Jason was driving the small flitter they had hired that morning, Neil sitting alongside him. He had already programmed the onboard computer with their destination, and had switched it to silent running so that they did not have to listen to the emotionless voice constantly giving them directions. Unfortunately, this also meant that Jason had to read the map displayed in front of him.
For the short journey to Loughton, the two men sat in near silence each lost in their own thoughts, till Jason brought the small flitter to a halt on a grass verge at the side of a narrow road.
‘I can’t see any buildings.’ Neil observed looking around, and then his eyes slid out of focus as he zlinned the area before he said, ‘The nearest building is a few hundred yards behind us.’
‘And the one we want is about a quarter of a mile in front.’
‘So why stop here?’
‘It’s a Sime Complex, Neil, remember? What if there’s a Channel in there who can zlin our approach, and begins to wonder what we’re doing parking so close to the Complex, yet not paying them a visit?’ Jason said pointedly.
Neil nodded in the dark and then said, ‘I’m not worried about getting inside the place. I’m still wondering how we find our way around once we’re in there? I’ve only been inside Zeor’s larger Sime Centres. I’ve never even set foot inside any of the smaller places,’ he confessed.
‘I have,’ Jason said at once, as he remembered his first mission off world when he and Vidal had met for the first time. Dismissing the memory he went on, ‘As I understand it, all these places are laid out along very similar lines. Zeor is nothing, if not consistent.’
‘I expect that’s done for the Gens benefit,’ Neil said condescendingly. ‘If they move from one place to another they can find their way around easily.’
Jason snorted rudely.
Moments later they both climbed out of the flitter into the cold night air, thankful that there was a full Moon.
‘Can you see all right?’ Neil asked as they moved forward.
‘At the moment yes, but if the Moon goes behind the clouds…’
‘Grab my belt if it does,’ Neil advised, ‘We don’t want you spraining your ankle or worse, before we even get there. ’
‘Thanks. I’ll do that.’
‘I’m beginning to wonder if this is such a good idea,’ Neil said suddenly.
‘Why’s that?’
‘Well I’m Sime aren’t I? I can zlin if anyone is coming close to me, which means I can also make sure that my field is friendly and welcoming. Put them off the scent, if you see what I mean. But you can’t do that.’
Jason conceded the point as he said. ‘It’s a pity you aren’t a Channel as well as a Sime. In a situation like this Vidal could mask my field completely.’
Neil gave a bark of laughter, ‘Fantastic! But it still doesn’t answer our problem does it?’
‘No, but there’s something else I could try, although I haven’t done this for a while. Okay, zlin me.’ He ordered.
The Sime walked on as he said, ‘What?’
‘I said, zlin me.’ Jason repeated, walking in his footsteps.
‘What use is… Shen, where are you?’ Neil stopped abruptly and Jason had to do a little dance to the side to avoid walking into him, as the Sime turned around to stare at him. ‘How did you do that?’
‘Gen secret. But it worked, didn’t it? You couldn’t zlin me.’
‘No I couldn’t.’ Neil agreed at once, and then confessed. ‘I’ve heard that Gens could do that. I’ve never actually experienced it before.’
‘Some Gens, those who were brought up in a Household can do it for long periods of time. Mainly because they’ve been doing it since they first established, so it becomes second nature of them. Unfortunately, I can’t do it for very long at all.’ Jason stated. ‘Hopefully, if all goes well, we should have two things working in our favour tonight. First, this complex, like all of Zeor’s buildings, will undoubtedly be well insulated. Second, if you can tell me when we’re passing close to a Sime, I can do my disappearing act till we’re clear. What do you think?’
‘It might work, but...’
‘But nothing, Neil. It’s all we’ve got, so we’d better hope that it does work!’ Jason pointed out logically.
Five minutes later, as the side of the building came into view, outlined starkly against the night sky. It was one storey, and was surrounded by a hedge that hadn’t been clipped in years. This side of the complex appeared to be in total darkness.
Following the line of the hedge they approached the back of the building.
The Sime zlinned it and said, ‘It’s almost ten feet across in places.’
‘Well it doesn’t look quite so thick just here,’ Jason whispered, ‘Let’s see if we can push our way through.’ Stepping closer he extended his arm to push the thin branches to one side.
‘I wouldn’t do that,’ Neil began, only to be drowned out by the Gen’s yelp of pain.
‘Ahhh! Shen it to hell! Don’t come near. Neil, stay back!’
The Sime immediately zlinned him again as he said, ‘I was just about to say…’
‘That it’s a bramble, and it’s covered in shenning thorns. Thanks a lot! Stay where you are. If you aren’t careful you’ll tear your tentacles to pieces,’ he stated, as he pulled his arm clear with some of the thorns still stuck into the sleeve of his jacket. He then stared down at his hand in the moonlight, as he said in surprise. ‘I’m bleeding!’
‘I know you are. Use this.’ Neil had pulled the cotton scarf from around his neck and held it out to Jason.
‘Thanks.’ He wrapped it around his hand, and the Sime tied it for him. ‘We’re going to have to find a gate, or something, if we want to get inside.’
‘There’s probably one at the front of the building, facing the road.’
Neil replied.
‘You’re probably right. But what’s the betting the front is lit up with security lights? These places usually are.’
The Sime shrugged as he asked, ‘So what do you want to do? Shall we leave it for now, and try again another night? At least then we can take a look at the front in the light of day, before we give it another go.’
‘No way! We’re here now. Every day that goes by is a day closer to the Organisation assassinating our people. We can’t let that happen.’ Jason stated and then said, ‘Come on. Let’s follow the line of the hedge round to the front. Just make sure you stay well clear of it.’
Taking extra care, the two men moved forward, making their way along the back of the building, round the corner and down the other side. Suddenly Neil, who was zlinning the way ahead, stopped.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing. There appears to be a branch lying across the hedge just head of us. It either fell down because it’s rotten, or it was blown down in a storm. Either way, we can use it to our advantage. I can zlin that while it touches the ground on this side of the hedge, it’s up in the air on the other. So we can walk across it and jump down. Want to give it a try?’
‘Why not?’
‘I’ll go first and see if it’s safe.’
‘Great idea. You go across first, and if it’s rotten, you fall into the middle of the shenning hedge – tentacles and all!’
‘You aren’t suggesting that you go first?’
‘Why not? I’m pretty fit. Even if I did fall into the thorns, I might get a bit scratched, but nothing more drastic would happen to me.’
‘And I’m Sime! I can zlin the branch before it even starts to break, and jump clear.’ Neil pointed out, ‘Which means that I’m going first, and no more arguments.’
Before the Gen could object further, the Sime stepped nimbly up onto the moss covered branch, and quickly disappeared from sight. Moments later his voice floated across to Jason. ‘I’m safe. Come on over. Be careful, the moss is a bit slippery in places.’
As soon as Jason stepped onto the branch and began to edge his way forward, the Moon went behind a cloud. For several seconds he had to stand still till it reappeared, and he could see to move forward again. In the silence surrounding him, he could clearly hear the wood protesting as he moved his weight from one foot to the other.
‘Are you all right?’ The Sime’s voice broke the silence and almost made him jump with fright.
‘Yes.’ He forced the word through his dry lips as the whole branch began to bend under the weight of his body, and his feet began to slide forward. Drawing a deep breath into his lungs, Jason tensed his muscles, bent over at the waist, and jumped clear of the blackberry bushes to land on the hard ground, the breath momentarily knocked out of him.
Neil was beside him at once helping him to his feet as he asked anxiously, ‘Are you hurt?’
‘Only my pride. You’re no where near as heavy as me. I didn’t take that into account.’ The Gen glanced around at the darkness as he went on quietly. ‘After all the noise we’ve just been making, they’re either all deaf inside there, or they’re dead!’
Neil silently agreed with him as he zlinned the area around them before he set off towards the darkened building. Jason, whose night vision was usually quite good, doing his best to keep up. Then the Sime suddenly stopped, and Jason bumped straight into him, ‘What’s up now?’ he whisper-screamed into Neil’s back.
‘I thought I zlinned something on the ground close to the wall, just there,’ he pointed down to where a trap door was now clearly visible. It lay flush against the ground. Jason realised that if the Sime had not been with him, he would not have seen it unless he had actually fallen over it.
‘It looks like it could lead to a cellar,’ he said slowly.
‘You could be right. I can zlin through the cracks in the wood. It appears to go right under this part of the building.’ Crouching down he began to clear away the bits of soil and grass that had started to grow over the hatchway using both his fingers and tentacles.
Seeing what he was trying to do, Jason bent down to help, and after a few seconds he said, ‘There’s a padlock at this end, it’s a bit rusty. I wouldn’t think this entrance has been used for years.’
‘Let me see,’ Neil came to crouch down beside him, poking at the padlock with one tentacle.
‘Be careful you might scratch yourself. Let me,’ Jason said as he pulled a stiletto knife out of his boot. Seconds later, the padlock came apart with a loud snap. The two men bent to grasp the end of the trap door and finally pulled it open staring down into the inky darkness.
‘Can you zlin anything down there?’
‘No. It is definitely a cellar, but it’s empty,’ Neil whispered back, ‘I’d say it’s about ten feet deep. There appears to be a metal ladder attached to the wall immediately beneath us, but it’s rusty so I doubt it will take your weight.’
‘Hey, I don’t weight that much more than you!’
Neil ignored the observation as he murmured, ‘Stay here. I’m going to go and take a look around. There’s no point in both of us going down there if it goes no where.’
Suiting action to words the Sime sat on the edge of the hole and simply dropped the ten feet to the ground below.
For the next few minutes Jason knelt at the edge of the hole and stared down into the dark. He could see very little even though the Moon was now overhead. He lowered his head into the hole, closed his eyes and listened. Nothing. It was, quite literally, as silent as the grave!
‘Jason!’ The Gen jumped back in surprise as the voice came from a few feet below him.
‘Did you find anything?’
‘There’s a door at the far end. I think we might get it open.’ Neil called back, ‘You’d better come down. I doubt the ladder will hold your weight. I suggest you sit on the edge and lower yourself by your arms. You should only have a few feet or so to drop, and I’ll break your fall.’
Moments later, Jason was standing beside Neil, ten feet below ground level. The darkness seemed to be even more intense. ‘I should have remembered to bring a torch.’
‘It doesn’t matter just hold onto me. The floor’s a bit uneven in places, but there aren’t any obstructions.’ He said, and then set off at a rapid pace zlinning his way by the light of the Gen’s field.
Obediently Jason had grabbed hold of the Sime’s belt, but then called out, ‘Not so fast, Neil. I’m walking blind here.’
‘Sorry.’ The Sime slowed down as he said, ‘Stand still. The door is just in front of us.’
Jason could hear the Sime moving around, and stepped closer holding his hands out till he touched the rough wood. ‘This place must be older than the rest of the building,’ he observed softly.
‘I agree.’ Neil said, for they both knew that Earth had banned the cutting down of its trees for commercial use over a century ago, substituting instead both synthetic woods and various plastics. Which meant that the only real wood still used on Earth came from off world, and was therefore, mainly because of shipping charges, ultra expensive. ‘Move back Jason,’ he warned as he finally pulled the door open on its rusty hinges.
‘What’s that?’ The Gen demanded as his hand encountered something soft, and he pulled back quickly, thinking it might be a spider’s web.
‘It’s only a curtain.’ The Sime said at once, ‘And keep your voice down. I can’t zlin anyone near us, but that’s not to say they haven’t got monitoring devices.’
‘Sorry.’
Carefully the Sime pulled the heavy curtain open at one end and peered around the side of it, before he stepped forward. Jason followed at once as he, too, stepped out into a long corridor that was lit by a dim light at each end, and appeared to run the length of the building in either direction.
‘Which way do we go?’ The Sime demanded.
‘Give me a minute to get myself oriented.’ Jason begged as he flattened himself against the wall, ‘I’ve been almost blind for the last fifteen minutes. Its ages since I was inside one of these places.’
‘We can’t just stand here all night. Anyone could come along here,’ Neil reminded him as he looked up and then down the long corridor. ‘I still don’t zlin anyone in the vicinity, but that could be down to good insulation. For all I know the place could be teaming with people behind every door.’
‘All right. Don’t get your tentacles in a twist. I think I know which way to go. Come on. Follow me.’
Lady luck appeared to be on their side, as they finally reached their destination without encountering anyone.
For a second, Jason hesitated in the doorway before he moved towards the bank of computers. With a sigh of relief, he said over his shoulder to the Sime, ‘I’ll leave it to you to keep an eye out for visitors. I’m going to be too busy with this lot,’ and, immediately, he turned his attention to the task at hand.
An hour slowly passed. Neil asked for perhaps the fifth time, ‘How’s it going?’
‘Don’t ask.’
‘Can’t you do it?’
‘I can. If you just keep quiet!’
‘Simes don’t sleep all night like Gens, you know. Someone is bound to come along here soon.’ Neil warned ominously.
‘You think I don’t know that? Besides that’s your job. Take care of it.’ Jason snapped back and then went on, ‘And please, if you have nothing better to contribute, keep your mouth shut!’
Silence fell once more.
‘I’m in!’ Jason said with delight, as the Sime said almost simultaneously, ‘Someone’s coming!’
Jason immediately began to hide his field as Neil murmured, ‘It’s a Gen,’ and Jason relaxed once more, sure that Neil would be able to attend to their unwelcome guest without his assistance.
He heard the door open followed by a surprised yelp. Then the soft thud as something hit the floor. He could only hope it wasn’t the Sime.
Jason did not even bother to look around as Neil said, ‘I didn’t hurt him so he’ll be waking up shortly. I haven’t got anything to tie him up with.’
Jason sighed as he said quickly, ‘Look through all the drawers. This is an office, for shen’s sake. There must be something around that you can use!’
He heard the sound of drawers being opened and closed as he turned his attention back to the computer. He finally found what he had been looking for, and began to download it to his own notepad.
Standing up at last, he pushed the notepad into this pocket, and quickly closed down the computers before he turned to look at the Sime, who was standing beside the slightly open door, zlinning the corridor.
Neil turned to look at him, ‘You ready now?’
‘Yes. I think I’ve got everything we want.’
‘About time!’
‘It’s not easy getting into computers like this you know. Perhaps you’d like to try it next time?’ Jason said sarcastically, and then glanced across at the young Gen who was tied into the chair with Neil’s belt, a piece of sticky tape covered his mouth. His eyes were wide with fear. ‘Is that going to hold him till we get out of here?’
‘Should do.’
‘And will your pants stay up?’ He asked wryly.
‘That’s my problem, not yours. Let’s go.’
As they hurried back along the same route that they had taken when they first arrived, Neil whispered. ‘He saw our faces, you know.’
‘So, what do you suggest we do? Go back and murder him?’
Neil chuckled softly as Jason went on, ‘Besides, tying him up with your belt wasn’t exactly the ideal thing to do, was it? Security will, no doubt, find out who you are from that alone.’
Neil snorted rudely as he said, ‘Knowing who I am, and actually finding me are two different things.’ Then both men fell silent as they made good their escape.
Arriving back at their accommodations, Neil busied himself making a pot of trin, while Jason downloaded the information he had obtained into the room’s computer.
‘I never thought I’d ever say this,’ Neil confided, as he carried the trin over to the Gen and placed it down beside him, ‘I shall be glad to shake the dirt of this planet from my shoes.’
‘And get back to Damos Two?’
‘Eventually.’
Jason glanced across at him, his eyebrows raised in query as he asked, ‘You don’t intend to go straight back there?’
‘No. I shall make a slight detour to Solidano.’
‘Solidano? Where, or what’s that?’
‘It’s a planet in the Fariscon System.’
‘Why are you going there?’ Jason said with curiosity.
The Sime grinned, ‘The money’s good.’
‘What the shen does that mean?’ Jason demanded to know, ‘They give you money?’
Neil chuckled. ‘Hardly. But there’s a binary system not far from the Fariscon system, where there’s a small planet called Chaynez. The people on Chaynez mine a mineral that is extremely valuable. At least it is to the people who live on Solidano, who buy it from them.’ He paused, ‘Unfortunately for them the area all around the binary system is a raiding ground for space pirates. Which quite simply means that the folk who live on Solidano are prepared to pay vast amounts of money to any pilots who will take their ships, and run the gauntlet of these space pirates to bring back the mineral for them.’
Jason frowned slightly recalling his own pressing debt problem as he asked, ‘I take it they pay well?’
‘A hundred thousand credits a trip!’ Neil stated, ‘I’ll only have to carry out one trip to set myself up when I get back home. I’m not greedy.’
Jason’s eyes widened in surprise as he asked, ‘Just how dangerous is it?’
‘Very. The reward is well worth it.’ The Sime replied and then said with a grin, ‘I even went into debt to finish my piloting course on Damos Two, so it must be worth it.’
‘Could er... Could I do it?’
‘You? Well… Can you pilot a one man ship?’
Jason nodded vigorously.
‘Then I don’t see why not. But, what do you want extra cash for?’ He demanded, and then went on before the Gen could answer his question. ‘I mean, can’t you get what you want off Vidal? He’s rolling in it, or so I understand.’
‘Shen it all, Neil. What do you think I am? I don’t sponge off any of my friends, let alone Vidal!’ Jason said indignantly, ‘this is nothing at all to do with him. So tell me straight, if I went with you to Solidano when all this is over, do you think they’d accept me?’
‘With open arms. Believe me they’re desperate for pilots.’
‘Thanks a lot.’
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to cast aspersions on your ability as a pilot. I assure you they’ll accept anyone who’s willing to risk their lives.’ The Sime hesitated and then said, ‘I’ll be honest with you. Based on the number of ships lost to the pirates last year, you have less than a fifty per cent chance of getting away with your life, but…’
‘…But the rewards are great,’ Jason said softly, ‘And you are definitely going to do it?’
‘Too right I am.’
‘Can I travel with you to Solidano?’
‘What about Vidal? You’re his partner.’
‘I know, but I’m due some leave.’ The Gen said, and then went on quickly, ‘I don’t want him to know anything about this. Agreed?’
Neil laughed softly, ‘It’s none of my business what you decide to do. You are an adult, after all. And to be frank with you, if you want to come with me, I’d welcome the company.’
‘Good.’ Jason held out his hand Gen fashion, and for a moment Neil looked at it in surprise, before he took it firmly in his own.
Jason gave an inward sigh of relief. At least he had found a way to not only pay his debts, but to leave him with enough left over to help his family.
He picked up his trin and sipped it reflectively as he conceded that all right, so it was extremely dangerous, but nothing in this life came for free. And he smiled slightly as he remembered the old adage that his father had often said to him, "he who dares wins." It was not a bad philosophy to live by.
Glancing at the computer Jason saw that it was ready. Looking across at the Sime he instructed, ‘Come and sit over here. Let’s see if you can recognise any of these faces.’
***
Laurie met his two travelling companions and quickly realised that they already had an ongoing relationship. It also did not take him long to find out that he was a very unwelcome third. The couple kissed and cuddled on the seat beside him, on the commercial flitter on which they were booked.
Arriving at their destination much quicker than he had expected, Laurie looked around Sara’s family home with great satisfaction. At least this place lived up to his expectations, and situated as it was, almost overlooking Eaglestone house, it was ideal.
He had already decided on the way up here that he would be far better off scouting around the place on his own, rather than take them with him. So, when he suggested to Kevin that he should remain in the house to look after Sara, to his amusement, though not to his surprise, the suggestion was taken up with alacrity.
As the grounds of Sara’s home marched alongside those of Eaglestone, Laurie had little difficulty in getting into Zeor’s vast grounds.
During the daylight hours, he had spent a great deal of time in one of the top rooms of the house, staring out across the massive gardens and deciding which was the best route for him to take, once night had fallen.
He had brought with him a device he had obtained from Quink the Sime who was in charge of the armoury at the TIB. Quink had told him that it would detect the various alarms that he already knew were scattered around the place, to keep unwelcome visitors out.
Laurie also knew there were various experimental drugs that he could use which would help to hide his field from most Simes. Unfortunately, the fact that he had been using Steremin for some time, prohibited him from using them.
However, Quink had also given him a garment to wear over his clothes, it was black and was ultra light weight, made from a material that the TIB had obtained off world. It was designed rather like a jump suit that covered even the soles of his shoes. It had a hood that went over his head and face, so that only his eyes were visible.
The Sime had handed it to him with the words, ‘This is only experimental. From the tests we’ve already run, it should give you between 70 and 80 per cent cover from the average Sime, especially if you use as much natural cover as you can. This is the first real trial it’s had out in the field. It may help. Let me know how you get on.’
As darkness rolled in across the open ground that surrounded the house, Laurie prepared to leave his sanctuary. The night was cloudy, and although the Moon was almost full, it kept appearing and disappearing giving a strange almost dappled effect to the plants and bushes around him.
Scrambling over the low fence, and pushing his way through the dense ornamental bushes, he quickly found himself on the other side of the boundary.
Without hesitation, he set off on the route that he had already mapped out earlier in the day.
His plan was simple. Get as near as he could to Eaglestone and then try to find a way in. Once inside he hoped that he would be able to mingle with the many delegates that would be moving around the place. With luck he could take a look at some of the areas in the house that he thought might be significant, bearing in mind that Amtrax had been mentioned.
Keeping as low to the ground as he could, Laurie weaved his way around the bushes and trees, until he came to a halt lying on the ground listening. It was the crack of twigs some distance ahead of him that drew his attention. Someone was definitely walking this way. Hardly daring to breath, he lay frozen until he heard the murmur of voices. There were two of them.
Lifting his head, he glanced around the trunk of the huge tree he was hiding behind, and saw what looked like a trench just a short distance to one side. Taking a deep breath he lay down on his belly and combat crawled his way to the trench till he could roll over the edge to land on the damp leaves and twigs at the bottom of the ditch.
Seconds later, he raised his head above the edge of the trench, and pulled it down again as he saw a tall figure walking towards his hiding place. It must be a Sime, he thought at once. He doubted that a Gen would have seen him in this almost stygian darkness. A Sime would be able to zlin him. It seemed that Quink’s warning of a 20 to 30 per cent failure rate for this coverall, was correct. Shen!
Holding his breath, as he lay prostrate at the bottom of the ditch he could hear the crunch as the footsteps approached his position. What to do? If he stayed here he would be found. If he moved, then the guard, and he guessed that it must be a guard, would undoubtedly shoot or stun him.
Moving carefully to try and get up on his knees whilst not putting his head above the edge of the ditch, his fingers closed over a large stone. Taking another peep over the top, and seeing a man’s silhouette less than a dozen paces away from him, he threw the stone. Laurie knew that he had hit him, as the man swore softly under this breath, and then stood still touching what must be a very sore spot on his head.
Taking immediate advantage of the guard’s slight distraction, Laurie doubled up his body at the waist and almost threw himself into the man, hitting him hard in the stomach with his head. The guard grunted loudly.
Almost simultaneous with Laurie’s head finding the man’s vulnerable belly, his assailant chopped the side of his neck. In a shower of stars that far outstripped any that might otherwise be visible in the sky above his head, the Gen passed out.
***
Jordan stared at his reflection with obvious satisfaction before his dark eyes met Vidal’s in the mirror, and he smiled.
‘It’s good to be myself again.’
Vidal nodded his agreement as he said, ‘I’ve got a Land Speeder outside. If it’s all the same to you, I’d like us to be on our way within the hour.’
‘I’ll contact my people at Eaglestone before we leave, to tell them the time of our arrival.’ Jordan replied.
Less than an hour later, the two men were on their way. Once they were clear of the city environs Vidal put the speeder on auto-drive as they both settled back in their seats for the long journey ahead of them.
A comfortable silence descended on the two of them, which from Vidal’s point of view, at least, was unusual. For he was used to Jason’s constant chatter which would often frustrate him, but which, he was surprised to realise, he was actually beginning to miss.
A deep sigh escaped his lips, and Jordan zlinned his friend as he asked, ‘Is something wrong?’
‘I’m missing Jason.’
‘Understandable.’
‘I’m sorry, Jordan, it must be far worse for you. Have you given any thought at all to who you might take as a permanent companion, when this assignment is over?’
‘No. I haven’t,’ Jordan admitted with a brief bark of laughter, ‘You know I can remember my Great Grandfather saying when I was a very young child, "never seek out a companion. Fate will decide for you".’
‘I trust you don’t mean to follow that advice?’
‘Of course not. To be honest I’d love to be able to just push both that, and all my other responsibilities onto "fate", or something similar.’ Jordan confessed.
‘Who wouldn’t?’ Vidal murmured and then said, ‘There are facilities coming up. Do you wish me to stop?’
‘No. It’s better if we press on.’
Sometime later, Vidal sat up in his seat, to stare at the rear view screen, as he said flatly, ‘We’re being followed.’
‘Are you certain?’ Jordan demanded as he, too, looked at the screen.
‘Not a hundred per cent. No. They’ve been on our tail for the best part of a hundred miles.’
‘Hardly conclusive. I can think of a dozen reasons why they should be on the same road as us.’
They were behind us before we passed the facilities a while back. If you recall, I slowed down in case you wished us to stop. It was the ideal opportunity for them to go past. They didn’t even try. In fact, they slowed down, too.’ Vidal pointed out.
‘Take the next route left and see if they follow us.’ Jordan suggested.
His friend considered the suggestion for a moment or two, and then shook his head, ‘No. I think it’s best if we continue on our own route, and let them make the first move. Besides, no one knows that we’re going to Great Holm except Sam Betjeman,’ he paused and then said quietly, ‘And, of course, your people at Eaglestone.’
‘I spoke to Gavriel, a Sime I have known all my life. Are you suggesting he would tell the enemy?’ Jordan asked, almost indignantly.
‘No. The possibility is always there that someone else overheard your conversation. Perhaps accidentally, or even on purpose,’ Vidal stated calmly.
‘Maybe,’ the Sectuib conceded reluctantly.
Putting the Speeder back onto manual, Vidal slowed down to a quarter of their original speed. The Speeder behind them also slowed down, and maintained its distance.
‘They’re following us.’
‘So it would seem. What do you suggest we do?’
‘I think we should make for Eaglestone as quickly as possible,’ Vidal replied.
Jordan nodded his agreement. Vidal set their speed to maximum as he kept a close eye on the other vehicle.
‘They’re matching our speed.’ Jordan stated, as a bright flash of light seemed to burst around them.
‘Hold on!’ Vidal hit the controls and their Speeder veered erratically across to one side of the eyeway and then back again as he yelled, ‘They’re firing on us!’
Yet again the Channel touched the controls, and the craft sashayed backwards and forwards as Vidal tried desperately to avoid being hit by the heavy particle weapon they were apparently using.
Without lowering his eyes Vidal fished around in his bag till his hand found what he had been looking for. He pulled out the small blaster and placed it on the seat beside him.
‘We’ve got to try and put that weapon out of commission,’ he stated, ‘Hold on tight!’ Even as he spoke he hit the emergency stop. The Speeder shuddered to a halt rocking on its bubble of air. Then he watched as their assailants craft sped by them, till a short distance ahead it, too, came to a full stop.
Vidal had already jumped to the ground, and had started to fire at the box on top of the other craft that he knew must house the particle weapon. He grunted with satisfaction as he scored a direct hit. Then to his utter surprise, the entire craft suddenly lit up like a small Sun going nova. Within seconds it simply disappeared, leaving nothing behind.
‘What the…?’ He turned to stare at Jordan who had now climbed down to stand beside him, ‘What the shen happened?’
The Sectuib, too, stared in amazement as he shook his dark head, ‘I have no idea, except you must have hit the weapon’s power source. There’s no other explanation.’
Vidal nodded slowly before he said, ‘Well, at least that’s one thing we don’t have to worry about any longer.’
The Sectuib turned to stare at him wide eyed, shock evident on his handsome face as he said, ‘There were people in there.’
‘Yes. I know, They were doing their best to destroy us,’ Vidal pointed out. ‘It was them or us, Jordan, and to be honest with you I’m rather glad that it turned out the way it did. Or would you prefer that we were the ones who died, and not them?’
‘Of course not, but…’
‘No buts, Sectuib. No buts!’ Vidal warned, before he went on. ‘You know Jason has often said to me in the past, when events have not turned out as we expected – "I did what I had to do." I’ll be honest with you. There were many times when I simply did not understand his philosophy. But, do you know something, Jordan? I think, at long last, I’m beginning to see what he meant. Let’s go shall we?’
Once more ensconced inside their Speeder, the two men fell silent, as each in their own way came to terms with what had just happened.
Read Chapter 7
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