Robot Blues by Margaret Weis, Don Perrin Read Free Book Online

that death factory.
    Xris was starting
to know Darlene Mohini. He was starting to like her, too, as were all the other
members of the Mag Force 7 team. She was more relaxed, more at ease, able to
open up, to talk about herself. When she spoke of Dalin Rowan, it was as if she
were speaking of some unfortunate friend who had now passed out of her life.
She remembered Dalin fondly, a little sadly, but with no regrets.
    “I’m not so sure
Amadi has made the connection, Xris,” she said, tapping the computer keys. “He
knows that Dalin is around. All right, yes, it was foolish of me going back
into the bureau’s files to ferret out that information on the Knights of the
Black Earth, but God only knows what would have happened if we hadn’t cracked
that case. And that’s the only link Amadi’s got: me snooping around the knights
and you putting a halt to their operation.”
    “If Amadi saw you
alone, he’d walk past you in the street and never recognize you,” Xris
conceded. “But if he gets a close look at the two of us together, that’s all
the link he’ll need.” Xris chomped savagely on the twist. “That old man’s
sharp. His mind’ll ring up a ‘Xris-Dalin, Dalin-Darlene’ match faster than
Harry Luck can shove coins into a slot machine. And as far as we know, no one
but you ever made the connection between the Hung and the bureau. Odds are,
whoever the traitor is, he or she is still there.”
    “Amadi knows about
the traitor,” Darlene said. She switched the computer on. “That’s why he’s
being careful.”
    “Amadi was born
careful. When he came out of the birth canal he had his head turned, looking
over one shoulder. That’s why he’s still alive. Did you ever say anything to
him about Armstrong’s death? About the evidence that someone in the bureau was
involved?”
    Darlene shook her
head. “How could I? I didn’t know who to trust.”
    “And we still don’t,”
Xris said emphatically. “So, here’s the deal. You and I split up. Let Amadi and
the Hung traipse after me for a while, if they can keep up. Once they see that
I’m not leading them to you, they’ll lay off, lose interest, follow some other
line.”
    Darlene protested,
“But the job—”
    “This robot snatch
is easy. I’ve got most of it planned out. Jamil and I can handle it. I was
going to dismiss the rest of the team anyway. Give everyone a vacation. I want
you to go along with someone—anyone but me. You can have your choice.”
    Xris ran down the
list. “Harry Luck. He’s trying to decide whether to go to some high-rolling
town to lose what money he made on that last job or to attend some seminars
being held on the ‘Capabilities of the Dirk Fighter in Close Proximity to
Atmosphere’ or something like that. He can’t decide. Harry’s taken one too many
stun blasts to the head, but he’s a damn good pilot, Darlene. You know—you saw
him in action on that last job. And he’s devoted to you—”
    Darlene shook her
head, half smiled. “Not Harry, Xris. He’s sweet, but, as you say, he’s devoted
...”
    She left the rest
unfinished. Xris, grinning, moved on.
    “There’s Dr.
Quong. He’s anxious to finish that study on the Little One, on Tongan
physiology. He could probably use your help. The Doc’s a bit touchy, but you
seem to be able to get along with him better than any of us. Plus he’d have you
eating right and exercising. You could gain weight into the bargain. The Doc’s
a good surgeon and—” Xris stopped, not quite certain where that was going.
    “And if anything
happened, I’d have a doctor on call.” Darlene grinned wryly. “Sorry, Xris, but
if the Hung catch me, all the Doc would be able to do is certify the time of my
death. Plus I don’t really see myself spending my vacation immersed in the
psychological oddities of the Tongans—outre as they are.”
    “Tycho, then. He’s
planning to go back to his home planet for a visit. The planet of the
chameleons, only don’t call them