"Don"t be impatient, Ms Brown. This far from Earth it takes six days to receive a reply, even via hyper relay."
"Six days!"
"You"ll stay in Astroville in reasonable comfort at the city"s expense, but not aboard this ship."
"Don"t you trust us?" asked the Doctor.
"A suspicious mind goes with the job, Doctor. I have this picture of you suddenly remembering those numbers of Hok"s, and trying to leave here without telling me first."
Falstaff"s shipboard synthesiser had a cordon bleu culinary program, so his meal had been excellent. Now he was reclining in a form-fitting ma.s.sage chair in the ship"s compact lounge, sipping a goblet of wine and listening to a recording of the Astroville local newsnet broadcasts he had made before his ship had slipped into hypers.p.a.ce. He had long ago determined his priorities in such matters, and refused to allow bad news to spoil his appreciation of good food.
"Now, ballasted with capon and sack, I can face whatever slings and arrows outrageous fortune may hurl my way," he soliloquised.
To his relief, thanks to a late-breaking political scandal, Hok"s death was relegated to fourth place in the hourly summary. A man and woman were said to be helping with inquiries, but there was no mention of his part in the proceedings. Of course, the authorities might still be searching for him, but it was definitely encouraging. The longer it took them to make a positive identification the farther he and his ship would be from their jurisdiction; though he felt a slight pang of regret that his actions might have left those two tourists in a compromising position.
"However, for the nonce, discretion must be the better part of valour." He raised his goblet again. "To good fortune!" he toasted loudly.
Then an explosion jerked the goblet from his hand and split his ship open from stem to stern.
CHAPTER 4.
HISTORY LESSONS.
The Falcon Falcon had been under way for six hours when Qwaid knocked on the door of Alpha"s stateroom. When he was bidden to enter he found his employer hunched over a compact duplicate of his office desk computer. had been under way for six hours when Qwaid knocked on the door of Alpha"s stateroom. When he was bidden to enter he found his employer hunched over a compact duplicate of his office desk computer.
"What is is, Qwaid?"
"Thought you"d like to know, boss. We just picked up a hypers.p.a.ce distress-beacon signal from behind us. Very weak, like it"s going to die at any moment. The call sign matches the ship you had Gribbs fit his little present to."
"Then I may a.s.sume our interfering friend will no longer be giving us any trouble. Is the signal likely to be detected in Astroville?"
"Shouldn"t think so, boss. We"re only picking it up because he"s close by."
Alpha stiffened slightly, and a new edge entered his words.
"Therefore he was either following us or on a similar course."
A cold sweat broke out on Qwaid"s brow. He hadn"t thought of that implication. "Uh, I guess so, boss."
"So we may conclude that either he obtained the course information while he was in Hok"s shop, presumably from a duplicate data capsule you overlooked in the confusion, or else Hok had already pa.s.sed on a duplicate of the information."
Alpha"s cold eyes lifted to transfix him. "It had better not be the latter, Qwaid. Ever since he mooted the deal, I expressly ordered you to watch him and prevent that very eventuality -"
"He must have picked it up in the shop, boss," Qwaid a.s.sured him, gulping desperately. "We were watching Hok night and day like you said. We moved in as soon as we were sure he"d picked up the original capsule from the courier. He must have made a copy just before we arrived."
It seemed an eternity before the cold depthless eyes left him. "I trust that is the case. It would not do to disappoint me so soon after my last lecture on your competence."
"No, boss." Qwaid took a relieved breath, then hesitated. Despite a sinking feeling that was growing steadily in the pit of his stomach, his curiosity demanded an answer on another matter.
"Uh, there is another thing, boss."
"Well?"
"Just so we can be ready to move quickly, for efficiency like, can you tell us what we"re after? I mean is there a lot of it and is it going to take any special gear to shift?"
For a moment he thought he"d been presumptuous, but then Alpha nodded. "That is a reasonable question. Perhaps you are learning to think ahead at last. Very well. If we find what I expect, you must be prepared to move a variety of items of different sizes. Ensure there are suitable containers ready in the hold."
"And any other equipment, boss? Is there a vault to crack, or any guards that"ll need taking care of?"
"Perhaps, Qwaid, you had better prepare for all eventualities.
But the reward will be worth it."
"Is this the big one, boss?" Qwaid ventured, intrigued by Alpha"s palpable sense of barely concealed antic.i.p.ation.
"Quaintly put, but an apposite description. Yes, this is "the big one"" Alpha allowed himself a low chuckle. "But I doubt if you will appreciate the true value of what we may find."
"I"ve got a good eye for valuables, boss," Qwaid replied defensively.
"But this is more than mere monetary wealth, Qwaid. This will be a piece of history!"
Astroville"s freefall dome was filled with darting, swooping figures beating their brightly coloured strap-on wings. Peri watched them grumpily from the observation gallery, her arms still aching from her own recent session. It had been fun, but she knew she was not in the right mood to fully appreciate flying like a bird.
"Why the long face?" the Doctor asked, after she had been silent for a long while. "I thought the other day you said Astroville was a splendid place to be."
"That was before we were put under house arrest... well, city arrest," she pointed out tersely.
"I"m afraid you"ll simply have to be patient, Peri."
"I guess I"m not as good at it as you are."
"No. You come from an impatient species, and you have youth against you as well," He patted her hand. "Don"t worry, you"ll learn in time."
She looked at him curiously, suspecting he was hiding his resentment at their situation for her sake. If that was so, she couldn"t penetrate his mask. Meanwhile, there was something she had been meaning to find out, and this seemed as a good a time as any. "Uh, Doctor. Can I ask, just how old are you?"
"In your years, about eight hundred and fifty," he replied easily.
She decided he wasn"t putting her on. She took a deep breath and tried not to show too much surprise. Oh. I see. I suppose you would learn a lot about being patient in that time."
He smiled. "That among other things."
There was another long silence, then Peri said with a sigh, "I just wish there was something we could do to speed everything up."
"Well it might help if we could fathom out Hok"s last words."
"Apart from those numbers, you mean? "Ovans reasure" it sounded like. Maybe it was in his own language?"
"You"d have understood it just as well if it had been. I told you, the TARDIS takes care of that sort of thing. No, I think it was some words the poor chap hadn"t the strength to p.r.o.nounce completely."
"It meant something to Falstaff."
"Yes, but he evidently already understood the context."
"Then took off leaving us to face the music. Must have been something important."
"Or valuable."
"You mean like buried treasure or something? That would be too much!"
The Doctor had gone very still. "Peri," he said softly. "I think you may have hit the nail on the head. Come on!" He leapt from his seat and headed briskly towards the exit.
"Where are we going?" Peri demanded, running after him.
"To find a library," he said, suddenly sounding breathless with excitement."There"s something I want to look up."
Qwaid was talking to Gribbs and Drorgon in the Falcon Falcon"s control room. Every so often they cast anxious glances back down the corridor to Alpha"s stateroom.
"Remember that full money case Hok had with him in the shop?" Qwaid said, licking dry lips.
"What about it?" said Gribbs.
"Suppose he really did get it for selling a copy of the capsule on to somebody - I mean somebody else, not the fat man."
"But we watched Hok for last five days," Drorgon rumbled. "Just like the boss said."
"Yeah, but we lost him a couple of times, didn"t we?" Qwaid reminded him. "Only we didn"t mention it to the boss, did we?"
"Wasn"t for long," Gribbs said, with a dismissive sniff.
"Maybe long enough for him to pick up the original capsule earlier than we thought and make copies. How do we know how many he might have sold before we got to him? Who else might be coming after us?"
"Can"t be very many."
"That"s right," said Drorgon, clenching his ma.s.sive fists enthusiastically. "And we"ll take care of them, you"ll see."
"But suppose even one turns up. The boss"ll know then, won"t he? And he"ll kill us!"
"Urr, no," said Drorgon, with a rare flash of perception. "Kill you maybe, Qwaid. He"ll still need us to do work for him."
In an age of electronic data storage and transfer, Peri wondered if libraries as distinct ent.i.ties still existed. However, inquires soon led them to Astroville"s Central Archive. Perhaps there was some herd instinct that still ensured scholars preferred to congregate in lofty rooms with airs of slightly dusty, hushed silence. And though what she thought of as real books were kept in closed cabinets and were accessible only to licensed users, the information the Doctor needed was all on computer file, and readily accessible for a modest fee. The Doctor"s lean fingers danced over the keyboard, and text was soon flashing across the screen within their study cubicle.
Rovan Hathcorl Clemont Delermain Cartovall.
Born 608,432.93 (Galactic Time Index) (1973 bc Terrestrial Calendar) on planet Centros, capital of Cartovallian stellar empire; Calendar) on planet Centros, capital of Cartovallian stellar empire; comprising some fifty systems and 2.8x10" subjects. First son of comprising some fifty systems and 2.8x10" subjects. First son of Emperor Dorrian III and Empress Kalia of Cartovall. Became Emperor Dorrian III and Empress Kalia of Cartovall. Became Emperor in 608,465.04 GTI Disappeared 608,469.29 GTI during Emperor in 608,465.04 GTI Disappeared 608,469.29 GTI during voyage to vacation world of Serenity, when he ordered all crew to voyage to vacation world of Serenity, when he ordered all crew to leave his private yacht at a remote Imperial outpost and took the leave his private yacht at a remote Imperial outpost and took the vessel on alone to an unknown destination. It was later vessel on alone to an unknown destination. It was later discovered that he had secretly arranged for the contents of the discovered that he had secretly arranged for the contents of the palace treasury (estimated value in current terms 6.4x10" stellar palace treasury (estimated value in current terms 6.4x10" stellar credits) to be loaded aboard his yacht before departure from credits) to be loaded aboard his yacht before departure from Centros. Despite a multi-system search by the Imperial forces, Centros. Despite a multi-system search by the Imperial forces, neither Rovan nor his treasure was ever found. As Rovan had no neither Rovan nor his treasure was ever found. As Rovan had no offspring he was eventually succeeded to the throne by his offspring he was eventually succeeded to the throne by his younger brother Athren in 608,472.63 GTI. This event is often said younger brother Athren in 608,472.63 GTI. This event is often said to mark the beginnings of the disintegration of the Cartovallian to mark the beginnings of the disintegration of the Cartovallian Empire. Empire.
For further biographical information see...
"And all that was five thousand years ago," Peri said, looking up from the viewer. "And n.o.body"s found out what happened to Rovan since then?"
"Not as far as I know."
Peri"s eyes sparkled. " "Rovan" s Treasure". You think that"s what Hok was trying to say?"
"It"s a strong possibility. Such a fortune would explain the ruthlessness of those three thugs we met and Falstaff"s behaviour."
"And the numbers were some sort of map reference for it -X marks the spot and so on?"
"Perhaps," the Doctor said.
"But after all this time, what sort of line can they have got on any treasure, a.s.suming it"s still around?"
"I don"t know," admitted the Doctor, a smile creasing his smooth features, "but it might be interesting to find out."
Commissioner Vorland of the Astroville Police Department shook his head regretfully.
"I"m sorry, Inspector. Your section chief pa.s.sed on your request but I can"t spare the personnel or equipment to mount any sort of close surveillance at the moment. In any case I certainly wouldn"t sanction any search of Alpha"s home or business premises on the strength of this" He tapped the crime file displayed on his office screen.
Myra Jaharnus looked at him uncomprehendingly. The word on the lower levels is that Hok was expecting the delivery of something important, and that he"d also contacted Alpha recently. Qwaid, Gribbs, and Drorgon have been seen in the area close to Hok"s shop several times in the last few days. Based on all known factors, the computer a.s.sessed them as the most probable suspects."
"Only a seventy-three-percent probability," Vorland reminded her, consulting the case file again. "You say here that the perpetrators wore glimmer masks. Perhaps two were human and one Cantarite. There are no usable bio traces to tie them in with the scene of crime. The murder weapon is still missing. Then there"s this character out of a storybook who may or may not be connected with the first three, and who may not actually exist.
And all this on the word of two tourists you obviously suspect yourself, yet who have no apparent link with Alpha. Have you changed your mind about them?"
"I"m beginning to believe they might just be innocent bystanders like they say, sir, though I still think there"s something odd about them. I"ll know more when the reports come through from Earth."
"And this "Falstaff"?"
"No trace yet."
Vorland sighed. "It"s a mess. You daren"t proceed further against Alpha until you"ve sorted out these other loose ends, and by the time you do the trail will have gone cold."
"Which is why I want to put Alpha under close surveillance right now."
"Forget it, Inspector. The waters are already too muddy on this one. I want Alpha put away as badly as you do, but I never underestimate him. If we touch his men he"ll have alibis arranged for them within the hour. Make one move directly against him without solid evidence to justify it, and he"ll be calling down the civil rights charter on us and talking about police hara.s.sment, which will simply make it harder to make a move if and when we ever have something stronger to use against him."
"But a citizen of Astroville has been murdered!"