Read Online Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future by Mike Resnick - Free Book Online Page B

pointed out.
    “That wasn’t the question.”
    “Then go ahead.”
    “You’ve obviously made a lot of
money off of Santiago. Why are you willing to help me?”
    “Santiago took his business
elsewhere shortly after Duncan died. I owe him nothing. Besides, I’m a
businesswoman: everything I own is for sale—including information.”
    “Have you sold it to anyone else
yet?”
    “No one has asked—but if they do,
I will.”
    “All right,” said Cain. “What,
exactly, do you have for sale?”
    “I have the name, holograph, and
current location of a man who dealt directly with Santiago. I have the names
and holographs of four of Santiago’s agents with whom I did business three
years ago. I have some of the gold bullion with its point of origin listed on
the packing crates. And I know who killed Kastartos.”
    “Kastartos?” asked Cain. “The man
who tried to get Stern to turn Santiago in for the reward?”
    She nodded. “From what I hear, it
was a pretty dismal attempt.”
    “And what do you want for all
this?”
    “I want you to kill Santiago.”
    He looked his surprise. “That’s
all?”
    “That’s all.”
    “Might I ask why?”
    “Duncan Black was a good man,” she
began. “Well, no, he wasn’t. He was petty and undependable and weak—but he was mine . Then he found out that we were dealing with
Santiago, and he thought we could make a little more money by joining the
organization. I don’t know what sort of proposal he made to them, but it didn’t
work.” She took a sip of her drink. “He was found dead on Binder Ten two weeks
later. The official cause of death was heart failure.”
    “Are you telling me Santiago had
him killed?”
    “Santiago probably didn’t even
know he existed. But somebody had him killed, and if
it hadn’t been for Santiago, he’d still be here.” She paused. “He wasn’t much,
but he was all I had.” She stared at Cain. “Santiago didn’t know Duncan, and I
don’t know Santiago. It will be a fair trade.”
    “All right,” said Cain. “Let’s see
what you have.”
    She rose, walked to a wall safe
that was concealed behind a large, lightweight computer screen, punched out a
combination on the lock, and opened it.
    “You can take these with you,” she
said, withdrawing a number of items from the safe and returning to her chair.
“I have copies.”
    “Somehow I was sure you did,” he
remarked, reaching over and taking a number of holographs from her.
    “The top four are the agents I
dealt with,” she explained. “Their names are on the backs.”
    “One of them looks like a
methane-breather,” said Cain, holding up a holograph of a delicate crystalline
being.
    “He is,” she said. “I only saw him
once. He was very uncomfortable in his life-support paraphernalia. I suspect
after his initial trip here he found a convenient drop point for his
merchandise.”
    “Who’s this?” asked Cain, holding
up the holograph of a very exotic dark-haired woman with chalk-white skin.
    “Altair of Altair,” answered the
Sargasso Rose. “She murdered Kastartos.”
    He studied the holograph. “She’s a
professional killer?”
    “One of the best. I’m surprised
you haven’t heard of her.”
    “It’s a big galaxy,” he said.
“There are a lot of people I haven’t heard of.” He looked at Altair of Altair
again. “Are you sure she’s human?”
    “Who knows? But I’m sure she’s an
assassin.”
    He came to the final holograph.
    “This is the man who met with
Santiago?”
    “Yes. His name is Socrates. I
haven’t dealt with him in more than a year, but I know where to find him. We do
a little business together from time to time.”
    “Maybe it’s not such a big galaxy
after all,” said Cain, staring at the pudgy, smiling face in the holograph.
    “What do you mean?”
    “I knew this man when his name was
Whittaker Drum.”
    “The name’s not familiar to me,”
said the Sargasso Rose.
    “No, I don’t suppose it would be.”
    “Who is