A Dark and Hungry God Arises Read Free

teeth without permission from his datacore. But he still needs a control — someone who can adjust his programming to meet unforeseen circumstances. In addition, he needs crew. And on top of that, he needs cover. He needs an explanation for why he's free, how he got out of lockup, where he got his ship. '
    Holt paused for effect, then said, Ward has chosen Milos to go with Angus. '
    Norna chewed her silence. Traces of saliva leaked past her lips instead of words. Her eyes flicked rapidly across all her screens, but never toward her son.
    'Am I making this clear enough for you, Mother?' Holt asked in a tone of cheerful solicitude. We know Milos has the soul of a traitor because he betrayed Com-Mine Security for us. Ward says he won't turn against us because we've got him by the short hairs. ' That was another phrase Holt Fasner especially enjoyed. 'If he reveals anything we don't want him to reveal - or does anything we don't want him to do - he's cooked. But Godsen has a different perspective. A more "public" perspective. If these activities become known, what are "the people", "the great unwashed masses'" - such words rolled almost gleefully off Holt's tongue - 'going to think of sending out a known murderer and rapist under the control of a known traitor? What are the votes on the GCES going to think of Ward's belief that Milos won't turn against us?
    'And what are the chances, really, that Milos wont turn against us? He can probably make a stellar fortune by selling everything he knows about us - not to mention about Angus, ' although Milos couldn't literally sell Angus himself, since the programming which made Angus loyal to the UMCP was unalterable.
    'Our Godsen knows his duties. It's his job to become hysterical and froth at the mouth in situations like this.
    And it's his job to come to me.
    'I haven't backed him up, however. I don't want him to forget his place -I don't want him to think he has the power to tell me what to do. And I don't want to undermine Ward. ' Not in a case like this, where the potential benefits were large - a dramatic victory against forbidden space and piracy, wonderful for the credibility of the UMCP - and the likely risks were small. After all, if Milos misbehaved Ward could always order Nick Succorso to kill him. 'He has a talent for this kind of delicate manipulation. And he's the best UMCP director I could ask for.
    He may be the only man I know who might be able to threaten me - if I didn't own him down to his soul. '
    In fact, Holt would have feared Ward if he hadn't gained a kind of absolute complicity from Ward by win-ning Ward's acquiescence in the suppression of Intertech's immunity drug.
    A small voice whispered out of Norna's husk. 'But you're still worried. '
    'How right you are, Mother, ' Holt agreed. 'I'm still worried. No matter how careful Ward is, he's still taking a risk — and you know I don't like risks. That's the reason I suppressed Intertech's antimutagen. It had at least the theoretical potential to shift the balance of power across human space. Any effective defense against the way the Amnion impose mutation could conceivably undercut Ward and the whole UMCP by making them appear less vital, less necessary. That might have weakened my position with the votes. '
    He shrugged judiciously. 'Or not. Maybe none of those things would have happened. But I didn't want to take the chance. So I made sure that only Ward and Hashi know the drug actually exists - and that only Hashi can use it. To protect Data Acquisition's covert operations, don't you see?
    'Now Ward's taking a risk of his own. Not without consulting me, of course. His reasons for doing it are pretty persuasive, ' if only because Angus Thermopyle would have a chance to eliminate the problem of Morn Hyland. She was a UMCP ensign with an unauthorized zone implant and - presumably - knowledge of the immunity drug; and if she ever left forbidden space to tell what she knew, PR and the whole of the UMCP
    would have a