Chapter 14
Attacks and Counter-Measures
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Macready and the MAFM were making good time along the back route to Eck’s Cave. The rough road ran along the south side of the Vespa River, and it cut a considerable distance off the smoother route back to Aurelia. Crossing at the Bridge of Stars, they would be very close to their next chosen destination. Right after the distribution of the map cubes, the MAFM had planned their route with great consideration to nearby eavesdroppers. With any luck, Alex Vargas would now be in place for a carefully calculated strategic maneuver.
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Alex Vargas was more deserving of the MAFM moniker than most of the other members; life as a restaurateur did not lend itself to slimness. Still, he and Tom made excellent time along the quiet streets of Aurelia. They skimmed along the pavement, rolling fast, and arrived at the Bridge of Stars well in advance of any Bonebreaker team.
“We need to set up right away,” Mr. Vargas said. “The Aeris will be here at any minute.”
The Bridge of Stars was a graceful arc of thin metal limbs that looked too delicate to support Tom walking across it, let along Tom on a bicycle along with Mr. Vargas towing a trailer. Not too far from the Athos Mountains and the big waterfalls, the Vespa River here was still narrow and very fast-flowing, roaring and hissing over smoothed boulders, sending up clouds of droplets that made the air smell fresh and alive. The bridge itself was lined with outwardly curving metal flanges in shades of silver and blue, spouting lines that echoed the arc of the water below. As Tom crossed the bridge with Mr. Vargas, he realized that the delicacy was an illusion; there was nary a tremble in the structure. It must be made of some of the super-strong nano materials, maybe from the Nawak, Tom thought.
“How do you know where the Amphibians are going to set up their ambush?” Tom asked when they were on the other side of the Vespa.
“From a strategic point of view there’s really only one good spot,” Mr. Vargas said. They stowed their bikes in some dense bushes, and Mr. Vargas hauled out a large sack from his carrier.
“See that gap right there?” Mr. Vargas pointed to a space between the hills.
Tom nodded as they got off the trail and began to make a circuitous route through the underbrush and grasses back towards the gap.
“That’s where the road comes across, the one from Vespa Falls. The MAFM will come along that road. That’s what they talked about back at the plaza, within earshot of certain interested persons. The Aeris like to repeat their tricks, as I’ve mentioned, and they’ll know that this is the spot for an ambush. It’s ideal.”
Mr. Vargas continued talking as they reached a spot on the hillside overlooking the road. “That gap offers cover to the attackers; they can wait until the MAFM are well into the targeted space, then swoop down from both sides. This strategy seems to be trans-species, by the way. Everyone seems to have experience with fighting.”
Alex Vargas began pulling various items out of his duffel bag. One of them smelled funny.
Mr. Vargas sniffed the packaged appreciatively, then sneezed. “My guess is that after they attack the MAFM and get the staff, they’re going to retreat across the bridge and cut off passage for pursuers somehow.
“Sadly for our little hairless friends, we just can’t permit that to happen.”
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Macready briefed his team as they made time towards the Bridge of Stars crossing. They knew that an ambush was going to happen, almost certainly towards the beginning of the race when the team movements were known, and again almost certainly when the targeted team was moving through a quiet section of the countryside. As the MAFM approached the bridge, Macready knew that he and Alex Vargas had calculated correctly. He hoped that Vargas was in position. In the Bonebreaker Race as in war, you trained, studied the enemy, made your preparations, then did the best you could with the situation as it developed.
As the MAFM entered the gap, too all appearances as casual as if they were on their way to a picnic, the Carnivorous Amphibians made their move, right on cue.
A huge sticky net came shooting out over the MAFM; there was simply no way to avoid the entangling threads that enveloped the group. From behind a clump of bushes came prancing an Aeris, waving a grenade launcher in the air. Several more came out from the rocky hillside, all dressed in festive war stripes. The Aeris with the web grenade launcher, unbalanced, fell over from the weight but quickly righted himself. He glared at his teammates and the Humans.
Oliver laughed. He couldn’t help it, though his body was trapped by the sticky, thready goo. It was like being taken hostage by a group of trick-or-treaters. Macready had said not to worry; he had a backup plan if Vargas wasn’t able to show. Oliver hoped so. The other MAFM cursed, spitting out bits of the web, trying unsuccessfully to extricate themselves. It was like being trapped in a gigantic spider web.
“Any time now, Vargas,” Macready muttered, trying to wipe some of the netting away from his face. Last year, the Aeris had surprised them with a simple tripwire and a semi-effective paralyzing spray. This time it seemed that they were taking no chances that Macready would be able to chase them down.
“Your race staff, Humans, and we will leave you to deal with your predicaments,” one of the Aeris said. From the elaborate belt he wore around his skinny middle, this one must be the team leader. “If you’re sufficiently agile, perhaps you can join us at the closing ceremonies.”
The Aeris leader stepped daintily across the edge of the netting to where Katie Peterson was holding the staff. The sticky net wasn’t adhering to his feet, Oliver noticed. They must be treated with some special coating.
Kate refused to let go of the staff. “Get away from me you sorry sawed-off excuse for a sentient being,” she growled, spitting out bits of sticky net while wrestling with the Aeris for possession of the glittering MAFM team standard.
“You are,” the Aeris grunted, “only delaying the inevitable.” He tugged harder, then suddenly shifted tactics and rapped Katie on the knuckles with a stick he’d grabbed from the side of the road. She winced, cursed, but still didn’t let go. Ultimately, it took three Amphibian team members to pry the staff from her grip.
And all the while, no sign of Alex Vargas. Macready started to get worried. He didn’t want to have to use his backup plan since it would involve a lot of running and hard exertion.
After finally obtaining the MAFM staff, the Aeris prepared to go. An additional half-dozen Amphibian team members came out from where they’d been lurking in the bushes; these Aeris had been the reserves in case the Humans had been able to put up more of a fight.
The Carnivorous Amphibians clustered together, gloating and chattering in high voices. A couple of them threw small pebbles at the trapped Humans. Their excitement was palpable. With an audacious stunt like this, they were sure to win. And to think they’d been nervous about Ghost Wind beating them on style points! This would surely put the Vannevars in their place.
Out of the sky, a barrage of colored globes hit the Aeris and the Humans alike. There were bits of bright rubber shrapnel on the ground and the people, and everyone was drenched in water. Then came a second round, then a third. The cascading balloons seemed to be launched from the clouds themselves, and confusion reigned.
The Aeris squawked and began to run in a cluster towards the bridge, whereupon a new weapon hit them. Small, tissue-wrapped packages whacked the running Aeris. These were much lighter than the water balloons but propelled as from a tiny cannon, and they burst open upon impact, coating the Aeris in a powdery haze. The Carnivorous Amphibians immediately began sneezing uncontrollably. Unfortunately, Aeris never covered their mouths when sneezing.
Oliver, Macready and the rest of the MAFM were quickly emerging from their sticky entrapment. The water balloons that had temporarily confused the Aeris also helped to melt the netting. The Humans freed themselves of the sticky threads and
stood around for a moment, picking off the irritating bits still clinging to skin and clothes. Obviously, the Aeris weren’t a concern at the moment; they were incapacitated by their reaction to the powder that Alex Vargas had shot at them.
Oliver and Macready approached the Aeris team slowly, trying to stay out of the way of the wetter sneezes. It smelled as if twenty Italian restaurants were all gearing up for dinner at the same time.
“Garlic,” Macready explained succinctly. “The Aeris are sensitive to the stuff.” The two men watched the Aeris flounder. The team leader tried to speak but could only shoot a poisonous glare.
“Ah, here comes our secret weapon,” Macready said. “And he has a helper, I see.”
Alex Vargas, face wreathed in smiles, came out from the far side of the hill where he and Tom had been hiding.
“Ha! You, Macready, thought I had too many water balloons. Confess! It’s good for the soul,” Mr. Vargas said.
“Credit is due, Alex. I thought you’d lost your mind, or at least your aim, when the water balloons drenched us,” Macready said.
“Happily, one of us is familiar with the properties of spray netting.”
Macready and Alex Vargas picked their way through the Aeris, found the MAFM staff and took it back. For good measure, they also took the Carnivorous Amphibian team’s staff. Leverage was always useful.
“Hi, Dad!” Tom said. “You still have goop in your hair.”
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me. Where are the other kids?”
“I went back to the house for some stuff. I’m going to catch up with them, maybe at Eck’s Cave. That reminds me,” Tom rushed over to where Macready and the MAFM were discussing what to do with the Aeris.
“It will be a pleasure,” Katie Peterson said in response to a query from Macready. She was rubbing her reddened knuckles and staring at the Aeris with dislike. “If I drop their staff, they’ve no one to blame but themselves for hitting my hand with that stick.”
Tom wondered what was up. He opened up his backpack and brought out the scavenger items that he had gathered. “Here. I found these things for you guys.”
“Outstanding! Where in the world did you find a Branagh Dinwiddie autograph?” Macready asked, reading the flyleaf of the Shakespeare play.
“No, on second thought, don’t tell me. Or rather, tell me in a day or two. I’ll be interested to hear.” Macready’s eyes twinkled, and Tom was pretty sure that Macready already had a pretty good idea where the book had come from.
“Let’s go, team!” Macready called out. The Aeris were still non-operational, but some of them were splashing river water on their heads and bodies to rid themselves of the troublesome garlic, despite their aversion to getting wet.
“Tom, go ahead and get across the river,” Macready said. “Wait on the other side if you’d like, but get across.”
Tom rode over the narrow, beautiful bridge and looked back. The MAFM were close behind, Katie Peterson in the rear of the group. She was carrying the staff from Carnivorous Amphibian. Its many-colored stones caught the light and made it look as if she were transporting a rainbow across the river. Katie stopped in mid-bridge.
Macready stopped beside her. He shouted out to the swiftly recovering Aeris on the far bank, “Amphibians! Listen well. We are assessing a penalty on your team.”
Squawks of protest wafted up from the far shore. One or two Aeris looked as though they were ready to charge across the bridge. Katie immediately thrust the multi-colored staff over the railing and held it there, dangling from one hand. The Aeris froze.
“After a period of one hour—“ Macready consulted with one of his team member to get the approximate equivalent in Aerisian time—“we will allow you to get your staff back. If you try to take it from our team member by force, she will drop it into the river.”
More outraged squawks.
“After the hour, maybe a little more, you can have your staff back. Do you understand and agree or not?” Macready asked. Katie waggled the staff for emphasis.
The Amphibians huddled on the far shore, gesticulating wildly. The belted leader spoke, “What choice do we have? But this will not be forgotten!”
Macready waved. He spoke with Katie in a low voice, arranging a rendezvous after her assignment keeping the Aeris bottled up. Then Macready rejoined the rest of the MAFM, and the team got underway.
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As they trotted along, the team members were still picking out bits of netting that had attached themselves to their clothing like dried earthworms. Some of the team were looking forward to the next checkpoint at Eck’s Cave not just for the points, but also because Eck sold some fine Nawakian-made ale. The day had already been an ordeal.
“The Amphibians won’t attack Katie after she gives them the staff, will they?” Tom was worried. Katie was larger than an Aeris, but she was still quite small for a Human, and she was outnumbered to boot.
“Heavens, no. There would be no point, and the Gracchus would break the team, ban it maybe. The Carnivorous ones are good fellows; it’s just that tricksters sometimes outsmart themselves. Besides which, she’s good friends with many of them—except for today, perhaps.
“Katie likes to paraglide off the Aramys Books Cliffs, and she’s taught some of the Aeris, too. Their bodies are perfect for it.”
Tom was reassured.
Macready continued, “Of course, in the old days it might have been different. I heard that kidnappings were common. But now, it’s much more civilized.” Tom was a little less reassured.
He also wasn’t sure that it was more civilized: spray netting, water balloons, attack garlic. Still, this was great fun.
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Far Travels, The Gracchian Adventures, Book One Page 14
