Free Chalker, Jack L. - Well of Souls 02 by Exiles At the Well of Souls Page A

asked the drugged guard.
    "I am Micce," the other replied.
    Mavra sighed. "Okay, Micce, tell me, how many people are there on New Pompeii?"
    "Forty-one at the moment," the other responded. "Not counting the wild folk, the living dead, and the guests."
    "Counting everyone but the new guests, how many?" Mavra prodded.
    "One hundred thirty-seven."
    Mavra nodded. That told what she was up against. "How many armed guards?"
    "Twelve."
    "Why are no more precautions than this taken?" the dark agent asked. "Surely greater security is called for."
    "They rely on automatic sensing in the important areas," the guard explained. "As for the rest, no one could get off New Pompeii without the proper codes."
    "Who knows the codes?" Mavra asked.
    "Only Councillor Trelig," the guard responded. "And they are changed daily in a sequence known only to him."
    Mavra Chang frowned. That would make things a little harder.
    "Is the girl Nikki Zinder here?" she asked.
    The guard nodded. "In the guard quarters."
    With more questioning, Mavra established the location of the guard quarters, the general layout of the building, who was in there at any given time, Nikki's exact room, and how to get in and out. She also established that everyone on New Pompeii was on sponge except Trelig himself, and the supplies were brought in daily by a computer-controlled ship so that no one could get a large quantity and rebel against Trelig. That piece of information was interesting. So the sponge was brought in on a little scout, made for four passengers if need be. The guard's description suggested that it was a Model 17 Cruiser, a craft Mavra knew well. It would be perfect.
    She took the guard's pistol and shoulder belt after determining that the guards themselves checked their equipment in and out of a small guard locker. She suggested to the guard that the pistol and belt were still in place, so the gun would not be missed. It would be checked back in and perhaps not discovered gone for days. Mavra smiled; she was armed again, and luck was breaking her way due to Trelig's conceit about his security.
    "Where is Dr. Zinder?" she asked the guard, after giving her another jolt of the hypno.
    "He is on Underside," the guard replied. Of the forty-one people, one was Trelig, one was Nikki, one was Zinder, twelve were guards, five were assistants to Zinder, and the other twenty-one were slaves of one kind or another. That was enough to tell Mavra Chang that she hadn't a prayer of getting Zinder himself out, but a good chance at Nikki. Ten million wasn't "anything," but it sure beat nothing.
    After getting the guard routine from the hypnoed woman, Mavra told her to forget about her totally and resume her normal routine. The guard did so without further comment, and treated Mavra as if she weren't there.
    It took another forty minutes to return to the main building, avoid the cameras, and get back to her room. The strips were still in place on the door, and, after closing and relocking it, she carefully removed them. The holographic memory projector was still in place, so the camera was still showing an empty, quiet room with a meditating figure on the bed.
    Tidying up, removing the blackface, reassembling the boot, and reloading and reforming the belt took more time. As soon as she finished, she edged over next to the projector on the bed, careful not to jiggle it too much, until she was next to it, almost touching it. Infinite patience is the best tool of a burglar.
    Assuming the correct position, she took the little device, quickly palmed it, and slipped it out of sight when the camera was directed elsewhere. When the camera swung back, only a few seconds later, it photographed the same nude woman in the same meditating position. Only a fanatical observer, which no guard was— watching sleeping people was an incredibly dull job— would have realized that the figure was seated in a slightly different position at a slightly different angle.
    Suddenly her breathing became