Jack looked with some confusion at the glider in Tach’s hand. He spoke slowly, reaching hard for each word. “I think Earl would say you can’t be afraid of people just because they’re different, because you can never draw a clear line. Do you fear them because they’ve got the wild card, or because they have different beliefs, or because they have the wrong color skin…?”
“I fear them because they can hurt me,” Fleur insisted.
“There are a lot of people who can hurt you,” Jack said, “and very few of them have the wild card.”
“Easy to say, when you’re one of those who do,” Fleur replied. “You know what you call the rest of us. The nats. Naturals, that’s what it’s supposed to be short for, but there’s another meaning. Gnats. Little insects. Little bothersome insects waiting to be swatted by you. We’re supposed to obey the laws, and treat you nicely. But those same laws don’t apply to you. You don’t have to be nice to gnats. Not with all your power.”
“Fleur,” said David. “You have all the power here. You hold my life in your hands.”
Fleur hesitated a long time, looking at him. The wailing of the alarm was like an ice pick in the brain. “You don’t have to worry,” she said at last. “You’re safe from me.”
David nodded, as if he’d known that all along. “Start the elevator,” he said quietly.
Tachyon slewed around awkwardly, and hit the button. The elevator shuddered and shot upward.
“Not to throw cold water on this love feast,” Jack said to David, “but you do remember Mao? Mao Tse Tung, Chinese guy? Sooner or later we’ve got to let her off this elevator, and then she’s going to blow the whistle.”
“That is her right.”
That shook Tachyon out of the dream state which seemed to hold him. “No.”
David turned those dark eyes on him. “Yes.” Gently. “I knew the risks. I’ve paid the price before. I’m prepared to pay again.”
They reached her floor. The doors opened. She stepped out.
“Fleur,” Jack Braun said. “Think twice before you start naming names. I didn’t. I’m still paying for it.”
Fleur looked at them all for a long time. Tach wondered what she was thinking. Easy enough to find out. Better that he didn’t. She walked off without saying a word.
The doors shut. Tachyon stared at the flashing numbers.
“We must be crazy to let her walk off like that,” Jack said.
“You have to take a gamble on someone sometime,” David replied.
“She’s her father’s daughter!” Jack said.
Tachyon stirred in his wheelchair, and handed the Earl Sanderson glider back to Jack. “And her mother’s too.”
The elevator, with its cargo of ghosts and survivors, continued its lunge for the sky.
Closing Credits
STARRING
Created & Written by
Jack (Golden Boy) Braun
Walter Jon Williams
Senator Gregg Hartmann
Stephen Leigh
Mackie Messer
Victor Milán
Sara Morgenstern
Victor Milán
James (Demise) Spector
Walton Simons
Dr. Tachyon
Melinda M. Snodgrass
CO-STARRING
created by
George R. R. Martin
Blaise Andrieux
Melinda M. Snodgrass
Rev. Leo Barnett
Arthur Byron Cover
Billy (Carnifex) Ray
John J. Miller
Hiram Worchester
George R. R. Martin
FEATURING
created by
Joshua Davidson
George R. R. Martin
Tom (Gimli) Miller
Stephen Leigh
Georgy Vladimirovich Polyakov
Michael Cassutt
Fleur van Renssaeler
Melinda M. Snodgrass
WITH
created by
Nephi (Straight Arrow) Callendar
Walter Jon Williams
The Gatekeeper
Victor Milán
Amy Sorenson
Stephen Leigh
Charles Devaughn
Victor Milán
Tony Calderone
Walton Simons
Doughboy
Victor Milán
The Great and Powerful Turtle
George R. R. Martin
The Wild Cards Universe
The Original Triad
Aces High
Jokers Wild
The Puppetman Quartet
Aces Abroad
Down and Dirty
Ace in the Hole
Dead Man’s Hand
The Rox Triad
One-Eyed Jacks
Jokertown Shuffle
Dealer’s Choice
Double Solitaire
Turn of the Cards
The Card Sharks Triad
Card Sharks
Marked Cards
Black Trump
Deuces Down
Death Draws Five
The Committee Triad
Inside Straight
Busted Flush
Suicide Kings
The Fort Freak Triad
Fort Freak
Lowball
High Stakes
About the Editor
GEORGE R. R. MARTIN is the author of the international best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series, which is the basis for the award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones. Martin has won the Hugo, Nebula, Bram Stroker, and World Fantasy Awards for his numerous novels and short stories. Visit him online at www.georgerrmartin.com, or sign up for email updates here.
Thank you for buying this
Tom Doherty Associates ebook.
To receive special offers, bonus content,
and info on new releases and other great reads,
sign up for our newsletters.
Or visit us online at
us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup
For email updates on the editor, click here.
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Closing Credits
The Wild Cards Universe
About the Editor
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously.
WILD CARDS VI: ACE IN THE HOLE
Copyright © 1989 by George R. R. Martin and the Wild Cards Trust
All rights reserved.
Cover art by Michael Komarck
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
www.tor-forge.com
Tor® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-0-7653-3560-9 (trade paperback)
ISBN 978-1-4668-2438-6 (e-book)
e-ISBN 9781466824386
Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.
First published in the United States by Bantam Spectra
First Tor Edition: February 2017
eading books on Archive.