“Now, now, Mr. Paul!” Kleist said. “You’re mistaken! Don’t be nervous! There’s only two of us, and we’re here to talk to you, only that.”
Anana said, “A police car has just pulled up behind that car on the street.”
Kleist and Ramos looked at each other; it was evident that they had also seen the police car. But they looked as if they had no intention of leaving.
Kickaha said, “If your boss would like me to help, he’ll have to think of some way of guaranteeing me passage back.”
He decided he might as well spring his surprise now. The Lord knew that there was a woman with Kickaha, and while he had no way of knowing that she was a Lord, he must suspect it. Kickaha had only been on Earth a short time when the Lord’s men had seen her with him. And since he knew that the gate had been activated twice before Kickaha came along, he must suspect that the other party-or parties-was also a Lord.
Now was the time to tell Red Orc about them. This would strengthen
Kickaha’s bargaining position and it might stop the effort to take him prisoner just now.
“You tell your boss,” he said, “that there are four other Lords now on Earth.”
Kickaha was not backward about exaggerating if it might confuse or upset the enemy. There might come a time when he could use the two nonexistent Lords as leverage.
“Also,” he added, “there are two Earthlings who have come from Jadawin’s world. Myself and a woman who is with Jadawin.”
That ought to rock him, he thought. Arouse his curiosity even more. He must be wondering how two Earthlings got into Jadawin’s world in the first place and how they got back here.
“You tell your boss,” Kickaha said, “that none of us, except for the Beller, mean him any harm. We just want to kill the Beller and get the hell out of this stinking universe.”
Kickaha thought that Red Orc should be able to understand that. What Lord in his right mind would want to take control of Earth from another Lord? What Lord would want to stay here when he could go to a much nicer, if much smaller, universe?
Kleist was silent for a moment. His head was slightly cocked as if he were listening to an invisible demon on his shoulder. Then he said, “What difference does it make if there are four Lords?”
It was obvious that Kleist was relaying the message and that he did not understand the references.
Kickaha spoke in the language of the Lords. “Red Orc! You have forgotten the device that every Lord carries in his brain. The alarm that rings in every Lord’s head when he gets close to the metal bell of a Beller! With four Lords searching for the Beller, the chances for finding him are greater!”
Kleist had dropped any pretense that he was not in direct communication with his chief. He said, “How does he know that you are not the Beller?”
“If I were a Beller, why would I get into contact with you, let you know you had a dangerous enemy loose in your world?”
“He says,” Kleist reported, his face becoming blanker as he talked, as if he were turning into a mechanical transceiver, “that a Beller would try to locate all Lords as quickly as possible. After all, a Lord is the only one besides a Beller who knows that Bellers exist. Or who can do anything about them. So you would try to find him, just as you are now doing. Even if it meant your life. Bellers are notorious for sacrificing one of their number if they can gain an advantage thereby.
“He also says, how does he know that these so-called Lords are not your fellow Bellers?”
Kickaha spoke in the Lords’ tongue. “Red Orc! You are trying my patience. I have appealed to you because I know of your vast resources! You haven’t got much choice, Red Orc! If you force me to cut off contact with you, then you won’t know that I’m not a Beller and your sleep will be hideous with nightmares about the Bellers at large! In fact, the only way you can be sure that I’m not a Beller is to work with me, but under my terms! I insist on that!”