Deathstalker 05 - Deathstalker Destiny

looked at the corpses strewn across the great hall. "What the hell…"
    "Jack Random has gone insane," said Elias Gutman, approaching the scowling bounty hunter with a certain amount of caution. "He killed all these people, just because they dared to have opinions and beliefs of their own. And he's threatened to kill a great many more."
    Ruby nodded slowly. "He said he was going to clean house; put an end to all corruption. Trust Jack Random to take the most direct route."
    "He has to be stopped," said Gutman.
    "You mean killed."
    "Yes; that's exactly what I mean. God knows how many others will die if he isn't brought down."
    "You can't condemn him to death just like that!" said Evangeline. "He's a hero of the rebellion!"
    "And now he threatens the existence of everything the rebellion has brought about," said Gutman flatly. "Do you really think he'd allow us to take him alive? And we couldn't afford a trial anyway. The scandal would rock the Empire just when it's most vulnerable. No; he's going to kill and kill until he's stopped, in the only practical way."
    "You're looking at me," said Ruby Journey. "Why are you looking at me, Gutman?"
    "You know why."
    "You saying you want me to go after Jack?"
    "The only thing that can take down a Maze survivor is another Maze survivor. And you're the only other one left. You were a bounty hunter once; be one again."
    "He's my friend."
    "Parliament will authorize an extraordinarily high price for his head."
    Ruby looked at him. "How extraordinary?"
    "Name your price."
    "You can't seriously be considering this!" said Evangeline. She started toward Ruby, but the Unknown Clone took her firmly by the arm and held her back. The bounty hunter didn't even look at her.
    "Make me an offer, Gutman," she said calmly. "But bear in mind that if it isn't good enough, I might just join with Jack to bring you all down. Just for the hell of it."
    "More money than you can ever spend," said Gutman. "You'll never want for anything, ever again. Lifelong security. And, we'll make you official Champion to the new King and Queen. You'll get to fight the worst of the Empire's enemies."
    Ruby smiled, though it didn't touch her eyes. "You know how to reach a girl's heart, Gutman. You've got a deal."
    "Understand me, bounty hunter; we don't want him brought back alive. As a dead legend he can still serve Humanity as an inspiration. Alive, he's just an embarrassment. Kill him, Ruby. If you can."
    "No problem." said Ruby Journey.

    Diana Vertue had never visited a House of Joy before. Not even in her wildest Jenny Psycho days, when she'd refused to accept any restrictions on her actions, on general principles. She walked slowly down the busy street, hidden behind a psionic cloak that left her physically and psychically invisible. People on the street moved automatically to avoid her without even wondering why. Diana Vertue had dropped out of sight, so that no one could find her.
    The Mater Mundi had grown more and more open in its attempts to stop her investigating into its true nature. At first, it tried direct psionic assaults on Diana's mind, and when that didn't work, the Mater Mundi took over the minds of innocent espers and sent them to kill Diana Vertue. They could come from anywhere, sudden and unexpected. No one could be trusted anymore. Nowhere was safe. Diana broke the first few free from the Mater Mundi's domination, before they could do her or themselves any harm, but she quickly realized she couldn't defend herself forever from an endless series of fanatical assassins without the risk of having to kill some of them. And some of them had been people she'd thought of as friends.
    She was too open a target at the esper Guild House, for all its much vaunted psionic security, so she disappeared. Just walked out, and vanished behind a psychic fog of her own making. She avoided contact with anyone who knew her, and continued her computer search into the Mater Mundi's past behind a series of anonymous cutouts. She'd learned a lot from the cyberats, including how to manufacture new short-term identities, as and when needed. She kept moving as much as possible, sleeping in transients' hotels, and only eating in busy restaurants where she could just be part of the crowd. The destruction of the city during the last fighting of the rebellion had left a lot of people homeless and drifting, and no one noticed one more. The Mater Mundi had driven Diana deep
    underground, leaving her rootless and alone as any