12. The Sinister Bonanza
They were taken to a small, drab internment room. A half hour passed andstill no word from the Major. From the moment the Patrol crew hadboarded them, everything had seemed like a bad dream. The shock of thearrest, the realization that the Captain had been serious when he reeledoff the charges lodged against them ... they had been certain it wassome kind of ill-planned joke until they saw the delegation of JupiterEquilateral officials waiting at the port to greet Merrill Tawney like aman returned from the dead. They had watched Tawney climb into the sleekcompany car and drive off toward the gate, while the Captain hadescorted them without a word down to the internment rooms.
The door clicked, and the Captain looked in. "All right, come alongnow," he said.
"Is the Major here?" Tom said.
"You'll see the Major soon enough." The Captain herded them into anotherroom, where a clerk efficiently fingerprinted them. Then they went downa ramp to a jitney-platform, and boarded a U.N. official car. The tripinto the city was slow; rush-hour traffic from the port was heavy. Whenthey reached U.N. headquarters, there was another wait in an upperlevel ante-room. The Captain stood stiffly with his hands behind hisback and ignored them.
"Look, this is ridiculous," Greg burst out finally. "We haven't doneanything. You haven't even let us make a statement."
"Make your statement to the Major. It's his headache, not mine, I'mhappy to say."
"But you let that man walk out of there scot free...."
The Captain looked at him. "If I were you," he said, "I'd stopcomplaining and start worrying. If I had Jupiter Equilateral at mythroat, I'd worry plenty, because once they start they don't stop."
A signal light blinked, and he took them downstairs. Major Briarton wasbehind his desk; his eyes tired, his face grim. He dismissed theCaptain, and motioned them to seats. "All right, let's have the story,"he said, "and by the ten moons of Saturn it had better be convincing,because I've about had my fill of you three."
He listened without interruption as Tom told the story, with Greg andJohnny adding details from time to time. Tom told him everything, fromthe moment they had blasted off for Roger Hunter's claim to the momentthe Patrol ship had boarded them, except for a single detail.
He didn't mention the remarkable gun from Roger Hunter's gun case. Thegun was still in the spacer's pack he had slung over his shoulder; hehad not mentioned it when the Patrolmen had taken their stunners away.Now as he talked, he felt a twinge of guilt in not mentioning it....
But he had a reason. Dad had died to keep that gun secret. It seemedonly right to keep the secret a little longer. When he came to the partabout their weapons, he simply spoke of "Dad's gun" and omitted anydetails.
And through the story, the Major listened intently, interrupting onlyoccasionally, pulling at his lip and scowling.
"So we decided that the best way to convince you that we had theevidence you wanted was to bring Tawney back with us," Tom concluded.
"A brilliant maneuver," the Major said dryly. "A real stroke of genius."
"But then the Patrol ship intercepted us and told us we were underarrest. And when we landed, they let Tawney drive off without evenquestioning him."
"The least we could do, under the circumstances," the Major said.
"Well, I'd like to know why," Greg broke in bitterly. "Why pick on us?We've just been telling you...."
"Yes, yes, I heard every word of it," the Major sighed. "If you knew thetrouble ... oh, what's the use? I've spent the last three solid hourstalking myself hoarse, throwing in every bit of authority I couldmuster and jeopardizing my position as Coordinator here, for the solepurpose of keeping you three idiots out of jail for a few hours."
"Jail!"
"That's what I said. The brig. The place they put people when they don'tbehave. You three are sitting on a nice, big powder keg right now, andwhen it blows I don't know how much of you is going to be left."
"Do you think we're lying?" Greg said.
"Do you know what you're charged with?" the Major snapped back.
"Some sort of nonsense about piracy...."
"Plus kidnapping. Plus murder. To say nothing of totally disabling aseventeen-million-dollar orbit-ship and placing the lives of fourhundred crewmen in jeopardy." The Major picked up a sheet of paper fromhis desk. "According to Merrill Tawney's statement, the three of youhijacked a company scout-ship that chanced to be scouting in thevicinity of your father's claim. Your attack was unprovoked and violent.Everybody on Mars knows you were convinced that Jupiter Equilateral wasresponsible for your father's death." He looked up. "In the absence ofany evidence, I might add, although I did my best to tell you that." Herattled the report-sheet. "All right. You took the scout-ship by force,with the pilot at gunpoint, and made him home in on his orbit-ship. Thenyou proceeded to reduce that orbit-ship to a leaking wreck, althoughTawney tried to reason with you and even offered you amnesty if youwould desist. By the time the crew stopped shooting each other in thedark ... fifteen of them subsequently expired, it says here ... you hadstolen another scout-ship and kidnapped Tawney for the purpose ofextorting a confession out of Jupiter Equilateral, threatening him withtorture if he did not comply...." The Major dropped the paper to thedesk.
Johnny Coombs picked it up, looked at it owlishly, and put it backagain. "Pretty large operation for three men, Major," he said.
The Major shrugged. "You were armed. That orbit-ship was registered as acommercial vessel. It had no reason to expect a surprise attack, and hadno way to defend itself."
"They were armed to the teeth," Greg said disgustedly. "Why don't yousend somebody out to look?"
"Oh, I could, but why waste the time and fuel? There wouldn't be anyweapons aboard."
"Then how do they explain the fact that the _Scavenger_ was blown tobits and Dad's orbit-ship ripped apart from top to bottom?"
"Details," the Major said. "Mere details. I'm sure that the company'slawyers can muddy the waters quite enough so that little details likethat are overlooked. Particularly with a sympathetic jury and a judgethat plays along."
He stood up and ran his hand through his hair. "All right, granted I'mpainting the worst picture possible ... but I'm afraid that's the wayit's going to be. I believe your story, don't worry about that. I knowwhy you went out there to the Belt and I can't really blame you, Isuppose. But you were asking for trouble, and that's what you got.Frankly, I am amazed that you ever returned to Mars, and how you managedto make rubble of an orbit-ship with a crew of four hundred men tryingto stop you is more than I can comprehend. But you did it. All right,fine. You were justified; they attacked you, held you prisoner,threatened you. Fine. They'd have cut your throats in another few hours,perhaps. Fine. I believe you. But there's one big question that youcan't answer, and unless you can no court in the Solar System willlisten to you."
"What question?" Tom said.
"The question of motives," the Major replied. "You had plenty of motivefor doing what Tawney says you did. But what motive did JupiterEquilateral have, if your story is true?"
"They wanted to get what Dad found, out in the Belt."
"Ah, yes, that mysterious bonanza that Roger Hunter found. I was afraidthat was what you'd say. And it's the reason that Jupiter Equilateral isgoing to win this fight, and you're going to lose it."
"I don't think I understand," Tom said slowly.
"I mean that I'm going to have to testify against you," the Major said."_Because your father didn't find a thing in the Asteroid Belt_, and Ihappen to know it."
* * * * *
"It's been a war," the Major said later, "a dirty vicious war with noholds barred and no quarter given. Not a shooting war, of course,nothing out in the open ... but a war just the same, with the higheststakes of any war in history.
"It didn't look like a war, at first," the Major went on. "Back when thecolonies were being built, nobody really believed that anything of valuewould come of them ... scientific outposts, perhaps, plac
es forlaboratories and observatories, not much more. The colonies were placedunder United Nations control. Nobody argued about it.
"And then things began to change. There was wealth out here ... andopportunities for power. With the overpopulation at home, Earth waslooking more and more to Mars and Venus for a place to move ... not tinycolonies, but places for millions of people. And as Mars grew, JupiterEquilateral grew."
"But it was just a mining company," Tom said.
"At first it was, but then its interests began to expand. The companyaccumulated wealth, unbelievable wealth, and it developed many friends.Very soon it had friends back on Earth fighting for it, and the UnitedNations found itself fighting to stay on Mars."
"I don't see why," Tom said. "The company already has half the miningclaims in the Belt...."
"They aren't interested in the mining," the Major said. "They have amuch longer-range goal than that. The men behind Jupiter Equilateral arelooking ahead. They know that someday Earthmen are going to have to goto the stars for colonies ... it won't be a matter of choice after awhile, they'll _have_ to go. Well, Jupiter Equilateral's terms are verysimple. They're perfectly willing to let the United Nations controlthings on Earth. All they want is control of everything else. Mars, ifthey can drive us out. Venus too, if it ever proves up for colonies. Andif they can gain control of the ships that leave our Solar System forthe stars, they can build an empire, and they know it."
They were silent for a moment. Then Johnny Coombs said, "Doesn't anybodyon Earth know about this?"
"There are some who know ... but they don't see the danger. They thinkof Jupiter Equilateral as just another big company. So far U.N. controlof Mars and Venus has held up, even though the pressure on thelegislators back on Earth has been getting heavier and heavier. JupiterEquilateral won the greatest fight in its history when they limited U.N.jurisdiction to Mars, and kept us out of the Belt. And now they hope toconvince the lawmakers that we're incompetent to administer the Martiancolonies and keep peace out here. If they succeed, we'll be called homein nothing flat; we've had to fight just to stay."
The Major spread his hands helplessly. "Like I said, it's been a war.Our only hope was to prove that the company was using piracy and murderto gain control of the asteroids. We had to find a way to smash thepicture they've been painting of themselves back on Earth as a big,benevolent organization interested only in the best for Earth colonistson the planets. We had to expose them before they had the Earth inchains ... not now, maybe not even a century from now, but sometime,years from now, when the breakthrough to the stars comes and Earthmendiscover that if they want to leave Earth they have to pay toll...."
"They could never do that!" Greg protested.
"They're doing it, son. And they're winning. We have been searchingdesperately for a way to fight back, and that was where your father camein. He could see the handwriting, he knew what was happening. That waswhy he broke with the company and tried to organize a competing forcebefore it was too late. And it was why he died in the Belt. He knew Icouldn't send an agent out there without unquestionable evidence ofmajor crime of some sort or another. But a private citizen could go outthere, and if he happened to be working with the U.N. hand in glove,nobody could do anything about it."
"Then Dad was a U.N. agent?"
"Oh, not officially. There's not a word in the records. If I were forcedto testify under oath, I would have to deny any connection. Butunofficially, he went out there to lay a trap."
The Major told them then. It had been an incredible risk that RogerHunter had taken, but the decision had been his. The plan was simple: toinvolve Jupiter Equilateral in a case of claim-jumping and piracy thatwould hold up in court, pressed by a man who would not be intimidatedand could not be bought out. Roger Hunter had made a trip to the Beltand come back with stories ... very carefully planted in just the rightears ... of a fabulous strike. He knew that Jupiter Equilateral hadjumped a hundred rich claims in the past, forcing the independent minersto agree, frightening them into silence or disposing of them with"accidents."
But this was one claim they were not going to jump. The U.N. cooperated,helping him spread the story of his Big Strike until they were certainthat Jupiter Equilateral would go for the bait. Then Roger Hunter hadreturned to the Belt, with a U.N. Patrol ship close by in case he neededhelp.
"We thought it would be enough," the Major said unhappily. "We werewrong, of course. At first nothing happened ... not a sign of a companyship, nothing. Your father contacted me finally. He was ready to giveup. Somehow they must have learned that it was a trap. But they had justbeen careful, was all. They waited until our guard was down, and thenmoved in fast and hit hard."
He sank down in his seat behind the desk, regarding the Hunter twinssadly. "You know the rest. Perhaps you can see now why I tried to keepyou from going out there. There was no proof to uncover and no bonanzalode for you to find. There never was a bonanza lode."
The twins looked at each other, and then at the Major. "Why didn't youtell us?" Greg said.
"Would you have listened? Would telling you have kept you from going outthere? There was no point to telling you, I knew you would have to findout for yourselves, however painfully. But what I'm telling you now isthe truth."
"As far as it goes," Tom Hunter said. "But if this is really the truth,there's one thing that doesn't fit into the picture."
Slowly Tom pulled the gun case from his pack and set it down on theMajor's desk. "It doesn't explain what Dad was doing with this."