very necessary tasks of setting up the Circus, arranging for publicity, and the thousands
of minute details that were part of his job as manager. Even so, his mind was not idle.
Even after several weeks, the planet was abuzz with speculation on the disappearance
of the planetary Police Commissioner, Elsa Helmund. Etienne read himself to sleep over
the news reports that had been published locally, and he insisted that Helena read them,
too-not only to keep her mind occupied, but to encourage her to start thinking of new
possibilities. She had, after all, been trained by her father, and Duke Etienne had a high
opinion of both the teacher and the raw material he’d worked with.
Now that something was actually being done, Helena started coming out of her shell. As
Etienne had hoped, she was too vibrant a person to remain closed off forever.
After making a few fruitless vidicom calls, he did find one of his old connections, a former
high police official, now retired. The man was willing to talk about Elsa Helmund, so
Etienne paid him a visit, bringing Helena along with him.
The informant did not have much more information about Elsa Helmund than could be
gleaned from the newsrolls, but he did know a little more about the woman’s personal
habits. There were certain clubs and social circles she frequented, certain people she
regularly associated with. Working on the theory that some of these associates might be
connected with the conspiracy-or at least might know more about the Police
Commissioner’s current whereabouts-Etienne decided these leads should be tracked
down.
The job was parceled out among several of his people, including Helena. They did not
want to scare away any potential leads, so all they did was quietly follow Helmund’s
friends to see where they went and who they contacted. It was boring but tricky detail
work, and most of it would end up being totally useless-but a good agent knew that
dedication to the minor tasks often led to data that could crack a case wide open.
Helena had been working for three days following one particular contact when she
noticed something peculiar: She was being followed herself. At first it was nothing more
than an uncomfortable feeling; she would look around and everything appeared normal,
so she tried to dismiss it. But the feeling came more and more frequently-the feeling that
someone’s eyes were focused on her. Helena had been thoroughly trained in the art, not
only of following someone else, but of what to do when being followed herself. She tried
several subtle tricks in order to catch the follower in an error while not making it look
deliberate, so he wouldn’t know she was trying to spot him. Whoever was tailing her,
though, was as adept as she was; she never caught more than a glimpse of him out of
the comer of her eye, never saw enough to make an identification possible. She made
sure she lost him, though, before returning to the Circus.
When she told Duke Etienne about the watcher, the circus manager gave a predatory
smile. “We may be getting close to something,” he said. “Somebody obviously spotted
you. It probably wasn’t the person you were watching-I’m sure you’re too well trained for
that but someone else may have noticed you and wanted to find out what you were up
to. That means they’re afraid you might learn something. I think we should find out just
who has been after you, and maybe bring him in for a little talk.”
The next day, Helena went out to tail her quarry as usual, and spent most of the day in
this trivial occupation.
It was not long before she again felt the presence of her own watcher in the corners, but
made no attempt to shake him or look around for him. It was not until late in the evening
that she made her move.
The man she was following walked down the street to the club he generally visited each
week. Helena suddenly broke away from her pursuit of him and raced down an alley to
the side. She hoped for one of two things—either that her own follower would be startled
and break his pattern to chase after her, or else that she’d be able to circle quickly
around and catch him from another angle, where he’d be more visible.
She ran quickly around the block, panting but excited at the prospect of some action. Her
shadow was still nowhere in sight as she returned to the street she’d left so abruptly, and
she was feeling disappointed when she heard the sound of a scuffle in the shadows
beside one building.
Duke Etienne had not sent her out alone today; instead, she’d been accompanied,
discreetly, by the Duke’s niece, Luise deForrest, one of the Circus’ top clowns and a
superb agent in her own right. Luise had been sent to watch Helena-and, more important,
to watch for anyone else watching her. Helena’s quick break had been designed to lure
the watcher out of his pattern so that either Luise or Helena could nab him.
From the sound of it as she approached, Helena could tell there was quite a struggle
going on. Etienne had not wanted to send more than one person to help her; for one
thing, too many people would make themselves more obvious-and for another, the family
pride refused to admit it might take more than one d’Alembert to handle so simple a
situation. Luise, her long black hair tied back in a neat braid to be out of her way, was
locked in hand-to-hand combat with a man who seemed to be almost her match. Helena
pulled out the ministunner Duke Etienne had given her, but although she was a crack
shot, the two bodies were so fiercely interlocked it would have been difficult to hit her
target. Instead, she launched into the fight herself, and with her help Luise was able to
get a firm grip on their antagonist. The female clown swung her opponent hard against
the wall, knocking the breath from his body. The man slumped to the ground,
momentarily incapaciated, and Luise moved in for the knockout blow.
The man’s body was sprawled in a patch of light that filtered in from the street, and for
the first time Helena got a clear look at his face. “No, stop!” she cried to Luise. With
great difficulty, the Circus performer held up on the blow she’d been about to deliver.
“What’s the matter?” Luise asked.
“I know that man,” Helena replied. “That’s Captain Fortier. He’s on our side-sort of.”
Chapter 9
Battle station G-6
The d’Alemberts and the Bavols were not precisely sure what one of the conspiracy’s
“battlestations” might be, but the title did not sound promising. It conjured up images of
heavy fortifications and impressive firepower. More than merely a battleship, it would not
be designed to outrun or contact the enemy. Instead, it sounded like a defensive position
where the conspiracy was prepared to dig in and fight back against almost anything the
Empire chose to throw against it.
“We could call in the Navy and batter it into submission. . . .” Jules began hesitantly.
“But you don’t like to be that heavy-handed,” Yvette finished the sentence for him.
Jules grinned sheepishly. “Well, there is something to be said for subtlety.”
“There’s only one person in the Galaxy less subtle than you, mon eher frere, and that’s
my own dear husband. Nevertheless, you’re right. If we call in an entire fleet to take care
of one station, we’ll put the station out of commission and learn nothing further.
Sometimes a can opener is better than a sledgehammer.”
“Then, too,” Yvonne pointed out, “we know the conspiracy is able to monitor our internal
affairs somehow. If we put in a call for help, they might get wind of it and run away
before we can catch them. Right now the only people we can trust are ourselves. I think
we ought to wrap this up ourselves, and use the Navy only as a backup if something
goes wrong.”
They spent the rest of the day thrashing out the details of a plan. They could not be too
specific because they didn’t know precisely what sort of threat they’d be facing; a lot of it
would have to be invented as they went along.
For that reason, it was decided that Jules and Yvette would make the actual assault on
the battle station. They were the most experienced of the group, having worked together
for many years both as agents in the field and as acrobats in the Circus. They knew
every move and reflex the other had. And truth to tell, as much as they loved their
respective spouses, they were glad to have a chance to work with each other again.
As agreed, Vonnie would stay behind and guard their prisoners. She didn’t like receiving