Adapt and Overcome (The Maxwell Saga) (24 page)

He began with the legend of Lei Sik Hoi, one of the Five Founders of the original Triads, criminal gangs in pre-space-age China. “According to tradition, he owned this knife. It’s said to have been passed down among his spiritual – not to mention criminal – descendants as a symbol of authority. It vanished during the mid-twentieth century, and ever since then every Triad and Tong has been looking for it.”

“What’s a Triad, or a Tong?” she asked, fascinated.

“Tongs started out as social and self-help cultural societies, unlike the Triads which were criminal organizations –
gangs, if you like – from the get-go. A lot of the Tongs ended up as criminal organizations too, either because the Triads infiltrated them, or because their members joined both organizations.”

He described the two encounters with thugs of the Lotus Tong on Earth’s Cargo Terminal that had brought the knife into his hands. “I didn’t know what it was at the time. I simply searched the man carrying it, disarmed him, and tucked it into my belt. It was Bosun Vince Cardle who told me more about the Tongs and Triads, recognized the stone as jade, and advised me to find out more about it. He took me to see a jade dealer on
Vesta, telling him the knife was his, in case of complications. It was a good thing he did, because the dealer identified it at once. He wanted the Bosun to apply for a reward that was being offered for it. Vince refused, and later told me to hide it somewhere secret, for fear that the dealer might talk about us. If the Tongs and Triads found out I had it, they’d all come after it at once, and they wouldn’t be particular how they got it from me.”

She shivered. “I don’t know much about them, but that sounds like an incredibly dangerous situation! Why didn’t he just tell you to get rid of it or destroy it? If they never found it, they wouldn’t be able to associate you with it.”

“We thought about that; but if word got out that he’d claimed to have it, and that I’d been there when he did so, there would have been questions asked. There were, later – I’ll come to that. He reckoned the best thing to do was to keep it out of sight while we tried to figure out how to get rid of it at minimum risk to ourselves. Unfortunately, a few months later he was killed in a fight with de Bouff’s pirates. That left me holding the baby, so to speak.”

He described how the jade dealer had been unable to resist temptation, and had sent a message to the contact address on the reward
flyer, trying to obtain part of it in return for telling them about his meeting with Bosun Cardle. It had proved to be offered by the Crane Triad, which had sent investigators to try to torture the information out of him. They’d miscalculated, and killed him instead. They’d then looked for Vince, only to learn of his death. That had set them after Steve, posing as police officers, to see whether he knew anything. He’d drawn on his past contacts with the Dragon Tong to approach its Vesta branch, asking for assistance to deal with the fake cops.

“The Dragon Tong’s the most powerful
, most feared criminal organization of its kind in the settled galaxy. They came through for me, and dealt with the investigators and the thugs they’d hired to help them kidnap me. In return for their help, I spun them a yarn about helping them locate the knife by tracing and approaching Vince’s friends. I had to buy time, first to get away from Vesta where questions were more likely to be asked, and then to establish a convincing back trail to ‘prove’ to them that I’ve been working hard on their behalf. I needed an unshakeable cover story to explain how I’d been able to ‘find’ the knife in due course.”

“But haven’t they pressed you for more information, or wanted you to hurry up?”

Steve grimaced. “They sure have! I’ve been stalling them for almost a decade, reporting to them annually about my ‘progress’. Early last year I told them I’d traced the knife to one of Vince’s friends, who’d buried it on a remote planet out of fear of the consequences of it being traced. I promised I’d try to obtain it from him. I plan to wait until my next regular shipboard assignment, then use that as a cover story to explain how I met up with him and recovered the knife. I can then hand it over to the Tong, and get this monkey off my back at last.

“I’ve had to set this up very carefully. If the Dragon Tong had known I had the knife when I first approached them, they’d have killed me right away. They’d never have believed that when I took it from the Lotus Tong man, I didn’t know what it was. They’d have been convinced I was trying to screw them over. That’s why I’ve taken so long to arrange everything, and been so cautious about covering my tracks, and tried to invent excuses that’ll stand up to an
y checks they run on me. I’ve even installed the best anti-listening-device masking electronics I could afford in this apartment – without them I wouldn’t feel safe talking to you about it like this. I asked a commander at BuIntel, whom I met last year, to recommend what I should buy.”

She nodded slowly, eyes locked on his. “So, with luck, the Dragon Tong will simply be grateful for your help, and won’t suspect that you’ve had it all along?”

“That’s the idea.”

She heaved a long sigh. “
Under the circumstances I don’t see how you could have done anything different. Just one thing, lover. When you eventually hand this over, I’ve got your back, OK? It’s no good you marrying a trained fighting woman if you don’t give her the chance to defend her man when necessary!”

He grinned. “If it happens when you’re around, that’s a promise, darling. Of course, I don’t know
when or how we’ll set up the eventual exchange. That’ll have to wait on events.”

“I understand. Do you plan to claim the reward?”

He made a sour face. “That thing’s got an awful lot of blood in its past, including that of the man from whom I took it, and the guys who tried to kidnap and interrogate me. A Dragon Tong boss told me later they’d killed all of them. I don’t want blood money for it. I think I’ll just give it to them. If I have to accept the reward in order not to appear suspicious, I’ll try to find somewhere to donate it anonymously. Let the knife do some good for once, even if only indirectly!”

Her eyes warmed. “I agree. You know I want to study pediatrics, so
why don’t we find a charity supporting medical treatment for kids or caring for orphans, and give it to them?”

His face lit up. “Good idea! In fact, I know just the group. Before I joined the Fleet, I helped establish a charity that
grew into the Radetski Children’s Fund. They run several orphanages there, caring for kids whose parents were killed during the civil war on that planet, particularly those who were badly hurt. I’m sure they’ll be able to put it to good use.”

“That sounds good to me.”

He hugged her. “I wanted to show this to you now because, if anything happens to me before I can deliver it, the Dragon Tong will probably ask you about it. In that case, I want you to tell the Tong that this arrived for me just before… whatever happened to me. You can reach them through a restaurant in town – in fact, I think I’ll hire it to cater our reception. It serves excellent food. Tell the Tong I’d told you I was planning to give them the knife, but you don’t know any more about it than that. I think they’ll accept that, because they won’t expect me to have shared such sensitive information with you. If they give you the reward, do with it as you see fit.”

“All right, darling, I’ll do that – although if you go and get yourself killed, I’m going to be seriously annoyed with you! What will you do with it in the meantime? Is it safe to keep it here?”

“I don’t think so, not long-term. I took it from my safe deposit box at the Fleet Depository a couple of days ago, because I wanted to show it to you and tell you about it. Tomorrow we’ll go there to put it back again, and to authorize you to access my box if anything happens to me. It can wait under lock and key and armed security until I need to take it shipboard with me again.”

“OK.
I must admit, now I know that knife’s here, I won’t sleep very well until it’s gone again!” She shivered.

“And who said you were going to get any sleep tonight in the first place?”

She giggled and snuggled closer, tossing the knife on the sofa next to her as she reached for him. “Well… I’ll need at least
some
sleep to keep up my strength… but if you wear me out, I daresay I won’t think about it at all!”

~ ~ ~

They met Brooks and Carol in the foyer of a restaurant in the city the following week. Brooks looked tired but very happy, whilst Carol resembled nothing so much as a cat that had been at the cream. As they walked up, Abha looked at her and raised her eyebrows, and they both giggled.

“Have you any idea what that’s all about?” Brooks asked Steve plaintively.

“Not a clue.”

Abha laughed. “Silly! We’re just comparing non-verbal notes. We’re both with our men again, and I’m guessing we both spent the first couple of days with them doing the same sort of thing,
pretty much non-stop.” She and Carol again dissolved into merriment as Steve and Brooks blushed simultaneously.

Carol’s eyes fell on Abha’s ring finger, and she gasped. “
Wow!
I won’t ask what that cost, but I’ve never seen a more beautiful engagement ring in my life!”

“N
either have I,” Abha purred, extending her left hand to display the white gold ring Steve had bought for her. It bore a five-carat oval-cut emerald of medium-dark color and tone and flawless clarity. The stone had been set with an oval two-carat brilliant white diamond on either side. “Steve found this one at a manufacturing jeweler while I was on my way here. He put down a deposit on it, to hold it until I could decide whether I liked it – as if there was ever going to be a question about that!” She turned her head to him and kissed him fondly. “I fell in love with it on the spot, so he bought it. Fortunately he hadn’t spent most of the prize money he’d earned at Midrash last year, so we didn’t have to wait for the Rolla prize money to come through.”

Brooks grinned. “It seems the man has good taste in both women and jewelry.”

They paused while the head-waiter seated them, then Carol reached across the table, took Abha’s hand in hers, and examined the ring minutely. She sighed, “Well, Brooks and I have to budget for all those kids I want, and a home in which to raise them, but perhaps one day…” She grinned wickedly at her partner. “I know I said you had to earn more prize money to pay for our family, but you really outdid yourself! Steve, Brooks tells me it was your doing, just like the
Vargash
affair last year, so I suppose I have to thank you again.”

The prize money
from Rolla had been released by the Courts of Admiralty the day before the training unit’s return. The instructors’ ship had received a signal detailing the amount each person had earned almost as soon as it emerged from hyper-jump at the system boundary, which had led to non-stop celebrations among the instructors all the way to planetary orbit. The total prize money had come to three hundred and fifteen million credits, yielding over forty-seven million to be distributed among the officers and almost ninety-five million among the enlisted personnel.

Steve flushed again. “It was all of us, Carol. I couldn’t have done a thing without Brooks, Abha and the others to back me up all the way.”

Abha leaned against him. “I’m not complaining about the prize money either. Between the two of us, Steve and I are pretty well set, if we invest it wisely and don’t spend too much too soon.”

Brooks sniggered.
“Yeah. Each of you is marrying money! I’ve got to tell you, Steve, you could tell my instructors to do anything right now and they’d obey you. Your reputation among them has reached stellar heights.”

“I’ll try not to lead them astray – at least, not too far.” The others laughed.

They placed their orders with a hovering waiter. The sommelier poured a very palatable fruity white wine for them, and they sipped appreciatively.

“How are the wedding arrangements coming along?” Carol wanted to know.

“Pretty well,” Steve assured her. “We’ve been able to arrange two ministers and book a military chapel, which were the biggest obstacles at such short notice.”

“Will you wear a wedding dress?”
she asked Abha.

“No
. There’s no time to buy something good and get it fitted at such short notice. Besides, we’re a military couple, so we may as well look the part. I’ll wear Number One uniform, like Steve.”

“Are you going to do the whole arch of swords thing?” Brooks asked, grinning.

Steve nodded. “I’ve sent a message to Master Chief Dumisane. Remember him?”

“How could I forget him?” He turned to Carol. “He was the senior NCO instructor at Officer Candidate School when Steve and I were there, and also one of the top instructors in the Armati Society, which studies ancient weaponry. He’s forgotten more about swords and sword-fighting than most of us will ever know.”

“That’s right,” Steve agreed. “He’s Command Master Chief of the Home Fleet’s First Battle Squadron now. I’ve invited him to our wedding as a guest, and also asked him about members of the Society forming an arch of swords for us. You and I are both still members, and that’s one of the benefits the Society offers, so I figure it’ll be worth taking advantage of it.”

“Sounds good to me
,” Brooks agreed. “I wouldn’t be comfortable issuing swords to our instructors and telling them to hold them over your heads. Most of them have never been trained in their use, so there’s no telling what they might do with them.”