"I'll take that," he said shortly.
I blew out smoke, squinted through it at Mallon. He sat with his hand
out, waiting. I looked down at the lighter.
It was a heavy windproof model, with embossed Aerospace wings. I
turned it over. Engraved letters read: _Lieut. Commander Don G. Banner,
USAF_. I looked up. Renada sat quietly, holding my pistol trained dead
on my belt buckle.
* * * * *
"I'm sorry you saw that," Mallon said. "It could cause
misunderstandings."
"Where's Banner?"
"He ... died. I told you--"
"You told me a lot of things, Toby. Some of them might even be true.
Did you make him the same offer you've made me?"
Mallon darted a look at Renada. She sat holding the pistol, looking at
me distantly, without expression.
"You've got the wrong idea, Jackson--" Mallon started.
"You and he came out about the same time," I said. "Or maybe you got
the jump on him by a few days. It must have been close; otherwise you'd
never have taken him. Don was a sharp boy."
"You're out of your mind!" Mallon snapped. "Why, Banner was my friend!"
"Then why do you get nervous when I find his lighter on your table?
There could be ten perfectly harmless explanations."
"I don't make explanations," Mallon said flatly.
"That attitude is hardly the basis for a lasting partnership, Toby. I
have an unhappy feeling there's something you're not telling me."
Mallon pulled himself up in the chair. "Look here, Jackson. We've no
reason to fall out. There's plenty for both of us--and one day I'll be
needing a successor. It was too bad about Banner, but that's ancient
history now. Forget it. I want you with me, Jackson! Together we can
rule the Atlantic seaboard--or even more!"
I drew on my cigar, looking at the gun in Renada's hand. "You hold the
aces, Toby. Shooting me would be no trick at all."
"There's no trick involved, Jackson!" Mallon snapped. "After all," he
went on, almost wheedling now, "we're old friends. I want to give you a
break, share with you--"
"I don't think I'd trust him if I were you, Mr. Jackson," Renada's
quiet voice cut in. I looked at her. She looked back calmly. "You're
more important to him than you think."
"That's enough, Renada," Mallon barked. "Go to your room at once."
"Not just yet, Toby," she said. "I'm also curious about how Commander
Banner died." I looked at the gun in her hand.
It wasn't pointed at me now. It was aimed at Mallon's chest.
* * * * *
Mallon sat sunk deep in his chair, looking at me with eyes like a
python with a bellyache. "You're fools, both of you," he grated. "I
gave you everything, Renada. I raised you like my own daughter. And
you, Jackson. You could have shared with me--all of it."
"I don't need a share of your delusions, Toby. I've got a set of my
own. But before we go any farther, let's clear up a few points. Why
haven't you been getting any mileage out of your tame Bolo? And what
makes me important in the picture?"
"He's afraid of the Bolo machine," Renada said. "There's a spell on it
which prevents men from approaching--even the Baron."
"Shut your mouth, you fool!" Mallon choked on his fury. I tossed the
lighter in my hand and felt a smile twitching at my mouth.
"So Don was too smart for you after all. He must have been the one
who had control of the Bolo. I suppose you called for a truce, and
then shot him out from under the white flag. But he fooled you. He
plugged a command into the Bolo's circuits to fire on anyone who came
close--unless he was Banner."
"You're crazy!"
"It's close enough. You can't get near the Bolo. Right? And after
twenty years, the bluff you've been running on the other Barons with
your private troll must be getting a little thin. Any day now, one of
them may decide to try you."
Mallon twisted his face in what may have been an attempt at a placating
smile. "I won't argue with you, Jackson. You're right about the command
circuit. Banner set it up to fire an anti-personnel blast at anyone
coming within fifty yards. He did it to keep the mob from tampering
with the machine. But there's a loophole. It wasn't only Banner who
could get close. He set it up to accept any of the _Prometheus_
crew--except me. He hated me. It was a trick to try to get me killed."
"So you're figuring I'll step in and de-fuse her for you, eh, Toby?
Well, I'm sorry as hell to disappoint you, but somehow in the
confusion I left my electro pass behind."
Mallon leaned toward me. "I told you we need each other, Jackson: I've
got your pass. Yours and all the others. Renada, hand me my black box."
She rose and moved across to the desk, holding the gun on Mallon--and
on me, too, for that matter.
"Where'd you get my pass, Mallon?"
"Where do you think? They're the duplicates from the vault in the old
command block. I knew one day one of you would come out. I'll tell you,
Jackson, it's been hell, waiting all these years--and hoping. I gave
orders that any time the Great Troll bellowed, the mob was to form
up and stop anybody who came out. I don't know how you got through
them...."
"I was too slippery for them. Besides," I added, "I met a friend."
"A friend? Who's that?"
"An old man who thought I was Prince Charming, come to wake everybody
up. He was nuts. But he got me through."
Renada came back, handed me a square steel box. "Let's have the key,
Mallon," I said. He handed it over. I opened the box, sorted through
half a dozen silver-dollar-sized ovals of clear plastic, lifted one out.
"Is it a magical charm?" Renada asked, sounding awed. She didn't seem
so sophisticated now--but I liked her better human.
"Just a synthetic crystalline plastic, designed to resonate to a
pattern peculiar to my E.E.G." I said. "It amplifies the signal and
gives off a characteristic emission that the Psychotronic circuit in
the Bolo picks up."
"That's what I thought. Magic."
"Call it magic, then, kid." I dropped the electropass in my pocket,
stood and looked at Renada. "I don't doubt that you know how to use
that gun, honey, but I'm leaving now. Try not to shoot me."
* * * * *
"You're a fool if you try it," Mallon barked. "If Renada doesn't shoot
you, my guards will. And even if you made it, you'd still need me!"
"I'm touched by your concern, Toby. Just why do I need you?"
"You wouldn't get past the first sentry post without help, Jackson.
These people know me as the Trollmaster. They're in awe of me--of my
_Mana_. But together--we can get to the controls of the Bolo, then use
it to knock out the sentry machine at the Site--"
"Then what? With an operating Bolo I don't need anything else. Better
improve the picture, Toby. I'm not impressed."
He wet his lips.
"It's _Prometheus_, do you understand? She's stocked with everything
from Browning needlers to Norge stunners. Tools, weapons, instruments.
And the power plants alone."
"I don't need needlers if I own a Bolo, Toby."
Mallon used some profanity. "You'll leave your liver and lights on the
palace altar, Jackson. I promise you that!"
"Tell him what he wants to know, Toby." Renada said. Mallon narrowed
his eyes at her. "You'll live to regret this, Renada."
"Maybe I will, Toby. But you taught me how to handle a gun--and to play
cards for keeps."
The flush faded out of his face and left it pale. "All right, Jackson,"
he said, almost in a whisper. "It's not only the equipment. It's ...
the men."