He decided to carry her anyway. He laid her on her back, stretched her legs out and removed her utility belt. He always carried a coil of nylon cord inside his coat pocket to be used in erecting a shelter, or as a garrote, if needed. In this case it would serve to bind Taylor's hands and legs. He rolled her over, pulled her hands behind her back and tied them. Next he tied her legs and ankles together. To make sure that she did not struggle against the bonds, he placed a noose around her neck and tied it off to the bindings on her wrists. He left just enough slack so as not to choke her but tight enough to cause strangulation if she began to struggle. He then took a brown nylon scarf from around his neck and blindfolded her.
When he was finished, he looked back through the forest. There was no indication of pursuit. Taylor moaned and tried to move. She gave a little cough as the noose tightened around her throat.
"If you keep still, you won't choke to death," he said in a low voice.
Taylor tensed. Though she could not see the speaker, the voice was familiar. "John?" she whispered.
"How do you feel?" he inquired, not really caring.
"My head hurts."
"So does my ear."
"Will you take this blindfold off so I can see you?"
"Not much chance of that."
"How did you get here?"
He gave a soft laugh. "Are you surprised, Taylor? Did you really think those imbeciles at Apache Point could keep me imprisoned?"
She lay still for a few seconds before answering. "They told us you had committed suicide."
"You should have known better than that. Suicide is not in my book of tricks. They should have killed me when they had the chance. Now it's too late. But it's not too late for you to save yourself. I really don't hold any animosity toward you personally."
"What do you mean?" The calm voice he was using sounded creepy.
"I mean that if you cooperate with me, I'll let you go."
"Cooperate? How?"
"I intend to kill your boyfriend."
Taylor clamped her lips together and turned her head toward the voice. "You're insane," she hissed.
"Some people think so. I don't see it myself."
"Untie me and let me go, then maybe he won't kill you!" she said between her teeth. "You know he'll come after me. Or is that what you're planning?"
"It didn't take much intelligence to figure that one out, did it?" he laughed.
"He won't be alone, John. The Vryanians will be with him."
"Is that what they're called?" He sounded interested.
She didn't answer.
"Well, no matter. We'd better get going before he figures out what happened to you. He's bound to put everything together after he talks to the three savages that the aliens captured." He took her pistol from its holster and stuck it inside his coat. After searching her utility belt's pouches and finding nothing of interest, he hung it on a nearby bush. "Time to go," he said.
She tried her bonds again and got the same choking results. "Where are you taking me?" she asked.
"To the Fir Bolg fort. It's just a few miles south of here. You and I are going to help them in their war against the aliens."
Taylor hesitated then said, "Don't be a fool, John. All you'll do is get them killed. There's no way they can overcome Vryanian technology."
An amused look came over his face. "Do you think that really matters to me?"
"You might get yourself killed, too."
"I'm ready for that if it's required. Besides, there might not even be a war. By now they know you're missing and are looking for you. If I know your boyfriend, and I think I do, he'll be on our trail in less than an hour. And I'll make sure that he doesn't have a hard time following us."
"What's that supposed to mean?" She said it in a quiet tone, trying not to reveal her anxiety.
"I left a trail a one-eyed man could follow. If he takes the bait, this will all be finished in the next few hours."
Realizing what he had in mind, she shook her head violently, trying to loosen the blindfold. It was clear that he intended to ambush Matt somewhere out on the moor.
"I advise you to stop that. The more you struggle, the tighter the noose will get."
"You don't know him as well as you think. He'll never fall for that!" she spat defiance.
"We'll see," he responded in a matter-of-fact tone. With that said, he picked her up like a rag doll and tossed her over his shoulder.
Taylor grunted. "I don't suppose you'd let me walk if I give you my word that I won't try to escape," she said, a little breathless from the pressure on her stomach.
He laughed out loud. "Not likely. And if you make any noise, I'll gag you."
The crescent moon was just rising as he started across the moor at a brisk walk.
Chapter 21
Pursuit
A Vryanian interpreter was summoned to aid in the questioning of the three Fir Bolg. Matt, Jake, and the aliens towered over the three smaller men, creating an intimidating atmosphere. One of them, a youth named Boan, did most of the talking. He insisted that they had been sent to deliver the package but did not know anything about its contents. A person they referred to as 'the wizard' had simply told them to deliver it to Nuada and wait for a reply. In spite of Matt's long years of experience in breaking down hardcore criminals, the barbarians held to their story. After a half hour, he was satisfied that they were telling the truth.
Toward the end of the questioning, Matt became concerned that Taylor had not returned. It should have taken no longer than ten minutes to go to the landing field and get back. It had already been over twenty, and he was preparing to go look for her.
"I'm going after Taylor," he said to Jake and Dbarr. "She should have been back long before now."
"I was thinking the same thing, myself," Jake put in. "Let's go."
"I will accompany you in case there is trouble," Dbarr added. "Are you finished with questioning the Fir Bolg?" he asked Matt.
"Yes. Unless you have some reason to keep them, let them go."
"I see no reason for detaining them further," he said. He spoke briefly with the attending officer, then they started off to find Taylor.
The landing field was only a few hundred yards away, and they covered the distance in less than five minutes. The vreel they had used was still positioned where it had landed; the ramp was still down. Jake and Dbarr waited while Matt checked inside.
He returned almost instantly, holding Taylor's translator in his hand. "This was still lying where she left it." He held up the instrument. "Fan out and start searching the area," he told them, his voice urgent. "Dbarr, contact your people and have them start looking, too." Dbarr nodded, tilted his head back and closed his eyes. Within a minute, other Vryanians were exiting the domes to assist in the search.
Matt and Dbarr began looking along the edge of the landing field, while Jake headed toward the nearby domes. He had not been gone three minutes when he found the body of the Vryanian. "Matt! Dbarr! Over here," he shouted.
The two of them ran to where he was. Dbarr knelt and examined the unconscious man. "He's still alive but badly hurt," he told Matt. Other Vryanians had responded to Jake's call and were standing around them.
"Whatever happened to him must be connected to Taylor's disappearance," Jake said in an angry tone.
Matt felt an extreme sense of urgency. He put his hand on Dbarr's arm. "Can you wake him up?" he asked, his voice a little too loud.
Dbarr did not answer. Instead, he began to stare at the inert man. The other Vryanians gathered around him but remained silent. Jake and Matt waited for what seemed an interminable time. Matt's hands began to tremble from emotional stress. He felt Jake's hand on his shoulder.
The unconscious man's eyes opened slowly. He took a rasping breath and groaned. In a weak, halting voice he muttered some words in Vryanian. Dbarr remained silent as the man struggled to piece a few sentences together. When he finished, he closed his eyes and lay still. Dbarr said something to those stand
ing around. Several of them came forward and picked the injured man up.
As they departed with him, Dbarr stood. "He says he was attacked by a large human, not a Fir Bolg, who spoke to him in an unknown language. The human became agitated as our vreel landed. When he saw you disembark, he became angry and struck him on the head with the handle of a large knife. After that, he remembers nothing."
Matt and Jake looked at each other. "John Kasdan," Matt said between clenched teeth. "He must have grabbed Taylor for some reason. If he hurts her…"
"Take it easy, Matt," Jake cautioned. "We don't know what happened yet, but if Kasdan's involved he won't hurt her. If he intended that, she'd be here on the ground with the Vryanian."
"What do you mean, 'if he's involved.' Who else could it be?"
Jake ignored the question and said, "What we've got to do is figure out why he took her."
"The obvious answer is that he intends to somehow use her in the proposed battle," Dbarr offered. "Possibly as a hostage? Some sort of bargaining tool to get at you, Matt?"
"We're wasting time talking," Matt said. "There's no way he can hide in the city, so he must be somewhere outside in the forest." He looked at Dbarr. "Let's get your people checking the perimeter for an entry and exit point."
"How about getting these vreels airborne," Jake said in a military tone. "We can use their searchlights to comb the areas outside the forest. Also, have two of them start search-lighting the ground among the domes just in case he's still inside the city."
Dbarr spoke to one of the nearby men, who went off at a trot. Within minutes, the Vryanians were manning the airships and preparing to lift off. Their rotating crystals filled the air with whining power. As they rose into the night, their searchlights bathed the landing field and domes in brilliant white light. Matt watched as they moved off in different directions, heading for the moors.
Having the advantage of being connected telepathically, dozens of ground personnel poured out of the domes and fanned out in all directions without having to wait for verbal orders. Matt and Jake were about to start their own search when Dbarr stopped, listening to something. He held out his arm, holding Matt and Jake back. After a few seconds, he turned to Matt and said, "They have found the perpetrator's entry and exit point. He came under the fence a short distance from here."
"Lead the way!" Matt exclaimed. They circled a nearby dome and headed toward the security fence. They followed the fence's perimeter to where several Vryanians were gathered. They had already removed the loose sod and dirt from Kasdan's hole.
"He came and went through this excavation," one of the security officers told Dbarr. "From the size of it, he must have been an exceptionally large man."
Jake knelt and inspected the hole. "The sod's been cut, Matt. He must have dug all the dirt out with a knife, or some other sharp tool." Matt pushed him away from the hole and started to go under the fence.
"Wait, Matt!" Dbarr said, grabbing him by the shoulder. "Give me a second to deactivate the fence. One slip and you'll be killed!" Matt waited impatiently while Dbarr gave the order. Within a minute, the posts on each side of the hole went dark. The remainder of the fence stayed activated. "It is safe now," Dbarr told him. "I'll wait here and coordinate the search activity."
Matt shot through the deactivated section and ran to the edge of the forest with Jake close behind. Both men removed LED flashlights from their utility belts and began searching the ground. It took Jake less than two minutes to find a broken twig on a bush leading into the trees.
"He went this way, Matt!" he called out.
They walked as fast as prudence allowed, fearing that they would miss something along the way. The forest was small, taking them only ten minutes to reach the other side. Moonlight illuminated the wide moor, stretching out ahead of them for at least a mile before disappearing over a low rise. They turned off their lights so their eyes could become dark adapted.
"I don't see anything," Jake said.
"Neither do I, but he had to have come out of the forest somewhere near here. You go left and I'll go right," Matt suggested.
The two men separated, following the tree line, searching with their lights. Fifty feet along, Matt found Taylor's utility belt with an empty holster hung up in a bush. He called out to Jake, who came running.
"It's Taylor's," he told the other man, holding up the belt. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. "And take a look at the grass. It's all beaten down as though a lot of activity took place here." Matt was beginning to tremble with fury.
Jake walked a few yards into the moor. "Here's the trail," he called out. "It leads toward the southeast."
Matt ran to where Jake was standing. Even in the darkness, the trampled down trail was visible in the dew. "There's only one set of footprints," he pointed out.
"He's carrying her," Jake reasoned. "That'll slow him down considerably. Let's get moving!"
Matt hesitated. "Hold on, Jake," he said. "I don't like the looks of this." He was trying hard to remain cool; to separate his impulse to pursue Kasdan from his instinct to use caution.
"What are you saying? He can't be more than forty-five minutes ahead of us. What is it that you don't like?" He sounded puzzled.
Matt turned off his flashlight and told Jake to do the same. The L-suits made them almost invisible against the background of trees. "Don't you think that finding Taylor's utility belt hanging in a bush, a lot of beaten down grass, and a clear trail leading away from here, a little too obvious?" he asked.
Jake took a moment to consider that. Finally he said, "Yeah. I'm beginning to see what you mean. He could be setting us up for an ambush out there somewhere." He waved his arm across the dark grassland. "Now that I think of it, I'd work my way along the edge of the woods to a point far enough away from here to at least delay pursuit before going out onto the open ground." He paused momentarily then said, "But he didn't do that."
"I agree. Let's do what you just said. We'll go a few hundred yards west and start from there. That'll put us on a parallel track with him. We should be able to see well enough to stay on course and spot him before he sees us. If he's carrying Taylor, we might be able to outrun him. But don't forget, he's got two weapons, one of them a .357, and he knows where to aim for a sure kill."
They took off at a trot toward the east, covering the necessary distance in less than three minutes. They had not gone a quarter of a mile onto the moor when one of the Vryanian vreels passed overhead, its searchlight scanning the ground.
Kasdan was nearly three miles distant by the time Matt and Jake started across the moor. Carrying Taylor was not as difficult as he had thought it would be, and they were making good time. Continually watchful, he stopped and turned around. A bright light that had not been there before was visible in the distant sky. He watched it for a few seconds and saw that it was growing larger. Guessing that it was one of the alien airships, he headed toward a small copse of stubby trees a short distance away. When he was inside their cover, he shrugged Taylor off his shoulder and laid her on the ground.
Exhausted from bouncing around on Kasdan's shoulder for almost an hour, she took in a deep breath and blew it out. "What's happening? Why have you stopped?" she gasped.
"Quiet, or I'll gag you," he threatened. He walked over to the edge of the trees and studied the light. It seemed to be following a zigzag pattern. He glanced at the path he was leaving in the wet grass. The aircraft was too high to see the narrow trail, but anyone on foot would have no trouble following it. After a few minutes, the light veered off to the east and vanished below the horizon. Returning to Taylor, he checked her bindings, picked her up and started off again at an increased pace.
"Please let me walk, John. I won't slow you down." Her voice trembled from being bounced around on his shoulder. She received no answer, just his heavy breathing.
He pounded toward the southeast, his goal still over twelve miles away. He did not wish to completely outrun Leahy and his companion, but he could not risk
being seen out in the open by one of the alien aircraft. After having witnessed one of them land at the dome city, he knew that they were practically noiseless. Unless they were using their searchlights, he would be an easy target if they came up from behind. He had no idea what kind of sensors or weapons they might employ, except the mysterious 'swords of light.' The Fir Bolg were terrified of those, and that was enough to convince him to avoid any confrontations unless there was no alternative.
Leahy and his friend would be armed with the standard issue Beretta nine-millimeter pistols. He did not fear those, as the .357 he carried had a longer range and far more power. If Leahy happened to overtake him, which he hoped for, he would be ready. However, he decided not to intentionally lag and allow him to catch up. The airships posed too great a threat. He paused to shift Taylor to his other shoulder. She grunted but made no protest.
Sergeant Bobby Glass used the opposite side of the ridge to slip away unseen from the Fir Bolg city. Once clear, he shucked off his camouflage cloak and stuffed it into his pack. The land ahead was mostly open grassland with occasional clumps of trees and hills. He took out his binoculars and scanned it, seeing nothing. He decided to proceed on a due west track, hoping to cut the huge barbarian's trail somewhere along the way. The Barrett rifle hanging over his shoulder was heavy and would slow him down. He considered concealing it in the first brushy area he came to and rely on his .40 caliber Glock to handle any close encounters. However, if it turned out that the man he was trailing was, in fact, John Kasdan, he would need the rifle to make a long range shot. After thinking it over, he decided to retain it. He tightened the sling on the big gun and kept a steady pace.