Miranda's Demons

by Ian Miller

  Gaius did not seem perturbed, but, Natasha noted, he was still working on the front. She stopped what she was doing, and cautiously stepped back. She peered across, then kicked herself mentally. Of course! She should cut a hatch to work through. She quickly began cutting, carefully remembering to keep the hatch on the remaining tube. She was almost finished, when she became aware of Gaius standing behind her.

  "Satisfied?" she asked, perhaps a little sourly. She did not need to be supervised!

  "Nothing to do with me," Gaius smiled. "You're the one who's going to have to work there. Me, I'm just here for conversation."

  "I thought we're in a hurry."

  "We are," Gaius smiled, "but if you get straight in there, you're going to burn yourself. That steel's pretty hot, so why don't we have something to eat while we wait," and with that, he produced two small bars, the likes of which Natasha had never seen before.

  "Don't worry," Gaius laughed as he saw Natasha look suspiciously at them. "They're Ulsian, although specially formulated for our enzyme systems. Actually, and make what you will of that, they're very tasty."

  Natasha took one, and found to her surprise that it was quite pleasant, if unlike any taste she had ever experienced before.

  "An experienced soldier never refuses a chance to eat," Gaius laughed. "You never know when the next chance will come."

  The section was slowly cut through, the last piece being difficult until Natasha realized she would have to suspend the pipe as well as cut it. The section was isolated and rolled into the centre of the room. Some supporting strips of metal were attached, then it was carried, by means of fields generated from their ships and guided through their Krezell wands, to the nearest stairs. Again, the barrier was clearly visible.

  "I'll lower it and weld it in place as soon as we're ready," Gaius noted. "We don't know how long this chute will last, so we should use it as quickly as possible. Equally, once through there, we lose contact with the ships, so we're down to power packs and anything else we've got. I'll aim it so that when we drop through, we shall be below the barrier, but since we're going to land on a staircase, we've got to be careful coming out. Now, who goes first?"

  "It's my idea, so I shall," Natasha replied.

  "No doubts? No regrets?"

  "Well, if you had any more, I wouldn't mind testing the omens," Natasha admitted.

  "Spoken like a true Roman," Gaius laughed. "I'll get something brought down through a window and I'll warn Harry about the barrier. He can warn the rest."

  So Natasha found herself in the unlikely position of lowering a bag of quite grisly objects down the chute, and when she pulled them back up, she could not resist opening the bag, just to check. "The omens are good," she said, while almost retching at the sight of them, "Here I go," and she disappeared down the chute. Partly because she had no intention of staying in the barrier zone any longer than was absolutely necessary, she came out fast. She bumped her way down four or five stairs before coming to rest on a flat turning point. She looked back up, and saw the barrier clearly as a black sheet that lapped past and around the chute, but not through it. The chute itself offered the only view of the space she had just left. She waited and waited, then, just as she was beginning to wonder whether she should be thinking about how to get back up the chute, Gaius appeared.

  "You took your time," she said, a trace harshly. "I was beginning to think I might have been stuck here."

  "I thought I'd better let Harry know the scheme had succeeded, and also to let him know where the chute is. From now on, we probably can't communicate."

  "We could if he was in line with the chute," Natasha said thoughtfully. "We should have left a relay there."

  "That would have been a good idea the other side of the barrier," Gaius smiled wryly, "but never mind. Let's get on with it."

  "Where now?"

  "Down a few levels, then over to the west, where whatever caused that damage is more likely to be."

  "You think whatever Munro's got was brought in through the wall?" Natasha asked in a surprised voice. Somehow, bringing objects through a wall thirty-five flights above ground level did not seem obvious.

  "I'm just guessing," Gaius said, "and I could be wrong, but we've got to start somewhere, and we've nothing better to go on."

  "But why through a wall?"

  "Two reasons," Gaius said, as he opened a door to leave the staircase. The corridor before them was pitch black. "Keep close to me, and against the left side," Gaius whispered. He took his Krezell wand and drifted it across to the right hand side of the corridor, then he lit it. The beam swept along the corridor to reveal peeling linings, cobwebs and dust. Nobody had used this corridor for decades. "Let's go," Gaius whispered, and began edging forwards.

  "You were going to give me two reasons," Natasha whispered, as she followed closely. It was a filthy place, and as she pushed a cobweb away, she felt a spider land on her cheek and begin crawling towards her neck. She gave a jump, and swept it away. "Sorry," she muttered, as she sensed Gaius turn to her jump. "Spider."

  "Filthy place," Gaius noted, "but nobody's been down here setting booby traps, which is something. Oh yes, the reasons. First, that barrier, and what generates it, is alien, so it wouldn't come by normal delivery system. Second, the generator is probably bigger than an average room, judging by the energy output. The M'starn probably only had an hour or so to get it in, hence they blasted a hole to get it there. There's no sign of blasting through the roof, so that leaves the wall. Also, I have a confession."

  "Yes?"

  "We did an analysis of this building, and the west wall has been repaired. What came in must be supported on this level, because the repair is level at floor level. Above it, the shape is far more irregular."

  "I suppose it's simple, especially with the extra facts," Natasha muttered. "What's wrong?"

  Gaius had stopped, and the light was dimmed. "We've run out of cobwebs," he whispered. "Let me go a few steps ahead, but keep me in sight."

  Natasha nodded, then realized the futility of nodding in the dark. Gaius edged ahead, and as his shape began to disappear, Natasha followed. They had crept along for over a minute when Natasha realized the light was getting slightly stronger, and that Gaius was not using his wand. She reached a corner, and peered around to see a more spacious area at the end of a short corridor, with the vague shape of a door on the southern wall. Gaius had reached the door, after having peered to his left where she presumed there was another corridor. He looked behind to check that Natasha was still there. She gave a signal from her Krezell wand, then she realized that a large pile of debris near the corner between them would obscure the signal. Natasha moved towards the centre of the corridor, signalled again, and was pleased to see Gaius acknowledge the signal before disappearing through the doorway.

  Natasha crept along the corridor, paused at the corner to check the other corridor, then she ran lightly to the door. She pushed it open and peered through. The sight took her breath away. There was only the dimmest of light in what seemed to be a gigantic cavern. At least three floors were missing, as were all the walls between the door and the southern outer wall of the building. For at least three floors, a quarter of the building was missing. All this space had been created to accommodate the monstrous black object that was parked on a reinforced pad before her.

  The faintest of noises came from behind. Natasha spun around and peered back down the corridor that was now to her right. A light bobbed; someone was coming. Better to fight on known terrain than unknown, she thought, as she oriented herself in the dark by feeling both sides of the doorway. As silently as she could, she made her way back towards the pile of debris. She worked her way around to the left of the pile and eased herself down behind a piece of steel girder. She lay still and waited.

  Just as she regained her breathing and made herself sufficiently secure that she could move without disrupting any of the rubbish, the first signs of the bobbing light appeared on the floor. She peered around the g
irder and recognized Jennifer Munro as she strode to the door, and began keying in something on a wall panel. Natasha froze: a booby trap? What had happened to Gaius? In her urgency, she felt the pile creak. She froze; the sound had seemed like thunder in the stillness, but Jennifer seemed oblivious to it as she strode through the doorway. Natasha leaped across the space to reach and pass though the doorway while whatever protection from the trap remained.

  Just as she reached the door, she realized what had happened. Before her was light. All that Jennifer had done was to turn them on. Natasha dived for the floor, and slid through the doorway on her stomach.

  "Undignified entrance," came the cold comment from above and behind her. "One stupid move and you're dead. Even I can't miss from this range."

  Natasha rolled sideways and looked upwards. Jennifer had simply come into the room and waited behind the door.

  "I thought I heard something," Jennifer explained. A strained smirk lay across her face, she had a forced jaunty stance, and her hands held an automatic rifle, the barrel of which was trembling. The whites of her knuckles could be seen around the left handhold. Natasha realized that Jennifer was very frightened. "So Harvey's monsters didn't kill you after all?"

  "So far I'm still alive," Natasha said. She tried to relax.

  "You can continue to be if you do exactly what I say."

  "And what do you want?"

  "First, that weapon," Jennifer said, pointing at the Krezell wand.

  "It's not exactly a weapon," Natasha said, "but here you are," and she began to hand it to Jennifer.

  "Don't point it!" came the frightened voice. "Roll it across the floor."

  Natasha nodded, and rolled it towards Jennifer, who picked it up and began to examine it. Natasha noted that Jennifer did not point the front towards herself. Natasha had not yet decided whether she would take any opportunity to kill Jennifer. The simple fact was that she could operate the wand from a distance, and it could exert sufficient force to make it impossible for Jennifer to control. Then she remembered wryly the time when the position had been reversed, when she had held Gaius' wand. Although each time the gun was trained on the wand's owner, and each time the wand was captured, the situation was totally unbalanced in favour of the owner of the more advanced technology. In the same way the Aztecs could not even suspect their impending doom, Jennifer had no means of recognizing her problem. If Jennifer wanted to win this situation, she had to kill without warning, without reason.

  "Interesting object," Jennifer commented at last, as she placed the wand in a bag strapped to her belt. "Fortunately, I know something about it. It is now not possible for you to use it. If you don't believe me, try to will it out of the bag."

  "Will it?" Natasha asked, in what she hoped was her most innocent tone. Inwardly, she was fighting a wave of despair. Yet that gun had been trained on her the whole time, the safety was off, and presumably the gun was loaded. Had she tried anything, she would have been killed.

  "Don't play the goat with me," Jennifer snapped. "If you want to live, you'd better think about being more cooperative."

  "What do you want?" Natasha asked cautiously. She was now in a crouching position so in principle she could make one all or nothing dive at Jennifer's legs, a move unlikely to succeed, but better than sitting still and being shot. Then there was her clothing. Would it really stop bullets? But that would be a poor tactic since she seemed to be in no immediate danger; if she could only keep Jennifer talking, Gaius must be somewhere.

  "You can fly that?" Jennifer asked, pointing towards the centre of the room. Then, for the first time, Natasha had a chance to look about. The sight took her breath away, for the space was nothing more than a gigantic hangar. Before her, as shiny as anthracite, lay a sleek blackened penguin-like craft. It's short stubby wings seemed somehow inadequate, but the giant motors at the rear left no doubt that this penguin would fly. A ladder hung down from an area just forward of the port wing.

  "Why?" Natasha asked cautiously.

  "Because that's my only way out of here," Jennifer replied. "If you can fly that, you can live. It's a simple deal; all I ask is that you promise to put me down somewhere that leaves me a chance. Then you can take it wherever you like."

  "I probably can, but you'd kill me the moment I landed," Natasha said quietly.

  "No, I wouldn't," Jennifer replied. "I know other Munros might, but I promise you, if you get me out of here, you are free once you let me go."

  "And why should I believe that?"

  "Because I've got the gun, and you haven't any choice," Jennifer said. "It's also true," she added, "but then you've only got my word for that too. Now, slowly, on your feet. Start marching towards that ladder."

  Natasha got to her feet and began to walk towards the craft. Slightly to the right of the ladder was one of the four huge steel feet supporting the craft. She edged her path so that she was walking to the mid point between the leg and the ladder. No! That was stupid, she told herself. If Jennifer wanted her to fly the craft, she would stay alive until the end of the flight. Gaius must be aboard the craft, so the situation would be under control. The ladder and the foot were each a meter away. It would be the ladder.

  "There she is! Kill her!"

  Natasha turned to see five men near the door, each man armed with one of the rather cumbersome laser 'rifles'. Spurts of light could be seen. There was a cry, and Jennifer was flung forward, her weapon lurching from her hand. Natasha grabbed for the weapon's barrel, grabbed Jennifer with her other hand, and pulled her down behind the steel foot. The silence was uncanny; Natasha could hear footsteps, a hiss of energy striking the steel, the splatter of the showers of sparks, but no other sounds, other than the pitiful groans of Jennifer. Blood was streaming from her shoulder and thigh. She lifted a finger to point behind Natasha.

  Natasha understood and rolled over her back, bringing the rifle up to her shoulder. Two men had circled around and were in full view. As the man on the left began to raise his weapon, Natasha had the barrel pointing at him, and a light squeeze of the trigger sent a short burst of three bullets into his chest. As he recoiled, Natasha rolled, pulled the barrel across with her left arm, and as a shower of sparks erupted from where she had been lying, another quick burst lifted the second man and flung him to one side. As the body curved through the air, she sent two further bullets into the head, checked through the corner of her eye that the first man was motionless, then rolled back the other way. Halfway across the room a third attacker hesitated, unsure as to whether to fire or dive for cover. Natasha, now on her stomach and elbows, braced the rifle and sent four bullets into the fright-stricken face. She rolled back, flicked the switch onto single shot, rolled over further onto her stomach, and began wiggling around the steel leg.

  Nothing! She had to herd them so she did not have to defend on two fronts. She reached into her bag, took a grenade and drew the pin.

  "She's hit!" The other side of the leg, a voice almost triumphant.

  "Then let's finish her!"

  The sound of feet. She flung the grenade towards the far wall, then holding the rifle in the known direction, she rolled again, twice over. There was a deafening explosion, and as she came into the open she saw the two men lurching across the room, one of them grasping at his left shoulder, the other struggling with a damaged leg. She sighted and squeezed. Miss! Steady! Again she squeezed, and the leading man fell forward. The second was attempting to aim at Jennifer, but then he sensed his danger. In a fraction of indecision, he lifted his weapon and a shower of sparks flew off the steel leg. As his chest came into view of Natasha's sight, and Jennifer cried out again, she squeezed. As the target slumped, Natasha saw the other, clutching his side, reaching for his spilt weapon.

  "Don't!" she called. But the hand moved forward, as if nothing would stop it. It seemed as if everything was in slow motion as the head filled the sight, and as the front of the barrel lifted from the recoil, the head kicked back. As Natasha got to her feet, her ears still ringing fr
om the grenade, the room seemed quiet. She moved towards Jennifer, who was now clutching her stomach with the hand that still had movement.

  "Looks like you've won," Jennifer whispered.

  "You know they were after you?"

  "So Harvey's woken up."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I know how to turn off the barrier," Jennifer whispered, "so he's killed me to stop me. Perhaps he's won, after all. Oh God! Look at that!"

  Natasha followed her look towards the door. A strange cylindrical metal object had glided into the room.

  "Quickly, the wand!" Natasha cried, as she reached for Jennifer's bag. But just as the cylinder began to aim what was obviously a weapon in their direction, it began to glow, then collapsed into a heap of semi-molten metal.

  "Natasha!" came the quiet voice of Gaius.

  "I'm all right," Natasha replied. "I'm down here. But Jennifer's been hit badly. She needs help."

  "I'm beyond help," Jennifer smiled quietly.

  "Not if you tell Gaius how to get the barrier down," Natasha said.

  "You're lying."

  "No, she is not," Gaius said, as he leaned over her. "You may or may not have heard of Claudio, the faith healer, but that was me. Claudio could heal anything, but not through this barrier."

  "Can you?" Almost desperate hope flitted across her face.

  "I can."

  "It's a trick!"

  "No, it is not," Natasha said quietly, "but even if it were, do you owe Harvey all that much?"

  A strange look passed over Jennifer's face. She moved, then squirmed in obvious agony. "Listen," she whispered . . .

  Chapter 22.

  Natasha peered around the corner. There, just as Jennifer had said, was the surveillance camera. She aimed the Krezell wand and turned the camera to the extreme left, and then jammed it. Harvey Munro might guess that someone was coming, but he could not be certain.