arriving tonight. Public alarm, suitably fostered, will do the rest. Oh yes, the story will stand up.”
“And even if it doesn’t, who cares?” said Hal Lanchery in a bored tone from the lower end of the table. He was the youngest of the Directors, and very brash. He had been lucky rather than skillful to escape the same treatment as Lyken was now to get, so rapidly had he come up and so many corners had he cut on the way. Others at the table shifted in their chairs, pointedly expressing annoyance. Clostrides hurried on.
“I think, therefore, we can go ahead as planned. As to affairs at this end, we will of course cut Lyken’s power at midnight and break the seals on his Tacket numbers. It takes about six or seven hours to discriminate down to a new number. The portals should open at about dawn, therefore.”
“What has Lyken got to offer against us?” Yorell said. “Who’s he been buying arms from, for instance? Is he recruiting?”
“Yes, he is.” Clostrides glanced at papers before him. “I advised all his known suppliers that the extent of his credit might not be good after today, but I’m sure he had substantial funds and will convert all of them into armaments. Oddly enough, I didn’t get the impression that he’d been expectingthis showdown. I find that reassuring. As to recruiting, he’s already got agents on the streets—so fast, in fact, that I suspect he must have called from his cruiser to order them out before he actually got back to his base from here this afternoon. The number they sign up before sunset will probably be rather small, but I’ve arranged to handicap him this evening, when he’ll be making a maximum effort.”
“How?” Yorell put in.
“There will be rioting in the vicinity of his base. I anticipate considerable interference with all traffic, including Lyken’s.”
From next to Hal Lanchery, Jorge Klein looked up abruptly. “At what time?” he snapped.
“From about six-thirty or seven, onward.”
Klein turned to his aide and gave a brisk order; the aide nodded and left the room.
“Apologies,” said Klein in a brittle tone. “I have a consignment which looters would find attractive routed through that area this evening. I’ll have to change the schedule.”
“What sort of consignment?” inquired Clostrides, not for himself especially but because he could read a desire to know in the faces of all the other Directors.
“Guns,” said Klein, biting the word off short.
Hal Lanchery was looking impatient, and Clostrides passed sleepy eyes across his face before speaking again.
“We have an interesting proposal which was put to me yesterday to consider,” he said. “Hal—maybe you’d describe it yourself?”
“By all means!” said Lanchery, and sat upright. “Now as things stand, we can assume that Lyken will use every last moment up to midnight to get reinforcements through to his franchise. No matter how we handicap him, we can bank on his assembling a respectable army. We can also bet that between midnight, when we cut his power, and dawn, when we get our own portals open into the franchise, he’ll have time to deploy to very good effect. It takes time to move the attackingforces in, and what’s worse, the portals are conspicuous and vulnerable while they’re operating. What we need is some way of confusing Lyken’s defenders while we’re moving in, and if possible also of thinning out his cannon fodder simultaneously.
“Now as you perhaps know, in one of my franchises there is an interesting culture called the G’kek.” Lanchery glanced along the table. Understanding had already begun to dawn on several faces, and Clostrides was nodding approval. Lanchery leaned back and expanded his proposition.
“The G’kek are semi-nomadic, rather bloodthirsty, and they’re capable of truly astonishing feats with wild animals. They’re also exceptionally well provided with animals to demonstrate their powers on. I propose that the first wave of
“And even if it doesn’t, who cares?” said Hal Lanchery in a bored tone from the lower end of the table. He was the youngest of the Directors, and very brash. He had been lucky rather than skillful to escape the same treatment as Lyken was now to get, so rapidly had he come up and so many corners had he cut on the way. Others at the table shifted in their chairs, pointedly expressing annoyance. Clostrides hurried on.
“I think, therefore, we can go ahead as planned. As to affairs at this end, we will of course cut Lyken’s power at midnight and break the seals on his Tacket numbers. It takes about six or seven hours to discriminate down to a new number. The portals should open at about dawn, therefore.”
“What has Lyken got to offer against us?” Yorell said. “Who’s he been buying arms from, for instance? Is he recruiting?”
“Yes, he is.” Clostrides glanced at papers before him. “I advised all his known suppliers that the extent of his credit might not be good after today, but I’m sure he had substantial funds and will convert all of them into armaments. Oddly enough, I didn’t get the impression that he’d been expectingthis showdown. I find that reassuring. As to recruiting, he’s already got agents on the streets—so fast, in fact, that I suspect he must have called from his cruiser to order them out before he actually got back to his base from here this afternoon. The number they sign up before sunset will probably be rather small, but I’ve arranged to handicap him this evening, when he’ll be making a maximum effort.”
“How?” Yorell put in.
“There will be rioting in the vicinity of his base. I anticipate considerable interference with all traffic, including Lyken’s.”
From next to Hal Lanchery, Jorge Klein looked up abruptly. “At what time?” he snapped.
“From about six-thirty or seven, onward.”
Klein turned to his aide and gave a brisk order; the aide nodded and left the room.
“Apologies,” said Klein in a brittle tone. “I have a consignment which looters would find attractive routed through that area this evening. I’ll have to change the schedule.”
“What sort of consignment?” inquired Clostrides, not for himself especially but because he could read a desire to know in the faces of all the other Directors.
“Guns,” said Klein, biting the word off short.
Hal Lanchery was looking impatient, and Clostrides passed sleepy eyes across his face before speaking again.
“We have an interesting proposal which was put to me yesterday to consider,” he said. “Hal—maybe you’d describe it yourself?”
“By all means!” said Lanchery, and sat upright. “Now as things stand, we can assume that Lyken will use every last moment up to midnight to get reinforcements through to his franchise. No matter how we handicap him, we can bank on his assembling a respectable army. We can also bet that between midnight, when we cut his power, and dawn, when we get our own portals open into the franchise, he’ll have time to deploy to very good effect. It takes time to move the attackingforces in, and what’s worse, the portals are conspicuous and vulnerable while they’re operating. What we need is some way of confusing Lyken’s defenders while we’re moving in, and if possible also of thinning out his cannon fodder simultaneously.
“Now as you perhaps know, in one of my franchises there is an interesting culture called the G’kek.” Lanchery glanced along the table. Understanding had already begun to dawn on several faces, and Clostrides was nodding approval. Lanchery leaned back and expanded his proposition.
“The G’kek are semi-nomadic, rather bloodthirsty, and they’re capable of truly astonishing feats with wild animals. They’re also exceptionally well provided with animals to demonstrate their powers on. I propose that the first wave of
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