[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Lord save us, I thought. "Don, set the charges in the back wall of your room."
Plemmons nodded and went back into the blockhouse. "What do we do with the
bitch?" Doug asked.
"Put her helmet on her, tie her up, and leave her," I said.
"Maybe I should spray inside the helmet with some of that gunk," Doug said.
"Erica?"
Eileen's face went white. "You can't! You aren't you can't?"
"No," Erica said. "But I'd like to. Wait a minute. What did you put in
Garrett's coffee?"
Eileen didn't answer.
"Would it have killed him?" Erica demanded.
"No! It's just a knockout drop-"
"Drink it," Erica said. She brought the cup over. "Now, and every drop, or I
swear I will use that spray can on you."
"But - "
Erica got the spray can.
"All right!" Eileen drank the coffee. They put her helmet on her and closed
the faceplate. She sat still for a minute, then her head slowly nodded over.
"She could be faking," Erica said. "Tie her up, Doug."
Right."
I got up and moved gingerly around the room. I could walk all right. My face
still felt funny, the way it does after a jawful of novocaine, but otherwise I
seemed okay. A little light-headed, maybe, but that could have been from the
shots as much as anything. I'll function," I said. "Okay, let's get ready."
We got our packs and weapons. Erica carried her detonator. "All set?" Plemmons
asked.
"Yeah," I said. "Let her fly."
We heard the explosions, then whistling air, and then silence. Half the wall
was blown out. We leaped through, and Doug and Erica ran off toward the
derrick. Plemmons and I ran to either side and wheeled around.
Someone fired at us from the dark. There were the silent orange flowers I
remembered from the
Page 84
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Deucalion battle. A figure moved toward me, and I swung the submachine gun
like a hose, cutting him down. I fired another burst, then ran off after
Erica.
Plemmons dropped down behind some rocks. "Move, chief," he said. His
voice was loud in my headset.
"No heroes," I ordered. "Need all of us-"
"Be along in a minute." He fired a burst with his automatic rifle, and I ran
on, wondering if I'd ever see him again.
We'd let the drillers guard the wellhead because, short of drilling out the
hole again, there was no way the bomb could be disturbed. They'd been taking
the rig apart and stowing it for travel, so we weren't too worried that
anybody would drill for the bomb.
It was a kilometer to the well site. About halfway I felt woozy. This looked
like as good a place to
make a stand as any. I found a boulder and got behind it.
A figure came running toward me out of the dark. I sighted on it. "Don?" I
called into the mike.
"Yeah, chief, don't get nervous."
"Leapfrog," I said. "Move on."
He slowed and looked around but couldn't see where I was.
"Go." I ordered.
He ran past, and I waited. My eyes were getting accustomed to starlight,
and Deimos, the outer moon, was up. Deimos doesn't give much light; it's
not even a disk, just a very bright star, but it was something. I thought I
saw movement in front of me and fired a burst.
More orange flowers answered me. At least a dozen. I tried to remember where
they'd been, and fired at a couple I was sure of. More answering fire from out
there.
I didn't think I'd hit anybody. We stayed that way, trading silent shots for
several minutes, and then I
decided it was time to get the hell out of there. I crawled into a deep shadow
and began to move toward the drill site.
Something bumped against me. I grabbed it, and we rolled over in the dark,
tearing at each other. My weapon was tugged out of my hands. I reached back
onto my belt and got my knife and thrust it, then again. Again. I felt him go
limp, and hoped I hadn't run into one of my friends. Then I felt around for my
submachine gun and crawled farther into the shadow. Finally I got up and ran.
"Garrett!" It was Erica's voice. I wished for air, so I could tell where she
was.
"Coming!" I called.
"Hurry. We've got a tractor-"
"They're listening," I reminded her.
"I know that. Hurry."
"Sure. Count off!"
"Plemmons."
"Barston."
So Doug and Don had both made it. And Erica. I was breathing hard as I got to
the well site. There wasn't anyone around that I could see.
"To your left," Erica's voice said.
I ran off into the darkness and almost fell over them. There were four
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]