[GP + 17 months]

    "Well Councillor, any news? Has our application for the mining concession been successful?"

    "Patience, Mr Brand, patience. Only one more committee to go. A little more, ah, hospitality might smooth its passage."

    "I have traced one of the last shipments of felden, Vila. They are currently stored in the vault of the Federation Bank at Cordis City, in the charge of the Central Power Board which is distributing them around the outer planets."

    "Distribution, eh? Is there anything about shipment details?"

    "Nothing that I can find, Vila. It is almost certain that the crystals are sent incognito, like Keiller's gold."

    "See if you can trace some recent cargos back to their origins. There might be a pattern to it. Maybe they've got into sloppy habits."

Avon let himself into Freya's passenger gymnasium, ostensibly to do some weight-training, but actually to have a private word with Margit. As he anticipated, she was running on the treadmill. She did not check her stride as he passed in front of her, merely nodding an acknowledgement of his presence.
        As he pulled the equipment from its locker, he spoke casually.
        "Am I right in thinking that Jenna has appointed you as Vila's minder?"
        "Yes, in a way."
        "Then it cannot have escaped your notice that he has acquired a vat of wine from Sardos."
        "It hasn't. I've drunk some of it - very good stuff. Nothing wrong with Vila's palate." Margit slowed down gradually. "He got it by trading copies of your ratcatcher. Your friend Lara bought several, for surveillance, she said."
        Her eyes rested on Avon's face with unmistakable amusement. "But I shouldn't worry. Vila only drinks too much when things are going badly. And that vat wouldn't last a serious drinker very long. In any case, Vila has other preoccupations now."
        "Hmm, Gambit... You can tell him that we didn't go to all that effort just to provide him with a games machine."
        "That's only incidental, his cover story, if you like. Vila is using Gambit the way you use Orac - for intelligence work. He is tracking people and supplies and monitoring Federation signals, all the techniques he learnt from you - in secret of course. He is planning something. A heist, I should think."
        "And how do you know all this?"
        "Oh, I have some ratcatchers of my own." She smiled as she lengthened her stride again.
        An answering smile crept into Avon's eyes. He was inclined to trust Margit's judgement and he was both reassured and intrigued. What did Vila have in mind to steal? Orac would know what Gambit was doing - or would it? Could Gambit keep secrets from Orac? That was worth exploring. He applied himself to his training with only moderate enthusiasm. He had as much contempt for body-building as he had for heroics, staying in reasonable trim was all he aimed at.
        Eventually Margit pulled up and switched off.
        "You are an extremely good runner," remarked Avon, slackening off slightly.
        "Natural aptitude," she returned, reaching for a towel. "It pays to keep it up. Saved my neck once or twice." She sauntered off to the shower room.

Half an hour later he joined her in the crew cafeteria.
        "This stuff is better than usual," he commented as he sat down at the same table. "Does it come from Sardos as well?
        "Yes. A bit of trading and information swapping." Margit leaned back and eyed him rather sardonically. "Now, why this solicitude for Vila?"
        "Oh, you can work it out. If he gets caught thieving, he'll be identified in next to no time, then the fat will be in the fire. He couldn't lie his way out, he'd be interrogated by the shrinkers and he'd tell them everything, and that would be the end of the whole campaign."
        "You're saying he must not fall into enemy hands alive."
        His eyes met hers in a steely clash. "Yes," he said, with the utmost deliberation.
        Margit showed no indignation, but looked thoughtful.
        "He must be persuaded to discuss his plans with the rest of us. If all he has in mind is personal enrichment then he must be restrained. But if it is a worthwhile target, we should be in on the project. What does Orac say?"
        Avon smiled slightly. "Orac has not been able to extract the information from Gambit. Vila has put a security code on it and Gambit's defences are as good as Orac's. Vila is a quick learner, I almost believe that tale of his about buying a delta grade classification from the examiners."
        "Gambit can keep secrets from Orac? When did you find this out?"
        "A few minutes ago. It struck me as a possibility while we were talking just now. Orac got very annoyed when it couldn't discover the password."
        "I could replay my surveillance tapes, I suppose," said Margit, "but they are not complete. A lot of the stuff, I didn't record. However, we might find it. Have you thought of a visual signal?"
        "Our best bet is to interrogate Vila himself."
        "That could be the end of a beautiful friendship." Margit paused as a though struck her. "Jenna is the person to do the questioning. I think he's less likely to lie to her than the rest of us. He regards her as his rescuer."

    "Your name Carnell?"

    "No, Linder."

    "You look like Carnell to me."

    "Too bad, I'm Linder."

    "Why don't you come with us. There are some people who would like to meet you."

    "No thanks. I have something else to do."

    "They won't take `no' for an answer. Better come along quietly."

Vila tried to ignore the buzz of his communicator. Feet up on the table, sleepily cradling a glass of wine, he was in no mood to exert himself mentally or physically, but the damned thing persisted until he had to acknowledge it.
        "Vila, I want to speak to you. Now." Jenna's voice. What now? "Captain's cabin - pronto."
        "Five minutes," he said, "let me get dressed." He was in fact fully clothed, but a quick visit to the particle shower might restore his wits.

"Have a drink Vila." Jenna passed him a glass. Somewhat embarrassed, he took a swig - fruit juice - caught Jenna's lop-sided smile and grinned sheepishly.
        "Is there something you want me to do?" he enquired, as innocently as he could.
        "Oh yes, Vila. There is something important you can do for me," she said sweetly. "You can tell me what you and Gambit are planning to steal." - A long pause - "Come clean, Vila."
        "Um - felden crystals, actually." He was rather gratified by her startled attention. "Just think, if we got hold of a few and took them to Sardos for duplication - I mean, all that cheap power..."
        "And all the money you could make selling the surplus."
        "Now would I, Jenna?"
        She smiled knowingly then queried gently, "And where were you planning to steal them from?"
        "Well, Gambit has traced some shipments..."
        "And?"
        "It looks as though the Federation is installing communications gear on, or in, one of the asteroids in the Cirkades system." He looked meaningfully at her, she cocked her head to one side as if to say `explain'.
        "Think how well hidden it would be. Too far out for solar power; too small to hide a nuclear power plant; who's going to waste time looking there? They might be planning a second Star One, for all we know. Come to think of it, we might take a leaf out of their book. With power plants the size of Orac you can be very discreet. But just now, I don't think they are paying proper attention to security. I think they've got the idea that the rebellion has petered out, don't you?"
        Jenna sat in thoughtful silence for some time. Eventually she looked up.
        "But how are you going to steal them without giving the game away? It would be disastrous if we alerted them to the existence of the Underground, or they discovered that the notable thief, Vila Restal, was still alive."
        "Well, I'm working on it. Some kind of switch was what I had in mind - make it look like an inside job. Pity we can't set up Commissioner Sleer to carry the can."

"Interesting he should say that," remarked Avon later. "I've been thinking along those lines as well. Several senators and governors are so corrupt that we could easily frame them for graft and fraud. It will help to cover up our own operations, too."
        "So far you haven't taken a great deal," Jenna commented.
        "My strategy is a multiplicity of small extractions making their way into our coffers by many varied paths. It took a lot of work to set them up and they must be operated with extreme caution. Commissioner Sleer has laid herself open to scrutiny over that gold shipment, but it wouldn't be good tactics to start with her, she would suspect I was behind it. I doubt if she really believes I'm dead."
        "Well that makes it all the more important that Vila's theft is planned to the nth degree," said Jenna. "We have some hard thinking to do."
        "We're going ahead with it, then?"
        "Yes. He's stumbled across something important, and we, I, am going after it, just as you once did."

"This way, Psychostrategist. Please seat yourself at the console. Our client wishes to ask you a few questions."
        "Why not face to face?"
        "Our client is far away, therefore communication will be by computer network."
        Looking around the interview room, Carnell didn't believe a word of it. That blank shiny wall to the right of the computer terminal looked suspiciously like a standard one-way observation panel. So - the client didn't want to be recognized, fearing that even the voice would be identifiable. One of his previous clients for a bet. He switched on the terminal.
        >> Please listen most carefully to the report which is about to be relayed to your terminal. You will be asked for your opinions on it.
        The screen came to life with the official Federation report on the massacre at Gauda Prime, including film of the hole in the ground where Deva's control complex used to be, and the wreckage of the Scorpio. As the soundtrack commentary concluded optimistically, "Yet another nest of rebels exterminated," he swung away from the console with a laugh. When he looked at the screen again it was blank save for the query
        >> What are your conclusions?
        Disdaining keyboards, he spoke aloud, certain that his interlocutor was only a few feet away.
        "The obvious ones. Since there is no proof that Blake was ever there, apart from Captain Arlen's signal, and the base was vapourized, I conclude that they are probably still alive. I am aware that Avon and his crew pursued an independent course for several years, but with Orac he could have maintained or re-established contact with Blake.
        "I really need much more information about their known movements since I was last consulted on this subject. Only rumours have come my way recently. I need hard facts. Furthermore, it is over a year since the Gauda Prime debacle. Have there been any rumours among their allies in recent months?"
        >> No new rumours. The data you requested will be made available, please wait.
        Servalan! Yes, he'd stake his life on it. The silent communication - she knew he would recognize that voice instantly. He smiled with genuine pleasure, yet another lost leader had cheated death.
        "How about some refreshment to pass the time?"
        >> Very well, state your requirements.

Considering the lengthy report before him on the careers of the two rebels, he was equally ready to wager on one or both of them being still alive. The coffee and cakes were excellent. He applied himself with relish.

>> Question 1: Are Blake and Avon alive?
        "Probably."
        >> Question 2: Were they in the base at all?
        "Captain Arlen sent two pre-arranged signals to her controller. The first indicated that she was inside the base with Blake; the second, that the trap was ready to be sprung and the troops were to enter the base. On her past record, we can suppose that her identification was correct and Blake was present. The troop section leader reported another flyer following Blake's into the base silo, piloted by a man he tentatively identified as Kerr Avon and containing several other passengers, presumably the crew of the Scorpio. Supporting testimony for the correctness of this identification is the wreckage of their ship not far away."
        >> Question 3: What about the base explosion?
        "Supposition One: someone hit the self-destruct or triggered a booby trap, destroying everyone and everything; Two, only the troops were destroyed and the base was evacuated and demolished; Three, fierce fighting, losses on both sides, but enough rebel survivors to demolish the base and retrieve equipment from Scorpio.
        "I reject the first. I know the report argues that the Scorpio equipment could have been removed before the crew set out for the base, but we know that the bounty hunters from whom Avon acquired his transport were still using it after midnight. That doesn't allow enough time to do the job as thoroughly as they did, before the ambush just after dawn. I therefore conclude that it was done afterwards under the supervision of Avon or Tarrant. I doubt if the troops were lured into an empty base and blown up. Arlen had been inside for several hours before she gave the signal to move in. The rebels could hardly afford to sacrifice their headquarters and all its equipment by triggering the signal themselves.
        "Option Two: Possible.
        "Option Three: The most probable. We could expect Arlen and her troopers to give a good account of themselves when their ambush failed. If only a few rebels survived, their choices were limited. They were too few to clean up the base and simulate normal operations. They could only plant demolition charges and abandon it quickly, taking the flyers and collecting the Scorpio equipment. They almost certainly retreated to another secret base and organized a complete evacuation.
        "The report makes great play with the fact that no unscheduled spacecraft was observed leaving Gauda Prime over the next few weeks, but I place little faith in their vigilance. In fact their whole follow-up investigation has been pathetic. They made no effort to account for all the freelance bounty hunters, or sort the genuine from the rebel imposters. Any number of Blake's confederates could have safely left Gauda Prime to start operations elsewhere."
        >> Question 4: What would they do next?
        "Find a safe haven and regroup. After their recent defeats and losses I would expect them to re-evaluate their whole operation. Some of them may even leave the movement - Vila Restal, Tarrant and the woman, Soolin, are likely to be the most disenchanted. They might return to their previous professions; thief, blockade runner and hired gun. If that's the case, you'll certainly hear of Tarrant before long, the man's incapable of discretion, unless kept under the firmest control by a strong leader."
        >> Question 5: Blake and Avon?
        "Ask yourself, `what is each one best at?'
        "Blake is the inspiring leader, his skills are in persuading and motivating. He needs a certain amount of publicity, notoriety even, to function effectively. Disappearing into total obscurity robs him of most of his strength. His opposition is heartfelt and totally sincere.
        "Avon, on the other hand, is relatively indifferent to such things. His skills lie in logical thought and electro-mechanical expertise. The leadership forced on him by Blake's departure will have been highly stressful, although by all accounts he has often been dangerously effective. His motivation will be far from idealistic, he cannot afford to be captured and there is no safe refuge from the Federation among neutrals. As a convicted criminal with a long list of further grave offences he would be extradited without argument by any independent government.
        "If Blake is alive, expect to hear from him within the next few months. If Avon is alive, look out for banking fraud, computer malfunctions and mechanical trickery. Unless someone can motivate him the way Blake did, he will concentrate on safety and accumulating wealth, aided probably by Vila Restal if he has survived. The authorities should ensure that the security forces are familiar with their appearance and personal details. The utmost vigilance must be maintained.
        >> Question 6: In your opinion, can we evolve a strategy for trapping them?
        "Possibly, but it would require a great deal of thought. And I would expect to be well paid for my advice."

© Copyright Vega (Frances Teagle), 1999.
This story may be printed for individual use, but must not be stored as a computer file or reproduced for sale or distribution.