I don't see why we have to do all this," Jack said, shaking his head. "It's an utter waste of time and energy, and you know how I deplore physical activity." He looked back at the restaurant. "Particularly when we could be doing other, so much more pleasurable things, such as sampling Joaquin's magnificent desserts."
What I knew was how much Jack liked to present the image of someone who hated physical activity. I'd once happened upon him during his exercises, and it was immediately obvious that he kept himself in very good physical condition. I'd subsequently learned from careful observation that he worked out daily with an almost religious fanaticism. Maybe he liked to pretend otherwise as part of his goal of constantly maintaining hidden advantages over all those around him, or perhaps he had other, private reasons for preserving the illusion; he never discussed it. I had no way to be certain of his motivation, but the front he presented was fake.
Not that how he felt mattered to me, of course; if I was going to run this operation, we were going to do it right. I turned my back on him, took a few steps away, looked left and right as if scanning the area, and subvocalized to Lobo, "Monitor all of this."
"Of course," he said.
I faced Jack. "You asked for my help," I said. "You're not paying me anything. So, you either completely and without question obey my orders from now until this is over, or . . ." I glanced at Manu and decided to stop there. "Preparation is a vital part of protection."
"Nothing is going to go wrong," Jack said.
"Then you don't need me." I turned away again.
"Okay, Jon," he said. "You win. We'll do what you say."
I nodded and faced him. "Has Dougat or anyone on his team spotted you or Manu?"
"There's no need to be insulting," he said. "Of course not."
"To be safe, spend the next three hours in a counter-surveillance run anyway. Head to the center of Eddy, then wind your way to the northern edge. When the time is up, if you're being followed, come back here. Otherwise, meet me in the construction site a kilometer and a half due west." I risked exposing my rendezvous site with Lobo on the assumption that I could reach it as quickly as anyone who might be watching us.
"I explained that they haven't seen us," he said, pain clear in his tone. "Must we go through this silliness?"
"For the last time, yes. I stated the deal, and you agreed to it, so stop complaining. Maybe it is silly, but we need to know if Dougat has found a way to track you, if he's now seen me, and so on."
Jack shook his head, took Manu's hand, and turned to go.
"Be sure to walk at least the last kilometer," I added.
Jack stopped.
I waited.
"As you say, Jon," he finally said.
Good. I jogged toward the forest that grew all the way to the edge of the lot Choy had cleared around Falls. "I'll see you in three hours."
As I entered the trees, I glanced back. Jack and Manu were gone. I turned west.
"Pick me up at the site," I said to Lobo. "Keep a constant watch on those two, and see if you can spot any signs of surveillance on them or us."
For most of the next three hours, Lobo and I combined a lazy and pseudo-random flight path with an analysis of Jack's movements and the actions of all the people he encountered. Lobo ran simultaneous route projections and motion analysis filters on each human who might be watching Jack and on all the ships in the air space within a hundred-kilometer-diameter cylinder with Eddy as its center. One of the great benefits of having a nearly state-of-the-art PCAV is the vast processing capacity he possesses, power originally designed to allow him to take battlefield command of large squadrons or survive and fight on his own for months at a stretch.
Unfortunately, that same vast computing capability let him keep talking the entire time he was conducting the analysis, monitoring Jack and Manu, and flying our course.
"So now you're a babysitter?" he said. "What does that make me? This world's most heavily armed pram?"
"You don't know that," I said, annoyed enough that I felt obliged to needle him. "The Expansion Federation isn't famous for having a light touch, so it might easily have other, more powerful craft in the area, and many of them could be assigned to child care as well."
"Don't know?" Lobo said, the indignation fairly ringing in his voice. "What do you think I do while you're socializing with old friends and enjoying sublime comestibles the likes of which I'm not even equipped to taste?"
"I thought you were watching over me."
"I was, of course, but how much of my capacity do you think that takes? Precious little in this deserted area, I can tell you that. I spend my time amassing data and improving myself, as any thinking creature should." He paused, but I was not going to be lucky enough to get away with a rant that short. "You might consider a little more self-improvement, Jon. You could—"
"Enough," I said, wondering yet again why I ever let myself get involved in these conversations. "We're doing this. Period. The boy needs help."
"A lot of people need help, Jon, help you could give."
From whiner to philosopher in less than a second: another benefit of too much computing power. He had a point, though, and I paused to consider it fairly.
"Yeah," I said, "they do, and I suppose if I were a good enough person I would spend all my time helping others, but I'm not." Dark memories clawed at the fringes of my mind, and I did my best to push them away, a task I manage better during the day than in the sad, scary, honest hours in the middle of the night. I'd done enough bad things over the years that I was sure anyone who really knew me wouldn't consider me good at all, but that wasn't news. "No, I'm not that good." I shook my head to clear it. "For whatever little it's worth, I am decent enough to make sure Manu comes through this interview safely. That has to be worth something, right?" I thought of Jennie and wished, as I have so many times before, that I could have saved her. "Just a rhetorical question."
I took a deep breath, held it, and let it out slowly.
"How far are they from the rendezvous?" I said.
"Assuming they continue their current pace, ten minutes."
"Any sign of surveillance?"
"None," Lobo said. "I would have alerted you had there been any, per your orders."
"Of course. Sorry." I surveyed the many images flickering on the displays Lobo had opened all over his walls: the video surveillance of Jack and Manu, both distant and close perspectives, the motion maps of the people in the area, the flight patterns of all the nearby aircraft and space vehicles, and all the usual PCAV status displays. "We're going to do two unusual things during this training exercise with Jack and Manu."
"I'm excited already," Lobo said.
I ignored him and continued. "I don't want you to let them see any of your weapons at any time, and I want you to do your best imitation of a faux PCAV, the kind of craft you heard Jack say he used to sell."
"So I'm to act dumb?"
I nodded. "Dumb and slow." I found myself enjoying this more than I should; pettiness is unbecoming, but sometimes it's also irresistible. "Show only standard vehicle displays, keep your dialog to a minimum, follow only basic voice commands, and don't go above half speed at any time."
"Are you doing this because you're angry at me?" Lobo said. "This strategy makes no sense, because it's not how you'll want me to behave if you need my help during the meeting."
"No," I said, "it's not, and I'm not doing this from anger. The less Jack knows about everything in my life, especially you, the better. He has a nasty talent for turning information into leverage, and as soon as this is over, I want to walk away cleanly and leave him with as little data as possible."
"Maintaining secrets during conflicts makes sense, of course," Lobo said, "but usually one withholds information from the enemy. I thought we were helping Jack, not opposing him."
"We don't call him 'Slanted' Jack for nothing," I said, "You can't trust anything he says to be the truth. So, we'll take extra care even though we're all theoretically on the same team. Clear?"
"Of course."
"One more thing," I said. "I want to make this as easy as possible for the boy, maybe even fun, both so we don't scare him and so he'll learn more quickly."
"Fun?" Lobo said. "Combat-scenario retrieve-and-retreat training?"
"Yeah," I said, "though I must admit I don't have any good ideas."
"Perhaps I'll come up with something," Lobo said, his tone such an odd mixture of serious contemplation and complete sarcasm that I couldn't help myself: for the first time since Jack walked into Falls, I smiled, laughed, and, for a moment, relaxed.
Bare earth marked a square site nearly a kilometer on a side. Autograders perched along its far edges, arguing with each other about who could move the most earth per hour, whose average payload was largest, and who left the smoothest stretch of ground. I tuned them out as soon as I made sure that in the few hours since Lobo and I had taken off none of them had been repurposed for surveillance roles. A light shower had moistened the ground enough that Jack, Manu, and I stirred up almost no dust as we walked to the center of the dirt square. Leaves on the tall trees surrounding most of the site danced happily in the gentle afternoon breeze that carried the life-affirming smell of an undisturbed forest soaking up rainwater. I loved developing planets, the sense of unspoiled nature available only before humans turned all the most beautiful places into either settlements or carefully groomed tourist attractions.
Like all people, however, I disturbed nature when it suited my needs, as it did now.
I sat on my heels so I was roughly at eye level with Manu. "Jack is almost certainly right," I said. "Your interview with Mr. Dougat will probably be a long and boring conversation. I hope it is. Sometimes, though, things change. Maybe a big storm will come along."
"Or maybe he'll try to kidnap me," Manu said, crossing his arms. "I'm not stupid."
I smiled despite myself. "Or maybe he'll try to kidnap you. You're right: that is possible, and I shouldn't treat you as if you're not smart. If he does try anything, I'll stop him."
"Just you? Jack said Mister Dougat has a lot of people."
"Not just me. Jack will also help, and so will Lobo."
"Who's Lobo?"
"Lobo is my ship."
"Will I get to see it?"
"Oh, yes. In fact, what we're going to do now is prepare ourselves in case something goes wrong at the meeting and we have to leave in a hurry."
"How do we do that?"
I preferred working alone, but I had spent enough time on tactical teams with others that I was comfortable giving and receiving orders from adults. Manu's questions, though, were getting to me. I glanced at Jack, who shrugged slightly, as if to say, "See what I have to put up with?" I forced myself to stay calm and nice. I needed Manu to be comfortable with me.
"We practice," I said. "If anything goes wrong, Lobo will fly to us. He—"
"I thought you said Lobo was a ship."
"Lobo is. People tend to call ships 'him' or 'her,' and with a name like Lobo, I call this ship 'him.' " Manu nodded, so I continued. "I'll summon Lobo when we need him. When he comes, he'll be flying very fast. He'll open a hatch in his side and hover close to the ground only long enough for the three of us to get in. He won't ever completely stop moving, so our job is to stay together until he's close, then run into him and hold on while he takes off."
"It doesn't sound hard," he said.
"No, it doesn't," Jack said, "but Jon's in charge, so we're going to do it."
I glanced at Jack, shook my head, and faced Manu again. "We're not doing all of this practice to make me happy," I said. "We're doing it because the sight of a ship as big as Lobo screaming out of the sky at you can be scary, and hopping inside a moving, hovering craft can be harder than it sounds. Jump the wrong way, for example, and you can hit your knees on his hull and fall backwards."
"I'll do it right," Manu said.
"I'm sure you will, and so will Jack, and so will I, but it'll be easier for all of us once we practice." I stood. "Ready?"
Manu nodded, his face resolute, his fists clenched at his sides.
"Now, Lobo," I said aloud, wanting Manu to have a warning the first few times.
I'd told Lobo to come in slower than normal initially, so I expected this to be a very simple first practice.
I'd also never bothered to tell him that I hadn't seriously meant for him to take on the task of making this training fun.
That might have been a mistake.
I heard Lobo before I saw him. Music, carnival music, the same jaunty melody that's brought smiles to children and adults alike on multiple worlds, filled the air as Lobo flew in gently from the west. Louder and louder as he drew closer, the tune tugged an involuntary smile onto all of our faces. Lobo flew in a silly, zigzag path until he coasted to a hover half a meter over the dirt and five meters in front of us, an open side hatch beckoning. Dust from the force of the hover flew around Lobo, but thanks to the recent rain the amount was small and served only to add to the image of a magical ride. He didn't stop with the music, either: he moved back and forth along his long axis, almost wiggling, as if a twenty-five-meter-long, eight-meter-wide, dull silver metallic dog was dancing in anticipation of some attention from his master.
Manu clapped his hands and laughed. "That's Lobo?" he said. "He's the best!"
Jack put his hand on my shoulder and leaned close enough that he could speak to me without Manu hearing. "Jon, though I have to give you credit for the sheer weirdness of this idea, shouldn't we be boarding?"
My first thought was that I was going to kill Lobo, but of course killing him would not only be extraordinarily difficult, it would also be destroying my most precious asset and the only entity who had consistently been my friend for almost a year. My second thought was a more accurate one: I had only myself to blame.
I looked at Jack and nodded, then touched Manu's shoulder. The boy was still smiling, his eyes wide with joy. "Let's run over and jump in, okay, Manu?"
"You bet!" he said. "It's like getting on a fun ride!"
He took off before us, but longer legs let Jack and me catch him easily. We all jumped on board at the same time, Manu clearing the edge of Lobo's floor easily.
Lobo had, as I'd requested, manifested only the most basic wall displays. I was glad I'd made the request, because Jack was intently studying the interior.
"Having them outfit the knock-off with external audio was a nice touch, Jon," he said.
"It came that way. I bought it used."
Jack nodded. "The exterior is extremely convincing, and the interior's not bad."
"Thanks." I hopped out and motioned to Jack and Manu to do the same. "Let's try it another time, but without the music and with a much faster approach. Okay?"
"Sure!" Manu said. "Let's do it again!"
They both followed me back to our original position. Lobo closed the hatch and took off slowly to the east, then looped north at the edge of the clearing and quickly vanished from sight with a final wiggle and a slowly vanishing whisper of music.
What a ham.
I gave him two minutes, then looked at Manu. "Ready?"
"Oh, yeah!" he said.
"This is going to be very different, maybe even scary."
He looked at me and shook his head. "Lobo can't be scary," he said. "Lobo's fun!"
I was tempted for a moment to explain to the boy how very wrong he was on both counts, but then I realized how successful Lobo's ploy had been. I would never hear the end of this.
"Okay, Lobo," I said. "Now."
Lobo rocketed out of the west like a missile hurtling toward its target, the force of the displaced air pushing us backward as he settled into a hover barely two meters in front of us, his stop more abrupt than I would have thought possible. Alarm played across Jack's face. The speed of the motion triggered my battlefield readiness reflexes, and adrenaline stimmed me to the twitching point.
Manu smiled and clapped again. "I told you Lobo was fun!" he said as he ran and jumped inside. "Aren't you guys coming?"
Lobo was definitely not going to let me forget this.
After three more practice runs, even I had to admit we'd done all we could—all we could, that is, without using missiles or explosives to better simulate a firefight. I didn't want to do that, though, for two reasons: from what Jack had said, we were dealing with a few fanatics, not a militia, and I certainly didn't want Jack to know anything about Lobo's weapons systems.
"We're done," I said, as we sat on the edge of the hovering Lobo, our legs stretched over the side, mine and Jack's touching the earth, Manu's dangling above it.
"Can't we do it one more time?" Manu said.
"No," I said. "You two need to get back into town, and I have other work to do."
"Please."
"Sorry," I said, "but that's it." I faced Jack. "I want you and Manu to get lost and stay lost until the meeting. Fifteen minutes before the start time, scout the site but do not enter it. If you don't see me there by then, I decided it's not safe, so you head right back here."
"What will you be doing between now and then?" Jack said.
"My job," I said. "I'm alone, and I have two days, so I have a lot to do." Jack clearly thought I was exaggerating, but I wasn't. Securing a meeting site typically requires a team and the better part of a week. He didn't know about my stint as a bodyguard, nor about my experience on several protection details with what is, in my opinion, the finest mercenary company anywhere, the Shosen Advanced Weapons Corp., the Saw. As always, I saw no reason to enlighten him.
"Don't worry about me," I continued. "Just do your job, which is staying out of sight. As best we can tell, no one is tracking you right now, so make sure it stays that way until the meeting." I stood, picked up a small, thin disc from Lobo's front console, and gave it to Jack. "Stick this on your body where you can easily reach it. If something goes wrong, squeeze it and state your situation; I'll get the alert. If you call me for anything other than an emergency, however, I'll leave. Got it?"
"Yes." He took Manu's hand and jumped out. "See you in two days."
"Bye, Lobo," Manu said, waving. "You're the best!"
When they reached the edge of the clearing, I said, "Let's go."
Lobo closed the side hatch and took off.
"I can do fun," he said.