Inferno

“Not that much to tell,” she said. “I had been talking to Sero Phrost and Shelabas Quellam. I was crossing the room when this Deam fellow came up to me. He was almost polite at first, if maybe a bit drunk and aggressive. I think he wanted to explain some fine point of Ironhead philosophy to me. Maybe he thought that if I just got this one point, then the scales would fall from my eyes and I would be converted to the true way, or something. ”

“Sounds familiar,” Kresh said.

“Anyway, as I said, he seemed a bit drunk, and I really didn’t want to talk with him, so I made some sort of polite excuse and started to leave. He grabbed me by the shoulder, and I pushed his hand off. Then he either made a grab for me and missed when I ducked, or else he tried to punch me and succeeded. Anyway, he caught me a good one right on the jaw. I fell back and then gave him a kick in the side of the head. It was all reflex reaction. Then the other one came and grabbed me from behind. I threw him, he got up-and then the two robots grabbed us. ”

“Neither of us saw the beginning of it, but that is how Prospero and myself saw it end,” Caliban said.

Kresh ignored the robot. He shouldn’t have spoken unless spoken to in the first place. “Well, that should be all we need to know, Madame Welton. We’ll try not to pester you with any more questions if we don’t have to. My sincere apologies, and I’m sure the Governor will wish to add his own at the first opportunity. ”

“I quite understand,” Tonya said, standing up. “Feelings are running rather high just at the moment. There are bound to be-ah-incidents. So long as the two men who attacked me are properly punished, I will be quite satisfied.”

“Thank you for that, Madame Welton. That is a most generous attitude. ” Kresh thought for a moment. Maybe they could get all this over with right now. “If you wish, Madame Welton, I could question the two men here, now, in your presence, with Donald recording. We could have you done with your part in all this in a few minutes.”

“I would appreciate that. ”

“Fine. I’ll call them in.”

“Sir, perhaps now would not be the most-”

“No, Donald. The sooner the better. ” Kresh had worked with Donald long enough to know what he would have said next. The suspects should not be questioned in front of their accuser. Strictly speaking, Tonya Welton should be treated as just as much of a suspect as the Ironheads, as it was her word against theirs. That might all be strictly true from a standpoint of criminal investigation, but it wasn’t much good in terms of politics. “Private voicephone, Donald,” Kresh said. No sense in Welton and the robots listening in. “Put me through to the head of the SSS Residence detail.”

Donald opened a compartment on his side and extracted a telephone handset. It gave off a gentle beep as Kresh put it to his ear. “Senior Agent Wylot here,” a hard-edged voice announced.

“Yes, hello. This is Sheriff Kresh. We’re in Room 121, on the south side of the ground floor. Could your people escort the two Ironhead suspects in here?”

“Ah, what Ironhead suspects would those be, sir?”

Kresh frowned. “The ones three of your agents took into custody ten minutes ago. ”

“Sir, I don’t understand. We got the order to withdraw from our posts in the Residence half an hour ago. I’m talking to you from my aircar, heading back to base. ”

“Then who the hell took charge of those men?” Kresh demanded.

“I don’t know, sir-but I can tell you they weren’t SSS. We never use a three-person team.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Bad tactics in a security operation. The third agent gets in the way. We use single agents and pairs, but the next largest formation is six. ”

“Was the entire SSS unit withdrawn?”

“Not so far as I know, sir. Just the agents working the front door. It was all arranged beforehand. Once the guests had arrived, we did a handoff to the Rangers. Their turf.”

“I see,” Kresh said, though he definitely did not. “Thank you, Agent Wylot. ” He handed the phone back to Donald and looked to Welton. “Those weren’t SSS agents who picked up Deam and Blare,” he said. “Impostors, it would appear.”

“What?” Welton said. “Why in the devil would anyone pose as SSS agents?”

“To extract their men before we could ask any questions, presumably.”

“But why?”

Kresh smiled coldly. “As we can’t ask any questions, we don’t know, do we? How about it, Donald? Do you have anything?”

“Sir, I have used a hyperwave link back to headquarters and run an ID check on the names and images of the two men involved in the-incident,” Donald said. “They do not appear on any of our Ironhead watch lists. Indeed, they are not listed in any database of residents of, or visitors to, this planet. They are on no list to which I have access.”

“So who the hell were they?”