Higher Ground

by Becky Black

  “Adam, will you help me, please?” He had no right to ask, he knew, after the way he’d acted last night and this morning. But he was desperate.

  “Of course.” Adam frowned. “Ah, I mean, what do you want help with?”

  “A ride. My bike’s battery is flat.”

  “Back to the Institute?”

  Zach shook his head. “No. Do you know where Professor Korrie lives?”

  “Korrie? Yes, I think so.”

  “Would you please take me there right away?”

  Adam hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. “Not exactly department business, but what the hell? Chuck your bike in the bed.”

  “Thank you so much.”

  Zach found a box of sandwiches on the dash when he climbed in and remembered he hadn’t eaten all day.

  “May I have one of these?”

  “Knock yourself out,” Adam said. Zach demolished the whole boxful as Adam drove out of town.

  “I’m sorry about last night and this morning,” Zach said as he ate. “I have no right to expect you to help me after that. But this is more important.” He grimaced when Adam frowned at him. Yes, more important than their budding relationship, however harsh that sounded.

  “Is it about those test results of yours?” Adam asked. “The ones you told me to pack a bag because of?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m told you busted into a senior staff meeting.”

  “Yes. And I just forced my way into Ms. Johnson’s office.”

  “That really doesn’t seem like a good idea.”

  Zach shook his head. “You’ll understand when we get to Korrie’s. I’ll explain then.”

  Adam sighed and shook his head. “Okay. But you know none of this is going to make them likely to renew your contract.”

  Zach laughed. His tension and tiredness made it close to hysteria, and Adam gave him a look of alarm. Calming himself, Zach rubbed his eyes. “In a few days, none of that is going to matter. I have to send a message.”

  An idea had hit him suddenly as they drove through the town and he saw people on the street and children playing outside the school. He’d tried to convince those at the top to listen to him. But there might be another approach. He took out his Link.

  “Adam, if you wanted to have a large public meeting, where would you hold it?”

  “A public meeting? I guess the plaza, or if you wanted to be undercover, the B dome.”

  “Ah, yes, good.” He started to tap on his screen.

  “Thinking of running for office? I don’t think the next council elections are for six months.”

  They would never happen. Zach kept typing. The B dome made sense. He’d use the platform the schoolchildren had performed on at the recital, which seemed like a hundred years ago. Ideal. He wouldn’t be able to arrange for chairs, would have to do without.

  He glanced to the side, at Adam’s tanned, bare forearms with more of his many freckles and the fine hairs that caught the sun. But the glance only lasted a second. He couldn’t think about Adam now. He opened the messaging program and started to type. He ate the last sandwich as he composed the message and drank some water. He’d like coffee. He needed coffee.

  Adam kept giving him odd looks. He even spoke a couple of times, but Zach barely grunted in reply. He had to get this message out. He avoided too much detail, hoped leaving the threat mysterious might intrigue people enough. Then he feared it was too vague and added a last line to the message.

  If you value your lives and the lives of your children, YOU MUST ATTEND.

  He didn’t delude himself everyone in the colony would show up, but if he got enough, then he could create a groundswell. He tapped Send, and a moment later, the message appeared in his inbox. He heard a soft beep from Adam’s pocket.

  “If you have something to tell me, I’m right here,” Adam said.

  “It’s a message to everyone in the colony. Thank you for your suggestion about the dome.”

  “You sent a message to everyone in the colony? I didn’t think the message network even allowed that.”

  Zach smiled. Sounded like he knew a few things about the colony Adam didn’t. Before Adam could ask him anything else, they arrived at a house, several kilometers out of town. It had been built in an old-fashioned style, wooden, with a stoop running along the front. It even had a fence around it, though Zach knew the occupier didn’t own the property. The Terraforming Authority owned the entire island, but founding members of the colony got special consideration when they retired. If they didn’t want to go home to Earth, the Authority let them use a plot of land and build a home there.

  The slam of their vehicle’s doors must have alerted Korrie, and she appeared at the door as they approached the house, shading her eyes from the sun with one hand. Despite her age—she was well into her sixties, her hair white and her dark skin faded with time—Zach was pleased to see the retired professor was straight-backed and lean. She used no stick to walk, and her movements were smooth and confident. Fit and well. Good.

  “Professor,” Zach said as he took the steps up onto the stoop, Adam following. “I’m Zach Benesh. Do you remember me from the reception at the Institute a few months ago?”

  He’d had a long conversation with her, thrilled to be able to talk to one of the first people to study the geology of this planet. She’d been sharp and insightful and up on all the latest journals and articles. If anyone could help him, she could.

  “I have a good memory for handsome young men.” She glanced at Adam at Zach’s side and smiled. “So I’ll be remembering you for a while.”

  Adam smiled and offered his hand. “Adam Gray.”

  She shook his hand and Zach’s, then held up her Link. “Of course, I just had a reminder about you, Dr. Benesh. And I thought, that’s funny, I don’t remember that young fellow being barking mad.”

  Adam snorted, but he pulled his Link out. Zach smiled weakly. “I know my message is rather dramatic. But if you’ll hear me out, I can explain.”

  “Rather dramatic!” Adam exclaimed. He looked up from his Link, gaping. “Imminent threat of the total destruction of Zahara Island? Are you serious?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’d better come in,” Korrie said. “I’ve got the kettle on.”

  * * * *

  The interior of the house didn’t match the exterior exactly. The living room had comfortable armchairs and a couple of what Adam believed women called “occasional tables.” But it also held a long bench full of modern and powerful computer equipment and scanners, with three large screens wall-mounted above the bench. They were currently running scans of some kind unfamiliar to Adam. Zach probably understood them, and in other circumstances, Adam guessed he’d be immediately glued to them and talking nineteen to the dozen about the readings. But today he apparently had bigger fish to fry.

  “Make yourselves comfortable,” Korrie said, “I’ll be back in a moment.”

  Adam sat in one of the armchairs, but Zach continued to pace. The room was dim, shades drawn over the windows to keep the glare of the noon sun out. But Adam could see the strain in Zach’s face, see how pale and tired he looked. How scared.

  He read the message on his Link again.

  All residents of the colony are invited to a public meeting tonight in Dome B at 20:00. Please make every effort to attend. I must discuss with you a serious and imminent threat of the total destruction of Zahara Island. I have attempted to bring this matter to the proper authorities and have been put off by their complacent attitudes and vested interests.

  Ouch. He’d be lucky if he saw his contract out. When the next supply ship showed up, Morrison would toss him on board and tell him not to let the airlock door hit him in the ass on the way off the planet.

  I will therefore bring my findings direct to all residents of the colony, so that together we can make appropriate plans and demand action from the authorities.

  Dr. Zachary Benesh

  And at the end, the alarming postscri
pt. If you value your lives and the lives of your children, YOU MUST ATTEND.

  Wow.

  The professor came back in with a tea tray, which Zach took from her and set on a table. Zach finally sat down as Korrie served them tea and cake, but he sat on the edge of the seat, and his leg jiggled.

  “All right, young man,” Korrie said to Zach. “What’s this all about?”

  Zach began to explain, and Adam stared at him harder and harder as he went on. Some of it Adam couldn’t follow, when Zach and Korrie began to speak in technical language. But Zach would frequently glance at Adam as if to check he was following the discussion, explaining points if needed.

  “How did you discover all this?” Adam asked. “I thought you were working on mineral surveys.”

  “I’ve been investigating the earthquake that happened a few months ago.”

  “Yeah, I remember it,” Adam said. “Broke my favorite coffee mug.”

  “Ah, yes. I was studying it purely as a side project, and that’s when I found the fault line that’s about to give way.”

  Korrie asked him something else technical, and Adam read the data on Zach’s Link for a while, trying to make what sense of it he could.

  “Can the island really sink?” Adam asked when there was a break in the technobabble. How could billions of tons of rock simply vanish?

  “The ocean floor will sink under the weight of the island as the upper magma chamber empties,” Zach said. “Once the basin floods, the weight of the water will accelerate the process.”

  “Won’t the water have to come right over the mountains to flood the basin?”

  The mountains had once been the sides of the gigantic volcano, he knew. They formed a contiguous wall of rock around the island, and the colony nestled in the sheltered basin they enclosed.

  “No,” Zach said. “The water will come in through the vents.”

  Adam chilled with horror. Old gas and lava vents riddled the mountains. He’d been in them on potholing expeditions. It had been fun.

  “How many of those go right through to the coast?” he asked.

  “Impossible to say,” Korrie said, lifting the teapot to freshen their cups. “Only three have been traced from the interior to the coast. But there could be hundreds. Accurate scans are difficult because of the magnetic nature of the rock. There have been a few physical surveys. But those are dangerous and expensive.”

  Adam nodded. Exploring the vents had become a leisure activity. People mapped new ones as they traversed them, but nobody paid them for the time, and the data was simply filed away.

  “Is there any way to block the ones we know about, at least?” Adam asked. “Buy some time. Um, blow up the entrances or something?”

  “I thought about that,” Zach said. “But I have no access to explosives nor the time or expertise to use them effectively.”

  He was serious. He’d thought about whether he personally could blow them up. Adam had been asking about getting the people in charge to do it. It would never even occur to him to do it himself.

  “And if we don’t know how many there are, we’d be wasting time,” Korrie said. “Zach, why have you come to me with this?”

  “Because I need someone who’s independent to check my results. And frankly, because you’re a founder, Professor. You command respect simply from that. If you back me up, it will carry more weight than denials from my superiors at the Institute.”

  “And what if when I check your results, I don’t agree with your findings?”

  “Then I must be wrong. And I’ll have lost my position and endangered my reputation for nothing. But if I’m right, you may save all our lives.”

  The dramatic effect of his words was rather spoiled when a large tabby cat sprang into his lap. Zach sat back, startled, and Adam smiled as the cat made itself comfortable on Zach’s knee.

  “Tuzo, get down,” Korrie scolded. The cat ignored her. “You’re in his favorite chair. Put him down if he bothers you.”

  “Um, that’s fine.” Zach stroked the cat cautiously. “So, will you look at my data?”

  “Of course.” Korrie waved at her computer equipment. “I’ll run a few analyses of my own and see what I think. I’ll have them done in time for your town meeting.”

  “Thank you so much.” Zach carefully lifted the cat and placed it on the floor, then stood up. Adam rose too, grabbing a last morsel of cake. “Adam will collect you to bring you to the meeting.” He looked at Adam. “If that’s okay?”

  “Fine,” Adam said. And after the reprimand for driving Zach home, he definitely shouldn’t be using a department vehicle after hours. But if Zach was right about this, then a reprimand would be the least of Adam’s problems. “Pick you up around nineteen thirty, Professor?”

  “It’s a date.”

  They made their good-byes and went back out to the truck.

  “Where next?” Adam asked.

  “The communications center.”

  Ah, interesting. “Why there?”

  “It’s probably best if I don’t tell you. From a legal point of view.” They got into the truck and drove off.

  “Legal troubles aren’t going to matter if you’re right.”

  “And if I’m wrong?”

  “You seem pretty sure. Of course, crazy people usually seem pretty sure of themselves.”

  Zach smiled at him, a rather tired smile. He needed more sleep. Adam would like to tuck him up in bed…and wear him out all over again, kiss him from his toes to the tip of his patrician nose, with a long stopover around the middle. He shook himself. Driving here, idiot.

  “Best to wait and see what the professor says,” Zach said. “Before you do anything to get you into real trouble.”

  Real trouble like Zach was about to get himself into. Adam could think of only one reason he’d want to go to the communications center—the only place an off-planet distress call could be sent from. He must be absolutely certain, because that wouldn’t only get him fired from his job; sending an unauthorized distress call would get him arrested.

  “If you’re going to do what I think you’re going to do, how are you going to get past the Franes?”

  “The Franes?”

  “Simon and Visha. They’re the comms center techs. Married couple.”

  “I’ll have to persuade them.”

  It wasn’t any kind of euphemism, Adam thought. He wasn’t going to bust in and tie them up or something. He believed he could go in there and talk them into it. Risk their jobs—and their home, since the center included a house on site—because of what he told them.

  It wasn’t arrogance. He looked damned worried about it. He sure didn’t seem to think he’d walk in there and sell them on it in a couple of minutes. But he believed he could do it if he tried hard enough.

  Zach stayed quiet most of the rest of the way to the comms center, and Adam gave him his peace, knowing he’d be thinking about how to persuade the Franes. Now and again he asked a question about the couple. Adam could answer a few things, though he didn’t know them well. They were under the authority of the council, quite low down in the pecking order.

  “Do they have any children?” Zach asked as Adam began to slow, the comms center just ahead, its roof bristling with dishes and antennae.

  Adam frowned, trying to remember. “Yes, um, a little girl, if I’m remembering right. Don’t know her age. A toddler, though.”

  Zach smiled. “Excellent. Thank you. And thank you for bringing me here,” he added as Adam parked in front of the building.

  “My pleasure. I guess I’ll see you at the meeting.”

  “Adam, you have a lot of friends, don’t you? Will you try to persuade as many of them to come to the meeting as you possibly can?”

  “I will. And I won’t forget to pick up the professor.”

  “Good. Yes. See you later.”

  “Good luck.” On impulse, Adam leaned over and kissed him. For luck. Zach opened his mouth at once, tongue eager for a wrestle with Adam’s. Bristl
es rasped against Adam’s chin. He couldn’t have gone home to freshen up after leaving’s Adam’s house. Adam pulled back, breathing fast, feeling a flush of heat in his cheeks, seeing it mirrored in Zach’s.

  “Thank you,” Zach said, his voice hoarse. He cleared his throat, then opened the door and stepped out.

  Thank you? Adam watched him lift his bike out of the truck’s bed and wheel it to the door of the house. Who said “thank you” for a kiss? Maybe he meant thank you for wishing him luck. Or he interpreted it as forgiveness from Adam. Still, who said “thank you” for a kiss?

  Adam really had never met anyone like Zach before. He laughed, turned the truck around, and headed back to town. He cruised slowly along the main street when he got there, thinking about where he went next. He could go back to work and talk to his colleagues, make sure they came to the meeting. But Wilson would probably be waiting to snatch the keys to the truck from him and rip him a new one about not using it for personal business. Adam didn’t much care about the reprimand, but without the truck, his transport options were limited, and he had to pick up Professor Korrie later.

  So he wouldn’t go back there, not today. He parked and took out his Link to send a message to his colleagues, urging them to come to the meeting tonight. Telling them that, whatever they’d heard, Zach Benesh was not crazy. Not about this anyway.

  “Afternoon, Mr. Gray.” A man’s voice through his open window made him look up, startled.

  “Sheriff Statham,” Adam said, covering his minor alarm. Had they sent the cops to haul his ass out of the truck and take it back? Statham was second generation, the son of founders. Adam showed the appropriate respect. “Am I parked illegally, sir?”

  “No, that’s fine. Adam, I’m told you were seen here in town earlier talking to Zach Benesh and you drove off with him. Is that right?”

  Damn. “Ah, yes, sir.” Adam knew what the next question would be.

  “Do you know where he is right now?”

  “No, sir.”

  Shit, he had lied to the police. That had to be illegal, right? They probably only wanted a bit of a word with Zach about the message and maybe about barging into Johnson’s office. But if they found him persuading the Franes to send out an unauthorized distress signal, they might lock him up; then he couldn’t hold his meeting, and everything would come to a halt, and if he was right about the island…