by Isaac Asimov
“It is very important,” Hunter said politely. He waited for them to sit down.
“You have further information about the Germans?” Agent Raskov demanded. He pulled off his hat and unbuttoned his coat. “Do not waste our time. What is it?”
Hunter watched him for a moment without speaking. “It is warm in this room, is it not? Perhaps you would like to be comfortable.”
Agent Konev scowled but pulled off his hat and tossed it onto the table. Then he unbuttoned his coat and hung it on the back of a chair. Light from the one lamp reflected off the handcuffs hanging from his belt.
Hunter carefully calculated the moves he could make to escape. Of course, he could not actually harm any humans or clearly display any robotic abilities. However, he could use any ability that he could hide.
“What do you have to say?” Agent Konev glared impatiently at him.
“I apologize for the inconvenience,” said Hunter. At the same time, under the table, he quietly pulled one of the links loose between his cuffed wrists. When it had opened wide enough, he unlinked the chain between the two cuffs.
“Get to the point,” ordered Agent Raskov.
Without a word, Hunter stood up, in the same motion turning over the table toward the two men. Agent Konev was on his left, and as the table fell over on its side and forced the two agents to jump backward, Hunter reached over and yanked the handcuffs from Agent Konev’s belt.
“Hey!” Agent Raskov stuck one hand inside his coat, still backing away.
Hunter could not risk getting shot, which might reveal some evidence of his robotic insides. He quickly jumped toward Agent Raskov and ripped the gun out of his hand. Hunter surreptitiously used his strength to bend the trigger sideways slightly, so it could not be pulled. Then he dropped it on the floor.
Agent Konev was reaching for his own handgun. Hunter shoved his partner hard against him, causing them to fall to the floor next to the radiator. The motion threw Agent Konev’s gun hand off to one side. Hunter also snatched his gun away and bent the trigger in the same manner.
Before the two men could get up, Hunter snapped Agent Konev’s handcuffs on them, looped around one leg of the radiator. While they pulled and scuffled, not yet realizing what had happened, he searched their pockets for their keys. When he found their handcuff keys, he bent them, too.
Hunter heard footsteps running down the hall toward him, probably in response to the noise of the fight. He stepped to one side of the door and waited for only a few seconds. The door was flung open and two more agents ran inside, past him.
Hunter shoved them both from behind, using their own momentum. They both stumbled against the overturned table. Hunter slipped out the door and ran up the hallway.
A man at the reception desk leaped to his feet when Hunter came into view, but then halted at the sight of him. Hunter threw open the front door and found himself outside on the cold, dark street. He no longer had his winter coat, but for now, he had enough stored energy to function even in this temperature. Without stopping, he turned and began jogging in an evasive pattern, around the corners of buildings and through alleys.
Steve and Jane arrived back at the warehouse without any further discussion of their situation. He was worried about Judy but could not see anything to do at the moment. Once they got off the truck, however, Jane leaned over to him.
“Maybe we can find out where that other work brigade went.”
“Yeah? How?”
“I could ask around our own brigade. Somebody will know.”
“Let’s wait for Hunter. I don’t want to attract any special attention to us with a question like that.”
Jane nodded.
By now, they were accustomed to the routine. They joined everyone else in line for the customarily bland dinner. Then they returned to their private corner to eat it.
Steve looked up from his bowl, feeling a little defensive. “It’s tough just waiting, isn’t it? I feel like we should be doing something. But right now, waiting for Hunter to rejoin us really is a good idea, I think.”
Jane grinned. “You know, you’re getting more levelheaded and responsible all the time.”
“Who, me?” He smiled wryly. “Too much time with you and Hunter, I guess.”
She laughed lightly and nudged him with her elbow, almost spilling the contents of her bowl.
Steve returned his attention to his own meager dinner. He really liked Jane and in moments like this he wished they could talk leisurely, without the danger of discovery that surrounded them and the urgency of completing the mission safely. Then, as always, his earlier doubts recurred. Their rapport was based on the dangers around them, not on any ordinary friendship.
After dinner, the exhausted work brigade members settled in for the night. Some were still talking quietly among themselves about the anticipated German attack. Steve sat against the cold wall, anxiously waiting for Hunter.
Finally he heard a knock at the front door. Steve and Jane both watched as the guards spoke to the visitor. When they backed up and let him in, Steve straightened in surprise.
Hunter had kept his body unchanged, but his face was longer and narrower than before. Even at his height, no one who had seen his face before would believe this was the same person. Most importantly, he plodded wearily, as though he had just finished a long day of physical labor. He worked his way down the wall toward Steve and Jane.
“I’m sure glad to see you,” Steve said with a smile. “I would have thought you’d make yourself shorter, though.”
Jane was looking at Hunter carefully. “Hunter, are you okay?”
“I am extremely low on energy,” said Hunter. “I did not receive any sunlight from which to recharge my solar cells today. I have been using my stored energy through all of last night, during the day, and now tonight.”
“Wait a minute,” said Jane. “You can store immense amounts of energy. What happened?”
“You are correct. Until I escaped the NKVD a short time ago, I was using very little energy and still had much to spare. However, I left without my winter coat and had to flee through the city without any insulation. Further, I am conserving my energy for the remainder of the night because I feel we should leave here immediately and make our way somehow to MC 4. At dawn, of course, I will begin to recharge.”
“We don’t know exactly where to find MC 4,” said Steve. “Or Judy.”
“We can ask someone,” Jane added.
“No need,” said Hunter. “Judy called me and told me where she is. But MC 4 is not there.”
“What?” Jane asked. “What happened?”
“MC 4 never got on the trucks to return to the city. He slipped out of the crowd and disappeared. She saw him heading westward across the steppe, but it was too late for her to get off the truck. She rode back to the school used by that particular work brigade for shelter.”
“So we should start by joining up again,” said Steve. “Or do you want to have us spend the night where we are and start again tomorrow?”
“No, I do not dare risk that now,” said Hunter. “Judy does not have your experience with living in other times. Also, we now know something about MC 4’s location and direction. Last, I fear that the NKVD may yet come back here searching for me again. They might take you two for questioning this time.”
“Then let’s get out of here,” said Jane. “How should we do it this time?”
“The lights will be turned off in a few minutes,” said Hunter. “We can afford to wait that long. I suggest we leave the same way as last time, from that other warehouse.” He nodded toward the rear door, then toward the circuit breaker box. “This establishment has the same basic design as our previous residence.”
“Good idea.” Steve glanced around. “I guess it will work again. But I hope we don’t need another shelter. If we keep sneaking out of every place we can spend the night, then pretty soon we’ll use up all the public housing.”
As Hunter had said, the overhead lights were turned o
ut shortly; leaving only a small table lamp burning in the front. Steve and Jane worked their way across the crowded room and flipped the circuit breaker, while Hunter opened the rear door in the sudden darkness and held it. The procedure worked just as well this time as it had before. In a few moments, the team again ran up a back alley out in the cold, clear, night air.
When they were sure no one was chasing them, Hunter stopped to allow his team members to put their coats on and catch their breath.
“Are you both all right?” Hunter asked. His appearance had now returned to normal.
“Yeah,” said Jane, as she buttoned her coat. “Wow, it’s cold out here.”
“I’m fine,” said Steve. “Which way do we go?”
“Please simply follow me. It will be faster and quieter than explaining.”
Hunter led them at a brisk walk through the darkened city. He kept to alleys and side streets as much as possible, ducking into shadows on the rare moments when vehicles appeared nearby. When they reached the school Judy had told him about, Hunter knocked on the door.
A tall, stocky man opened the door and looked at Hunter coldly. “We are full, comrade. Sorry.” He started to close the door.
“We are not seeking shelter.” Hunter grabbed the edge of the door in one hand and held it fast. His tone was firm and authoritative. “Please tell Judy Taub to come to the door.”
The guard made one more attempt to jerk the door shut. His eyes shifted to Hunter in surprise when he realized that he could not move it even slightly. He turned and called Judy’s name over his shoulder.
Judy, with a big smile of relief, was already hurrying to the door.
“We shall relieve you of your overcrowding,” Hunter said, as Judy slipped out past the guard. “Thank you.”
The guard slammed the door loudly.
20
HUNTER LED HIS team away from the door, then he turned to Judy.
“You are well?” Hunter asked. “Sure, I’m fine.”
“Good. Since you radioed me, have you gained any additional information about MC 4?”
“No.”
“From what you said, it appears that MC 4 is heading for the German lines. Do you agree?”
“Well, I don’t know,” said Judy. “I saw him running straight west across the steppe, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t double back later.”
Hunter turned to Jane. “As our roboticist, what do you think?”
“Judy, was he running away from you personally?” Jane asked.
“No. He couldn’t have been. I didn’t reveal myself in any way as someone from our time. Actually, I never even got very close to him.”
“Then I think he must be leaving the Soviet lines for reasons of his own,” said Jane. “Some new interpretation of one of the Laws of Robotics must have dictated his actions. Otherwise, the Third Law would force him to take care of himself with shelter, which the work brigade offered.”
“So something unknown caused him to leave the work brigade for the German lines,” said Hunter.
“Yes, that’s my best guess.”
“I agree,” said Hunter. “He may have learned that radio transmission was in use here. If so, he may have monitored the same NKVD radio traffic that I heard. It has told him that he is being sought, though he cannot possibly know why.”
“He will find all sorts of humans in the German lines to save from harm if he can,” said Judy. “Behind the lines, the Nazis have prisoners of war and political prisoners they have gathered during their campaign.”
“The First Law could keep him busy there, then,” said Jane. “Hunter, what are we going to do? He could start interfering with history as soon as he reaches those prisoners.”
“Those lines are a long way from here, aren’t they?” Steve asked. “And he’s on foot.”
“Yes,” said Judy.
“A robot of his type can walk that distance in a night without stopping, though,” said Jane. “He would be very low on energy by the time he arrived, but he can count on the sun to recharge him at dawn.”
“So, without a vehicle of some kind, we don’t have a chance of catching him,” said Steve. “He had a head start out at the ditches and now he’s been hiking for a couple of hours already.”
“I dare not steal a vehicle, as Wayne and Ishihara did,” said Hunter. “I fear it could cause a significant disruption in events.”
“Well, we have one more problem now,” said Judy. “If my memory serves, the Soviet counterattack will begin at dawn. Anything we do now will happen during actual battle conditions.”
“I see,” Hunter said stiffly. “That eliminates any choice of crossing the neutral zone between the armies. I cannot risk that much harm to you.”
“You have a plan?” Steve asked.
“Once again, I must make a concession I do not like,” said Hunter. “We shall have to return to our own time and then come back to this time, but behind the German lines. Please stand close to me. Steve, please give me the belt unit.”
As his team members crowded around him, Steve pulled the unit out of his shirt and offered it. Hunter glanced around to make sure that no local people could see them. Then he triggered the unit.
Wayne finally began to relax as Ishihara drove through the smallest back streets in Moscow to reach their destination. For the first time, they had a real lead on MC 4. Then, without speaking, Ishihara slowed down and stopped the car by the curb.
“Something wrong?” Wayne felt a sinking sensation.
“Yes,” said Ishihara. “A new report has just gone out on the NKVD band.”
“What did it say?”
“MC 4 is not at the location where his work brigade is spending the night. Some other agents who interrogated people in the work brigades got a lead on MC 4 by using his description, at about the time the brigades got on the trucks to go home. The agents figured out which work brigade he had worked in and reached them ahead of us. I fear that our need to take evasive measures delayed our arrival until it was too late.”
“What happened to him?”
“They do not know for sure. Those agents questioned people in the work brigade and reported that MC 4 never got on the truck back at the antitank ditch. They think he may be hiding out in the ditch tonight.”
Wayne thought a moment. “Just spending the night there? That doesn’t make sense. They’ll all be back tomorrow.”
“Of course, they believe he is limited by human abilities.”
“So we came all the way back to Moscow for no reason? He stayed out there all along?”
“Do not forget that the NKVD spotted us out there. We had to make this run back into Moscow in order to lose the pursuit. It was not wasted time.”
“Well — all right.”
“I think MC 4 is probably now fleeing back across the neutral territory to the German lines. They know no human would attempt that on foot.”
“Yeah! He has to flee the entire Soviet-held territory now. And that means we can still get him first! Even the NKVD won’t go all the way to the German lines. Let’s go!”
“We can attempt it,” Ishihara said calmly. “I must warn you that we have only a quarter tank of gasoline left. We have no money with which to acquire more and attempting to get some by stealth would probably also bring renewed pursuit.”
“Well … how far can this thing go on a quarter tank?”
“From our driving so far, I estimate that we might reach the German lines. I am certain that we would get within walking distance.”
“I want to go after MC 4 now, while we have a chance to snatch him out in open territory. Will the First Law let you try it?”
“Yes,” said Ishihara. “The Germans were not exactly happy with us, but they will certainly be more hospitable than the Soviets.”
“Then let’s go.”
Ishihara drove away from the curb.
“We can pick up his trail back at the ditch,” said Wayne.
“Our first problem is getting around the anti
tank ditches,” said Ishihara. “Those ditches are too deep and steeply dug for this car to cross. There are no bridges or causeways across them; that would defeat their purpose. We shall have to go around one end. Then we can search for MC 4’s trail.”
Wayne nodded.
“The greatest gasoline expenditure will be another evasive pattern through the city to escape the NKVD’s notice. Once we are past the ditches, I can slow down to conserve gasoline usage and still maintain greater speed than MC 4 has even at his fastest.”
Wayne said nothing. His earlier elation had been dampened by the need to reverse direction, but the news was not really that bad. In fact, if they could find MC 4 out on the open steppe with fuel in the car, then chasing him down and grabbing him would be even easier than apprehending him in the middle of a work brigade.
As before, Ishihara took them safely out of Moscow by a long, involved route with many turns. They reached the same unpaved road that they had taken to the ditches earlier. At first, Wayne did not see any other headlights as they left Moscow behind. After a while, however, he saw Ishihara glance into the rearview mirror.
“Trouble?” Wayne looked over his shoulder and saw headlights far behind them, but on the same road.
“Yes, but they are not aware of it yet.”
“Huh? What does that mean?”
Ishihara reached out and switched on the car’s communication system.
Wayne heard static crackling first, followed by a man’s voice speaking a couple of Russian phrases. The man waited, then spoke again. Wayne could not understand the words, but he could tell that the speaker was repeating the same phrases again.
“I first heard him over a minute ago on my internal receiver,” said Ishihara.
“What’s he saying?”
“He is just trying to get me to respond. It is merely a standard NKVD opening; I have learned that they all use it. He must have recognized this car as an NKVD vehicle, but is too far back to see our license plate. For this reason, he has not yet realized that we are in the fugitive NKVD car. He and his partner are almost certainly going to look for MC 4 at the ditches and he simply assumes that we are doing the same.”
