'd been holding on the sofa and followed Jamil. Raoul came after, being quite careful not to lick his lips. The Little One shuffled along in Raoul's perfumed wake. Darlene entered through the garage door. She had regained some color in her cheeks, looked almost relieved.

Harry couldn't figure it out for a moment, then the light dawned.

"Ah," he said to himself. "We're going to take them out bare-handed." He shoved his gun back into its holster and moved from the kitchen into the hallway.

The team gathered on the porch, grimly eyeing the agents, who stared just as grimly back. The team formed a ring around Xris, with the Little One crowding close to his legs. They were silent and dour, except for Raoul, who took a mincing, fluttering step forward.

"What a very charming friend you have. Please introduce us, Xris Cyborg." He pursed his lips. His eyes, usually dreamy and drifting, were sharply gleaming, alert, focused.