Wartorn Obliteration

AQUINT (4)

He almost let out a yelp and jumped to his feet, but restrained himself. Even so, his heart pounded as the shock of the news hit him.

Radstac was standing inside the doorway of the apartment. It was early morning and Aquint's head was doing its usual whirl whenever he was woken up at such an early watch. He ran a hand through his hair. Cat had heard her insistent knocking and had come to shake him out of bed.

Now, he was sitting in the outer room wondering if he had really heard her right. Cat stood off to one side. They had said little to each other since Aquint had handed over that innocent addict for Jesile to behead in the square.

"The Minstrel," Aquint finally said, his mouth feeling pasty and his eyes smarting. "He wants to meet you?"

Radstac, having said it once, didn't appear to feel the need to repeat herself. She gazed at him with those colorless eyes.

Aquint shook his head, marveling at the news. He had sent out Radstac and Deo as bogus anti-Felk troubadours, hoping against all reasonable hope that the Broken Circle would be lured by their songs of rebellion. It had been a desperate gamble, frankly, with longer odds than he ever would have considered if this were a game of Dashes.

"Where and when is the rendezvous?" he asked.

Radstac recited it. Aquint glanced at Cat, who nodded. They both knew where this location was, a number of streets west of the city's central marketplace.

Finally, Aquint couldn't contain himself. He stood and let out a hoarse but heartfelt whoop of happiness. The Minstrel! The troublemaker. The bleeder who had forced Aquint to make a sacrifice of that wretched drug addict.

"We've still got several watches before it's scheduled," Aquint said. He clapped his hands together. Then he said, "Wait. Why did you wait until now to report to me?"

"Curfew came," Radstac said.

Aquint waved a hand. "You're an Internal Security agent. You don't have to worry about any of that. Haven't I made that clear?"

"And if that Broken Circle contact observed us breaking curfew with total impunity?" Radstac asked.

Aquint considered and nodded. It was an excellent point. He asked, "You're sure this person at the tavern said the Minstrel himself wanted to meet with you?"

Radstac was sure. She managed to convey this without speaking or nodding.

She certainly was a hard thing, Aquint thought. Those facial scars didn't make her any more cuddly. Still, that Deo fellow certainly seemed fond of her...

Aquint frowned. There was no obvious reason why Deo should have accompanied her here this morning. This message she was conveying didn't require the pair of them. Nonetheless, Deo's absence suddenly concerned Aquint.

"Where, may I ask, is Deo this morning?" Aquint asked, knowing by some instinct that he wasn't going to like the answer.

He was right.

Radstac said, just as tonelessly as before, "Deo has deserted his post. He decided he wants to join the rebels. He left me at that tavern and followed the woman out."

It was one shock too many this early in the day. Aquint fell back into his seat.

From his twirling thoughts, he grabbed a question. "Did Deo say anything to you before he went?"

"He asked me if I wanted to join the rebels with him."

"And you said...?" Aquint prompted.

"I told him he was being an ass. I threatened to snap his arm if he talked anymore foolishness."

"What did he say?" Aquint asked.

"He didn't," said Radstac. "He went scurrying off."

Silent until now, Cat suddenly asked, "You didn't follow him?"

Radstac gave him a glance. Then she did something Aquint had never seen her do before. She looked embarrassed. She bit her lower lip and looked at the floor.

"I, uh, didn't," she hesitated. "Look, we're more than comrades, Deo and I. I didn't want him to do this stupid thing. But I just couldn't—I mean, what could I do? Arrest him?"

Aquint raised a hand. "All right, all right. I think I understand." He put the hand to his forehead. Now he had a renegade agent to worry about. "Do you think this rendezvous with the Minstrel will still be on?"

Radstac shrugged. "I don't know. The woman had already left the tavern. Deo may not have caught up to her."

Aquint drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair. "But let's assume he did. With his new set of loyalties, would he tell her you two were with Internal Security? If he wanted to warn the Minstrel away from the rendezvous today he would have to tell that woman something. Surely he knows we'll set a trap for the Minstrel." The thought still set Aquint tingling with anticipation.

"I'm sorry," Radstac said. "I don't know what he'll do. All this was very surprising to me."

He looked closer at her. Did she look... sad? That, too, was unprecedented. It certainly confirmed his suspicion that she and Deo were lovers.

Aquint was sorry to have lost one of his agents, especially like this. But if he had to lose one of these two, he was glad he still had Radstac working for him. He was also glad he didn't have to report these details to Abraxis. After all, Abraxis only wanted results.

And Aquint had damned well better start producing results. This was a choice assignment he had here in Callah. He definitely didn't want to find himself stripped of his position and sent back to that warehouse in Sook, or much worse, sent back into the field. Being a foot soldier had not agreed with him.

Also, he had Cat to think of.

Aquint rose to his feet, more deliberately this time.

"Very well," he said. "It's just the three of us. I don't want to bring Jesile's troops in on this just yet. We don't know how this is going to play out, but we do have a time and a place for the rendezvous. Radstac, you're going to be there. Understood?"

She understood it.

"Cat and I will be there, too," he went on, "but you won't see either of us. We'll observe what happens. Maybe nothing will happen. But it's just possible that the Minstrel will show up. We still have a decent description of him. If he's there today, he's ours."

He and Cat made their way to the rendezvous site well ahead of time. The place was an empty lot between two buildings, and it was fairly overgrown with weeds. The street it abutted wasn't a busy one.

Aquint had dressed in grubby clothes, along with a cloak with a hood. He hadn't bothered wearing his arm sling. It was drizzling. With the hood up, his face was hidden. He wanted himself and Cat to appear as nondescript as possible. This was a poorer district of Callah. Cat, too, had worn more ragged attire than usual.

Together they surveyed the scene for the best place to observe the empty lot.

Cat was humming softly to himself. Twice Aquint had caught a glimpse of the boy smiling secretly.

"Why're you so pleased?" Aquint asked.

"Because we might be capturing the Minstrel today," Cat blinked back innocently at him.

"I'm thinking it might be something else," Aquint said blandly.

The lad shrugged. "I guess one of those agents, at least, wasn't so good a pick."

For a moment, Aquint felt a stab of anger. This was Cat's jealousy over Deo and Radstac again. The boy had never liked those two intruding on his and Aquint's personal association.

Then Aquint reconsidered and let out a soft chuckle. Admitting it when you were wrong wasn't always easy. And anyway, it was good that he and Cat were talking again. "Fine, lad. Deo turns out to have been a bad choice for an Internal Security agent."

"Perhaps a very bad choice," Cat mused aloud.

"Fine. Very bad. Now, stop gloating, and let's find ourselves a vantage point."

That place turned out to be a recessed doorway at the corner of one of the buildings. It was a crumbling pile, and Aquint guessed the place was abandoned. From here, he and Cat could observe the whole weedy lot.

The time for the rendezvous was creeping closer.

Today, Aquint was armed. He had a short Felk sword under his cloak. The hard length pressed against him, bringing him no comfort. He didn't like weapons any better than he ever had, but if the Minstrel did show up, things were liable to get sticky.

The possibility of capturing the Minstrel still put a thrill into Aquint. Handing the Minstrel over to Abraxis would be a boon to his career. It would surely mean he would be allowed to conduct his operations against the Broken Circle some while longer. The more time Aquint spent in Callah, the better. Occupied by the Felk or not, this was home and it was also far away from the war.

He and Cat waited, silently. The day's grey drizzle continued to sift down. Aquint watched the passersby in the street.

Finally, the time had come. Aquint glanced to his side and realized with a start that Cat had vanished. He shook his head. The boy had a knack for stealth that was almost eerie. Probably he had slipped off to his own vantage place, so that the two of them could watch the lot from more than one angle. Aquint probably should have thought of that himself. Wherever Cat was now, he was well hidden.

At that moment Aquint saw Radstac approaching, walking along with that affected limp. She came up to the edge of the lot and halted.

Aquint didn't watch her as she stood there waiting. Instead, he swept the area continuously with his eyes, his heart beating hard again. He looked for any male bearing any resemblance to the Minstrel's description. He took into account the many possible disguises the man might attempt. He also watched for the woman from the tavern, who Radstac had described very adequately.

As for other members of the Broken Circle who might show up today, they could be anybody.

Aquint put his hand into his cloak and gripped the short sword's hilt. He continued to study the scene keenly.

Radstac, apparently impatient, stepped out into the lot. Aquint muttered a silent curse. The instructions had been to remain still. She moved deeper into the weeds, looking around. As he'd promised, she didn't see him, and it was a near certainty that she wouldn't see Cat either.

No one else entered the lot. No one appeared to be lingering nearby the scene. Aquint sighed, disappointed. He hadn't had any right to expect much from this, but he had been hoping nonetheless.

Suddenly, Radstac, half obscured by the tall weeds, gave a yelp and dropped from view.

Aquint started, grip tightening on the sword handle. Had she merely tripped and fallen? Or, had someone been lying in ambush for her out in those weeds?

He hesitated. She didn't stand back up. Something was wrong. He didn't see Cat emerging from wherever his hiding place was to come to her aid. That wasn't surprising. Aquint gritted his teeth. Once he exposed himself, this operation was through. But Radstac had demonstrated loyalty, sticking to her assignment even though Deo had abandoned his. Aquint had to go make sure she was all right.

He broke from the recessed doorway at a fast trot. The ground was uneven, and the dirt had turned to mud. He nearly stumbled as he approached the spot where Radstac had fallen. With an unhappy grunt, he loosed his sword, swinging its unfamiliar weight.

Aquint cut a swath through a clump of weeds. With a final leap he came down on the place where Radstac had disappeared, expecting to find her lying on the ground. She wasn't there. He halted, stunned.

"Let go of that sword."

Aquint turned sharply, and squinted into the drizzling rain. Deo was standing about ten paces off, a crossbow against his shoulder, the bolt aimed directly at Aquint's chest.

"Let go of it," Deo repeated.

"Godsdamn you," Aquint muttered.

"They may or they may not. Either way, you're running out of chances to drop that weapon peaceably, before I have to skewer you."

Aquint lowered the sword but didn't yet let it go. Hot anger welled up inside him. He glared venomously at Deo.

"You traitorous bleeder."

A hard smile touched Deo's mouth. "That's a word I've heard bandied around quite a bit lately. Traitor. A very flexible word, I think. Tell me, do you think it might just apply to you as well?"

The anger went suddenly white hot. Aquint wasn't one to let himself be provoked, but the insult cut too deep. Without thinking, he was raising the sword and taking a first step toward Deo.

Suddenly a hand locked over his wrist and a fist sailed in from the edge of his field of vision and smacked his jaw. It was just hard enough for him to loosen his grip and stagger back a step. The short sword was snatched from his hand.

When he turned, rubbing his jaw, he saw that Radstac now held it.

"Traitors..." Aquint said. He felt genuinely betrayed. After all, he had rescued this pair from whatever military disciplinary action awaited them after their unauthorized arrival here in Callah. He had entrusted these two with the responsibilities of Internal Security agents.

"You wanted to meet the Minstrel," Radstac said. "We're taking you to see him." From her pocket she pulled a strip of black cloth. A blindfold, Aquint thought.

Here in the middle of the lot, they were screened from the street by the weeds. No bystander was going to come to Aquint's rescue. He had no choice but to submit.

He saw the tiny flash of movement, but did not let his eyes betray it. Radstac was coming toward him with the blindfold. Deo was still holding the crossbow on him. Aquint had seen the figure moving behind Deo.

Radstac halted sharply, turned, and shouted, "Behind, on your right, low!"

With horror-wide eyes, Aquint watched Deo pivot tightly and fire the crossbow bolt. It twanged keenly, and Aquint heard the sound of the bolt striking something soft.

Radstac stuck the point of the sword against his ribs to keep him from running heedlessly toward Cat. Her hard, scarred face showed no emotion as she handed him the blindfold and told him to put it on. Numbly, he did so. She told him to pull up the cloak's hood once more, and he obeyed. She gripped one of his arms, and Deo came to take the other.

In lockstep they led him off. Aquint couldn't bring himself to ask if Cat was still alive.