Profiteer

When he was next to the window, the Blood-Tide occupied almost all of his field of view. The troop-carrier’s massive drive-laden ass filled the cup of the office building’s U. He could barely see the edges of the residence tower beyond the hump of the ship’s drives, and most of the quad was covered by the stubby wings.

 

The Blood-Tide was fifty percent larger than the largest ship the landing quad was designed to handle. It was amazing that the ship had fit in the space at all. It was a hundred meters long, and Dom knew from his computer-remembered plans that the clearance between the residence tower and the office building was a hundred ten meters.

 

Dom felt admiration for the pilot who’d landed the thing. The engines were barely three meters from the window.

 

Dom had to get right up to the window and look down to see the marines on the ground. There must have been a hundred of them, in full armor, urban camouflage, and bearing enough hardware to lay waste to all of East Godwin. They were mustering, half of them coming toward the office complex.

 

“Klaus,” Dom repeated. “If you want me, talk to me.”

 

Marines began to surround the base of the office complex.

 

“Jonah.”

 

Dom turned and saw Klaus’ face on the holo. The view behind Klaus was mostly sky. The view seemed familiar. As Dom talked, he quickly ran possible locations through his mind.

 

“Hold off your marines. I want to make a deal.”

 

“A deal for your surrender?” Klaus shook his head. “You are in no position to bargain. We have you pinpointed in the office complex. The exits are sealed. We can take you any time we wish. No deals.”

 

“You had me trapped aboard the Blood-Tide.”

 

Klaus hardly looked fazed by Dom’s suggestion. “Obviously you were never aboard that ship. Surrender, Dominic, and I guarantee you will survive to see your trial.”

 

Dom shook his head. “There are some conditions.”

 

Klaus laughed. Dom stared at the holo image. Where was he? “Your arrogance is amusing. In less than a minute you are going to be in custody, conditions or not. You’ve always had an inflated view of yourself.”

 

“And you were always dangerously rash. Do you think I’d be talking if I didn’t have a card to play?”

 

“What can you possibly do?”

 

“Trigger a few thousand kilos of high explosives planted throughout the GA&A complex.”

 

There was a long pause. “You’re bluffing.”

 

“I could be. Or I could have set the timer before I called you. It could be that if I don’t say the right word in the next three minutes, the whole complex disappears.”

 

“I don’t believe you.”

 

“Cy Helmsman might argue with you.”

 

Yes, Klaus, you know I’m bluffing. But you also know where I’m calling from. Can you be sure? Can you afford to be sure? You’ve made it quite a point to remove everything you think I live for.

 

Klaus leaned out of the display and said something offscreen. Once Dom had an unobstructed view of the background, he knew where Klaus was. Behind Klaus was the same view of Godwin that Dom had seen every day for seven years. Klaus was on top of the residence tower. He was right outside Dom’s old office.

 

Dom looked out the window and tried to see beyond the drives of the Blood-Tide. He thought he could see a mass of people on top of the tower, next to the matte-black office dome.

 

“Okay,” came Klaus’ voice. “You have three minutes. What are your conditions?”

 

“First, once you have me, you cease persecuting GA&A’s former employees. Up to and including anyone who might have been involved in this operation.”

 

Klaus smiled. “Agreed, with you in custody I will cease to have any interest in the survivors.”

 

You evil bastard. You think you’ve won, don’t you?

 

“Second, my people aboard the Blood-Tide are given passage off the complex and released.”

 

Klaus smiled even more broadly. “Of course.”

 

The ice gripped Dom’s stomach. They’re already dead. He’s killed them.

 

He had wanted to give Shane, Mosasa, and Random a chance. It looked as though he was too late. Well, he would have to face it, he had run out of cards to play. He almost wished that he had peppered the complex with explosives, so he could set them off and take Klaus with him. Instead, Dom turned toward the window.

 

“You have two minutes left.”

 

Dom noticed marines turning toward the Blood-Tide. The whole ship seemed to shift its weight slightly, as if in a gigantic shrug.

 

“I want this ‘trial’ to be public.”

 

“I intend to air your crimes for everyone to see, have no fear. I am sending in marines now. I expect you to turn yourself over quietl—” Something offscreen was stealing Klaus’ attention. Someone hit the mute, and Dom noticed a lot of the marines downstairs running toward the Blood-Tide.

 

What?