"The old blind king," Delaney said.
"Our hooded friend?" said Steiger. "Or someone else on their mission team," Delaney said. "It had to be."
"I'm keeping my eye on Idmon," Steiger said. "I don't know about these 'visions' and 'intuitions' of his."
"There is a chance they're genuine," Delaney said. "He could be a sensitive."
"And he could be planted," said Steiger. "I have a 'strong intuition' myself that the opposition is up to something tricky."
"If they guessed we were from another timeline," Andre said, "they must have started searching for the confluence, but if our original theory was correct that the centaur came through by accident, they wouldn't know exactly where and when to look for it."
"And if they haven't found it by now, it explains why we're still alive," Delaney said. "They need us to tell them where it is."
"It fits," said Steiger, nodding. "It finally fits together."
"That's right," Delaney said, wryly. "We've got them right where they want us."
"Perhaps not," said Andre. "One of us can clock back to the confluence point and warn Curtis to summon the Counter-Insurgency Strike Force. Then all we have to do is give them what they want. Lead them directly to the confluence. It'll be just like the Khyber Pass. The minute they come through, they'll be hit with everything we've got."
"And what about us?" said Steiger. "You figure once we tell them where the confluence point is, they'll be nice enough to let us go?"
"I didn't say there'd be no risk," said Andre.
"No, there'd be risk all right and not only to us," said Steiger. "We were damned lucky in Afghanistan. The confluence point shifted just in time or the battle would have lasted longer. It might have interfered with the action between the British and the Pathans, to say nothing of the casualties our people would have sustained. We've got a similar situation here. Hannibal and his Carthaginians on one side, Scipio and his Roman legion on the other. Fighting a temporal battle smack dab in between would be dangerous as hell. The object of this mission was to disrupt their timeline, not invite a situation that could disrupt our own."
"Do you have an alternative?" said Andre.
"I say we carry on with our original plan," said Steiger. "Let's take our best shot. If we blow it, there's still a good chance at least one of us can get back and warn the Rangers."
"What if they take their best shot before we take ours?" asked Andre.
Steiger smiled. "I didn't say there'd be no risk."
"Touché," said Andre, wryly.
"I'm in favor of it," said Delaney. "Now that we've reached Colchis, we're in a good position to cut and run. If we stick close to the principals in this scenario, it could make it difficult for the opposition to move against us. The minute we get a reading on the situation, we interfere, create the disruption and clock out fast. They'll be watching us every minute, but we might have a chance to pull it off."
"Maybe," Steiger said, "but there's still one option we haven't considered. It's not a very pleasant one."
"What? "Delaney asked.
"We could kill Jason."
9
They broke camp at dawn and headed inland, following a spirited debate about their plan of action. As usual, Jason had not given any thought to how they would obtain the golden fleece once they arrived in Colchis. Planning ahead did not seem to be his forte. He had simply assumed that they would come, pick it up and leave. Now that they had arrived, it occurred to him that it might not be so simple. This realization was brought home to him when the other Argonauts asked him how they should proceed. It was not until then that Jason realized he didn't even know where the Sacred Grove of Ares was.
"How are we to find it, then?" asked Orpheus.
"We could ask directions of people we encounter on the way," said Jason, pleased that a solution had been found.
"Did we not hide the Argo so the Colchins would not find it?" Argus said. "If we encounter people on our way and ask directions, word will quickly reach King Aietes that a force of armed men has arrived seeking the Sacred Grove of Ares. We would have no chance to take the golden fleece by stealth."
"By stealth?" said Jason, outraged at the suggestion.
"Would you have us act as thieves come skulking in the night?"
"In what other manner did you think to obtain the fleece?" asked Theseus. "Surely, you did not suppose King Aietes would simply give it to you?"