“Maybe we can find some sort of a valise or something to transport them,” Lucas said. “Something soft. We can line it with some cloth or toweling, make sure they don’t get tossed around too much.”
Delaney took out another parcel in which he had wrapped up the weapons they’d been carrying along with their floater paks and some of the supplies they’d found at their base camp.
“Check the closets,” he said. “Maybe there’s some bags in there. I just want to get the prisoners off our hands as soon as possible. I’m worried about Andre and Gulliver.”
“I’m worried about them, too, Finn,” said Lucas, “but we’ve got to wait for Darkness. He’s the only one who’d know where they were taken.”
“That’s quite an interesting collection you’ve got there,” said Darkness, suddenly materializing behind them. He projected himself forward through space-time in a rapid series of translocations, leaving behind a trail of ghostly afterimages. He stood over the table and gazed down at the tiny prisoners. “If you’re anxious to be rid of them, I’ll take them off your hands.”
“You?” said Lucas. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
“Why? What would you do with them?”
“Oh, I was thinking I could dress them up in little suits of black or white and use them to play chess,” said Darkness, with a perfectly straight face.
“Oh, for cryin’ out loud!” said Delaney. “We haven’t got time for jokes!”
“Wh
o’s joking? They’d make a dandy chess set. Only I’d need thirty-two and you’ve got only twenty-six. Think you could manage to rustle up another half a dozen?”
“Forget about it,” said Delaney. “What’s happened to Andre and Gulliver?”
“They were abducted. “
Delaney rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right. We already know that. Where were they taken?”
“New York City,” Darkness said. “The 20th century. September 13, 1992, to be exact.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am always sure, Delaney,” Darkness said, wryly. “I do not make idle pronouncements. I observed the settings on their warp discs, and to be doubly sure, I followed them. They were clocked to an old warehouse building on Washington Street. They’re in a loft, on the top floor. The man who took them prisoner is some sort of renegade T.I.A. agent, a member of the Network. I didn’t hear him say his name, but he’s a tall, slim, dark-haired, rather bored-looking individual dressed like a giant boysenberry’. He was holding them there alone, apparently waiting for someone.”
“He was waiting for General Drakov,” a small voice said from behind them.
They turned to face the table where the Lilliputian prisoners were all laid out.
“What did you say?” Delaney said.
The Lilliputian commander struggled to sit up. “I said, he was waiting for General Drakov. That warehouse on Washington Street was one of our base camps. And the man your friend described sounds like Victor Savino. I’ve met him. He controls a criminal organization known as the Family through a man named Domenico Manelli.”
“Savino?” said Delaney. “Vic Savino? Tied up with the 20th century Mafia?” He glanced at Lucas with astonishment. “Savino’s the T.I.A. section chief in that temporal zone. Steiger’s mentioned him dozens of times. They started out together. The man is something of a legend in the agency.”
“And he’s with the Network,” Lucas said. “That means Drakov is not only still alive, but he’s hooked up with the Network somehow. The most dangerous enemy we’ve ever faced, and our own people are involved with him. Christ, I don’t believe it!”
“It doesn’t make sense.” Delaney said, shaking his head. “Why would the Network be involved with Drakov?”
“Because he has something they want,” the Lilliputian commander said. “Us. Hominoids, tailor made to your specifications. All it took was just one demonstration and they let Drakov name his price.”
“Why are you telling us all this?” Delaney said. “Because I’d like to see the bastard burn,” the Lilliputian said, to a chorus of grumbling assent from his men.”
“Why?” Delaney said. “And why should we believe you?”
“The son of a bitch marooned us on that island,” the Lilliputian leader said. bitterly. “I’ve seen him squash men underfoot as ‘an object lesson in discipline.’ We were never people to him. We were cannon fodder. A toy mercenary force that used live ammo. It was kill or be killed. When the hit on Gulliver went bad and he escaped, Drakov decided to evacuate the island. We’re all that’s left of the original regiment, the ‘first generation,’ as he called us. And he hung us out to dry. The second generation helped him do it. They just left us there for you to find. “
“You mean he knew we were coming?” said Delaney.
“He said it was only a matter of time,” the Lilliputian leader said. He grimaced. “No pun intended. When he found out Gulliver had escaped with the help of an Observer, he realized that Gulliver would be interrogated and you’d eventually find the confluence and discover the islands. He said that it would be a pity if there was nothing left for you to find.”