Deathstalker 08 - Deathstalker Coda

They’ve been thieving massive amounts of credits from Church Militant and Pure Humanity coffers, and adding them to our funds. Which gives us more options apart from the military. Often a bribe will get you places that a blade wouldn’t.”
    “Except we’ve been using most of those credits to pay for food drops in parts of the outer city,” said Tel. “We should let them go hungry. Make them more ready to rise up against Finn.”
    “The half-starved rarely make good fighters,” said Douglas. “And I will not stand by and let my people go hungry. I am still their King, even if only in exile. All right, Tel; I know you’re bursting to give us news of what your people have been up to. But keep it short and to the point, or we’ll heckle you.”
    “And throw things,” said Stuart.
    Tel glared at him. “My people have had great success in intercepting and jamming Finn’s communication lines, using alien-derived tech and Rookery-honed skills. As a result, most of Finn’s orders just aren’t getting through. Sometimes we make subtle changes of our own, and then let them go through, just to add to the general chaos and confusion. Soon enough, Finn won’t be able to believe anything he hears through the comm lines, and his people will be afraid to follow any order that doesn’t come from him in person.”
    “Unfortunately, he’s still got the ELFs,” said Diana. “Even working together, the Sluts and I couldn’t block their telepathic commands. They control a staggering number of thralls these days, and they have made the ELF leaders very powerful. We can’t even listen in on what they’re thinking, or planning. If Finn uses them to replace his infiltrated comm systems . . .”
    Douglas frowned. “Are any of these new thralls turning up in the Rookery? Maybe among the news refugees?”
    “No,” Diana said firmly. “We’re still clear. The girls and I have set a mental scan in place, running on automatic. Any thrall who tried to get in would set off a mental alarm, and we’d all come running. Finn’s spies and agents are another matter, of course . . .”
    “Stuart,” said Douglas. “You wanted to say something about Finn’s security people.”
    “Damn right,” said Stuart. “Yes, we’ve been running rings around them, but that’s because mostly they’ve not been trained for security. They’re Finn’s fanatics, who never bothered much over military tactics. Just lately, though, we’ve been running into a harder breed. Thralls, showing limited esper abilities. They can sense what’s going on, even if they can’t prove it. You can’t sneak past a telepath. Douglas, to be using this many thralls, and trusting them to guard sensitive locations, Finn must have made a new deal with the ELFs.”
    “I told you they were running the Arena,” said Diana. “All the signs are there. And after that recent mental explosion over the city, I think we have to assume that the uber-espers are now running the ELFs directly.”
    “It would explain the behavior of the peacekeepers,” said Stuart.
    “They’re animals!” said Nina. “Honestly, they are. People out there are terrified of anyone in a uniform these days.”
    “Not necessarily a bad thing,” said Tel. “The worse things are outside, the more people will head for the Rookery. The city’s troubles make us strong. We’re going to have to expand again soon, Douglas. Seize more territory.”
    “I still say we should seize the Arena, darlings,” said Nina. “Or at least blow it up, and put the poor bastards out of their misery.”
    “It has to be ELFs,” said Stuart. “People wouldn’t do things like that. Everyone I speak to is sickened by what’s going on in the Arena now, in the name of entertainment. Even the old-school Rookery people, the most hardened criminals, are shocked and outraged. It seems there’s a line even they won’t cross; and no one’s more surprised than them. Douglas, you give the word, and we’ll blow the Arena right off the map.”
    “No,” Tel said immediately. “We’re not ready for an operation that big. First, if it is the ELFs running things there, we’d have to commit Diana and all the Sluts to the mission, plus a hell of a big armed force, and still with no guarantee of success. We could lose all of them to the uber-espers, and leave the Rookery open to psionic attack. And second, even if we did succeed, Finn couldn’t afford to take such an open victory lying down. He’d have to