Lauren rolled her eyes. This was not the time for sexual innuendoes or sexual anything. This was the time for avoiding being dragged out into a nefarious jungle full of predators.
Heavy footfalls sounded on the ramp. Striker.
“Thatcher and Frog haven’t seen the others. They’ve been busy trading insults with each other. Well, Thatcher has been quizzing Frog on aerodynamics and flight theory. Frog’s been doing the insulting.”
Tick frowned at Ankari. “They didn’t say they were leaving? They’re supposed to be guarding you.” He looked at Lauren when he said that you. Implying that she needed even more guarding than the others? Alas, that might be true.
Ankari tapped her comm-patch. She, Lauren, and Jamie weren’t technically a part of the crew, but Mandrake had issued them all company patches.
“Lieutenant Sparks?” she asked. “Did you decide to go off on an adventure without letting us know about it?”
Several seconds passed without an answer. Lauren shifted uneasily. What trouble had the men found? Her instincts might be overactive when it came to danger, but she trusted there was a reason they had been telling her to stay in the shuttle and not venture out.
“It’s Corporal Hemlock’s adventure, ma’am,” Sparks finally answered, sounding breathless. Animals shrieked in the background. Not the bats, but something else that sounded equally unfriendly. “He said he saw someone spying on the shuttles. He’s leading us into… to… Hell, I don’t know, ma’am. We’ll be back as soon as possible. You’re not in trouble, are you?”
“No, not unless Lauren sticks forceps in my eye when I try to push her out the hatchway.”
Lauren gave Ankari the sour look she deserved. Ankari smiled back at her.
“Look out, you—ouch!”
Ankari’s smile turned to a frown. “Sparks?”
This time, the lieutenant did not answer.
Tick rubbed his face. “We’ve been down here less than two hours, and this mission has already gotten overly complicated.”
“Want me to go out and look for them?” Striker asked.
“I’m the tracker. I should go.” Tick tapped his comm-patch. “Sparks? Hemlock? Gavrikov? Answer me.” He growled. “What’s going on? The storm is over. There shouldn’t be anything interfering with the comms.”
“You going to leave me to carry your scientist back to the captain by myself?” Striker asked.
Lauren scowled at him. “You try to carry me anywhere, and I’ll stab you with an injector full of argenocide.”
“And that is what?”
“A fungicide with side effects that are known to cause a loss of libido and lower sperm count in humans.”
Lauren had simply named the first drug that had popped into her mind—she had ordered some the day before—but was pleased to see the horrified expression that took over Striker’s face. He backed up, hands raised in the air.
“I can track them just fine, Tick,” Striker said. “You stay with your mad scientist. I’ll comm if I run into trouble.”
He didn’t wait for Tick’s approval before jogging down the ramp and disappearing into the trees.
“Yes, I’m sure the captain will appreciate his company splitting up and wandering all over the jungle.” Tick shook his head, chomping agitatedly at his gum. “Split your forces. That’s the natural strategy to use when there’s trouble about.”
“I don’t think Hemlock and Gavrikov even have their comm units on,” Ankari said with a frown. She tapped her patch again. “Viktor? We’re having a little drama out here. Do you still need Lauren? Do you have any men that can help with a, uhm—”
“Bunch of idiots that ran off on their own,” Tick finished.
They waited a few seconds, but Mandrake didn’t answer, either.
“Wonderful,” Tick muttered.
“Maybe the storm is worse between us and the ship,” Ankari said. “The signals go through the Albatross, right? We had trouble with communications the last time we were down here too.”
“I remember,” Tick said, though he looked toward the view screen, not convinced. The rain continued to lessen, the sky growing brighter. “Lauren, will you come with me, please? We’ll go check on your sister and the captain in person. I hope she didn’t push some button that caused trouble.”
“I’d say that she would never cause trouble, but that would be a lie,” Lauren said.
“I believe you.” He offered her his arm.
She gazed toward the drizzle dripping from the top of the open hatchway. If someone was skulking around out there, was there any guarantee that she would be safer here with Ankari and Jamie than she would be out there with Tick? They could keep the hatch locked, but if another ship came, the craft might be an easy target, especially with its vibrant pink paint. On the other hand, animals could find them out there. Hungry animals with large teeth.
“I’ll keep you safe,” Tick said quietly, as if he understood her internal debate.
Who knew, maybe he did. She looked into his eyes, not that comfortable with the notion. Still, he had that easy-going manner, even when he was agitated and macerating his poor piece of gum to death. It was hard to feel uncomfortable around a man wearing a fur hat with a tail.
“Fine.” Lauren took her bag from Ankari. “Let me get a couple of things.”
“Not that fungicide, I hope.” His eyebrows twitched.
“I didn’t pack that,” Ankari said. “I don’t think.”
“No, but it’s a mystery as to why you think I’ll need a—” Lauren plucked a clunky five-pound tool out of her bag with a frown, “—portable scanning tunneling microscope in a cave.”
“I figured you’d want to be prepared.”
“For atomic curiosities?”
“You never know.”
“You don’t have any idea what that tool does, do you?” Tick asked Ankari.
“Not really.” She smiled at him and patted Lauren on the shoulder. “Have her back by ten. No shenanigans.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Lauren shook her head. Shenanigans from Tick were the least of her concerns. Ankari’s smile faded as she turned away from them, tapping her comm-patch, trying again to catch the captain. Nobody answered.
* * *
Tick was relieved when the roar of the waterfall reached his ears. He walked with his laser rifle cradled in his arms and constantly looked back to check on Lauren. Normally, he would be certain he could handle any wildlife the moon might throw at him, but too many strange occurrences were happening. He couldn’t help but wonder if that other ship had remained in the vicinity and was doing something to scramble their communications. He supposed it was possible the forcefield had covered the entrance of the cave again and that it was dampening the signal for the captain’s comm-patch. But that wouldn’t have affected Hemlock and the others. With every step Tick moved away from those men, he felt guiltier for leaving the tracking to Striker. Was getting Lauren to that computer as important as making sure the crew wasn’t in trouble?
“The animals seem quieter in this end of the canyon,” Lauren said.
It was the first thing she’d said since they left the shuttle. She had been keeping up with him without complaint, but he’d glimpsed her flinching now and then at some noise or another, and peering warily into the foliage. If the narrow trail would have permitted it, and if she would have permitted it, he would happily have walked arm-in-arm with her, making her feel secure.
“Naturally,” Tick said, letting more of his backwoods drawl into his voice. “I’m using my redoubtable mercenary fearsomeness to keep them away.”
Judging by the way Lauren’s mouth twisted, she wasn’t overly soothed.
“Also, half of the company is waiting around the waterfall up ahead, and we killed a bunch of those giant bats, so the critters probably aren’t in the mood to loiter in the area.” Half the company was an exaggeration, but Tick looked forward to reuniting with the large squadron of men. Even if some of them had been lookin
g at him as if he were a companion to the devil, he would take some comfort from the numbers. The animals didn’t worry him, but if Hemlock had seen someone skulking in the trees, that might only be the tip of the iceberg.
“Redoubtable, huh?” she asked. “Did I mention I was impressed that you knew what a speleologist was?”
“Because mercenaries are all stupid?” Tick asked, though he felt more pleased than insulted. He had impressed her? Truly?
“Not… all of them.”
Tick couldn’t manage to feel affronted on behalf of his comrades. A lot of them were dimwits. She was probably thinking of Striker specifically. Tick was no scholar himself, but he could usually understand what Thatcher was talking about when he started hurling his vocabulary around like a medicine ball.
“I read books,” Tick said. “Sometimes they have fancy words in them.”
“What kinds of books?”
“Some history books, but mostly novels. Lots of post-devastation stories where a lone man has to lead people into the wilderness to protect them, and saves the day using his clever survival skills.” He grinned back at her. “Bet you can’t imagine why I’d like those.”
She looked at his forehead. No, wait—that was his cap she was looking at. He decided she wouldn’t likely be impressed if he told her he’d caught the critter, skinned it, and made the headwear himself. He hadn’t met too many women who went weak-kneed over that kind of thing.
“I can see why you’d like stories with survivalist heroes,” she said slowly, “but the rest of it… Doesn’t it bother you reading about stories of death and destruction when you grew up on Grenavine?”
“I guess it just gives me more of an appreciation for heroes dealing with the loss of their own worlds. And they’re not all death and doom. Ever read Volkov? He’s got some humor in his stories.”
“Ah.”
Her gaze shifted toward the stream and the trees again, and he sensed that she would let the conversation end there. He’d so rarely heard her talk about anything except her work that he was reluctant to end their chat. The peek into outside-the-lab Lauren was rare.
“Do you like to read?” He pushed aside a thorny branch, holding it so she could pass without getting whacked in the face.
“I follow many of my peers’ publications and keep abreast of the latest discoveries in my field.”
So, not a big reader of fiction, he wagered. “Sometimes, when I’m reading in my bunk at night, I wish I had someone to share the good bits with.”
“I’ve had that thought too,” Lauren said.
“You have?” Tick hopped over a fern to take the lead again. “I didn’t realize science publications had, ah, good bits.”
“Clearly, you haven’t read many.”
“Clearly.”
The roar of the waterfall had increased, so he called out, “Sergeant Tick incoming,” not wanting anyone with a twitchy trigger finger to see movement and shoot. Most of the people in the company were better trained than that, but there was no reason to take chances.
To his surprise, nobody answered. He pushed through the foliage, crinkling his nose as the smell of the charred, dead bats reached his nose. Soon, he stepped out of the brush, and the pool and waterfall came into view. The circle of dead bats remained, but the mercenaries were gone.
“Hm,” he said as Lauren came up beside him. An uneasy feeling flitted through his stomach, but he added, “They must have gone into the cave.” Maybe that ship had cruised overhead, and the company had needed to take cover to avoid notice.
“What cave?”
Tick started to point to the entrance, but the forcefield had gone back up, camouflaging the rock face again. “It’s behind that. We’ll have to figure out how to open it again. Or maybe knocking will work.” Presumably, the captain and the others were inside.
Lauren wore a dubious expression, but she followed him across the stream and past the field of dead bats. At least the carnage did not seem to bother her. A scientist had probably seen plenty of death, dealing with the short lives of lab rats, if nothing else.
Before Tick reached the cliff, he spotted a few pockmarks and gouges in the earth and veered over to look at them. Had the company made them while fighting the bats? Earlier, it had been too dark to see the ground well, but now that daylight had come—however smothered with clouds the sky was—he could make out much more. The trampled vegetation, dead bats, and boot marks in the mud all made sense, but the pockmarks and gouges? He crouched beside one, stretching his hand over it to help estimate the size.
“What is it?” Lauren asked, sticking close to his side.
“Damage done by large weapons. Ship’s weapons.” Tick swiped his finger through the dirt. It was still warm. He lifted his finger to his nose.
“Perhaps I should have brought my electron microscope, after all.”
“Hm?”
“To help with the identification.”
“No need.” Tick touched his finger to his tongue, tasting the charred dirt. “Laser weapons. And judging by the angle...” He squinted along the line toward the top of one of the cliff walls. “The attacks came from up there. Might have been a flyby.” He chewed thoughtfully on his gum, though the minty flavor and caffeine had long faded. He was tempted to climb to the top of the cliff to see if the ship might have landed up there, or if there were other clues, but he couldn’t imagine that his own people had gone that way. “Let’s see if the rest of the men went inside to avoid the attack.”
He jogged to the cliff and rested his hand on the nub Mandrake had touched earlier.
“Who seeks entrance to the Hidden Grotto?” the same mechanical voice asked.
Lauren stepped back, looking curiously up and down the cliff.
“Sergeant Tick.” He remembered that Mandrake had used his real name and added, “Heath Hawthorn.” Maybe the thing was programmed to open for Grenavinians.
The beam did not turn on to examine him. He tried knocking on the damp surface, but it felt as if his knuckles bumped against solid rock. “Convincing door.”
If the others were inside, they may not have heard the sound through the barrier.
“You’re sure that’s the spot?”
“It was an hour ago.” He tried twisting the nub.
“Who seeks entrance to the Hidden Grotto?” the voice repeated.
“Willow Mandrake,” Tick tried with a shrug.
To his surprise, the light beam appeared as it had before, enveloping him. Some kind of energy scan made his body tingle. He had no idea why the captain’s name would work as a passcode, but he hoped the beam wasn’t smart enough to realize that a different Grenavinian was using it.
“Willow?” Lauren quirked an eyebrow.
“You didn’t know that was his real name? I thought Ankari might have mentioned it.”
“She calls him Viktor.”
“He prefers Viktor.”
“Do you prefer Tick? To Heath?”
“Not really. It’s what I’m used to, but I’ll answer to either. I, ah, wouldn’t mind if you called me Heath.” He’d made the offer the day before, and she’d said she would, but she hadn’t yet.
“Good.”
The light winked out. Tick sighed and stepped back, figuring he had failed to pass the test, but after a moment of apparent consideration, the forcefield disappeared, revealing the cave once again. Three things had changed. First, full day had come, and natural light filtered down from skylights that he hadn’t noticed before. The plant-based illumination had dimmed. Second, more gouge marks had bitten into the floor, leaving shattered pieces of cement everywhere. Two of the grow beds closest to the entrance had been decimated. Lastly… no one was there.
Tick stepped inside. “Hello?”
Nobody responded.
8
Lauren rubbed the back of her neck. She had been reading through files in the computer Tick had directed her to for at least an hour. Her upper back ached, right along with her neck. The hard cave floor l
acked the cushioned ergonomic mat she stood on when she worked in her lab on the shuttle or on the ship. In addition, she was already tired. Yawns kept bringing tears to her eyes as she scrolled through pages of data, most of it on plants the druids had experimented on. What had her sister found so fascinating here?
She yawned again and swiped to the next file. Her internal clock was off since the moon and the Albatross were not on the same day-night schedule, but she guessed it was nearing midnight on the ship.
“Doing all right?” Tick asked, coming up behind her.
He had been poking all around the strange indoor-greenhouse-cave, examining the laser damage and trying to figure out where the others had gone. As far as she knew, he hadn’t found another exit yet. He had been grumbling about how the bare cement floor did not leave prints. His only clues were missing strawberries—apparently, Striker hadn’t been the only one munching on them—and the damaged grow beds near the entrance. If the men had run into the cave, a maneuverable ship might have lowered into the canyon and found an angle from which it could shoot at them.
“I’m fine.” Lauren lowered her hand, realizing she had been kneading her back and stretching her neck. “I’m not seeing what excited my sister.”
“Nothing about ESP?”
“Not unless the strawberries are particularly prescient.” Lauren nodded toward the laser marks on the floor. “Any luck figuring out where the others went?”
“Not yet. I did find a half-smoked cigarette on the floor by the rear wall.”
“Maybe they got cornered back there and had to surrender.”
“Surrender?” he asked as if he didn’t know the meaning of the word. Since he knew about redoubtable mercenaries, she found that unlikely.
“They could have been captured.”
“If the captain had been backed into a corner, he would have had our people blow up the whole mountain to deter his enemies and keep that from happening. Haven’t you seen Striker’s grenades?” True, Striker hadn’t been there, but Tick had seen other men with bandoliers of grenades. The Chief of Boom wasn’t the only infantry grunt in the company who slung explosives around.
Mandrake Company- The Complete Series Page 159
