“Up there,” he shouted, pointing to the stairs that led to the roof.
The girl obeyed without hesitation. Once outside, Drake pulled the girl behind him and used his P37 to blast away the steel door’s hinges. In no time at all, the door fell completely free of its frame. He waited, and after a tense moment, the guard cautiously appeared on the bottom step, weapon at the ready. Grunting loudly and with his muscles taxed to their limit, Drake lifted the door and sent it crashing down onto the advancing man.
At once his P37 was back in his hand and pointed at the door. But after a few moments, it was clear that his gambit had worked. The guard was still alive, but totally incapacitated. At least I didn’t have to kill him, Drake thought.
He turned to the girl and nodded toward the bakery. “You think you can make the jump?”
A cheeky grin appeared on her thin lips. “Can you, old man?” She spun on her heels and in a flash launched herself through the air, landing on the other side with barely a bend to her knee.
Drake suppressed a smile. I bet catching her wasn’t easy. With no small effort, he jumped across the void, though unlike the girl, he was forced to roll to a halt. He was about to tell her to get ready to climb down, but she had already moved over to the edge of the roof.
“You have a car?” she asked.
“You’re not coming with me,” he told her firmly.
She smiled and winked. “Of course I am.”
Before he could object, she was over the edge and already on the way down. Grumbling to himself, Drake followed. By the time he had a hold of the bars on the second-floor window, the girl was already down and checking around the corner. Dangling for a moment, he dropped heavily, stumbling back several paces.
“Where are you parked?” she asked.
“You are not coming with me,” he repeated.
“Is that right?” She walked around the building a few steps. “Here we are!” she shouted at the top of her voice. “Come and get us! Yoo-hoo!”
He sprang forward and covered her mouth. “Are you crazy? You really want to get us caught?” Only when she stopped struggling and trying to call out did he remove his hand.
“Unless I have a way out of here, I’m as good as caught anyway,” she told him. “What do I care if you get caught with me?”
“I saved your life,” he pointed out.
“Not yet, you haven’t,” she retorted. “So you had better make up your mind. They’ll shut the bridge down soon enough. Then we’re stuck.”
Drake’s jaw tightened. He wanted to throttle the girl. But there was no time to argue. What she said was right – Grim Lake would be locked up tight within minutes, and then he would be forced to shoot his way out. With a stifled grunt, he pushed his way past her. “You had better keep up then,” he said. “I’m not waiting for you.”
The girl laughed. “You don’t worry about me, old man.”
Old man? Yeah, I guess I am, he thought. In more ways than one.
“Keep close behind me,” he instructed. Her jail attire would bring the law down on them in a hurry.
Curious onlookers had gathered across the street, and deputies were stumbling from the front door. Drake skirted the edge until they were well into the thickest part of the crowd before picking up their pace. The flames were now leaping from the office windows, and smoke was rising from the roof, probably through the opening where the steel door had been. This was just the distraction they needed; no one so much as glanced at the girl.
Drake figured it would take some time for the officers to get their bearings and think to shut down the bridge. What was more, until the royal guard or the deputy guarding the cells regained consciousness and were able to tell their story, nobody would be looking for either of them.
The attendant was sitting atop the hood of an old truck when they reached the parking lot. On seeing Drake approaching, he hopped down and ran up to greet him.
“No one has so much as touched her since you left,” he announced.
“Is that right?”
“Well, not since I got back from lunch,” he admitted. “But I checked on her and she’s fine. He paused before asking, “Did you see what’s causing all the commotion? I thought I heard…”
His voice trailed off as his eyes fell on the girl, and he took a step back.
Drake hastily pulled a twenty note from his wallet. “Why don’t you go buy yourself some supper?”
The boy hesitated for a long moment before snatching the note and shoving it into his pocket. “Yeah. I think I’ll do that right now.”
Drake watched him jog away toward the far side of the lot. As promised, Cal was still there. Once inside, he fired the engine and drove steadily off.
After a short period of silence, he asked, “You have a name?”
“Linx,” she replied, admiring Cal’s interior. “That’s what they call me, anyhow.”
Drake pulled onto the bridge. “What’s your real name?”
“What do you care?”
“I don’t,” he told her. “Just know that mine is Drake. So you can stop calling me old man.”
“Nice to meet you, Drake. Nice wheels.”
“Don’t get too comfortable. You won’t be here long.”
“You say that…”
They reached the end of the bridge and passed the guards without incident. The moment they were back on the road, Drake pressed down on the accelerator, pushing Cal to one hundred and twenty. He needed to find a place to shed his new-found passenger, though something was telling him it wouldn’t be as easy as all that.
Linx pulled her knees into her chest and began humming softly.
“We need to find you some fresh clothes,” Drake said.
“I have my own things,” she replied. “I stashed them before they caught me.”
“Where?”
“You’re going the right way. I’ll tell you when to turn off.”
Drake heaved a sigh. “And then you’re on your own. Understand?”
Linx pretended not to hear him and continued to hum.
He concentrated on the road ahead. Yeah. He had a kind heart, for a hawker – just like Vic had said. But that was what invariably caused him the most trouble. And he doubted this time would be any exception.
Chapter Eleven
They drove due west for a few hours before Linx told him to pull off onto a narrow dirt road. She had been rather quiet throughout, as if in deep contemplation. A small miracle, from Drake’s point of view. The less he knew about her, the easier it would be to leave her behind.
Several abandoned houses whizzed by, their yards totally overgrown with thorns and weeds. A few lights from candles could be seen in some of the windows. Stragglers, most likely. People without a home, wandering from place to place while waiting to die.
“Is this where you lived?” asked Drake, instantly regretting the personal inquiry.
“No. Just a place to hide.”
“What did you do to get locked up?”
He scolded himself the moment the words came out. You don’t want to know. Stop asking stupid questions.
She smirked. “Why don’t you guess?”
Drake regarded her for a moment. “To send someone your age to prison means it must have been something pretty bad.”
“I’m eighteen,” she informed him. “I just look like a child.”
She didn’t appear offended, as was often the case when a young person’s maturity was called into question. Hell, she probably used her youthful appearance as an advantage. There was definitely more to Linx than met the eye.
“Then I’d say you must have stolen something.”
Linx placed her hand over her chest and gave him a hurt look. “A thief? Me? I should say not.” Her face then melted into a smile. “Okay. You figured it out. I’m a thief, sure enough. But only when I need to be.”
“So that’s why you were in jail?”
She shook her head. “Nope. But I’ll give you a hint. My next stop was Barmou
th.”
Drake cocked an eyebrow. “Barmouth? So they were going to…”
“You got it. They were planning to strap me into a chair and send mana current straight through the top of my cute little head.”
There were only a few crimes punishable by death. “Who did you murder?”
“No one. But that’s not what they think. And you know how it is in Vale – no money means no defense.”
“What will you do?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Keep running until they finally catch up with me, I guess. What else can I do?”
“If you’re innocent, you could try to find proof of that.”
“I didn’t say I was innocent. I said I didn’t murder anyone. The guy’s dead, for sure.”
“If you’re going to ride with me, I think you had better tell me what happened.”
Linx spread her hands. “What’s to tell? Some jerk thought he could have his way with me and I killed him. Plain and simple.”
Drake looked at her incredulously. “You’re allowed to protect yourself. There has to be more to it than that.”
“Yeah. He was the son of a sheriff’s deputy.” She leaned back and stared out the window. “Funny thing is, it’s all on holovid. He was kinky and liked to record his little escapades. But fat chance of me getting my hands on it. Can’t have a nobody like me stirring up trouble.”
Drake had heard just about every story there was. Runners were always trying to convince him that they were innocent. Somehow, though, he believed Linx. He had seen it all before too many times – people with power taking advantage of those without. But that was the way of the world, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.
The mana streams were almost non-existent here. Not much need for power. The few people living in the ramshackle dwellings couldn’t afford to pay, even if there was.
Linx pointed to a small barn at the end of a long dirt driveway. Once parked there, she hopped out and scurried around to the back. Drake considered driving away. The very last thing he needed was someone slated for execution tagging along with him. That could really complicate matters. All the same, he knew he couldn’t live with himself if he simply deserted her in this dump. He would find somewhere safe for her to hide. Maybe even get her a new identity. He knew the right people who could make counterfeit papers and ID cards, and thanks to Xavier, he had plenty of money to pay for it all.
She returned a few minutes later wearing a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a blue jacket. A duffle bag was hanging over her shoulder, and he could see a long knife strapped to her waist. Once she was in the car, she tossed the duffle in the back seat and kicked her feet up on the dash.
“That’s better,” she sighed. “Now, tell me what it is you’re after. Maybe I can help. You know…pay you back for breaking me out.”
Drake turned Cal toward the road. “I doubt it. Not unless you know where I can find Exodus.”
“Exodus? Sure. Take you right to them if you want. But why do you want to find that bunch of weirdos?”
Drake slammed on the brakes. “You know where they are?”
Linx was nearly thrown from her seat. “Hey! Take it easy. I said I did, didn’t I?”
Drake called up the map and had her point out the area. It would only take a few hours to get there if he hurried.
“How did you find them?” he asked.
“I followed one of them.”
Drake eyed her incredulously. “Why would you do that?”
“To steal. Why else? Those Exodus guys come around from time to time. They always have the best stuff to trade. I figured they have to keep it somewhere, right? So I followed one of them back to the base. Didn’t do me much good. Everything is underground. And there’s no way to sneak in.”
“I need you to tell me what you know about them and their facility. Everything.”
“There’s not much to tell. It’s not like they go around advertising. I mean, folks in the black market know about them, and there are rumors that they have spies everywhere. But as far as I know, I’m the only one who knows where they are. No one else has ever had the guts to follow them.”
“And no one turns them in?”
Linx burst into laughter. “To who? The sheriff? The magistrate? Believe me, anyone who knows a thing about Exodus isn’t wanting that kind of attention. I mean, once in a while someone comes around asking questions. We know they’re from Troi. They always offer a reward, but talking to them is more likely to get you locked away than anything else. People just keep their mouths shut. Especially when you’re only one background check away from a prison cell.”
Drake nodded. “I see.”
This had always been the problem when searching for fugitives. Wherever you were, locals could sniff out people from Troi in a heartbeat. And even if the money was right, giving information to the magistrate or royal guard could get you killed. That’s why hawkers existed in the first place. They could go where the authorities couldn’t.
She went on to describe the facility. Apparently, it was well hidden among the barren hills near the barrier. Just a small shack, inside of which was a steel door that led down to Exodus’s base of operations.
“You’re not really planning on trying to get in there, are you?” Linx asked.
“I’m leaving now,” he told her flatly. “If you don’t want to come, you should get out. I’m not stopping.”
Her face twisted into a scowl. “You’re insane. I hope you know that.”
Drake simply stared straight ahead.
“Fine,” she pressed on. “It’s your funeral. I’ll show you the best way to get close without them seeing you. But after that, we’re even.”
He pressed down hard on the accelerator. “We’re even now.”
It was nearly dawn by the time they arrived. Linx warned him against getting too close. “They always have a couple of guys watching the shed,” she explained.
The road ended five miles from where she had indicated on the map. The ground here was mostly hard packed clay and gravel, allowing Drake to continue driving until within a mile of his destination. After that, the dust Cal was kicking up and the hum of her engine prevented him from taking her any closer. This was not ideal. A mile was a long way to run when you were being chased. And if the prince were hurt or otherwise incapacitated, he would have to carry him. That was, assuming he was even still there. Or that his information was accurate.
He found a spot behind a low hill and parked. The sky was clear and covered in starlight. The mana streams didn’t come this far, but there was nothing to power out here anyway. Which made him wonder how Exodus ran a base this far away from Troi. It was possible, he supposed, that they drew their power from the barrier somehow – it was only another thirty miles from here. Not that Drake had any idea how the barrier was powered. A friend from his guard days had once suggested that it might be vex crystals, but that sounded ridiculous. Any vex crystal larger than the tip of your finger was unstable. Mess around with those, and boom!
He shoved aside these thoughts. It was time to focus. All he cared about was rescuing the prince…and going home.
He retrieved his sword and strapped it across his back. After shoving a phial of corrosive in his pocket, he leaned in the window. “Keep an eye out. I may be returning in a big hurry.”
“You mind leaving her running?”
Drake chuckled. “You must really think I’m stupid.”
Linx grinned. “Well…yeah, I do. After all, you are going to break into Exodus.”
“Can’t argue with that logic.”
Drake gave her a confident smile and then started up the embankment. The ground was dry, with only a few sickly shrubs and patches of gray grass scattered about. It was widely believed that coming this close to the barrier would make you ill. That wasn’t exactly true, though with no moisture and mile after mile of scorched land, no one would want to be stuck here without food or water. North or south, the days brought miserable heat. This wa
s due to the energy from the barrier. At least, that’s what he had been told.
He kept low, even though the lack of mana streams overhead would have made it nearly impossible for anyone to spot him. The crunch of his boots was the only thing that might give him away.
He had just crested a low hill when he caught the sound of nearby voices. Instantly, he dropped to his stomach and listened. Two men. This was confirmed as he eased his way forward. Just as Linx had told him, they were guarding a small shack.
“I hear we might be expecting company,” said one of the men. “Better keep alert.”
The other man sniffed. “They tell us that every week. Have you ever seen anyone out this far?”
“I don’t know. Having him here makes me nervous. If they find us…”
“If they find us, then we’ll all be dead. And you’ll know in plenty of time. They’ll roll in here with a hundred men or more. And not just those magistrate morons; it’ll be royal guards armed with P37s. Hell, they’d probably send the mages along too, just for good measure.”
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I ain’t fighting. If they come, I’m running my ass off.”
“Go ahead. It won’t do you a bit of good. Where you going to go? The barrier? If you ask me, it would be better to die fighting. Maybe take one or two of those bastards with you.”
Drake smiled at that. If the royal guard found this place and sent one hundred men, it would be a slaughter. From the look of the light rifles these two were carrying, they would have to be at point blank range to do any damage at all.
He drew his P37 and channeled a small amount of mana into the chamber. The shots needed to be powerful enough to kill yet weak enough to be silent. At the thirty-yard range separating them, it was difficult to be sure his aim was true. He took a series of deep breaths.
Two dim balls of light streaked down from the hilltop. The first found its home in the center of one guard’s chest. The second was a bit less accurate, striking the target in his right shoulder.
The injured guard spun from the impact, landing on one knee. His comrade was dead before he hit the ground. Drake fired again just as the man was reaching up toward the door to the shack. This time the shot did its job, hitting him at the base of his spine.
The Vale: Behind The Vale Page 14
