Forty-four
They heard the distant explosion, but didn’t know
what to make of it. Colonel Seth Clymer’s forces ran out of daylight.
They spent the night scattered among the trees in defensive cliques of two
or three. Richard sat on a grassy knoll surrounded by saplings, sipping
hot coffee from a thermos with Sarah curled up in his arms. “Howard would
have been outraged,” she murmured to the darkness. “How could I let
something like this to happen to Trevor Industries?”
“By allowing your son to be possessed by a
twenty-third century mercenary hot after an adversary who seems to be
arming himself with twenty-third century technology.” Richard eyed her
with a scowl. “Just out of curiosity, how do you suppose Howard would
have coped?”
Sarah frowned. “It would never have happened to
Howard to begin with.”
“He never had a close relationship with Billy, I take
it.”
“He loved the boy. He sure as hell left him enough
money to play with. But, no, he never had a close relationship with
Billy.”
“Would he have preferred a daughter?”
Sarah thought about it and shook her head. “He had
no use for miniature human beings lacking bladder and bowel control,
regardless of sex.”
“Takes two to tangle.”
Sarah conceded the point. “Sex. It was the only untidy
side-effect of his humanity he had to endure. It was the only one he
enjoyed.”
“We shouldn’t be here, Sarah. Corin claims to have
matters well in hand. He warned us that we’d lose lives unnecessarily.
We’ve lost three so far.”
“I didn’t mean for that to happen.”
“It’s not going to be over anytime soon. How do we
explain ourselves to the authorities?”
Sarah paled at the prospect. “Richard, we’re going
to be testifying before senate investigation committees for the rest of
our lives.”
“I can handle it. I’m a lawyer, remember?”
Sarah put her arms about him and held tight. “Right
at the moment, you’re a pillow. Close your eyes and follow my example.”
A short time later, the Colonel tossed them a blanket
and they managed to sleep fitfully until just before dawn.
The Colonel awakened them as the first of his
volunteers went through the ultrasonic barrier wearing the one pair of
confiscated headphones and armed with both a silenced pistol and a Taser.
He also took with him one end of fifteen hundred feet of polyester fishing
line. They watched in silence as he vanished into the trees.
Sarah stationed herself at the Colonel’s side until
the fishing line stopped unraveling and was then rewound. Their catch at
the end of the line was the one pair of headphones safely wrapped in cloth
and ready for reuse. On hour later, three men had passed through the
ultrasonic barrier, one at a time, and the longer and more tension-ridden
wait began as they reconnoitered the outskirts of Silver Ridge. Richard
eyed the rising sun, suspecting the day would be as long and worrisome as
the one that had preceded it.
A chorus of voices caught their attention. The
scouts were returning, each now wearing a set of headphones confiscated
from the other side of the barrier.
The Colonel consulted with the scouts,
and then returned
to debrief Sarah. “We can get in without being seen. I don’t know what
we can do once we’re inside except to have a look around and size up the
situation at close range. We can’t risk pitting our firepower against
theirs. If Billy’s alive, but hidden in some underground bunker on the
hill as you say, I don’t see how we’re going to be able to get to him.”
“I want more than that now,” Sarah said, her tone of
voice hard and her level of confidence well able to withstand the gaze of
a dozen young distrustful combatants. “I don’t want our property involved
in the hijacking of plutonium from that godawful breeder reactor. Blow up
the shipping and receiving docks of Silver Ridge Die-Casting. Blow up the
plant if you have to. Just do something to stop them and attract lots of
attention.”
Colonel Seth Clymer looked at her in amazement. He
grinned. “Okay. We can handle that.”
“But don’t leave behind evidence of our personal
involvement,” Richard added. “I’m certain she wants Trevor Industries
considered an injured party in this affair rather than a participant.”
The Colonel shrugged off the added responsibility.
“I had that figured out for myself.”
“Then let’s hurry up,” Sarah concluded, brushing
debris from the back of her fatigues. “I would like to sleep in a decent
bed tonight.”
