“What guarantees?”
“That no harm will come to my family when you return.”
“You have my word,” Sar-Say replied. “Select the coordinates of some out-of-the-way area where you and your family will go once you hear that the Broan fleet has appeared in the Solar System. I will make sure that the fleet commanders know that this place is not to be harmed… not that your planet will be harmed at all if your people show some common sense when we arrive.”
“Then we have a deal,” Ludnick said, standing to offer his hand.
Sar-Say reached out and shook again. He had learned this clasping-of-hands ritual early in his captivity. Even so, it always gave him chills to touch palms with a human. Perhaps, he thought, it was the difference in their body temperatures. Certainly, he was no longer afraid of being contaminated by human germs.
Perhaps, he decided, he was just being too fastidious.
#
Five days following Sar-Say’s escape, the major players in the hunt for him gathered at the Broan Institute at Harvard. All three institute directors were there, having delayed their departures from Boston until the crisis passed. So was the Boston Mayor and Chief of Police, along with a Peace Enforcer general named Parsons and his aide, and the directors’ various assistants. It was in his capacity as assistant to Dexter Hamlin that Mark attended the meeting. Lisa was there because of her specialized knowledge of Sar-Say. Dieter Pavel was also present, having been assigned to follow the investigation by the World Coordinator.
The meeting was held in the conference room just down the hall from Sar-Say’s quarters. Normally, institute researchers used the room to plan their interrogation sessions. Now its walls were covered with maps that detailed progress of the search.
“What do we know?” the P.E. general asked of the police chief.
“We think we have found where they emerged from the subway,” Chief Martin Darlen, a gruff, white-haired man in a blue uniform replied. “We found cameras disabled at the subway exit at Beacon and Sacramento Streets. The tunnel camera was unplugged and someone threw a towel over the street camera. There was a blind spot that would have allowed them to park a vehicle long enough to hide the alien after they came up from the subway.”
“What about other cameras in the vicinity?” Jean-Pierre Landrieu asked. “They would have seen the vehicle leaving the scene shortly after the kidnapping.”
“They probably did,” the police chief replied. “However, there’s a hell of a lot of traffic on Beacon at that time of day. There are literally thousands of possibilities. Also, if they were smart, they waited awhile before leaving the dead zone. The longer they waited, the harder it will be for us to track them down.”
“All right,” Mark’s boss said. “That is probably a dead end. How are things going with your people, General?”
“Nothing to report, sir,” Parsons said. “My men are inspecting every vehicle that leaves Boston on the surface. We have air transportation grounded. The maglevs are being halted at the cordon line and inspected before being allowed to proceed.”
“Inspected how?” Dexter Hamlin asked. “Surely there are all kinds of hiding places on a train.”
“We’re using sniffers calibrated to detect Sar-Say’s peculiar body odor,” the general replied. “If he were aboard the train or hidden in one of the cars or trucks we inspect, we would ‘smell’ him.”
“Could we track him that way?”
The general shook his head. “Too much time has passed, not to mention the recent rain washing every trace away.”
“What about the researchers? Have they all checked out clean?”
“Director Fernandez?” General Parsons asked. “That is your bailiwick.”
Alan Fernandez had not fared well during the last week. He had pronounced bags under his eyes and deep creases at the ends of his mouth from frowning all of the time. He also looked like he hadn’t slept much. Mark Rykand almost felt sorry for him, until he remembered that Fernandez was the reason Sar-Say was on Earth.
“We have interviewed all of the researchers,” he replied in a monotone that emphasized his fatigue. “They all deny having anything to do with Sar-Say’s escape. We’ve checked their network files and email accounts. Nothing out of the ordinary has yet been found.”
“Have you checked
everyone
who has had contact with Sar-Say?”
“All of the institute staff,” Fernandez replied.
“Do you mean there were more?” the general asked.
“We had a few social functions that Sar-Say attended. He met a number of people, including the mayor. However, he hardly had time to strike up a conspiracy with them.”
“Are those all? The researchers and the party goers?”
“Yes, except for his discussion companions.”
“His what?” General Parsons asked in a deceptively quiet voice.
Fernandez went on to explain that they had a small contingent of private citizens who came in periodically to hold discussions with Sar-Say, finishing up with, “The interaction helps us study him. In fact, the Mayor suggested the program.”
“I did?” Mayor Harrigan yelped.
“Certainly,” Fernandez replied. “You suggested it at Sar-Say’s first reception, when you introduced me to Gus Heinz. Remember, they were talking about business, and you whispered to me that Heinz was an important contributor to the party and that I should treat him with courtesy.”
“I did no such thing!”
“You did so!”
“
Gentlemen!
” General Parsons said in his best command voice. The exclamation caused both men to remember where they were and to regain their dignity. “Who is this Gus Heinz person?”
“A local businessman,” the Mayor replied. “He is in the import/export business.”
“What sort of import/export?”
“Some pharmaceutical. Very rare. Can only be produced on Borodin.”
“Borodin, the colony in the Dagon System?”
“Yes.”
“This Heinz is in the interstellar import/export business?”
Fernandez nodded.
“And he has access to starships?”
“I suppose so.”
With each question, the general’s complexion grew redder. It was now almost purple.
“
And you forgot to mention this?
”
Alan Fernandez melted under the General’s gaze. “I didn’t think of it.”
“How many others does Sar-Say meet with regularly that you have forgotten to tell us about?”
“Half a dozen. I can get you the list, if you like.”
“Please, do.”
Fernandez was gone for a few minutes, returning with a new printout on which there were seven names. Gustavus Adolphus Heinz was number four on the list. Parsons nearly tore the list out of Fernandez’s hands and gave it to Chief Darlen.
“Would you please check these people out, starting with this Gus Heinz?”
“Yes, sir,” the Chief of Police replied, reacting like a P.E. private under the General’s withering gaze.
Chapter Twenty One
Sar-Say was worried. It had been nearly 20 hours since he’d met with Benny Ludnick and he had not heard anything since. He was aware that anxiety tended to make time pass slowly, but the day just past had been excruciating in its pace. Not only was he worried that his plan would fail, but he was becoming very tired of Gus Heinz’s basement.
It had seemed a good idea to hide out relatively near the site of his break for freedom. For one thing, he had been on the open streets for only a few minutes. His rescuers led him along an underground tunnel into a nearby service tunnel and then up to street level where an enclosed vehicle waited.
All of his rescuers but one departed the scene hastily at that point, after removing the fake fur they had worn over their faces and changing their clothing. The ringleader also changed clothes and removed his disguise. The clothes he put on were those of a service technician for one of the local utilities. The back of the vehicle in which Sar-Say huddled was cluttered with tools. The vehicle itself bore the stylized representation of a bell inscribed on its outside panels.
Sar-Say and the ringleader waited in the parked vehicle for more than an hour. Then, after an interminable time, the driver placed the vehicle in motion and pulled out into a street with dense clumps of traffic moving in both directions. The delay had been intended to make the authorities’ surveillance devices useless by giving them too many vehicles to inspect.
The drive to Gus Heinz’s house had taken less than five minutes. It was literally one right turn and two lefts from where they emerged. The garage door opened as they neared the house. The driver pulled into the garage, offloaded Sar-Say, then backed out quickly and disappeared into traffic once again.
“Jaime will get rid of the truck,” Heinz said as he led Sar-Say down into the basement. “He’ll ditch it across the river in Southie.”
That had been two days ago. In Sar-Say’s estimation, that was as long as he should stay in one place. Being this close to the scene of his rescue, the humans might institute a house-to-house search. He needed to move to a more distant district of the city, or better yet, leave Cambridge altogether.
It was with relief that he heard voices near sundown. Sar-Say’s hearing was sharper than that of a human, and he quickly recognized both Heinz and Ludnick’s voices. A minute later, there were loud footsteps on the stairs and Benny Ludnick entered the room where Sar-Say was staying.
After performing the palm clasping ceremony again, Ludnick began to speak.
“You sure as hell have messed up this burg.”
“Burg?”
“City. The P.E.s have us locked down tighter than the membrane on a snare drum.”
Sar-Say, who was proud of his mastery of Standard, suddenly realized that his education had not been as complete as he thought.
“You are saying that there are difficulties?”
“Damned straight. The Peace Enforcers won’t let anything fly, they are inspecting ground cars leaving the city, and the Coast Guard has a couple of ships making sure that no one gets out of the bay.”
“So it is impossible to leave the city?”
“Pretty much.”
“How easy would it be to move me to another location within the city?”
“No problem. They aren’t interfering with traffic inside the cordon. Where do you want to go?”
“Somewhere other than here. I think it wise to gain some distance between me and the university. Can you make arrangements to move me?”
“Sure.”
“When would you be ready?”
“I suppose we could do it tomorrow night. Let me check with some guys.”
“Where would I go?”
“South Boston, I think. It’s pretty far from the university, both in terms of culture and distance. I have a house there that I rent out. It’s empty at the moment. I’ll set you up with food and water. If you keep the blinds closed and the lights off, no one will know you are there. You should be safe long enough for them to give up this blockade.”
“Excellent. It would be better if Gus Heinz does not know where I have gone. He and I have a public history. You and I do not.”
“Sounds smart.”
“What of the starship? Have you managed to find one leaving for the colonies within a few weeks?”
“That is a problem, too. There’s an orbital blockade as well. All of the ships have been moved to High Station. There isn’t a single one we can reach at the moment, and none of them are going anywhere until the blockade is lifted anyway.”
“High station? That is the Stellar Survey research station, is it not?”
“It is.”
“And you cannot get me there?”
“Not a chance. They are watching all of the launch facilities, and probably have guards aboard Equatorial Station, where you have to change from shuttle to inter-orbit ferry.”
“How long can they maintain this blockade?”
“They can’t keep the city shut down for more than a week, I would think. As for this starship thing, if it goes on for a month, the owners are going to start bitching. I’ve had some dealings with government bureaucrats. I would say you will be on your way within the next 30 days. Besides, it will take us about that long to get ready.”
“Then I must hide out for the full month while you make preparations for our escape. Do you have an entertainment device in this house you rent?”
“A holovision set? Sure, everybody has them.”
“Good, then I can keep track of the news while you prepare and possibly avoid dying of boredom.”
“Shit happens,” Ludnick replied, obviously not interested in the least in either Sar-Say’s comfort or boredom.
“Have you found the men you need?”
“I have three. I haven’t told them what they will be doing, yet. I just told them that there is a shit pot full of money to be made. They are definitely interested. I have two more to feel out. I just haven’t had the time.”
“It is good that you have not told them about me. That one million credit reward might entice them to betray us.”
“My thought, exactly,” Ludnick replied. “Now let me tell you about the shipping containers and what we will do to modify them…”
#
“So this Heinz lives in Cambridge?” General Parsons asked his aide. The two of them were in their command vehicle.
“Yes, sir. On Crescent, East of Oxford, in the middle of the block on the North Side. About half-a-kilometer from where the attack took place.”
“Ballsy,” Parsons replied. “You would think Fernandez would have mentioned that before we sealed up the whole damned city.”
“Yes, sir.”
“What assets do we have in the area?”
“We have an infiltration squad ready to go. They are currently here in the university. They are waiting for full dark to use their active night camouflage.”
“Who is in charge?”
“Sergeant Chen.”
“Good man. I worked with him down in Nicaragua when that nut of a scientist thought he could distill botulinum without us finding out about it. Have they got sniffers?”
“Yes, sir. We had the cordon team deliver two of them to the squad. They have plans of the Heinz domicile. With luck, we’ll be able to penetrate it without being discovered and take a discreet air sample. If Sar-Say has been there, we should know it immediately.”
“Good. If he hasn’t, Heinz will think he has termites. Keep me apprised.”