Wonder why Gris never considered having Raht try and kill Krak? It's not as if he dismissed Raht for failing to whack Gunsalmo Silva, Gris went straight from "Krak must die" to "I need to hire a hitman." He completely forgot that he had a henchman, and his interaction with Raht isn't reminding him.
Gris switches on the viewer to find Krak trying to use the phonebook to look up Rockecenter, though she seems to be having trouble remembering how the alphabet goes. When Bang-Bang asks if he can help out and she tells him what she's doing, the mob demolitionist is absolutely shocked, leading Krak to patiently explain that "On a civilized planet, nearly everyone has a communication call sign." Then she gets out Heller's magical geometry swirl that proves how Rockecenter is in total control of the planet (which isn't a Code Break because even though it's covered with alien symbols, Bang-Bang doesn't know that they're alien symbols).
This revelation is not news to Bang-Bang.
"Well, hell--beggin' your pardon, ma'am--that don't take no fancy diagram to figure out. Everybody knows that. For the last century the Rockecenter family has been taking over from other mobs and now Delbert John Rockecenter owns and controls all the real estate and rackets. I guess 'emperor' would be a fancy name like capo di tutti capi, but it really don't embrace all that Rockecenter really controls. He's into everybody's pocket, too. He controls every oil company and I can't fill up the cab's tank without helping make Rockecenter rich. I can't buy an aspirin without making Rockecenter rich. I can't even drink a cup of coffee without stuffing more dough in the Rockecenter coffers. Everybody knows that. So what's the urgent notice on the regimental bulletin board?"
Have we really been on Earth for five books without anyone telling Heller or Krak this? It feels like Bang-Bang's already given this lecture, but I can't place it for sure. And this means that Heller's advanced alien jommetry was approximately as effective as turning to the guy next to him and asking "who do you think runs the world?"
Krak drops her bombshell that Rockecenter has a son, which as you'll recall is based partially on her childhood memories of life as an aristocrat. Bang-Bang is dismissive and insists he and Heller found no proof of any Rockecenter offspring.
"That's just it," said Krak. "Delbert John Rockecenter doesn't know he has a son."
"WHAT?"
"Aha! So it surprises you, too," said the Countess Krak. "But it is a fact.
She's an alien, let's cut her some slack for confusing a fact ("something concrete used as a basis for further interpretation") with a theory ("a hypothesis or conjecture").
Though I must point out that someone's shocked response to your statement does not in itself prove its veracity. If I told everyone that President Obama is actually a hyperintelligent squirrel manning a sophisticated animatronic "human suit," sure they'd be surprised to hear it, but that wouldn't necessarily mean I'm right.
Anyway, Krak knows that Rockecenter has a son, and she also knows that Mr. Bury, Rockecenter's right-hand man, is hiding Rockcenter Jr., so when Rockecenter Sr. kicks it he can run his financial empire through Jr. And she also knows that when she tells Rockecenter Sr. this, he'll be so grateful that he'll do everything in his power to help Heller out so he and Krak can finish the mission and go home.
The next page or so is Bang-Bang and Izzy trying and failing to explain how utterly wrong Krak is.
Bang-Bang calls Rockecenter's outfit a pack of wolves - no, "WEREWOLVES!" - so vicious that they could "eat the Virgin Mary, toenails and all, and never even bother to spit out one Ave Maria!" Izzy explains that if you laid the number of corpses made by Rockecenter's ruthless business practices and warmongering end-to-end, they'd extend forever and offers to distract Krak with flowers or theater tickets.
But Krak is stubbornly convinced that Rockecenter's heart would grow three, possibly even four sizes if he learned he has a son, and is a potential ally, provided she can only get in touch with him. Bang-Bang and Izzy refuse to help her. So she picks up the phone, hits "Operator," and asks to get in touch with the Delbert John Rockecenter, the one who owns the phone company "And the planet." Her hunt for Rockecenter sees her redirected across Europe, then to Texas "when somebody remembered he now owned Texas," and then some Arab feller remembers hearing about a place called Hairytown, and finally an operator patches Krak through the Pokantickle Estate.
Remember? One of the two geographic locations Heller's alien jiggletry came up with? The one on the sheet Krak just showed Bang-Bang? The place she didn't try to call up first thing?
Krak gets the estate's number, a butler says that Rockecenter isn't accepting any calls except from Miss Agnes, and when the Countess admits she isn't Agnes, she gets hung up on. Quest over!
Or not. Krak decides she'll go to Hairytown, find Miss Agnes, and get the other woman to help her reach Rockecenter. Bang-Bang not at all reluctantly admits that due to his parole, he's unable to leave New York City. On top of that, he's still attending Heller's ROTC classes for him. So there's no way he'll be able to take her along on a suicide mission.
The Countess is not to be denied:"an important project like this couldn't possibly be allowed to halt just because of tiny routine matters." She gets up "in a purposeful way," and Gris freaks out.
I suddenly went crazy
After five pages of dispassionately narrating other people's conversations without interrupting to tell us how he feels about it, Gris finally feels free to react to the events he's recounting, just before the chapter ends.
My Gods, not only was Heller gone but she was setting herself up like a duck in a shooting gallery.
AND I WASN'T ORGANIZED YET!
Wonder what Mr. Bury would do if Gris told him about this woman who was convinced that he was hiding Rockecenter's secret heir? Maybe send his best assassin to silence her, right away? Might save Gris a bit of trouble, that.
Wait, Bury's response to Heller declaring himself as Rockecenter Jr. was that half-assed hotel room hit and dispatching the same guy Gris is using.
Why is every bad guy in this story so bad at being a bad guy?
Back to Chapter Five
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