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It took Jason less than half an hour back on the surface to realize he had misjudged Archbishop Carmiel. He was strolling down the walkway a couple blocks from Casey's when he noticed something very different. The ULC fundraisers were out in force, as they always were in the Gambling Zone, but no one had approached him, and they were all clad in black robes instead of the customary blue.
Finally, his curiosity got the better of him, and he stopped one of them to ask the reason for the change in costume.
"Surely you must jest," the young woman answered, tears welling up in her eyes. "You must have heard the news."
Jason replied that he had been away from the MED for several days and had just returned.
"Oh, our precious and holiest Archangel has taken the final celestial path," she answered, breaking down and sobbing as she spoke.
"You mean he's dead?" Jason asked, stunned by the news.
The woman nodded, a shocked look on her face at Jason's callous question.
"Why, that old..." Jason started to say out loud, then, noticing that the woman was listening, he stopped himself.
Jason reached into his pocket and came out with a handful of credits, which he placed in the woman's hands. "Bless you, my son," she replied automatically, then wandered off, still sobbing.
This sudden turn of events made Carmiel more dangerous than ever. If Jason understood the political structure of the church, the recent death of the Archangel made Carmiel top dog.
"So much for visiting the Archangel," Jason muttered to himself as he continued towards Casey's.
As he stepped into the familiar lobby of Casey's Casino, he was hit with the second startling piece of news. This time it came from Leona, who rushed over to him as he entered the casino.
"Lord, child, I thought you'd never show up. I was just about to leave," Leona said, as she threw her arms around him and gave him her customary hug and kiss.
"And to what do I owe this pleasure?" Jason said after he finally was able to pull himself away from her clutches.
"Why, I just wanted to thank you personally for the referral."
"The referral? What referral?" Jason asked, suspicious that he was not going to like her answer.
"Why, Carmiel, of course," Leona answered, leaning close to him and whispering the words.
"What about Carmiel? You didn't..." Jason was afraid to finish the question.
"What? Kill him?" Leona laughed. "Of course not. You told me not to and am I glad you did. No, on the way back here we struck up a conversation. I told him what my profession was and how I thought you were paying an awfully high price just to have me watch him. And, well, one thing led to another. Before I knew it, he offered me an assignment."
"You're kiddin!" Jason exclaimed, suddenly feeling sick to his stomach.
"Nah, I'm serious as a cerebral infarct," Leona continued. "Biggest job I ever had. Took twelve of my best people to pull it off, but it was worth it. Your friend Carmiel pays very well."
"You assassinated the Archangel?" Jason asked, stunned by what he was hearing.
"Well, I wouldn't put it quite so crass," Leona replied with a sly smile. "Let's just say I helped him get a one-way ticket on the old Celestial Highway."
"I need a drink," Jason managed to whisper after several seconds.
"By all means, my treat," Leona said, as she took Jason's arm and led him to the bar. "It's the least I can do to repay you."
––––––––
AN HOUR AND THREE DRINKS later, Jason was still reeling from Leona's news, but his surprises weren't over yet. He finally managed to excuse himself from Leona's companionship, telling her he had a few important business matters to handle. He left Leona still celebrating at Casey's bar and went straight to one of the cashier's rooms. He sat down at one of the computer consoles and typed in his secret passcode. He waited until his worth credits balance in his primary account flashed upon the screen.
He sat there for several seconds, his mind unable or unwilling to grasp the figures on the screen. According to his calculations, the account balance should have read in the high six or low seven figures. Instead, the computer showed less than 200 credits left in the account.
Jason punched in a second set of numbers for one of his other accounts, which was held under another name and in a bank in another Dome. It took the computer only a couple of seconds to access the account, showing the balance to be even lower, although the last time Jason had checked, it had held close to 1.5 million credits.
In a daze, he checked his other three accounts, only to find the same results.
He stared at the screen, his mind in a swirl. He was wiped out. Somehow, someone had gotten into every one of his accounts and cleaned them out. Years of work, of saving, of investing wisely, of putting his life on the line night after night—gone, wiped out. Romanof's words echoed in his mind, "We made you, Mr. Joval, and we can just as easily unmake you." They had done just that.
After several minutes, he had no idea how long, he rose from the computer console and turned to leave. Suddenly, he felt very vulnerable, as though every wall had eyes and they were trained on him. Nowhere was safe. At any moment, whatever he had counted on to be reality might be called into question. He suddenly felt very paranoid. The only place he would feel safe would be back in Seattle's arms, but he knew he couldn't return to the Pipes. Not yet.
He settled for returning to his apartment. He had to see if the chest stored away in his closet really did contain a secret compartment. And for some reason, he felt like no one would be able to spy on him in his own place.
The trip from Casey's to his apartment building was one of the longest and most excruciating times of his life. He felt as if, at any moment, someone would reach out, grab him by the arm and slip a stunwand against his body. He would suddenly go numb, fall to the ground, feeling the intense pain as every nerve fiber discharged at once, and he would look up to find a smiling Carmiel looking back at him.
As he entered his apartment, he leaned against the door to catch his breath, then quickly turned to be sure it was locked. Safe at last. The thought was really more of a question. Was he really any safer here than anywhere else? He doubted it, but for the moment, his mind would allow him to feel a little safer here. He would accept it.
He stood there leaning against the door for several minutes. More than anything right now, he wanted to be able to walk through his bedroom, straight to the autowash, and let it play its magic on him. Maybe it could wash all his worries away. But, no, it was a crazy notion. Too much to do. Too many dangers lurking outside. Carmiel was too dangerous a foe. He'd obviously misjudged the man. If he weren't very careful, he would find himself being measured for a Sleeper Couch, the euphemistic name the Sleeper Stations used for the boxes into which they put their clients, in preparation for cremation.
I've got to get my thoughts together, Jason told himself. There's too much at stake to snap now. Sleeper Stations – oh, shit. What about my life credits? He pushed himself away from the door and walked over to his private computer console. As he passed the vid screen, he flicked it on from habit.
He heard it blare in the background, strangely comforted by the noise, although he ignored what it was actually saying. Quickly, he punched in the numbers to his master account and pulled up the window that listed his life credits.
He wasn't surprised to find the account showing a zero balance. I'm dead, he thought. He knew this account was directly linked to the nearest Sleeper Station. It wouldn't be any time before they found him.
He swiveled around in his chair, his attention being automatically drawn to the vid screen. He was startled to find one of the recent snapshots that had been taken of him for promotional purposes flashed on the screen.
He slowly rose from the chair, watching the news bulletin showing various recent clips of his gambling escapades. Finally, the voice of the commentator forced its way through the fog of his mind.
"Reported by experts to be the biggest gambling fraud in the history of the Gambling Zone, Mr. Jason Joval was this morning charged with seventeen counts of gambling fraud. Security Chief Romanof had this to say this morning at a news conference."
The picture switched to a stern Romanof. "We've had our eyes on Joval for several months, waiting for him to show his cards. We now have irrefutable evidence that he is the mastermind of this scandal. We expect other warrants will be issued shortly."
Jason picked up from his coffee table a plexiglass award he had recently won at a gambling tournament and threw it through the vid screen.