Cracks in the Spires

45: The trap is set.

Stravel turned the note over in his fingers while staring at the large portrait of his former employer that hung in the President's lavish office.Several pellet holes in place of eyes and mouth and one in the middle of the forehead greatly improved the painting. He returned his attention to the note which instructed him to display strips of white cloth in six separate locations around UpCit if he agreed to the terms and a reply would be delivered. The offer to reveal the rat hole and the demand for a pay off that involved power and money was in character for Tris Jede. He had nothing to lose by playing along and he had no intention of keeping any promises once he had possession of the City. In Futura there were Masters, Enforcers and Workers. Enforcers and Category A workers enjoyed privileges but the rest of the workers lived in barracks and they worked. That was the only reason for their existence. The idea that the venality and corruption of the lower levels would continue unchecked once he was in control of the City was a pipe dream. Still the note had arrived six days ago and the cloths were undisturbed. Perhaps Jede had been caught trying to sell out the City. If he was Verde he would show no mercy to a traitor. He tapped his fingers on the desk and decided there was no point trying to second guess what was going on; either a note would be delivered or it would not. He just hoped that the reply unlike the first note, would not be delivered in the pocket of a dead guard but keeping all the lights blazing at night plus deploying most of the men on random patrols fifteen strong seemed to have put a halt to the assassinations. It meant most of the guards slept during the day but while they waited for the City to feel the pinch there wasn't that much for them to do. He returned the note to his pocket and decided to visit the hangars and see how the salvage operations and repairs on the skimmers were going. He could have radioed but he didn't have that much to do either.

Asken Verde and Varlon planned to trick Stravel by making it look as though the assassins had gained access from outside the spires and used the air conditioning system to move about. Stravel would be lured down the tunnel and ambushed while a large force went up the real rat hole to recapture UpCit. It was highly risky but it was the best they could come up with and it had a reasonable chance of success provided Stravel was convinced he'd found the rat hole. Since Ben had locked the underground passage from the Esta villa the only way in and out of the Spires from UpCit that wasn't guarded was through the air conditioning ducts and it quickly became clear they needed an acrobat to climb across the roof of UpCit and access the system by one of the maintenance hatches in the ducts in order to set up the false rat hole. Jan was the obvious choice and he readily agreed to do it but when he studied the plans he discovered a snag in their calculations.There was a gap that he couldn't stretch across between the structural beam used for maintenance and the air conditioning duct he would need to access. The solution was to enlist Connor who he trusted as his catcher and who had the skills to swing him across the gap. Connor when it was put to him agreed to do it. As he said the sooner they got rid of the Futurans the sooner he could stop living in one and a half rooms with six other people. He argued strongly for them to set up somewhere they could practice the move because there was no room for error and one slip would be fatal.

The practice area at the back of the arena was packed. News of the return of Marcellina had spread through the performers and stage hands and they'd crowded in to see her new routine. Jan hadn't intended to make contact with Erco Fin until he had had time to get his skills back to something approaching their former level but it was the only place where they could set up a simulation of the move Jan would need to make. Kiri had done his hair and make up and he'd worn the dress that Kiri had given him but he had been nervous when he knocked on the arena manager's door. He needn't have worried Erco welcomed him with open arms and agreed he could use the practice facilities to get fit and work on a new routine. He was anxious to have his star attraction back. The problem was Erco had spread the news and what was supposed to be a quiet practice had turned into a bit of a performance. Kiri and Ben were among the watching crowd since the plan had changed once Connor was included. When Varlon had come up with the idea of unlocking the underground passage from the villa that meant taking Ben with them to unlock it. Jan hadn't been keen but when Ben assured everyone he could do it and that with Connor there and a rope to hold him he would be perfectly safe he'd given in. Per had not been convinced and had wanted to be part of the team but Jan had shaken his head and said "You're too big. You can't fit in the ducts. I know you were a cage fighter and you're agile enough to climb but there's no point you coming. Con isn't coming through them with us for the same reason. Once he's helped us into the air conditioning pipes he'll go back over the roof. You'll only add to the risk."Per had no option but to agree, the measurements were clear. He was too tall and too broad shouldered to fit in the pipes. Ben had urged him to concentrate on continuing the search for Roni and not to come and watch the final preparation. He'd see Per when they got back the next day. He kissed Per who sighed and confessed to not being much of a stoic when it came to the person he loved going off to do something dangerous.