Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future (48 page)

“Annie—what a pleasant surprise!”
said Santiago, getting to his feet. “To what do we owe the pleasure of this
visit?”

“We have a bit of a problem on our
hands,” replied Silent Annie, remaining in the doorway.

“Oh?”

Silent Annie nodded her head.
“She’s sitting in my vehicle.”

“Who is it?” asked Santiago.

“Virtue MacKenzie.”

Cain stood up and walked to a
window, saw Virtue sitting blindfolded inside the vehicle, then turned to
Santiago and nodded. “Where’s the Angel?” he demanded.

“In orbit,” replied Silent Annie.

“Why did you bring her out here?”
asked Santiago, more curious than annoyed.

“She landed a couple of hours ago,
found Father William, and told him that she had a message for you from the
Angel.” Silent Annie paused. “He figured that if she was telling the truth,
you’d probably want to hear what it is.”

“And if she’s lying?” asked Cain.

“Then she’ll never leave Safe
Harbor alive,” promised Silent Annie coldly.

“Why didn’t Father William bring
her himself?” asked Santiago.

“He wants to be in town when the
Angel lands,” answered Silent Annie.

“It’s a big planet,” said Cain.
“What makes him think the Angel will land near the town? I wouldn’t.”

“You
did,
”
replied Silent Annie.

“But I didn’t know Santiago was
here,” Cain pointed out.

“He’ll land there because he’ll
need Virtue to guide him to me, and she landed there,” said Santiago.

Cain considered the statement for
a few seconds, then nodded. “You’re probably right,” he conceded.

“Well, let’s not keep our guest
waiting,” said Santiago to Silent Annie. “Bring her in.”

Silent Annie went back outside and
returned a moment later with Virtue MacKenzie. Her blindfold was removed, and
she looked around the room, studying each of the three men confronting her.

“Hello, Cain,” she said at last.

Cain nodded a greeting but said
nothing.

She looked at Jacinto. “You’re too
young,” she said decisively and turned to Santiago. “It must be
you.
”

Santiago smiled and bowed. “At
your service. Won’t you sit down?”

“Can I have a drink first?” she
asked.

“Of course. What would you
prefer?”

“Anything with alcohol.”

Santiago turned to Silent Annie.
“Would you do the honors, please?”

She nodded and walked to the bar,
while Santiago escorted Virtue to a chair.

“You’re a very courageous woman to
come here by yourself,” said Santiago, sitting down opposite her.

“After you’ve traveled with the
Angel, not much else can scare you,” she replied sincerely.

“Just a minute,” said Cain,
walking over and taking her satchel from her.

“Hey!” she snapped, grabbing
futilely at it. “What’s the idea?”

“You’re delivering a message,”
said Cain, reaching in and withdrawing a small recording device, “not getting
an interview.” He held the bag up to a light, examined it minutely, then
returned it to her with his hand outstretched. “Where is it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking
about,” said Virtue.

“You’ve got to have a camera
hidden somewhere. You can hand it over or I can strip you naked. There’s no
third way.”

“I don’t have to put up with
this!”

Cain turned to Jacinto. “Hold
her,” he ordered.

Jacinto took a step in her
direction and Virtue held up a hand. “All right,” she said. “Just a minute.”
She fumbled with her jacket and plucked off a large button, handing it to Cain.
“Are you satisfied now?” she demanded.

“For the moment.” he said,
deactivating the incredibly miniaturized holographic mechanism and putting it
in his pocket.

“I’ll want that back when I
leave,” she added.

“We’ll see,” said Jacinto
ominously.

“What’s this ‘we’ll see’ shit?”
said Virtue heatedly. “I came under a flag of truce!”

“As a message carrier, not a
journalist,” responded Jacinto.

“You have my word that your
property will be returned to you.” said Santiago. “And now.” he added, glancing
firmly at Cain and Jacinto, “if my friends can control their enthusiasm, I
would be interested in hearing what you have to say.”

“The Angel wants to meet you
tomorrow morning,” she said.

“I’ll just bet he does,” said
Silent Annie, returning with Virtue’s drink.

“The Angel wants to kill me,” said
Santiago. “Why should I care to present myself to him?”

“He’s willing to discuss it,” said
Virtue.

Santiago looked amused. “To
discuss killing me?”

“To discuss
not
killing you,” she replied.

“A subject near and dear to my
heart,” replied Santiago. “What does he propose to say?”

“That he’s willing to be bought
off,” said Virtue.

“For how much?”

“It’s negotiable,” answered
Virtue. “I get the feeling that he’s talking in the neighborhood of two or
three million credits.”

“The reward for me is up to twenty
million credits. Why should he settle for so much less?”

She grinned. “Nobody knows what
you look like. He can turn in the body of the first derelict he finds, claim
that it’s you, and still get the reward.”

“I’m sure it’s been tried before,”
said Santiago.

“Probably,” she agreed. “But
people tend not to argue with the Angel.”

Santiago studied her thoughtfully.
“Where does he want to meet me?”

“A place called the Barleycorn
Tavern.”

“How did he find out about it?”

“It’s where Peacemaker MacDougal
killed Billy Three-Eyes,” replied Virtue. “It’s the only location on Safe
Harbor that he knows.”

“What time does he want to meet
me?” asked Santiago.

“Nine o’clock.”

“You’re not seriously considering
meeting with him?” demanded Cain.

“I haven’t decided yet,” said
Santiago.

“It’s a setup,” said Cain.

“Perhaps,” agreed Santiago.

“Then don’t go. Make him come out
here.”

“And kill ten or twelve of my
men?” said Santiago with a smile. “I can’t spare them.”

“They can’t spare
you!
” snapped Cain.

“Possibly the Angel really wants
to make a deal,” said Santiago. “After all, twenty-three million credits is
better than twenty.”

Cain shook his head vigorously.
“He’ll have to go into the Democracy to collect it—and they won’t give a damn
if he’s the Angel or God Himself. They’re going to want proof.”

“How soon does he need an answer?”
Santiago asked Virtue.

“I’m supposed to contact him
tonight and let him know your decision,” she replied.

“And if I decide against meeting
with him?”

She shrugged. “Then I suppose
he’ll come out here and kill you.”

“What do
you
get out of all this?” asked Jacinto.

“I’m a journalist. I get a story.”
She turned to Santiago. “Perhaps you’d like to give me an interview right now?”
she suggested.

Santiago chuckled. “I admire your
dedication.”

“Then you’ll do it?” she persisted.

He shook his head. “I’m afraid
not.”

“If you’ll give me an interview,
I’ll tell the Angel you’re not here.”

“She’s lying,” said Cain.

“The hell I am!” snapped Virtue
irately.

Cain turned to her. “Come on,” he
said. “You tell him that, and the second the interview appears, he’ll come
after you and hunt you down.”

“He’ll never find me.”

“If he could find Santiago, he can
find a journalist who’ll be making the most of her publicity.”

“I’ll take my chances,” replied
Virtue.

“No you won’t. You’ll take your
interview, and then you’ll tell the Angel everything you saw and heard.”

Santiago cleared his throat.

“I’m going to take a little walk,”
he announced, “and consider the Angel’s proposition. I’ll give you my answer
when I return.”

“I’ll go with you,” said Silent
Annie.

He shook his head. “I’d rather go
alone. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

He walked out the door.

“Where is he going?” asked Gain.

“Down to the dell,” answered
Jacinto. “He always goes there when he wants to think.”

“What the hell is there to think
about?” said Cain, puzzled. “He can’t actually be considering going through
with this!”

Jacinto shrugged. “Who knows?”

Cain walked over to Virtue,
grabbed her by the wrist, and yanked her to her feet.

“Come on,” he said.

“Where are you taking her?”
demanded Jacinto.

“Out to the veranda,” said Cain.
“I want to talk to her.”

“You can talk to her right here.”

“Alone,” said Cain.

Jacinto stared at Cain for a
moment, then nodded his head.

Cain led Virtue through the dining
room and out onto the veranda, then commanded the door to close behind him.

“I can’t believe it!” she said,
her face flushed with excitement. “I’ve finally found him!”

“And now you’re going to kill
him,” said Cain.

“I’m not killing anyone,” she
said. “I’m just a journalist.” She look at him sharply. “But while we’re on the
subject, how come
you
haven’t killed him?”

“The situation has changed,” said
Cain. “I’ve joined him.”

“How much is he paying you?” she
asked, curious.

“Nothing.”

She stared at him disbelievingly.
“Are you going to give me all that crap I heard from Silent Annie about what a
great man he is?”

“I don’t know if he’s a great
man,” said Cain slowly. “But he’s a
good
man—better
than I’ll ever be, anyway. And he’s working for a good cause.”

“He’s a goddamned outlaw.”

“He’s a good man,” repeated Cain.
“And I’m not going to let him be killed.”

“I seem to remember that we made a
deal back on Pegasus,” said Virtue.

“You broke it when you joined the
Angel.”

“Didn’t you get Terwilliger’s
message?”

Cain nodded. “Was it sent before
or after ManMountain Bates killed him?” he asked sardonically.

She glared at him. “It was the
truth!”

“Then why are you running the
Angel’s errands?” he shot back.

“Because he got Dimitri Sokol to
take the hit off me,” she replied.

“And when do you stop working for
him? When he kills Santiago?”

“He’s just going to talk to him.”

“That’s a bunch of shit and you
know it,” said Cain. “This thing’s got trap written all over it.”

“What difference does it make?”
demanded Virtue defiantly. “I’ve got a story to get, and you’ve sold out to the
enemy. If I can’t get an interview, I’ll cover his death.”

“The enemy isn’t Santiago,” said
Cain. “It’s the Angel.”

“The Angel is a bounty hunter
who’s working within the Democracy’s law. Santiago is a criminal who’s broken
it time and again.”

“It’s not that simple,” said Cain.

“It’s precisely that simple,” she
said triumphantly. “You’ve joined a gang of killers and bandits, and you’re
castigating me for working with the man who’s trying to bring their leader to
justice.”

“You never gave a damn about
justice in your life!” snarled Cain. “All you care about is your goddamned
story and what you think it will do for you.”

“Don’t you go getting high and
mighty with
me,
Cain!” she snapped back at him. “I
know how many men you’ve killed—and not just as a bounty hunter, either.
There’s still a price on your head back on Sylaria.” She paused to catch her
breath. “We both set out to find Santiago. You were going to kill him, and I
was going to get my story. It’s hardly my fault that you’ve forgotten what
you’re supposed to be doing here!”

“I’ll give you a story to take
home with you,” he said savagely. “You can cover the death of the Angel.”

She glared at him, and then her
expression changed as all the rage seemed to drain from her.

“You can’t kill him,” she said,
shaking her head slowly. “Don’t throw your life away trying.”

“I won’t let him kill Santiago,”
said Cain doggedly.

“Nobody can stop him. Believe me,
Cain—I’ve seen him in action. I know what he can do.” She suppressed a shudder.
“He’s inhuman!”

Cain stared at her. “If you’re
that afraid of him, why are you working for him?”

“Because he can get what I need,”
she said with a tight smile. “And because I’m that afraid of him.” She stared
directly into Cain’s eyes. “Have you got anything else to say, or can I have
another drink?”

He stared back at her, seemed
about to speak, thought better of it, and led her back inside. Jacinto and
Silent Annie were still in the living room, waiting for them.

“Is he on his way back yet?” asked
Jacinto.

“I didn’t see him,” said Cain.
“What’s he doing out there, anyway—communing with the dead?”

“That’s in very bad taste, Mr.
Cain,” said Jacinto. “The men in those graves were fine men.”

“Then maybe
they’ll
talk a little sense to him,” said Cain. “He’s got to know this is a trap.”

“He knows.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

Jacinto sighed wearily. “Billions
of people in the Democracy may fear his name, but there are tens of thousands
out here who practically worship it, who know that he’s the only thing that stands
between them and their oppressors. He’s all they’ve got, he and the myth that
has grown up around him—and he doesn’t want them to think that he’s betrayed
their faith in him by becoming a coward.”

“There’s nothing cowardly about
running away from a fight you can’t win,” said Cain.

“When you’re Santiago, there is.”

“No one will ever know.”

Jacinto nodded toward Virtue.
“We’d have to kill
her
to keep the story from
spreading, and he won’t do it.”