Thizar (GNS)--Viron Belgezad, wealthy Thizarian financier, has
purchased the fabulous Necklace of Algol, it was announced today.
The necklace, made of matched Star Diamonds, is estimated to be
worth more than a million credits, although the price paid by
Belgezad is not known.
[Illustration: The coronation on Thizar was a thing of vast
magnificence.]
Such an interesting bit seemed worthy of further investigation, so Drake
had immediately booked passage on the first space liner to Thizar.
And thus it was that an immaculately dressed, broad-shouldered, handsome
young man sat quietly in the Flamebird Room of Thizar's flushiest
hostelry surveying his surroundings with steady green eyes and wondering
how he was going to get his hands on the Necklace of Algol.
The police couldn't touch Belgezad, but Anson Drake could--and would.
"Hello, Drake," said a cold voice at his elbow.
Drake turned and looked up into the sardonically smiling face of Jomis
Dobigel, the heavy-set, dark-faced Thizarian who worked with Belgezad.
"Well, well," Anson said, smiling, "if it isn't Little Bo-Peep. How is
the dope business? And how is the Big Dope Himself?"
Dobigel's smile soured. "You're very funny, Earthman. But we don't like
Earthmen here."
"Do sit down, Dobbie, and tell me all about it. The last I heard--which
was three hours ago--the government of Thizar was perfectly happy to
have me here. In fact, they were good enough to stamp my passport to
prove it."
* * * * *
Dobigel pulled out a chair and sat down, keeping his hands beneath the
table. "What are you doing here, Drake?" he asked in a cold voice.
"I couldn't help it," Drake said blandly. "I was drawn back by the
memory of the natural beauties of your planet. The very thought of the
fat, flabby face of old Belgezad, decorated with a bulbous nose that is
renowned throughout the Galaxy, was irresistible. So here I am."
Dobigel's dark face grew even darker. "I know you, Drake. And I know why
you're here. Tomorrow is the date for the Coronation of His Serenity,
the Shan of Thizar."
"True," Drake agreed. "And I wouldn't miss it for all the loot in
Andromeda. A celebration like that is worth traveling parsecs to see."
Dobigel leaned across the table. "Belgezad is a Noble of the Realm," he
said slowly. "He'll be at the Coronation. You know he's going to wear
the Necklace of Algol as well as anyone, and you--"
Suddenly, he leaned forward a little farther, his right hand stabbing
out toward Drake's leg beneath the table.
But Anson Drake was ready for him. Dobigel's hand was a full three
inches from Drake's thigh when a set of fingers grasped his wrist in a
viselike hold. Steely fingers bit in, pressing nerves against bone. With
a gasp, Dobigel opened his hand. A small, metallic cylinder dropped out.
Drake caught it with his free hand and smiled. "That's impolite, Dobbie.
It isn't proper to try to give your host an injection when he doesn't
want it."
Casually, he put the cylinder against the arm which he still held and
squeezed the little metal tube. There was a faint _pop!_ Drake released
the arm and handed back the cylinder. Dobigel's face was white.
"I imagine that was twelve-hour poison," Drake said kindly. "If you
hurry, old Belgezad will give you the antidote. It will be painful,
but--" He shrugged.
"And by the way, Brother Dobigel," he continued, "let me give you some
advice. The next time you try to get near a victim with one of those
things, don't do it by talking to him about things he already knows. It
doesn't distract him enough."
Dobigel stood up, his fists clenched. "I'll get you for this, Drake."
Then he turned and stalked off through the crowd.
* * * * *
No one had noticed the little by-play. Drake smiled seraphically and
finished his drink. Dobigel was going to be uncomfortable for a while.
Twelve-hour poison was a complex protein substance that could be varied
in several thousand different ways, and only an antidote made from the
right variation would work for each poison. If the antidote wasn't
given, the victim died within twelve hours. And even if the antidote was
given, getting over poison wasn't any fun at all.
Reflecting happily on the plight of Jomis Dobigel, Anson Drake paid his
bill, tipped the waiter liberally, and strolled out of the Flamebird
Room and into the lobby of the Royal Gandyll Hotel. The Coronation would
begin early tomorrow, and he didn't want to miss the beginning of it.
The Shan's Coronation was _the_ affair of Thizar.
* * * * *
He went over to the robot newsvender and dropped a coin in the slot. The
reproducer hummed, and a freshly-printed newsfax dropped out.
He headed for the lift tube, which whisked him up to his room on the
eighty-first floor. He inserted his key in the lock and pressed the
button on the tip. The electronic lock opened, and the door slid into
the wall. Before entering, Drake took a look at the detector on his
wrist. There was no sign of anything having entered the room since he
had left it. Only then did he go inside.
With one of the most powerful financiers on Thizar out after his blood,
there was no way of knowing what might happen, and therefore no reason
to take chances.
There were some worlds where Anson Drake would no more have stayed in a
public hotel than he would have jumped into an atomic furnace,
especially if his enemy was a man as influential as Belgezad. But Thizar
was a civilized and reasonably well policed planet; the police were
honest and the courts were just. Even Belgezad couldn't do anything
openly.
Drake locked his door, sang to himself in a pleasant baritone while he
bathed, put on his pajamas, and lay down on his bed to read the paper.
* * * * *
It was mostly full of Coronation news. Noble So-and-So would wear
such-and-such, the Archbishop would do thus-and-so. There was another
item about Belgezad; his daughter was ill and would be unable to attend.
_Bloody shame_, thought Drake. _Too bad Belgezad isn't sick--or dying._
There was further mention of the Necklace of Algol; it was second only
to the Crown Jewels of the Shan himself. The precautions being taken
were fantastic; at a quick guess, about half the crowd would be
policemen.
The door announcer chimed. Drake sat up and punched the door TV. The
screen showed the face of a girl standing at his door. Drake smiled in
appreciation. She had dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a smooth, tanned
complexion. It was a beautiful face, and it showed promise of having a
body to match.
"Who, may I ask, is calling on a gentleman at this ungodly hour, and
thus compromising her reputation and fair name?"
The girl smiled, showing even, white teeth, and her eyes sparkled,
showing flickers of little golden flames against the brown. "I see I've
found the right room," she said. "That voice couldn't belong to anyone
but Anson Drake." Then she lowered her voice and said softly: "Let me
in. I'm Norma Knight."
Drake felt a tingle of psychic electricity flow over his skin; there was
a promise of danger and excitement in the air. Norma Knight was known
throughout this whole sector of the Galaxy as the cleverest jewel thief
the human race had ever spawned. Drake had never met her, but he had
definitely heard of her.
He touched the admission stud, and the door slid silently aside. There
was no doubt about it, her body _did_ match her face.
* * * * *
"Do come in, Norma," he said.
She stepped inside, and Drake touched the closing button. The door slid
shut behind her.
She stood there for a moment, looking at him, and Drake took the
opportunity to study the girl more closely. At last, she said: "So
you're Anson Drake. You're even better looking than I'd heard you were.
Congratulations."
"I have a good press agent," Drake said modestly. "What's on your mind?"
He waved his hand at a nearby chair.
"The same thing that's on yours, I suspect," she said. "Do you have a
drink to spare?"
Drake unlimbered himself from the bed, selected a bottle from the menu
and dialed. The robot bellhop whirred, a chute opened in the wall, and a
bottle slid out. Drake poured, handed the tumbler to the girl, and said:
"This is your party; what do you have in mind?"
The girl took a sip of her drink before she answered. Then she looked up
at Drake with her deep brown eyes. "Two things. One: I have no
intention or desire to compete with Anson Drake for the Necklace of
Algol. Both of us might end up in jail with nothing for our pains.
"Two: I have a foolproof method for getting the necklace, but none for
getting it off the planet. I think you probably have a way."
Drake nodded. "I dare say I could swing it. How does it happen that you
don't have an avenue of disposal planned?"
She looked bleak for a moment. "The man who was to help me decided to
back out at the last minute. He didn't know what the job was, and I
wouldn't tell him because I didn't trust him."
"And you trust me?"
Her eyes were very trustful. "I've heard a lot about you, Drake, and I
happen to know you never doublecross anyone unless they doublecross you
first."
"Trade about is fair play, to quote an ancient maxim," Drake said,
grinning. "And I am a firm believer in fair play.
"But that's neither here nor there. The point is: what do you have to
offer? Why shouldn't I just pinch the gems myself and do a quick flit
across the Galaxy? That would give me all the loot."
She shook her head. "Belgezad is on to you, you know. He knows you're
here. His own private police and the Shan's own Guard will be at the
Coronation to protect all that jewelry." She cocked her pretty head to
one side and looked at him. "What's between you and Belgezad, anyway?"
"I stole his toys when he was a child," said Drake, "and he hasn't
trusted me since. How do you propose to get the Necklace of Algol if I
can't?"
She smiled and shook her head slowly. "That would be telling. You let me
take care of my part, and I'll let you take care of yours."
Drake shook his head--not so slowly. "Absolutely not. We either work
together or we don't work at all."
* * * * *
The girl frowned in thought for a moment, and then reached into the belt
pouch at her side and pulled out a square of electro-engraved plastic.
She handed it to Drake.
Underneath all the flowery verbiage, it boiled down to an invitation to
attend the post-Coronation reception. It was addressed to "Miss
Caroline Smith" and was signed and sealed by the Shan of Thizar
himself.
"I'm 'Caroline Smith'," she said. "I've managed to get in good with the
family of Belgezad, and he wangled the invitation.
"Now, the plan is this: Right after the Invocation, while the new Shan
is being prepared in his special Coronation Robes, the Nobles have to
change their uniforms from red to green. Belgezad will go into his suite
in the Palace to change. He'll be accompanied by two guards. One will
stay on the outside, the other will help Belgezad dress. I've got the
room next to his, and I've managed to get the key that unlocks the door
between them. I'll use this--" She pulled a small globe of metal from
her belt pouch. "It's a sleep-gas bomb. It'll knock them out for at
least twenty minutes. No one will come in during that time, and I'll be
able to get the necklace and get out of the palace before they wake up."
"They'll know you did it," Drake pointed out. "If you're still missing
when they come to, the thief's identity will be obvious."
She nodded. "That's where you come in. I'll simply go out into the
garden and throw it over the wall to you. We'll meet here afterwards."
Drake thought it over and smiled devilishly. "It sounds fine. Now let's
co-ordinate everything."
They went over the whole plot again, this time with a chart of the
palace to mark everything out and a time schedule was arranged. Then
they toasted to success and the girl left.
When she was gone, Anson Drake smiled ruefully to himself and opened a
secret compartment in his suitcase. From it, he removed a long strand of
glittering jewels.
"A perfect imitation," Drake said. "And you're very pretty. It's a shame
I won't be able to hang you around the neck of Belgezad in place of the
real Necklace of Algol."
But his original plan had been more dangerous than the present one, and
Anson Drake was always ready to desert a good plan for a better one.
* * * * *
Coronation Day dawned bright and clear, and the festivities began early.
There were speeches and parades and dancing in the streets. A huge fleet
of high-flying rockets rumbled high in the stratosphere, filling the sky
with the white traceries of their exhausts. For all of Thizar, it was a
holiday, a day of rejoicing and happiness. Cheers for the Shan filled
the streets, and strains of music came from the speakers of the public
communications system.
Anson Drake missed most of the fun; he was too busy making plans. The
day passed as he worked.
Thizar's sun began to set as the hour for the actual Crowning of the
Shan approached. At the proper time, Drake was waiting in the shadows
outside the palace walls. There were eyes watching him, and he knew it,
but he only smiled softly to himself and waited.
"_Sssssst!_"
It was the girl, on the other side of the wall.
"I'm here," whispered Drake.
Something that glittered faintly in the soft light of the twin moons of
Thizar arced over the wall. Drake caught it in his hands. The Necklace
of Algol!
He slipped it into a small plastic box he was carrying and then glanced
at the detector on his wrist. The screen showed a pale blue pip which
indicated that someone was hidden in the shadows a few yards to his
right.
Drake didn't even glance toward the spy. He put the plastic box
containing the necklace into his belt pouch and strode away from the
palace. He had, he figured, about twenty minutes.
He headed directly for the spaceship terminal. Never once did he look
back, but the detector on his wrist told him that he was being closely
followed. Excellent!
Inside the terminal, he went directly to the baggage lockers. He found
one that was empty, inserted a coin, and opened it. From his pouch, he
took a plastic box, put it in the locker, switched on the lock with his
key, and strolled away.
* * * * *
He glanced again at his detector. He was no longer being followed by the
same man; another had taken up the trail. It figured; it figured.
He went straight to the Hotel Gandyll, making sure that his tail didn't
lose him. Not until they were in the lobby did he make any attempt to
shake the man who was following him. He went into the bar, ordered a
drink, and took a sip. He left his change and the drink on the bar and
headed out the door in the direction of the men's room. Whoever was
following him wouldn't realize for a minute or two that he was leaving
for good. A man doesn't usually leave change and an unfinished drink in
a bar.
Drake took the lift tube up to his room, attended to some unfinished
business, and waited.
* * * * *
Less than three minutes later, the door was opened. In walked Viron
Belgezad and his lieutenant, Jomis Dobigel. Both of them looked
triumphant, and they were surrounded by a squad of Royal Police.
"There he is," said Dobigel. "Arrest him!"
A police officer stepped forward. "Anson Drake, I arrest you in the name
of the Shan," he said.