tz.theicarushunt-第22部分

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。　I'd　give　a　lot　to　know　what　they　added　to　the　explosive　or　the　dirt　strata　to　pull　that　off…again；　it　was　probably　Cameron's　techs　who　handled　that　one。〃
　〃So　why　didn't　they　just　leave　then？〃
　I　shook　my　head。　〃I　don't　know。　Either　they　didn't　have　a　crew　put　together　yet；　or　else　they　wanted　an　official　spaceport　stamp　to　add　legitimacy　to　things。〃
　〃Or　perhaps　were　planning　to　bring　the　entire　archaeological　group　out　together；〃　Ixil　suggested。　〃There's　certainly　plenty　of　extra　carrying　capacity　aboard。〃
　〃Good　point；〃　I　agreed；　glancing　over　at　the　three…bunk　tier。　〃And　they　couldn't　all　get　on　board　and　leave　right　then　because　they　knew　the　authorities　would　e　to　investigate　the　explosion。　Finding　the　site　deserted　would　raise　red　flags　from　here　to　Thursday；　which　was　exactly　what　they　didn't　want。
　〃Anyway；　so　the　Icarus　lifted　up　under　cover　of　the　cloud；　maybe　circled　the　planet　once；　and　joined　the　line　of　ining　ships　waiting　clearance　to　land。　They　put　down；　showed　their　forged　Gamm　Port　Authority　sealed…cargo　license；　and　were　in。　The　crew　left　the　ship；　planning　to　take　off　again　in　the　morning　with　the　whole　crowd　aboard　and　a　genuine　lift　document　that　would　get　them　back　to　Earth　with　no　raised　eyebrows　from　anyone。〃
　〃Except　that　something　went　wrong；〃　Ixil　said　heavily。　〃The　question　is；　what？〃
　〃Somebody　tumbled　to　the　scheme；　obviously；〃　I　said。　〃Not　the　Patth　themselves；　I　don't　think。　Or　if　it　was；　they　didn't　realize　right　away　the　full　significance　of　what　Cameron's　people　had　dug　up…if　they　had；　they'd　have　pushed　the　Ihmisits　into　locking　down　the　port　pletely。〃
　〃The　Lumpy　Brothers　or　their　friends；　perhaps？〃
　〃Possibly；〃　I　agreed；　〃though　I'm　still　not　sure　how　they　fit　into　this。　But　whoever　it　was；　and　however　they　tumbled　to　it；　they　were　interested　enough　to　raid　the　dig；　grab　everyone　in　sight；　and　send　the　Ihmisits　hunting　for　anyone　who　may　have　slipped　through　the　net。〃
　〃Like　Cameron？〃
　〃Like　Cameron；〃　I　nodded。　〃And　so　there　he　was；　alone　on　Meima；　with　the　authorities　on　his　tail；　a　hot　ship　locked　away　behind　a　fence　where　he　couldn't　get　at　it；　and　no　one　to　fly　it　even　if　he　could。〃
　Ixil　shook　his　head。　〃Not　a　situation　I'd　want　to　find　myself　in。〃
　〃The　way　things　are　going；　you　may　get　your　chance　at　it　yet；〃　I　warned。　〃Still；　Arno　Cameron　didn't　build　a　multitrillion…mark　industrial　empire　by　lying　down　and　giving　up　when　things　got　tough。　He　started　going　through　the　periphery　tavernos；　probably　very　systematically；　looking　for　enough　spacers　at　loose　ends　to　put　together　a　new　crew。〃
　〃And　to　all　appearances　he　succeeded；〃　Ixil　said。　〃Which　leads　immediately　to　the　question　of　why　he　didn't　fly　out　with　you。〃
　〃That　one's　got　me　stumped；　too；〃　I　conceded。　〃Clearly；　they　hadn't　caught　him　yet…Director　Aymi…Mastr　and　her　frog…eyed　heavies　grabbing　me　on　the　way　into　the　port　proved　that　much。　He　may　have　decided　that　trying　to　walk　through　a　relatively　narrow　port　gate　under　the　gaze　of　a　pair　of　Ihmis　door　wardens　would　be　pushing　his　luck　too　far。〃
　〃Even　if　staying　behind　meant　they　would　eventually　run　him　down？〃
　〃He　might　have　decided　that　giving　the　Icarus　a　head　start　was　worth　that　risk。〃　I　grimaced。　〃Which　he　may　now　have　lost。　Unlike　the　Lumpy　Brothers；　our　generous　Patth　agent　with　the　stack　of　hundreds　knew　the　Icarus's　name。〃
　〃Possibly；〃　Ixil　said。　〃On　the　other　hand；　we　presume　they　had　the　rest　of　the　group　already　in　custody。　Perhaps　one　of　them　finally　talked。〃　He　paused；　his　eyes　narrowing　in　thought。　〃There　is；　of　course；　another　possible　explanation　for　Cameron's　absence；　given　the　accidents　that　have　happened　on　board。　Perhaps　one　of　the　spacers　he　hired　was　not　the　innocent　out…of…work　drifter　he　seemed。　Particularly　now　that　we　know　that　the　Patth　do　have　non…Patth　agents　on　retainer。〃
　〃That　thought　has　spent　a　lot　of　time　twirling　around　my　brain；　too；〃　I　acknowledged。　〃The　problem　is；　why　hasn't　he　done　anything　recently？　If　he's　trying　to　damage　the　crew　or　slow　down　the　ship；　why　haven't　there　been　more　such　accidents？〃
　〃Be　careful　what　you　wish　for；〃　Ixil　warned。
　〃I'm　not　wishing　for　it；〃　I　assured　him　fervently。　〃I'm　just　trying　to　understand　it。　Okay；　he　killed　Jones　and　shook　up　Chort　a　little；　but　that　was　about　it。　He　certainly　wasn't　busy　throwing　wrenches　in　the　gears　while　we　were　on　Xathru　and　Dorscind's　World。〃
　〃He　didn't　call　in　the　authorities　at　either　place；　either；〃　Ixil　agreed。　〃As　I　see　it；　there　are　two　other　possibilities　we　haven't　yet　addressed。　First；　that　the　attack　on　Jones　was　personal　to　Jones。　Once　he　was　dead；　the　perpetrator　stopped　perpetrating　because　his　job　was　finished。〃
　〃But　why　pick　on　Jones？〃　I　countered。　〃No　one　aboard　knew　anyone　else　prior　to　boarding。〃
　〃So　we　assume；〃　Ixil　said。　〃That　may　turn　out　not　to　be　the　case。　Second；　and　possibly　more　intriguing；　the　attack　on　Jones　may　have　been　staged　by　Jones　himself。〃
　I　frowned。　〃To　what　end？〃
　〃To　the　end　of　allowing　him　to　jump　ship　without　any　attached　suspicion；〃　Ixil　said。　〃Think　about　it。　If　the　carbon　monoxide　hadn't　killed　him；　you　would　certainly　have　put　him　off　the　ship　on　Xathru　for　a　plete　medical　check。　That　would　have　left　him　with　names　and　plete　descriptions　of　you　and　the　rest　of　the　crew；　details　of　the　Icarus　itself；　and　very　possibly　the　itinerary　Cameron　had　planned　for　the　trip　to　Earth。　And　he　would　have　had　plete　freedom　of　movement。〃
　〃The　itinerary　wouldn't　have　done　him　any　good；〃　I　said　mechanically。　This　angle　had　never　even　occurred　to　me。　〃We're　already　way　off　Cameron's　plan；　and　will　be　staying　that　way　as　long　as　the　docking…fee　bribe　money　holds　out。　You're　suggesting　he　just　miscalculated；　then？〃
　〃I　don't　know。〃　Ixil　paused。　〃There　is；　of　course；　one　other　possibility　we　haven't　touched　on。　Did　you　think　to　search　Jones's　body　before　it　was　taken　off　the　ship？〃
　A　tight　knot　formed　in　the　center　of　my　stomach。　〃No；　I　didn't；〃　I　said。　〃It　never　even　occurred　to　me。〃
　〃It's　possible　whoever　killed　him　did　so　in　order　to　use　his　body　as　a　receptacle　for　passing　information；〃　Ixil　suggested。　〃Hard　data；　perhaps；　such　as　photos　or　schematics　that　couldn't　easily　be　sent　via　phone。〃
　〃But　why　bother？〃　I　asked。　〃They　all　had　plete　freedom　of　movement　on　Xathru。　Why　not　just　deliver　it　in　person？〃
　〃Perhaps　the　murderer　didn't　want　to　risk　being　seen　in　the　pany　of　the　wrong　people。〃
　I　mulled　that　one　over。　〃Which　would　imply　we　were　dealing　with　a　genuine　professional　here。〃
　Ixil　nodded。　〃Yes。　It　would。〃
　I　hissed　thoughtfully　between　my　teeth。　There　were　indeed　people　out　there；　I　knew；　who　would　go　to　such　lengths　to　plete　a　mission。　But　to　have　one　of　them　just　happen　to　be　aboard　the　Icarus　was　pushing　the　bounds　of　credibility　way　beyond　even　their　normal　elasticity　range。　〃Again；　though；　if　someone　wanted　the　Icarus　badly　enough　to　slip　that　kind　of　professional　aboard；　why　haven't　we　been　stopped　already？〃
　〃That　is　indeed　a　key　question；〃　Ixil　conceded。　〃I'm　afraid；　Jordan；　that　there　are　still　too　many　missing　pieces　to　this　puzzle。〃
　〃The　biggest　of　which　is　sitting　back　there　in　our　cargo　hold；〃　I　agreed　grimly。　〃I'm　starting　to　think　it's　about　time　we　had　ourselves　a　close　look　at　it。〃
　Ixil　rubbed　his　cheek。　〃I　don't　know；〃　he　said　doubtfully。　〃I've　looked　over　the　schematics　Tera　pulled　from　the　puter。　There　aren't　any　access　panels　shown　at　all。〃
　〃You've　got　a　cutting　torch　in　the　mechanics　shop；　don't　you？〃　I　pointed　out。　〃An　access　hole　is　basically　wherever　we　want　to　make　one。〃
　〃I　wasn't　thinking　so　much　about　getting　in　as　I　was　of　covering　up　afterward　the　fact　that　we'd　done　so；〃　Ixil　said　mildly。　〃If　Jones　didn't　engineer　his　own　accident…and　to　be　honest；　I　really　don't　think　he　did…then　whoever　did　is　still　aboard。　We　may　not　want　to　set　up　a　situation　where　he　would　be　able　to　get　a　look　of　his　own　into　the　hold。〃
　Unfortunately；　he　was　right。　〃All　right；〃　I　said　reluctantly。　〃We'll　play　along　a　while　longer。　But　you　might　want　to　get　your　cutting　equipment　ready　just　the　same。　At　some　point　I　don't　think　we're　going　to　be　able　to　afford　to　continue　flying　blind。〃
　〃Perhaps；〃　Ixil　said。　〃How　much　of　this　are　you　planning　to　tell　the　others？〃
　〃As　little　as　possible；〃　I　said。　〃I've　already　told　Tera　I　ran　afoul　of　someone　back　there　who　had　decided　to　make　it　his　business　to　hijack　the　Icarus。〃
　〃Which　is　more　or　less　true。〃
　〃Eminently　true；〃　I　agreed。　〃I　also　mentioned　the　murder　charge　against　Cameron　to　her；　just　to　see　what　kind　of　reaction　I'd　get。〃
　〃And　that　was？〃
　〃Protests　of　surprise；　but　no　visible　evidence　of　it；〃　I　told　him。　〃Though　I'm　not　sure　where　exactly　that　leaves　us。　I　think　that　the　rest　of　the　details；　including　the　fact　that　the　Patth　are　involved；　should　be　left　out　of　the　story　for　the　moment。　We've　got　enough　trouble　as　it　is　explaining　why　we're　running　under　fake　IDs　and　why　no　one　should　mention　the　name　'Icarus'　in　groundside　conversations。　There's　no　need　to　scare　them；　too。〃
　〃I　agree；〃　Ixil　said；　looking　around　and　snapping　his　fingers　twice。　Pix　and　Pax　scampered　out　from　under　my　bunk　and　whatever　they'd　found　to　explore　there　and　climbed　up　his　legs　and　torso　back　to　his　shoulders。　〃I'll　go　up　and。。。〃
　He　trailed　off；　an　odd　look　on　his　face。　〃What　is　it？〃　I　asked。
　〃I　don't　know；〃　he　said　slowly；　the　look　still　there。　〃Something's　not　quite　right。　I　can't　put　my　finger　on　it。〃
　I　was　on　my　knees　now；　plasmic　in　hand；　my　full　attention　on　the　deck　where　the　ferrets　had　emerged　from　beneath　the　bunk。　Carefully；　one　hand　on　the　edge　of　the　bunk　to　steady　myself；　I　leaned　over　and　looked　underneath。
　Nothing。　No　one　scrunched　up　in　hiding；　no　mysterious　packages　ready　to　go　boom　in　the　quiet　watches　of　the　night；　no　indication　of　hidden　bugs　or　bottles　of　poisonous　spiders；　no　evidence　of　tampering　at　all。　Just　a　plain　metal　deck　with　a　plain　metal　hull　beyond　it。
　I　got　back　to　my　feet。　〃Nothing　there；〃　I　reported；　brushing　off　my　knees　with　my　free　hand。
　〃Of　course　not；〃　Ixil　said；　his　face　wrinkling　in　a　different　way。　〃We　would　certainly　have　seen　and　recognized　anything　obvious。〃
　I　knew　that；　of　course。　On　the　other　hand；　it　wasn't　his　bunk　in　his　cabin。　〃So　how