Barth’s wounds were more serious. Two deep lacerations in his shoulder, and his skin color, even in the low light, was pale, his lips blue. George tried to slow the blood loss, but he knew it didn’t look good.
Hurley came back with some dirty rags and George did what he could for Barth. Koba stood near Jolo, holding the energy rifle, keeping watch. His head jerked back and forth between the front and back entrances, then back up to the second level.
George slowed the blood loss to the largest of the two wounds, and started on the second when he heard a noise. He pricked his head up and focused on the back entrance. Several men were coming, thirty meters down one of the mazelike tunnels. They’d be here in approximately 12.4 seconds.
George looked at the still, pale body of the engineer, his breaths were shallow gasps and his heart beat was weak. It didn’t take any time at all to assess the situation. Hurley was barely able to walk. Koba was ready to crack. And Jolo was unconscious.
Survival odds vs. superior force: 7.2%.
There was only one thing to do. It was a difficult thing, even for him.
But it had to be done.
“Hurley, Koba. Time to go,” said George.
“No,” said Koba. “We can’t leave Barth,” said Koba.
“Ain’t leavin’ ‘im,” said Hurley.
Humans, thought George.
“I don’t want to leave him either,” said George. “But if we stay then we all will die. And then who will rescue Katy?”
By then the men were nearly to the back entrance of The Cage.
George ran to Jolo, and with Koba’s help, got him on his shoulders and started towards the ground level tunnel. Koba and Hurley hesitated, then the men appeared, yelling. “The cell doors are open!” And that was plenty of motivation.
George made it into the tunnel that led to Paco’s Pizza. Koba was yelling for him to stop but he couldn’t think of a good reason to. Then he turned around.
And there stood Hurley in the center of the raised, wooden dance floor holding the Colt.
“Does he want to die?” said George. By then Jolo had started to come around. George went deeper into the tight tunnel and sat him down. He handed Koba the energy blaster.
“Kill anything that comes for you. Take a good look at what you are shooting before you fire the weapon so you don’t kill Hurley when we come back,” said George. “If we don’t come back, then get Jolo out of here.”
George stepped back into the room. Hurley had found cover behind a pile of debris and was taking wild shots at Hazuki’s men. There were four of them. They hadn’t seen George yet.
One man had Hurley pinned down behind the broken desk, and the other three were dragging Barth back to the hole. George fired, took down one of the men that had Barth, and the other two returned fire. Barth lay just a few feet from the hole.
George jumped up to the second level and suddenly had the advantage. He hit the man who had Hurley trapped and now there were two left. He was taking random shots from an old energy blaster, but one man had a big kinetic rifle. Several shots hit the wall near his head and he could feel the force as the bullet tore into the plastic and metal wall.
George knew if this went on any longer that Hurley was going to get hit, but the men ran to the same side he was on and hid under an alcove so he was shooting blindly. Sure enough, a moment later Hurley took a shot from the blaster and the Colt flew from his hand and he hit the ground close to where Jolo had been before.
They moved forward for the kill shot. This may be the end of me, thought George. He jumped down to defend Hurley and was in the open. Both men fired on him from thirty meters or so away and he felt the burning charges from the energy blaster and the lead projectiles whiz past his head. He tried to pull Hurley back while firing at the same time. Out of the corner of his eye, yet another man was dragging Barth closer to the hole.
George desperately tried to end the fight but couldn’t hit either of the men.
But then the man with the big rifle went down. And after that, the man with the blaster. George looked back and there stood Jolo.
“Is he okay?” he said.
“He will survive this,” said George.
“No!” screamed Jolo. Hazuki was standing next to Barth, one foot on his back. “You are nothing here!” he yelled and kicked Barth, rolling him into the hole. And then the man in the white coat ran away through the back entrance. Jolo started to give chase but fell, still wobbly from the blow to his head.
“He’s gone. Nothing we can do for him. Come home,” said George.
“Where is that?” said Jolo, on his knees.
“Where we are all together.”
“I need to go to the hole. I need to say goodbye to Barth. I didn’t have a chance to say goodbye. I couldn’t save him.”
“He’s gone. Come now. You can still save us. Save the core. We can still do what we came here to do.” George helped him back to his feet, picked up Hurley and they escaped into the mall, heading for the bookstore.
Probe Jet
Jolo’s head was pounding but he was conscious, though his legs were still wobbly. Part of him wanted to just curl up and lay down. They’d come so far to have it all end this way. How were they to continue without Barth? His head sagged down and each step sent little shockwaves of pain through his brain. George kept a vicious pace and at a certain point they had to wait for Koba to catch up. He finally made it to them, red faced and angry, a death grip on the blaster George had given him. Jolo was thankful for a brief rest.
“You know how to use that?” said Jolo, eyeing the blaster.
“Yeah. Point it at one of those assholes until they drop. Them give ‘em some more,” said Koba.
Riley was waiting for them outside the bookstore. “Can’t go there any more. They know we are there. Come this way.” He led them down through the center of the mall, then they went through the remains of a large store at the end. There were rows of empty shelves and little metal cages with wheels laying on their sides. On the far wall was a giant picture of a family: a child on his father’s shoulders and a pretty woman. The picture was dirty and gray, hard to see in the dim light, but in the image there was sky and land and Jolo imagined the sky blue and the ground green like he’d seen in the data feeds about old Earth when he was a kid. The people were always smiling and there was sun. Bright sun. But there in the store his boots kicked up the black dust on the floor and the sky was brown at dusk. The image on the wall was a lie.
They went down yet again to a lower level and were in a big open space with a low ceiling and columns spread out at intervals as far as he could see. They found Greeley and the kids behind several large, boxy metal old Earth transports.
“Are we safe here?” said Jolo.
“For now, yes,” said Riley. “They usually don’t come for us. The Queen prefers a larger meal and the kids tend to run and make things difficult.” He said it so matter-of-factly. Jolo imagined the beautiful little family on the wall of the store running from the Queen.
“You hurt?” said Greeley.
“Fine. Hurley needs tending to.”
“Where’s Fat Man?”
Jolo just looked at him and no words needed saying.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t go with you,” said Greeley. “I’m ready now.”
Jolo put his hand on Greeley’s shoulder. “I know. We’ll be needing to do some killin’ soon I imagine.”
Jolo laid down on the ground on some old clothes and fell asleep. George kept watch.
For a split second before Jolo woke up he thought he was on the Argossy. His first thought was of Katy. Then coffee. He sat up and found himself back in the dim light of the storage area for dead transports. On the wall nearby was a sign: PARKING Sub Level B. And each of the columns had a number-letter combination. They were camped out at 4C.
“You ready to go killin’,” said Greeley.
“Good to see you back to normal. Who’s Simone?”
“Rather not discuss it nor speak of it
again.”
“Alright. We need to come up with a plan. But I’ve got to see Katy first.”
“Not a wise decision,” said George. “Riley and Korley said it is well defended.”
“I gotta make sure she is okay or I ain’t gonna be worth anything to anyone,” said Jolo. “Riley says she’s safe, but I gotta see for myself.”
“I’ll go with you and we can tear a hole right through the front door,” said Greeley.
“No,” Riley said. “You’ll just die and they throw you into a hole like—” and then he stopped. Everyone giving him the stink eye. “I’m sorry. I’ve been here too long. It is the way of things.”
“I’ll go alone,” said Jolo.
“And who’ll lead us out?” said Riley a little too loudly. Korley stood up and motioned with his hands to bring the volume down. “I’ve got family on the core. I need to return.”
Greeley smirked. “Does he know?” he said to Jolo.
“He knows. But he holds hope for his loved ones like we do. The ones still locked up and the ones out in space right now being protected by Trant.”
“But you can get into the hotel. They will kill you,” said Riley.
Jolo stood up and took a deep breath, reached for the Colt, just to make sure it was there, just to feel the wooden handle. “I’ve got to go. I can’t leave her alone.”
“I can get you in.” Koba walked up smiling, the blaster strapped to his hip with an old belt.
“If you ain’t heard yet, Cap. Koba done gone badass on us,” said Greeley. “’Bout time.”
A few hours later Koba and Jolo were on the ice, a twenty minute walk from the parking lot. Koba was hunched over the remains of the probe jet he used to dig a hole in the ice five days ago.
“Funny they didn’t take that thing when they took the Argossy,” said Jolo.
“Maybe they didn’t see it?”
“Or they didn’t want it.”
“Who wouldn’t want this?” said Koba, patting the thing on the side like it was his pet. He attached the same cable he used before and then fired up the jet. “Whatever you do, don’t touch this part of the propulsion system,” he said, tapping on a cover plate that was held in place by a large bolt. “That’s what keeps it from going up into the atmosphere.”
“Why’s that thing workin’ and not the Argossy’s engines?” said Jolo.
“I don’t know,” said Koba, adjusting his glasses, the blaster hanging down and getting in the way. Soon the jet was several feet down and Koba continued to feed more cable into the hole.
The hotel was around 250 meters from the edge of the mall according to Riley. The parking lot was on the other side so they had to go up onto the ice again, then cross over the mall. There was an old lightening rod that stuck up out of the ice that marked the north east corner of the hotel.
An hour later there was a smooth hole straight down, fifteen meters, about just to the south east of the rod.
“I hope that’s it,” said Jolo.
“If it ain’t, you’ll know soon enough,” said Koba. “I’ll anchor the cable and wait for you here. Don’t stay too long or I’ll be a popsicle when you get back. I’m thinkin’ thirty minutes.”
Jolo stared down into the hole. The sides had already frozen again and he wondered if he would be able to get out. The last time he went down a hole he almost got killed and he lost Barth.
“This thing gonna work?” said Jolo, holding up the modified blaster that Koba had rigged.
“Yeah, that thing’ll get through alacyte, but the power will drain fast. It’s a one shot deal, so make it count.”
Jolo grabbed the cable and swung his legs into the hole and stared down into the darkness.
“You okay?” said Koba.
“Yeah, fine. This hole’s tighter than an escape pod.” And with that he slid down into the black, but soon it was the cold he feared more than being trapped under fifteen meters of ice.
The Kawasaki Grand
Jolo reached the bottom in seconds but the cold had already started to take effect. His hands were numb and he wondered if he could work the blaster. He turned on his light and the white ice shimmered and glistened and it might have been beautiful if his mind wasn’t occupied with staying alive. And finding the door.
Riley said most of the old Earth buildings had a fire escape on the top that took you right down into the building. Hazuki had a tight guard detail at the bottom, but Jolo was hoping he hadn’t bothered securing a rooftop entrance protected by a good fifteen meters of ice.
He held the light lower so he wasn’t blinded by the reflection. He did a slow turn, searching through the ice for a wall, a door, anything but the frozen block he was standing in. Visibility was much lower than he expected. If he couldn’t find the door he could use the rigged blaster, but he didn’t want to waste all the power just yet.
He slowly spun around several times but couldn’t see anything, so he stopped for a moment. He could jump out and they could make another hole, or he could use the blaster. He didn’t have time to make it a long deliberation. He pulled out the gun and aimed it straight away from his body and it cut a hole, but when he stuck the light in, there was nothing but more ice. More white. He did the same thing again about a quarter turn to his right and nothing there either.
On the fourth try, his hands and body getting cold and numb, he could tell something was different. The blaster cut through the ice and he could see gray on the other end. He kept cutting through until he could get a hand into the hole and he felt something with hard edges. Even through his gloves he could feel the heat. The blaster had melted through the snow and then hit the door. He pulled his hand back so he wouldn’t burn himself, then used the blaster to clear a path.
Soon he was standing in front of a metal door with an old-style, round door handle. On the ground he noticed something bright orange. It was a tiny little box with wheels: a child’s toy automobile. He pocketed it and reached for the door handle. To his surprise it was open. He stepped into a small, dark room. He turned on his light and he was facing a chained and padlocked set of double doors, sort of like a hatch on a ship. He put his bare hand on the metal, and it, too, was warm. Then he put his ear on it and closed his eyes and concentrated.
Voices. Women’s voices. Crying, then more voices. Once he thought he heard a deep voice but it was gone quickly. He stared down at the padlock and pondered his next move. The Colt would unlock the door right quick but then half the hotel would know. So he pulled out the blaster, the battery level on 2%, and aimed it right at the old padlock. He pulled the trigger and the lock turned cherry red and a few seconds later the blaster was out of juice.
Jolo tried to pry the lock open with the end of the blaster but it wouldn’t budge. In desperation he tried to just pull it off but it burned his gloves. He looked around the room and there was nothing he could use to break the lock. He knew the metal was weak. Too close not to make it, he thought.
He pulled out the Colt and stood there for a moment. It was cold and he’d been down for fifteen minutes. Koba couldn’t last out on the ice for more than thirty minutes or so. He put his ear back on the door and waited until the crying started up again. Sure enough, a minute later and the crying had kicked in again. He stood back and shattered the lock with one bullet. He squatted down away from the door, the Colt aimed at the hatch, as the noise bounced off the walls. He sat there for a minute or so, wondering just how many floors down the sound had traveled, then he unwrapped the chain and opened the door.
The hatch opened into a tube with a ladder straight down, which dumped right into another room on the top floor. It was some sort of maintenance area with a concrete floor and a large metal sink. This opened into a long hallway with a red carpeted floor right down the center with rooms on either side, each with a number. The closest room was 3227. Thirty second floor, twenty-seventh room, Jolo thought. He stood there wishing he had a map in his computer and right there on the wall was a floor map. There were fire exits o
n either side, the upper exit he just came from and all the room numbers clearly marked. There were two hallways with forty rooms total on this level alone. How was he going to find Katy without anyone seeing him?
He heard someone coming and jumped back into the store room. And old lady walked by mumbling to herself carrying a tray of food. Jolo hadn’t eaten anything except fed green and more recently the black stuff for the better part of a week. He couldn’t see what the lady was carrying, but it smelled like real food. Like cooked food, warm and savory. His mouth filled with saliva and he had to overcome a powerful urge to rip the tray out of her hands right then and there and let the cards fall where they may. His hand was on the door knob, but then good sense got the better of him. He wouldn’t put Katy’s safety at risk no matter what was on the tray. No matter how warm and wonderful it was.
When she passed he stepped back into the empty hallway. Just like the passages in the mall, the hallway used torchlight. And so Jolo started down the hallway wondering how he was going to find Katy. He put his ear to the door of the first room and heard nothing, through the second door he heard someone breathing, nice and steady with a hint of a snore. He tried the door and it was open. Inside was a woman laying on a bed asleep. There was a tray on a rolling table by her bed with some rice and curry with an unopened cookie on the side that had Fed markings on it. These were Federation rations stolen from a freighter. So Hazuki had a stash of food.
Jolo put the tray right up to his lips and scooped the rice and curry into his mouth with his fingers. It was Fed issue, which in normal circumstances would be passable fare at best, but standing here on Earth, nothing but the black stuff in his gut, it was the best thing he’d ever eaten. He ripped open the cookie and wolfed it down, catching crumbs with his free hand. He leaned back on his heels and closed his eyes, the chocolate chip cookie goodness flowing through his body. He took a deep, satisfied breath and looked down at the bed and the woman wasn’t there.
The Jolo Vargas Space Opera Series Box Set Page 52
