by D L Frizzell
“Alex,” Redland said frostily, “you two kids come back down here right now.”
“I don’t want to go back,” Kate pleaded. “I want to run.”
I knew what she meant. She didn’t want to return to her T’Neth home, but neither did she want to go with the humans. It was a sentiment I completely understood.
The T’Neth pair waited for instructions from Xiv.
I knew then that T’Neth had limits. Their minds did not spontaneously think the same thoughts. They needed direction. These three were part of a larger group sent to retrieve Kate, but they were far away from those who gave them their orders. Xiv was a leader of sorts, but he was not used to being in charge, either. In his hesitancy, I recognized the opportunity for action.
Norio and Hathan-Fen were right – Kate had to be ignorant of their escape plan, otherwise she would unwittingly betray every part of the plan to the other T’Neth. We only had a few seconds to act, to try something, anything to escape the dangers above and below. My own thoughts tumbled, grasping for any opportunity to gain an edge. And then it came to me.
“Kate,” I said, lifting her chin so that she looked in my eyes. “Listen,” I whispered. “The T’Neth plan is flawed. They will only destroy themselves if they start a war with humans.”
“A flaw?”
“Yes,” I said.
The T’Neth pair heard what I told them via Kate. How could such an incognizant human mind, an aberration of nature, know our strategy? They asked themselves. This was anathema for them, so they evaluated The Plan for mistakes.
It hurt to listen. Like my experience with Kate on the train, their thoughts echoed in such a deluge of internal dialog that I couldn’t keep up. They had interacted this way for thousands of generations, while I had only just gained this ability. As I squeezed my eyes shut and braced myself against the onslaught of thought, patterns began to emerge.
Silence! Xiv broadcast with a surge of mental authority.
Kate slumped. As I steadied her, she looked at me, clear-minded once again. “I am me again,” she said.
“I won’t let them take you,” I reassured her.
“I know,” she said.
“Seems like you’re stuck, Alex,” Redland called out, unaware of the telepathic confrontation going on above him. “You’ve got a decision to make. Deal with them or deal with me.”
There’s an ancient saying about being caught between a rock and a hard place. It seemed pretty timely at that moment. The T’Neth above were momentarily caught off-guard, realizing that I could hear their communication with each other. They would soon realize they had no choice and would act whether I saw them coming or not. Redland was ready to act, but he was just as unprepared for what I had planned.
“You can’t have her,” I called down to Redland.
“I just want to talk,” he said.
“I don’t care,” I shouted. “You want to kill the T’Neth. Well, they want to kill you, too. Kate and I don’t want to be stuck in the middle.”
“Get your asses down here!” Redland shouted, his eyes aflame.
The T’Neth were deadlocked. They knew I could hear them, but also knew my thoughts were hidden from them. They tried not to think, and so give away their next move. That gave me time to act. “A stalemate gets us nowhere,” I told Kate. “Do you trust me?”
“What’s a stalemate?” she asked.
“Never mind,” I said. “Just hold onto me.”
“Okay.” She looped her arms around my neck and pulled herself in close. Her blue-green eyes glistened, waiting for me to rescue her like I did so long ago. I took a second to reconsider. One mistake and she could die. I could die, too, but somehow, I worried about her more.
“You ain’t got time to cuddle!” Redland shouted in exasperation.
“You’re right,” I shouted back. Putting my arms around Kate’s waist, and a quick kiss for luck, I took her with me off the ledge.
It took us less than a second to fall past Redland, just long enough for him to bellow a curse, and then he was irrelevant. I focused my attention on the fast-approaching shadows below. I’d never jumped off the cliff face before, though I had calculated the geometry many times in my youth. Kate wasn’t prepared for what I was about to do, but that couldn’t be helped. We wouldn’t survive the impact together – the spongebushes were engineered to handle the impact of just one person at a time. At the last instant, I pushed her away.
I’m very good at a lot of things. That’s not a boast. I’ve always been confident in my abilities and have lived my life exploring my limits. What I could not do at that moment was fathom the horror on Kate’s face as she tumbled away from me. It only took us another split second to hit the spongebushes, but seemed like an eternity as I saw the tears welling up in her eyes.
The spongebushes absorbed our falls. Groomed to be the biological equivalent of safety nets, they performed their duty exactly as they should have. I rolled out of the depression I made and dashed to where Kate landed only a few meters away. She was alive, but didn’t move from her absorbent crater.
“Are you okay?” I asked, afraid she might be injured.
The weight of betrayal sat so heavily upon her that she cried.
“I had to push you away,” I said hurriedly. “The bushes won’t handle two people in the same place.”
She did not move.
“I couldn’t tell you,” I started to explain, but knew it wouldn’t do any good. For some reason, I just stood there, listening to her quiet sobs and wanting to cry myself.
“We have to go,” I told her softly. “Please come with me, Kate.” I looked up at Redland, who still pointed his pistol at the T’Neth. They were now too far away for me to hear their thoughts, but I could see the rage on Redland’s face when he glanced down at me. I didn’t care about him. I worried about Kate. I climbed up next to her on the spongebush and offered my hand. Instead of taking it, she moved away. “I couldn’t tell you what I was going to do,” I tried to explain again. “They would’ve read your mind and stopped us.”
“Leave me alone,” she said, lips quivering.
“Having trouble?” Hathan-Fen asked.
“Shit.” I startled, not realizing that the captain and the two sergeants were standing in the shadows the whole time with their Longarms aimed at the top of the cliff. “I didn’t see you.”
“You weren’t supposed to,” Hathan-Fen said. “That was the point.”
“We were just watching your back, pal,” Brady said. “Had to make sure you didn’t get yourself in trouble.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“Where is Mister Norio?” Kate sniffled to Hathan-Fen. She sat up and wiped her tears away, her mind closing to me as she climbed down.
“At the Biedriks’ house,” Hathan-Fen replied. “Sergeant Traore, why don’t you escort Miss Runaway back there.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Traore replied. He shouldered his rifle and helped Kate down.
“Did I do something wrong?” I asked.
Hathan-Fen kept her rifle aimed at the clifftop but scowled at me. “For a mind-reader you can be pretty clueless,” she said.
“I had to push her away,” I said.
“I know, Alex,” she said, her tone communicating anything but agreement.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I ran back to the Biedriks’ home, followed soon after by the others. Kate had locked herself in the bedroom. Hathan-Fen conferred privately with Traore by the front door, pausing to throw a disapproving look at me as I entered. Donald and Carolyn sat on the couch, still comforting each other. Brady came in and had a brief conversation with Hathan-Fen. When they finished, both sergeants went back outside while she went into the study. No one seemed the least bit interested in talking to me. That reminded me of my childhood. And College. And pretty much the entire last year. This is why I like to be alone. Sooner or later, every relationship gets awkward.
After several minutes of stewing, I decided to follow Hathan-Fen i
nto the study. Norio and Ofsalle were discussing something. They fell quiet when they saw me.
“Where are the sergeants going?” I asked.
“I sent them out to watch for the T’Neth,” Hathan-Fen replied.
“Good idea,” I said, still feeling the cold shoulder from the major. As much as I would normally be okay with the enmity between us, I felt an increasing need to talk. Since I couldn’t think of anything else to say, I decided to talk shop. “Keeping to the shadows was a good idea, Major. You have any idea what to do next?”
“Nothing that involves cliff diving,” Hathan-Fen said coldly, “but we’re working on it.”
That’s the kind of attitude that really gets under my skin. She thought I made a dumb move. What she didn’t understand, due to her narrow-minded thinking, was that it was actually a very smart move, and the only one that got us away from the T’Neth. If she’d asked, I’d explain it. She didn’t ask, though, and I got so angry that I saw red. Rather than blurt out something inappropriately rude, I tried to sound professional. “I hope you aren’t planning to stay in Sunlo now,” I said.
“We’re not.” Hathan-Fen held up her hand to stop me from saying anything else. “Give me some credit, Marshal. I’m not a fresh recruit.”
It looked like the major was back to being her old dismissive self. I was going to suggest a course of action – a good one – but decided to let her figure out the damn problem on her own. “Sorry for interrupting,” I said.
The front door swung open. Redland strode in, followed by a cold breeze when he failed to close the door behind him. Donald rose from the couch, put a blanket over Carolyn, and shut the door himself.
“Those T’Neth bastards are gone,” Redland announced. “Once Alex pulled his little stunt, they disappeared. I looked around the clifftop for ‘em. Didn’t find a trace, not even footprints.”
Norio responded with a simple nod.
“They’ll be back,” I said. Everyone looked at me. “I mean, I don’t sense they’re still around, but I don’t think they’d give up on Kate so quickly.”
I’m not what anyone would call socially attuned, but I did get the distinct impression that everybody was mad at me. Everybody except Redland.
“Gutsy move, kid,” he said.
Great, I thought. He’s on my side now.
“We’re going to change the plan,” Hathan-Fen said, pausing long enough to glare at Redland. “Jarnum made that necessary the minute he showed up in town.” She moved to close the study’s door because he hadn’t closed that one, either.
“Agreed,” Redland said, seemingly oblivious to Hathan-Fen’s accusatory tone. He took the frozen piece of jerky out of his pocket and set it on the table.
Ofsalle raised his hand. “Will I get to know the plan this time?”
“That depends,” Hathan-Fen said. “Would you give the details of our plan to the T’Neth under acts of physical torture?”
“Torture?” Ofsalle’s voice quavered.
“They’ve been known to use it,” Redland said grimly. “They’d give you a quick death when they finish, at least.” He snapped his fingers for emphasis.
“Couldn’t I just…” Ofsalle looked around the room for inspiration. “Stay here in Sunlo…wear a disguise…maybe?”
“Grow a spine, doctor,” Redland said. “You’re stayin’ with us.”
“You’re almost right, Marshal,” Hathan-Fen told Redland. “Ofsalle will be staying with you and Alex while you go after Jarnum. I will take Kate to safety. Norio and the sergeants will accompany me.”
“Isn’t Jarnum the one who killed the constable?” Ofsalle stammered. “I don’t like that plan.”
“Doctor, would you rather deal with one murderer or three T’Neth?” Hathan-Fen asked. “You’re getting the better half of the deal, believe me.”
Ofsalle sank in his chair, his face a mix of despair and resentment. “I should go back home where it’s boring,” he mumbled.
Everybody ignored him.
“How will we find you after we’ve taken care of Jarnum?” I asked Hathan-Fen.
The major didn’t answer.
“You’re leaving us behind,” I said. “Is that the plan?”
“You weren’t part of the plan to begin with,” Hathan-Fen said. “Since you’re the one who insisted on finding Jarnum – and let me remind you that was the job that got you involved in the first place – that’s your primary responsibility. You also wanted to keep an eye on Redland, so take him with you. Try to keep Ofsalle out of harm’s way while you’re at it. Norio and I will make sure Kate gets to safety.”
“I don’t want to go on a manhunt,” Ofsalle protested. “I had a medical practice once, very far from here. Why can’t I just leave this terrible place and go back there?”
“The same reason I can’t leave, doctor,” I said. “Simply being with us makes you a liability.” Turning back to Hathan-Fen, I asked, “Where exactly do you think Kate will be safe? I’d like to know.”
“Time is of the essence,” Norio told me. “The more we delay, the more danger we will face.”
I could tell by their expressions they weren’t going to give me what I wanted. “Wait for me,” I insisted, putting my hands in my duster’s pockets so they couldn’t see my balled-up fists.
Redland grabbed his jerky and rapped it on the table to knock the ice loose. “Time’s wastin’, Marshal Vonn. Let’s go get our convict.” He tipped his hat to the major and opened the door. That’s where he stopped.
Kate blocked his way, her hands pressing against both door jambs. “I don’t belong here,” she said.
“Ain’t that the truth,” Redland said.
I didn’t hear Kate’s thoughts. “I can’t hear you.”
“What do you mean?” Hathan-Fen asked. “You can’t read her mind?”
I stared at Kate. “No.”
“Looks like you’re getting the silent treatment, kid,” Redland grinned.
I really wished I’d shot Redland when I had the chance. “Kate, did you take another tranquilizer?”
“No,” she replied. “I’m leaving.”
“It’s not safe,” I said.
“The other T’Neth will not return for some time,” she said. “They went to get instructions.”
“We don’t have time for this,” Redland said. He grabbed her arm and pulled a pair of handcuffs out of his cargo pocket.
Redland must have forgotten how fast Kate was. As he ratcheted the cuff on her left wrist, her other hand streaked from her pocket toward his neck. I instinctively grabbed her arm as it flashed by, seeing the glint of metal emerging from a wooden handle. Redland jerked back to avoid having his neck sliced by the straight razor, a tool she’d carried as long as I’d known her, but he would’ve been too late had I not stopped her.
“Don’t,” I warned Kate.
Redland growled and reached for his pistol. I produced my revolver with my other hand and shoved it under his chin before he cleared leather. “I could have let her cut you open,” I said. “I still might.”
Anger tends to cloud my senses. Redland told me to shove something up my something and go somewhere hot, but I didn’t catch most of it.
“Wait!” Hathan-Fen shouted, making her way around Redland to face Kate. “Miss Runaway, you are free to leave.”
“What?” I said, echoed by both Redland and Ofsalle.
“You heard me,” Hathan-Fen said. “We don’t need to kill each other before the T’Neth get their chance. This whole mission has been about keeping Kate safe, but if she doesn’t want that, then we must help her in whatever capacity she asks of us.”
Kate stopped struggling against my grip and stared at the major. “You will truly release me?”
“You were never a prisoner,” Hathan-Fen replied.
“I advise against this, Major,” Norio said. “The ramifications could be severe.”
“I’m aware of that,” Hathan-Fen said. “Kate, you said the other T’Neth are gone.”
“Then we end this journey,” Hathan-Fen said. “If this our only chance to help Kate escape, then we need to help her.”
“We gonna fold our cards just like that?” Redland seethed. “Let her wander off into the hills like she’s always done?”
I tapped the barrel of my gun against Redland’s throat to remind him it was there. He shut up.
“May I at least recommend a safe route out of Sunlo?” Norio asked the major.
“I would appreciate anything at this point,” Hathan-Fen said.
“The plan is changing again?” I laughed bitterly. I seriously doubted that their first few plans had any merit, but constantly changing their approach would more than likely keep them chasing their tails right up to the point where the T’Neth found us.
Norio gave me a warning glance and said, “Kate, will you leave Sunlo with us, at least?”
The warning in Kate’s voice was clear. “I won’t take the drug anymore.”
“That won’t be necessary,” he replied. “We should just avoid contact with anybody else. Enough innocent people have been put in danger.”
“Where will we go?” Kate asked.
“We can’t go back the way we came,” Hathan-Fen replied. “None of us can stay here, either.”
“South would be best,” Norio said. “Into the Colderlands, at least for a while.”
“Jarnum is still out there somewhere,” I reminded them. “If he can track T’Neth like Redland says, then Kate will be vulnerable no matter where we go.”
“It’s true,” Redland added. “We all need to stay together.”
“My job is hard enough without two marshals telling me what to do,” Hathan-Fen said. She stewed for a moment but couldn’t escape the same conclusion. “Fine,” she said. “If Jarnum happens to find us, you two can take care of him then. Kate, we can get you out of Sunlo, and then you can decide what you’ll do after that.”
Kate frowned, her mind still blocked to me. “I accept.”
“Truce?” Redland asked Kate. He snapped his holster closed, and she put the razor away.
