Star Risk - 03 The Doublecross Program Read Online Free PDF

already notified the king of your quotes."
    "But that was with my fully integrated team present," von Baldur said. "Without Grok, we'll have to go onto the open market� I, quite frankly, can't think of anyone I've heard of with his qualifications."
    Riss had overheard this, as had the other members of the team, all of whom pretended sudden deafness.
    "I would guess� probably double," von Baldur said.
    Riss noted that Barab wanted desperately to ask just what Grok brought to the operation, but wasn't forceful enough.
    "Very well," he said, still worried. "These are unusual times, and we must all allow for this, mustn't we?"
    Friedrich smiled at him.
    Riss thought the smile was very much like the ones she'd seen of Earth tigers, closing in for the kill.
    It took them less than half an hour to clean up and change. All of them now wore dark green outfits that closely resembled uniforms, and Grok had his weapons belt on.
    Prince Barab's personal lifter was a sleek Rolls-Bell, just what a prince should appear in. It was fitted with every plush item imaginable, from real wood paneling to leather upholstery to a concealed bar.
    But being a military vehicle, it was also equipped with a chaingun, accessed through a moon roof, and had blast-proof glass.
    And it was painted in camouflage.
    "Now this," Goodnight drawled, "would be just the thing to putt around Trimalchio in."
    Barab looked at him.
    "Do you have that great a problem with terrorists?"
    Chas shook his head, stopped himself from asking "Do you?"
    Barab ordered the pilot to divert over a military post to show them the systems' mailed fist.
    Riss observed closely.
    New barracks. State-of-the-art Alliance lifters. Modern patrol ships and a couple of destroyers, also current-supply Alliance. Huge hangars.
    But the barracks already needed paint, and the lifters and other ships looked very short of maintenance and were arrayed in a haphazard style on the base's three fields.
    M'chel was not impressed.
    Friedrich, however, made nice on the unit below, and Barab beamed.
    "Hoo," Goodnight breathed to Riss as the lifter settled down into the king's camp. "We wuz doing it wrong back when we wuz sojer boys and girls."
    The tents were solid sided and fitted with bulges that looked like auxiliary power for temperature control units.
    There was a heavy scatter of lifters, but all of them were luxury items.
    The camp was aswarm with servants carrying things here, there, and the only ones doing anything resembling work.
    Such, evidently, was one of the privileges royalty gave you. Goodnight decided he might have liked bivouacking in the army if someone had made an arrangement like that for him.
    Riss noted armed men trotting toward the lifter as it landed and saw they were very smartly dressed, and, from their precision movements, well trained.
    She corrected the "trained" to "drilled," as the soldiers, clearly bodyguards, jumped back in dismay when they saw Grok and fumbled about, while their officers bayed orders that made no sense.
    All of the Star Risk people stood quite still until the guards were sorted out and brought back under control. They knew the dangers of an incompetent with a gun, and there appeared to be almost two dozen of them about.
    The operatives were taken into the largest tent, told to wait for a moment until the king was ready to be honored with their presence, and offered refreshments.
    None of them wanted alcohol. Drink and duty seldom mixed.
    "So you think you can help me?" King Saleph asked, in the Alliance diplomatic tongue.
    Goodnight was watching him with great interest, this being the first king he'd ever come upon.
    Saleph had moon-pool eyes that looked to Riss like those of a penned predator, driven mad by his cage.
    He was very thin, and the smile on his long face kept vanishing, as if slipping off, to be hastily put back on.
    "I know we can, Your Highness," Friedrich said firmly.
    "But your prices," Saleph almost whined. He kept eyeing Grok, as if afraid