"Who's decoying us away?"
"Mongoose," Lucas said. "He's either been a double agent all along or he's gone over to the Timekeepers."
"You're right," said Cobra, "I don't like it. You can't seriously expect me to believe that?"
"I didn't think you would," said Lucas. "That's why Finn stayed behind in Paris, to keep an eye on him. Mongoose was followed to a secret meeting with Bruno Freytag and-"
"Followed by whom?"
Lucas sighed. "Andre followed him."
The agent snorted. "That's your proof? You've just made one whale of an accusation, Mister. You're going to have to come up with better evidence than that."
"I can't," said Lucas. "At least, not now. I told you, I didn't expect you to believe me. But suppose, just for one moment, that Mongoose went over. Where would that leave you? What would be my motive for lying to you?"
"Well, let's suppose that you went over," Cobra said. "We know that Delaney, at least, has some sympathy for the league. And you were out of the service for a period of time. Who knows what you were doing? Not to mention the fact that you're here with someone who burned one of our agents."
"She did that in self-defense and you know it," Lucas said, angrily. "Besides, you know our records. They speak for themselves."
"So does Mongoose's."
"All right, then, pull us off the mission," Lucas said. "But ask yourself why, if I'm not on the level, I haven't taken advantage of all the opportunities I've had to sabotage this mission. Finn and I could easily have taken Mongoose out. We could easily have killed any one of the musketeers or even all of them. Besides, you picked us for this mission. Can you afford to take the chance that I'm not telling you the truth? Can you afford not to check it out?"
"You're putting me in a very bad position, Priest." The agent thought a moment. Lucas found that his palms were sweating. Finally, Cobra nodded. "You're right," he said. "I can't afford to take the chance. All right. I'll take some men and return to Paris. It means pulling some people off this operation and I don't like that. You'd damn well better be right."
"Fine," said Lucas. "Let's go."
"You're not going anywhere," said Cobra. "You two are going to finish out this ride. You'll be covered every inch of the way. You make one wrong move and you've both had it, understand? And I'll take those lasers."
He held his hand out, palm up.
"No way," said Lucas.
"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you," the agent said. "You want me to stick my neck way out for you. You're asking me to consider your position; well, I'm asking you to consider mine. You'll still have your daggers and your rapiers, but after this, I'd have to be insane to let you keep your lasers. Now let's have them."
Lucas licked his lips nervously and glanced at Andre.
"He is only asking for a gesture of good faith," she said.
"He's asking a lot more than that," said Lucas, "but I'm afraid I see his point."
He reversed his laser and handed it over. Andre did the same.
"Okay," said Cobra. "I'll take some men and leave right away. Where can I find Delaney?"
"I don't know," said Lucas. "He's probably trailing Mongoose, wherever he is."
"He still wearing his comset?"
"I doubt it," Lucas said. "With Mongoose in charge, he would be wide open if he was transmitting. Which reminds me, just how far do these things go?" he said, pointing at his throat.
"Not to Paris, if that's what you're thinking. They're short-range. Assuming what you're saying is true, and Mongoose is a renegade, Delaney will have every reason to expect hostility from us. Can you think of anything that I can do to convince him that I'm giving you a chance to prove your allegations?"
Lucas thought a moment. "Yeah. Tell him that I wish he had called 'Tails.' He'll know what it means."
Finn followed Mongoose to the same alley in the Rue Ferou where Andre had seen him confer with Freytag. Mongoose was being sloppy. He didn't expect anyone to be on his trail, so he didn't even bother to check to see if he was being followed. Just the same, Finn gave him plenty of room. It was late and the darkness made it easier. As the agent stepped into the alley, Finn quickly ran across the street. He would be in good position to fire at them in the alley, but then he'd have no idea where Taylor was. He debated the question of whether or not to go for the sure thing and kill the two of them now, hoping to catch Taylor on his own, or follow them to Taylor and try taking them out all at once.
It was tempting. All he had to do was step into the mouth of the alley and sweep it quickly with the laser and it would be all over for Mongoose and Freytag. But then it would mean cutting it very close with Taylor. Finn's cover did not gain him admission to the palace, whereas Taylor's did. He'd either have to sneak into the palace somehow and catch "Milady" inside, which would be next to impossible considering the odds, or get Taylor before he went into the palace, and there was no way of knowing for certain which entrance he would use. Finn could not cover all of them at once.