As Dee Dee continued to stare into the darkness, she saw movement followed by a loud splash. Dorn! It had to be Dorn! A security guard wouldn't fall into the water, would he? Well, maybe, but it
felt
like Dornâand that was good enough.
She attempted to run, but the water made it difficult. Her legs pumped and got nowhere fast. Still, the girl made
some
progress, and aimed for the point where Dorn was most likely to come ashore. He'd be angry with her, Dee Dee expected that, but knew he'd relent when he saw the tunnel. Wait a minute ... what was that? A log? Like those that came ashore sometimes? Whatever it was seemed lifeless, rolling with each successive wave.
Dee Dee forced herself through the water, recognized Dorn, and grabbed what remained of his shirt. She saw blood, a slit where something had penetrated his back, and more blood. Of more immediate concern, however, was the fact that he was face down in the water. The girl rolled Dorn over, and gasped when she saw the damage done to his face. "Dorn! Wake up! Please wake up. You're too heavy to carry."
There was no response.
Dee Dee frowned, drew her hand back, and slapped Dora across the face. His eyelids fluttered, then opened. Dorn coughed. "Wha? Where am I?"
"In deep shit," Dee Dee replied earnestly. "Come on, Dora, you've got to help."
Dorn groaned, fought to establish some sort of footing, and felt a hand tug at his waistband. "This way, we've got to go this way, so we can hide when the light comes."
Everything seemed to sway, and the words had no particular meaning, but Dorn followed where the child led. Something told him she shouldn't be here, that he ought to be angry, but he couldn't remember why. Walking was difficult, very difficult, and he fell, over and over again. Each collapse, each disaster, felt like it would be the last. But Dee Dee wouldn't hear of it. Not for a moment. She never stopped pushing, cajoling, and prodding. Begging Dorn to rise, ordering Dorn to rise, praying for Dorn to rise.
And rise Dorn did, until the lights came, and Dee Dee pulled him down, forcing his face into the water, calling him names. The names made him so angry he pushed the bottom away. In fact, the light was still in the process of passing over their heads when he rose dripping from the water and lunged forward.
Dorn wanted to wrap his fingers around Dee Dee's neck. That would shut her up, oh yes it would, and he could hardly wait. She backpedaled and he staggered forward. He came close at times, extremely close, but not close enough. Dee Dee kept walking backwards and waving a broom in his face. The nightmare seemed to go on and on, and he had decided to call it quits when she pushed on his chest. "This is it! Stop! We're opposite the tunnel."
"Tunnel?" Dorn asked stupidly. "What tunnel?" He could have grabbed her at that point, could have cheerfully drowned her, but he didn't care any more. He tried to tell her something, forgot what it was, and collapsed in a heap.
Dee Dee swore, slapped Dorn's face, and got no reaction. Then, while she was still thinking about what to do next, the siren burped three times, two of the spotlights converged on the
Mary Voss,
and shouts were heard. Dee Dee stood, saw movement to the south, and ran toward the fence. "Ahmad! Dougie! Come through the tunnel! I need your help!"
There was no response at first. Had the boys broken their word and gone home? But then a head appeared, quickly followed by another. "Dee Dee? Are you crazy? They're after you!"
"No, they aren't," the girl responded urgently. "They're after someone else. See? The action's down there. Come on! I need your help!"
"For what?" Dougie asked suspiciously.
"The biggest piece of aluminum you ever saw," Dee Dee said enthusiastically. "Help me, and a third of it belongs to you."
"Half," Ahmad said pragmatically. "Let's go."
To the south of them, just opposite the
Mary Voss,
voices shouted and guards ran every which way as the boys followed Dee Dee down to the water. Dougie was first to note the obvious. "Shit! That ain't metal! You lied!"
"Yes," Dee Dee said calmly. "Grab his armpits and drag him to the tunnel. I'll sweep the tracks."
"Why the hell should I?" Dougie demanded defiantly. "Drag him yourself."
"Do it," Ahmad growled, "or I'll tell your brother what happened to his knife. You know, the one in your pocket."
Dougie glared, swore under his breath, and did as he was told. Dorn's heels left two parallel grooves in the sand. Dee Dee backed up the bill, sweeping as she went. Ahmad entered the tunnel first, and was in the process of dragging Dorn through, when the dogs started to bark. Dee turned and saw an all-terrain vehicle bounce onto the beach. Guards walked to either side, and an exoskeleton brought up the rear. The fence blocked an escape to the east, and the water was too far away. Dougie took one look, shouted, "Dig!" and went to work. He was six inches down before Dee Dee started. The headlights, which had been tiny at first, grew with each passing second.
Carnaby Orr liked to pilot his own yacht, especially when it required some skill. Which was fine unless you happened to be his pilot and were forced to sit by as he dropped through the stratosphere like an ore barge on autopilot, then grinned and leveled out. "That was fun. No wonder you pilots like your work. Not bad for an amateur, huh?"
"An excellent entry, sir," Lawson lied, "just excellent. Shall I take her in?"
"Sure, why not?" Orr answered magnanimously. "You have the controls."
"I have the controls," Lawson agreed thankfully, and surreptitiously dumped speed.
Orr, his mind already on other things, released the harness and made his way toward his quarters. His wife had supervised their design and decor, which meant he didn't care for them. Maybe Ari would try her hand at some redecoration. The thought brought a chuckle as he sat behind his desk. "Voice communicationâship to surface."
The computer acknowledged the command in a husky voice, a voice Orr liked so much he had launched an effort to find the woman it belonged to only to discover that it was synthesized. Still, he liked the way it sounded, and would ensure that it survived. The computer, unaware and uninterested in its owner's thoughts, responded to its programming. "Please provide a number, name, or other identification sufficient for linkage."
"Ari Gozen, Orr Enterprises staff implant 341, connect now."
A thousand miles to the west, on a road south, Ari battled to keep her eyes open. She was tired, very tired, and should've been in bed. But weeks had passed, valuable weeks, during which she should have completed her assignment and headed home. But she had been sick instead. Not the sort of thing her employer was likely to forgive. The miserable bastard. So, why did she care for him anyway? And want him more than anything else? Perhaps it was a sickness equal to the one she'd survived.
The car, which liked to drift, veered to the right. Ari struggled to correct it. The mental "pop" as her implant came to life after months of silence scared the hell out of her. She swerved and almost ran off the road. The "voice" was equally unexpected. "Ari... Carnaby Orr here ... how the hell are you?" Gravel flew as Ari flared to a stop. The skirts thumped as she cut power. She subvocalized. "Carnaby? Is that you?"
"Of course it's me," her employer replied matter-of-factly, throwing his booted feet up onto his desk. "I thought I'd drop in and see how things are going. If you have what I'm looking for, I'll give you a bonus so big you can buy a piece of the company. We could be partners."
Partners? The implication
seemed
obvious, or had she read something into his words "No, not yet anyway. Our subject disappeared, but I know where he is. Or
was,
anyway, assuming he survived."
"Excellent," Orr replied cheerfully. "How can I help?"
Reassured by her employer's high spirits, and cheered by the prospect of seeing him again, Ari considered his offer. Insects chased each other through her headlights and thumped against the windshield. "As a matter of fact, there
is
something you could do. There's a local company called Sharma Industries. Owned by a family of the same name. They run a salvage operation. I have reason to believe that the individual we're looking for is trapped in one of their camps."
Orr took his feet off the desk in surprise. "Slave labor? You're kidding!"
"It's a long story," Ari replied, "but suffice it to say that when his parents died, and the money stopped, our friend made some rather poor choices."
"Good!" Orr said happily. "Very good. As long as he has what I'm after. Tell me what to do."
"Contact the Sharmas," Ari said forcefully. "Buy the rights to the boy, meet me at their camp, and bring some muscle. I don't know what these people are like ... better safe than sorry."
"How true," Orr said, remembering his wife, and the knife at his throat. "I'll take care of it. And, Ari..."
"Yes?"
"I'm looking forward to seeing you.
All
of you, if you catch my drift."
Ari thought about her emaciated body and wondered what he'd think of it. It occurred to her that a darkened room might be best. She allowed some very real excitement to color her voice. "Me too, Carnaby ... as soon as this is over."
Orr smiled and broke the connection. He was more aroused than he could ever remember beingâjust from thinking of sex! A side benefit provided by the symbiote? What if he obtained a similar creature for Ari? They could live forever! And screw their brains out in the bargain. He laughed and went to work.
It was dark beneath the sand, and Dee Dee felt something akin to pinpricks as sand ants cut minute chunks out of her skin, grasped them in tiny mandibles, and headed for home. But the darkness was bearable, as was the pain. What
really
bothered her was the uncertainty. How close were the security guards? Would the dogs find her scent? And what about Dorn? What if he died? It would be like losing her parents all over again. She wanted to cry but couldn't without giving herself away.
The plastic tube had spent most of its existence in a coil and liked that shape. That being the case, the upper end of it curved downward and came within a quarter-inch of the surface. Tiny grains of sand were sucked through the tube and into Dee Dee's mouth each time she took a breath. It was annoying and potentially dangerous. She could adjust the tube, but what if the guards saw her? Still, what were the odds? Heavily in her favor, she assumed. Dee Dee flexed her fingers, and about was about to reach for the tube when the sand began to vibrate. Something heavy approached.
Sand was packed in and around Dee Dee's ears but allowed some sound to get through. She heard the deep throaty rumble of an engine, a sort of thumping sound that might have been exoskeleton pods hitting the sand, and a voice too distorted to understand.
Someone stepped onto the sand that covered her right ankle and sank till boot touched skin. There was more pressure than pain and her heart nearly beat its way out of her chest. She wanted to scream but bit her lip instead. Then, just when the girl thought she couldn't keep still any longer the pressure vanished and the guards moved on.
Dee Dee forced herself to count to a thousand, raised her head, and confirmed that the search party had passed them by. It was a hundred yards down the beach tossing a pile of trash. Staying low so as to reduce the chance that she'd be silhouetted against the lights, Dee Dee rolled out of the depression, spat sand out of her mouth, and probed for Dougie. He came up spluttering. "Frigging dogs ... one of them peed on me!"
"It beats the hell out of what else could have happened," Dee Dee replied unsympathetically. "Now move your butt... the tunnel should be clear by now."
The tunnel
was
clear, and the youngsters wiggled through. Ahmad was waiting. "About time, you two... This guy is heavy. I barely pulled him through."
Dee Dee, fearful that Dorn was dead, checked his breathing. It was shallow and came less frequently than it should have. She turned to the boys. "Ahmad, find Jana. Tell her to come. We need her muscle. Dougie, wake La-So. Tell him what happened. Hurry."
Dougie paused for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders. "What the hell. But you owe me ..."
The boy disappeared into the darkness before Dee Dee could reply. With them gone, and help on the way, she threw an arm across Dorn's back and whispered into his ear. "Dorn? Can you hear me? Please don't die. I couldn't stand it. Not twice. I'll do my chores without being asked, learn
all
of La-So' s prayers, and study real hard. I promise."
Dorn groaned, and spat water. "And I won't let you forget," he croaked. "Where the hell are we?"
"Down by the security fence," Dee Dee answered, her heart leaping with joy.
"Which side?"
"The land side."
"Thank god. You're amazing, Dee Dee. Reach into my pants pocket."
"Which side?"
"The right, I think."
The girl did as she was told, found a round metal ball, and pulled it out. "Is this what you want?"
Dorn looked and saw light gleam off the data ball's mirrorlike surface. His eyelids felt heavy and he allowed them to close. "Yeah, keep it for me, and don't let anyone know you have it. Promise?"
Dee Dee heard the sound of voices and recognized one as belonging to La-So. She had pockets, but lost things on a frequent basis. The voices grew louder. She popped the ball in her mouth and swallowed. "I promise."
Dorn allowed himself to relax. ' 'Good. I knew I could count on you."
Dee Dee bit her lip and allowed the tears to stream down her face. "You can count on me, Dorn. Always, always, always."
Voices yelled, a siren whooped, and the hunt continued.
21
Beware of that which blossoms hide.
Col.Valtrath Bin-lznar
A Manual for Forced Landings
Confederate Armed Forces
Standard year 2346
The Planet New Hope
The
Will of God
made a picture-perfect landing in Oro's bay. Due to the never-ending plagues, and the fact that the
Willie
had no cargo to discharge, the harbor master ordered the vessel to take up moorage at buoy three. It was shaped like a cone and, judging from the stains, was home to at least one bird, which flapped away as a tug nudged the ship into position. Chief Engineer O'Tool tagged the float with a tractor beam.