“Always know your enemy,” Bull muttered, then leapt forward, the clay of the ring gritting between his toes. He feinted right with his right hand, left with his eyes, and his left hand latched onto Higuchi’s throat. In three steps it was over, Higuchi standing outside the ring.
Higuchi bowed. “I am honored by your progress, Bomorov-san. You have taken me five times in a row this afternoon.”
Bull bowed in return, panting. “It’s a good day, Higuchi, in many ways.”
When he got back to the control center, he found that the flood of financial trajectory data had dwindled to a trickle, but that trickle was pure gold.
“Honey, this work is impressive. Your work is impressive, too, but someone had to create this masterpiece in the first place.”
Bull still didn’t have the whole picture, but the web spun around Lester was indeed impressive. The spigot wasn’t a single entity but a series of startup companies that Lester had invested in. Those startups mostly struggled, as startups do. But whenever Lester needed money, one suddenly took off and he cashed out his investment. All very respectable, and not too cumbersome for the bankroller. Other than the timing, the revealing link was that in each startup someone from Valence’s firm was always an officer.
“Honey, let’s take a closer look at these companies. It’s likely that when one blossoms it’s scoring a single big contract. Get me the details on who those contracts are with, and, if possible, who sets up the deals. And what happens to them after Lester sells out.
“Also, check out what links Lester or Valence have with that judge in Eureka.”
“Right. There’s a message for you from Jack.”
He put his manager’s message on the screen.
“Bull, here’s the list you asked for.
“I’ve had my ears open, and there are rumors of a mole. Not surprising, eh? Not surprising that I’m one of the choices for mole.” Jack shrugged.
“But there’s more you should know. I’m behind you 100% while this crisis is acute. But Bull, as you know, we’ve had our disagreements about how to handle the enterprise. Your voyage… the Push-on Propulsion business … I still think you’re getting way, way ahead of yourself on this stuff.
“Even before the suit, this was turning into a self-liquidating annuity to fund your hobby and dreams, and that’s not what I signed on for.
“This is to let you know that once this all stabilizes you need to seek another agent.
“Once again, I’m not bailing on you, Bull. You’ve got me 100% until this crisis is over, and if you like, I’ll help you locate someone who is very sharp on liquidations. … You’re a good man to work for, but this is no longer my cup of tea, Bull.”
Jack looked sincere, and this was certainly not the message Bull would expect from someone about to stick another knife in him.
He considered for just a few seconds before announcing, “Honey, Jack is OK, and Lester is the problem. Let’s see what it’s going to take to cut out Lester with a minimum of harm.
“Meantime, let’s push this fragment back towards solar center, and head for the comet.”
“When will we be going back?”
“Not until we find the comet. We’re back on Plan A, Honey. This is big. We have a chance here to discover definitive proof of the first non-human, non-Solar System civilization. This is too big to turn back from. Besides, now that we know our enemies, the big surprises should be finished. We can deal with the situation from here.”
“What about Jack?”
“When Jack gets wind of this, he’ll be back in a heartbeat. Jack loves big and growing. I couldn’t pry him off this with a crowbar.”
“When will you tell him?”
Bull took a moment before answering. “I haven’t decided yet. That’s a delicate issue. If I tell him right now, it sounds like a counter-offer. If I wait for confirmation of our discovery it will be too long, he’ll be on to greener pastures. Not yet, not yet, but not long, either.”