The Eye of the Llama
by Gary D. Snyder
Part 13:
Libby regarding Cindy speculatively. "Who would mess with Jimmy and why? It sounds to me like you have some idea what the answers might be."
"Possibly," Cindy replied, but her thoughts were elsewhere. "At least, I think I know the 'who' but not the 'why'."
"Okay, so spill. Who's the 'who'?" asked Libby.
Cindy gave herself a minute to organize the facts in her mind before answering. "That Minister Khormak person."
"That's crazy," said Sheen. "He's the one who brought Carl here. He even sent that robot to help us prepare Carl for the fight. What would he want with Jimmy?"
Cindy shook her head. "That's the part I don't know. But look at the facts. As soon as we got here a couple natives ignore us but go for Jimmy, and they were working for Minister Khormak. And at lunch Princess Leama mentioned that there were people trying to oppose her new policies. I'm pretty sure that she started to say 'Minister Khormak' but she caught herself in time and said something else."
"Yeah, I remember that," Libby said, nodding.
"One more thing. Carl and Sheen, what happened right before Jimmy left?"
"Well," mused Sheen, thinking back, "I was trying to get Jimmy to explain why 'flammable' and 'inflammable' mean the same thing when that robot showed up and asked to speak to Jimmy in private. And then Jimmy said he'd be back soon and they both left."
Cindy leaned forward. "That same robot that was supposed to help you train Carl?"
"Yeah, that's the one."
"The same robot," Cindy continued, her voice reflecting her growing conviction, "that Minister Khormak sent?"
"Yeah," answered Carl. "That robot was nice. Did you know that there are fifty-three –"
"That settles it," Cindy interrupted. "I don't know the connection with Carl, but I'm sure that Minister Khormak is behind Jimmy's disappearance."
"Hey, wait a minute," said Libby. "I'm just as worried as you are about Jimmy, but we can't really say he's disappeared. He's only been gone a few hours."
"Still –" Cindy tried to argue.
Libby assumed her most reasonable and persuasive tone. "Look, let's wait until morning. If he hasn't shown up by then we'll know there's something wrong for sure and can officially have people start looking."
Cindy looked worried. "Morning may be too late."
"Really?" asked Sheen. "I thought morning was always early. That's why they call it morning." Catching Cindy's glare he added, "Oh, right. Alien planet. Different rules." He shrugged. "Go figure."
Before Cindy could strangle Sheen Libby put in, "I said 'officially', Cindy. Unofficially we can snoop around ourselves and see what's going down around here. We could start by asking that robot a few questions. And I'm sure Princess Leama wouldn't mind having some of her guards look into this. She's pretty smart."
"Yes," Cindy agreed thoughtfully. "Smart enough to not let people know what she knows."
"What?" asked Libby.
Cindy shook her head. "I'll tell you later. Let's get started. And remember, this could be dangerous."
"What should we do?" asked Carl.
Now that the ball was rolling Cindy was quick to take charge. "You stay here and keep training for the fight. If anyone is watching us it may keep them off-guard."
Carl looked at the exercise equipment as though it were a horde of venomous creatures. "Can't Sheen and I do some of that dangerous stuff with you instead?" he pleaded.
"No," Cindy called back over her shoulder as she and Libby departed. "Just act as though nothing has happened. We'll be back soon or call to let you know what's going on."
"Well, kid," Sheen said gruffly after the girls had gone, "it's back to the grind. Now, I want you to –" He broke off suddenly. "Where's that meat I had brought in?"
"Oh, that." Carl smiled, rubbing his stomach. "It was delicious."
"Carl, you were suppose to punch the meat, not eat it! It was the raw eggs you were supposed to eat!"
Carl dug a foot into the mat covering the floor. "Yeah, well, I would have, but…"
"But what?" Sheen demanded when Carl's voice trailed away into silence.
Carl gingerly picked up a small green sphere, dripping with viscous ooze, from a shallow bowl on a sidetable. "The servants wouldn't tell me what laid them," he concluded in a subdued whisper.
Outside in the hall Cindy and Libby trudged towards the main hall, looking for one of the household servants. As they walked Libby asked, "Okay, Cindy. What did you mean about the princess being smart enough to…to…uh…"
"…not let people know what she knows," Cindy finished.
"Right. What was that all about?"
"Maybe nothing. But think about it. When we first got here and those goons starting manhandling Jimmy, Princess Leama showed up just in the nick of time."
Libby didn't get the point. "So?"
Cindy sighed. "She said that she hadn't been officially informed of our arrival. So how did she know?"
"Gossip, maybe."
"From who? Khormak was the one who contacted Jimmy and I doubt he'd fill her in on his plans, whatever they are. And I doubt he'd slip the information to anyone he didn't trust." She frowned. "And did you notice? When she first showed up to meet us there were four guards with her, but all day today when we were shopping and having lunch there wasn't a guard in sight."
"She might have – what do you call them – undercover guards keeping an eye on her," Libby pointed out. "The President of the United States has Secret Service men around him all the time, but they aren't all out in the open."
"So why did she have the four obvious guards there when she met us at the spaceport?"
Libby shrugged. "You tell me."
"Okay, I will," Cindy replied. "They weren't there to protect the princess. They were there to deal with some trouble she was expecting. I'll bet she knew exactly what was going to happen before we even got to Felangie, but she's not letting on about it. What's more, I'll bet she knows a lot more about this thing with Carl and the fight and Khormak, but she's just waiting for the right moment to use what she knows."
"Yeah, but if she's that smart and knows that much, why doesn't she just arrest Khormak or banish him or whatever royalty does with upstarts like him?"
"There's an old saying, Libby. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. As long as she can keep an eye on Khormak she can counter whatever he's cooking up. And as long as he thinks he has the upper hand she's the one who's really in control." A note of admiration crept into Cindy's voice. "Like you said, Libby, she's smart. Smart enough to not let people know just how smart."
Libby thought about it and had to admit what Cindy said made a lot of sense. The princess isn't the only one with brains, she thought. This blonde's got smarts she hasn't even used.
After a few minutes of searching they finally located one of the house servants. Although she was not able to help them in their search for the robot she was able to conduct them to the Palace Head of Staff who was more informed, if not much more helpful.
"I'm terrible sorry, Miss," he said politely. "I'm aware of the robot to which you refer, but it is not at the palace at this time. It seems that Master Wheezer had no immediate need for assistance so it took its leave."
"Do you know where it went?" asked Libby.
"I believe," the Head of Staff replied slowly, "that it is currently assigned to Minister Khormak. It may have returned to him."
"Do you know where might we find Minister Khormak?" Cindy pressed.
The Head of Staff was on firmer ground now. "Certainly, Miss. That's common enough knowledge. His offices are at the Government Building. If you wish, I can put a call through to him for you."
Cindy thought about that. A phone call would reveal nothing, as Khormak would undoubtedly deny everything. It would probably even make things worse as inquiries alert him to their suspicions and put him on the alert. A more direct yet subtle approach would be needed.
"No, thank you," she said. "But could you direct us to the Government Building?"
"Certainly, Miss. If you wish, one of the chauffeurs can take you. It's not far and the princess makes the trip herself quite frequently so all the staff know the quickest routes." He pulled a communication handset of some sort from inside his spotless jacket and issued orders to have one of the hovercraft brought around to the front of the palace in three chronals (whatever those might have been). Several minutes later Cindy and Libby were seated in the vehicle speeding through the streets of the Felangian capital.
"What's your plan, Cindy?" Libby asked, rubbing her tired feet.
"In general terms, find out what the bad guy is up to, find Jimmy, and get out in one piece," Cindy replied matter-of-factly. In a less certain tone she added, "But I'm afraid the details are still a little fuzzy at this point."
"So we we're just walking into a dangerous situation without a plan?" Libby's voice sounded noticeably stressed.
"Libby," Cindy answered quietly, "we're not walking into a dangerous situation. We've been in one since we first got here."
End of Part 13