Lainie began to climb, making it look easy. I knew that was an illusion. She did go slowly, testing each place she put her hands and feet. I glanced back at Javen and Nic. They were both still staring into the woods, paying no attention to Lainie.
It wasn’t until she was up on what was probably the second level that I saw a light brighten one of the panels above her. It only shone for an instant, and then it disappeared.
“Did you see that?” I called up to her.
“Yes,” she said as she moved up and over.
I started after her. Of course it wasn’t as easy as Lainie made it seem. My gloves were too bulky for me to get a good grip on the supports, and even though my boots had good traction, the snow cover made it very easy to slip. Several times my foot went out from under me and I had to catch myself with my hands.
I had almost reached her when a distant whirring sound caught my attention. It grew louder. I looked to the north and saw three dark ships coming right at the dome. I flattened myself against it, hoping my white winter gear would help me blend in. I didn’t know who they were, but it seemed like a good idea not to be noticed.
As they drew closer, I recognized the ships—Combined Forces. One of them was a bomber. I turned my face to the dome and forced myself to be still. I hoped the others were doing the same. They passed over us, heading toward the spaceport. I broke out in a sweat, even though it was freezing. There was only one reason Combined Forces ships would be here—they were looking for Ansun. We didn’t have much time.
When I reached Lainie, she was already pushing on the panel. I could see it was made of different materials than those surrounding it, and there were gaps in certain places between its edge and the framing.
I added my efforts. With the two of us pushing, the panel gave way and fell inside. I cringed, waiting to hear it shatter, fearing that would bring someone to investigate. Instead, I just heard a dull thud.
“Soft floor, I guess,” I said, putting my head into the opening. There were no lights inside, but as far as I could tell the space was empty. It was a large area with a high ceiling. Something floated past my face, a feather. I looked up. Dozens of pigeons were perched on beams above us cooing softly. No sign of Mira or Decker.
“Try the gabber,” I urged.
Lainie tapped it. “Decker?” Nothing.
I didn’t realize Javen had climbed up until he was right beside me.
“Contact Wren,” he said.
Before I could tap my own gabber, I heard her voice.
“Quinn, are you there?”
“Yes, is anything happening at the port?” I heard a lot of noise in the background. “Where are you?”
“I’m outside,” she said. “I’ve quit the crew. It’s very cold out here. I have Mags. Where should I go?”
“Wren, what’s wrong?” Lainie said. “What’s happening? Why are you outside the ship?”
“Divana. She’s a bad person. I don’t want to be around her.” Wren’s voice was shaky, like she was crying. “Quinn, she turned you in for the reward. Someone is coming to get you.”
I leaned my head against a panel. Why hadn’t I seen that coming?
“Do you know what she’s talking about?” Lainie asked me.
I lifted my head and nodded. “Wren, I thought the reward was put out on the raider network.”
“It was. Someone named Ronti is looking for you. Wait, a ship is coming in. More than one. They are … they are … they are CF ships.”
Things were going from bad to worse. I hadn’t thought Ronti would know how to put a reward out on a raider network, but I shouldn’t have underestimated him.
“They look like they are in a hurry. They’re already unloading snow vehicles,” Wren reported. “Port officials are yelling at them.”
“They’re coming here,” Javen said. “Either to get you or Ansun or both.”
“Both,” I said. “Ronti knew if someone found me, Ansun might be nearby. He used a search for me to track Ansun.”
“One of the ships is taking off again,” Wren said.
“Which one?” I had a bad feeling I already knew the answer.
“It has a T18 on the side of it.”
The bomber.
“I don’t like this place,” Wren said.
“I know you don’t,” Lainie said. “Go into town, and find a place called the Star Palace. It’s nice and warm in there. Tell the bartender you are a friend of Illarion’s and you are waiting for him there. Okay? We’ll find you once we’re done here and figure out what to do.”
Javen looked in. I hadn’t heard him climbing up. “Move over so I can get inside. We’re not losing any more people. I’m going to get them out.”
“You’re going to try to get all the Fosaanians out of here?” Lainie asked.
He pulled himself up so he was sitting on the frame, his legs and feet inside the dome. “Yes. Fade and I were afraid something like this would happen. Ansun can’t be trusted to take care of the clan. Why do you think I really came along? This was what Fade was worried about from the beginning.”
I heard a shout from outside and then the hiss of a walthaser from down below.
“I missed.” Nic’s voice was angry. “But there are at least two wolves out there. What’s happening up there?” she yelled.
“Hold on,” I called down. “How are you going to get them all off Earth?” I asked Javen. “There are probably hundreds of people in here.”
“Fade bought passage for them. That’s why all the raider ships are at the port. I’ve been in contact with him since we left, keeping him updated as to our location. As soon as I knew where we were going, he sent the ships here, We’re going to Reyet until we figure out what to do.”
I felt a flash of pain in my eye and anger made my jaw clench. How much else hadn’t I been told? “I thought we were working together. Why didn’t you say something?”
“Don’t act like you’ve been wronged,” he snapped. “You neglected to mention there was a reward out for you.” He held out his hand. “Give me the cord.”
I took it off my neck. I could tell from the determination in Javen’s face that he couldn’t be stopped.
Javen tied one end of the cord around the divider bar. He called down to Nic and Illarion. “Get back in the tunnel. Go back to where we came in, and see if you can make the opening bigger.”
“Why?” Nic said.
“Just do it. I don’t have time to explain.” He turned back to Lainie and me. “I’m going to get that vactram tunnel door open. If you find Mira before I do, bring her there.” He gave a tug on the cord and then grabbed it with both hands, let himself off the ledge, and slid down. When he reached the bottom, he darted over to the door and pushed the mark beside it. The door opened. I didn’t see any lights or motion outside it. Javen went through and the door shut behind him.
Lainie took hold of the cord. “You know that old expression, ‘Knock me over with a feather’?” she said. “I’m knocked over. Let’s go find Decker and Mira so we can get out of here.” She slid down.
I followed, looking back up at both the pigeons and the cord. We weren’t going to be able to climb back up it, at least not with any speed. We’d have to find another way out.
I let go of the cord and dropped to the floor. I expected the floor to be covered in pigeon droppings, but aside from few feathers here and there the room was clean. It was also very cold.
“I don’t know if I like pigeons,” Lainie said. “It’s kind of creepy how they are just hanging out here in the dark.” She held up her hand. “Forget I said that. I know you are about to tell me lots of interesting facts about pigeons.”
“Just a few,” I said. “I’ll save them for later.”
We moved over to the door. Lainie reached out to touch the open mark, and then drew back her hand. “Yes?” she asked.
“Yes.”
We walked into another large, shadowy space, also empty. On the
other side of the space was a wall made of glass or some other clear material. Behind it was a large circular ramp winding up to the level above. I couldn’t see well, but I assumed it went down to the level below as well. I hadn’t expected so much emptiness. The only sound was a humming that most likely came from the air-filtration system.
“I wish Mira would have told us more about the layout of this place,” Lainie said.
“You don’t need to know.” Ansun walked in through a small side door I hadn’t seen.
Mira, Decker, and the tech bot containing Samson followed, urged along by two armed Fosaanians.
Why had I thought we could outwit Ansun? A wave of despair flooded me. The image of Ansun I kept in my head was from the first time I’d seen him up close, staring at me with eyes that were almost white, the huge scar on his head burning an angry red against the paleness of his skin. He reeked of sulfur then, the sulfur that permeated the atmosphere on Fosaan.
The sulfur smell was gone, and the eyes were bloodshot. He seemed smaller than I remembered, but he was still deadly looking. I glanced at Mira and Decker, relieved to see they appeared unhurt.
Somehow I supposed it was inevitable Ansun and I would come face to face again. My mind raced, trying to come up with a plan. I glanced over at the tech bot, wondering if Ansun had discovered there was an MI hidden inside it. Samson might be our last hope. An MI had nearly electrocuted me on Fosaan. Could Lainie get Samson to zap Ansun the same way before the soldiers blasted the MI to bits?
“Earth boy, you never learn,” Ansun said. “Such stupidity. You and your grandfather both. I’m tired of being distracted by you.”
I heard a faint whirring sound in the distance. “They’re coming for you,” I said. “A Combined Forces bomber is on its way.”
“Don’t think you’re going to get away with another lie.”
“Listen.” The noise grew louder.
“There’s a man named Mr. Ronti,” I said. “He’s coming here too. Once his team gets here and arrests you, he’ll order the bombing.”
Ansun laughed, something I never thought I’d hear. I looked at his guards to see if they thought he’d lost his mind. They weren’t laughing. They were smirking.
“Yet another example of your stupidity, Earth boy,” Ansun said. “Who do you think found this facility for us? Mr. Ronti has been a helpful partner.”
I was so stunned, it was as if someone had slammed me against a wall. I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard.
“No,” I said. “There is a bomber on the way. It’s coming to destroy this place.”
I saw movement behind Ansun. People were filing down the circular ramp behind the clear wall. A lot of people. Javen was in the lead, carrying a little girl on his back. He had managed to convince at least some of the Fosaanians to leave. I hoped it was Mira’s sister he was carrying.
Mira turned her head slightly and saw them too. Her eyes grew wide. She glanced over at me. I gave a very slight nod of my head. We had to keep Ansun from looking behind him.
I began to talk, making up things as I went. “No, things have changed. Ronti has decided you are out of control.” I thought back to the strange scene I’d witnessed on Reyet. Some of that was making sense. “He’s working with General Hise. Ronti arranged for him to escape after the general was captured.” I didn’t know if that was true, but it sounded good and it would explain Ronti’s odd behavior with Hise.
A flicker of doubt crossed Ansun’s face.
“Have your people check,” Lainie said. “There is a bomber on the way. It’s probably already overhead. And listen. You can hear something else coming overland.”
The whirring sound had grown louder. My eyes flicked to the ramp. People were still moving down it. I hoped some had already made it to the lower level.
“Ronti needs the MI technology more than he needs you, now that he has Hise,” I said.
The whirring grew very loud and then stopped.
There were no more people going down the ramp.
A tremendous crash sounded below us.
“They’re here,” I said. “Where is your production facility? Level two, isn’t it?”
People were racing up the ramp. At first I thought they were Javen’s Fosaanians returning, but then I saw the uniforms.
“Look behind you,” I said.
Ansun and his guards turned. The soldiers burst through the door. “Halt!” someone yelled.
Lainie said something to Samson, and suddenly a dazzling beam of light burst out of the tech bot, aimed at the soldiers. “Hurry!” Lainie motioned to Decker and Mira and then turned and ran back into the pigeon room.
There was more shouting. I ran too, praying I wouldn’t feel the blast of a walthaser between my shoulder blades.
Samson made the tech bot roll backwards, keeping the beam of light shining at the soldiers, effectively blinding them.
I reached the room before Samson, stumbling a little. Mira reached out and grabbed my hand, pulling me over to the side of the door. We huddled there, arms around each other as we watched the bot try to make it through the door. A blast hit it right before it could come inside and tipped it over.
“Shut the door!” Decker yelled to Lainie, who had her finger hovering over the mark. She hesitated. “Shut it!” he yelled again.
The top of the bot popped open, and the Samson sphere rolled out of it. Another blast hit the floor right next to the sphere. Did Samson understand what was happening? It appeared he did. The sphere began to roll toward us, picking up speed as it moved. As soon as it crossed the threshold, Lainie hit the mark and the door closed.
We heard more shouting. “Samson, shine the light around,” Lainie said. “Is there a slip in here? We might be able to see what’s going on out there.”
The hologram of Samson appeared along with some beams of light which looked like they were emanating from his ears. He made motions like he was dusting his clothes off, a big smile on his face. “Most exciting. I believe I saved you all.”
“You did, Samson,” Decker said. “Good work.”
Mira pulled away from me. “Was that really Javen? I couldn’t see very well. Where is he taking everyone?”
“He’s going to try to get them out through the vactram tunnel and then to the port. Fade has arranged passage for everyone to get off Earth. I saw him carrying a little girl on his back.”
She grabbed my arm. “Cadia! He got Cadia!”
I nodded.
“Look,” Lainie said. She had found a working slip.
The lights were now on outside the door. Both of Ansun’s guards lay on the floor. They looked dead. More soldiers were dragging Ansun away. Ronti came into the space. Ansun yelled something at him, but Ronti ignored him. He went to confer with what looked to be the commander of the troops. The man gestured toward the door separating us from them. Ronti looked in our direction and then walked over to the door.
“Tell your MI to open the door, Quinn.”
“Set the slip for two-way communication, so I can see and hear him, but he can only hear us,” I said to Lainie.
She touched a spot on the slip. “It’s set.”
“No, Mr. Ronti. We have things to discuss first,” I said. “We’ll keep the door shut while we do that.”
Ronti laughed. “We have many things to discuss, but let’s have that conversation in more comfortable surroundings.”
I ignored that statement. “So, Ansun has been your puppet all along?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Not exactly a puppet. He wanted respect and power, but he didn’t have the skills needed to get those. I took a chance on helping him, but I’ve found he’s not quite up to the task. It’s time to try something else to get the results we want.”
“You mean you can’t manipulate him the way you want to.”
“So cynical, Quinn! It’s very unattractive in a young man. And it’s not true, but I’m not going to argue with you. Even witho
ut Ansun, what he has set in motion will continue. The government has given the military too much power. It’s time to take action against that.”
He smiled. I hated that smile. “Quinn, I want both of you. You and Mira together would be a powerful symbol—youth fighting against corruption. I know you are against the corruption.”
I looked at Mira. I couldn’t believe Ronti thought I would be of any use. There had to be a trick hidden in his words.
“Nobody knows who I am,” I said.
“Not yet.” Ronti smiled. “You know things need to change. Think of all the wanton destruction and death on planets that don’t fit the Konsilon’s plans. I saw your reaction on Reyet. You don’t have the same beliefs as your grandfather. We can give you a voice.”
“I don’t want to be your new puppet.”
“You wouldn’t be. We’ll help you. All you have to do is speak out. We’ll publicize what you did on Fosaan, how you stood up to Ansun. We don’t need you to do more than that. Of course you’re too young to do anything more. You need to be in school. You can go to any school you want. I know your grandfather was insistent you go to the officer’s training academy at Wellton, but you don’t have to do that.”
“How do we know you and your group will do anything you say?” Mira asked. “I don’t know anything about you. Who is this group?”
“We can talk about that once we are out of this place. It’s going to be demolished as soon as we clear out what we need. I’d hate for you to be here when the bombing starts.”
“Samson, turn off the sound so he can’t hear us,” I ordered. I waited until it was off. “Ronti is bluffing,” I said. “He doesn’t want us dead. At least, not Mira.”
“Are you sure about that?” Mira asked. “Did you see Tasim with Javen?”
It took me a moment to focus. Tasim, Ansun’s son. “I don’t know,” I said. “I wasn’t looking for him.”
“I don’t know if he’s serious about wanting you, but he doesn’t need me if he has Tasim. If I’m dead, Cadia would be the heir, and then Ansun and then Tasim. He could use Tasim to be the voice he wants.” She looked over at the cord dangling from the broken panel. “I’d like to get out of here.”
Paradox Hunt Page 22
