03
She opened her cold grey eyes and stared at her rather battered, disheveled, and apprehensive victim. 'A corpse would slow me down.' she said, and with a shrug, holstered her darter.
And getting down to business, continued, 'They'll work their way through the warehouse... But carefully. There are too many places for ambush to be anything but careful. And as likely as not one of them will trip a sensor they haven't suppressed. We can't be around for that, but we've a few minutes. First, I need to find their tag,' she muttered, 'Stand up, I need to feel your coat...'
I gasped as I stood, despite the armored clothing, darts of pain shot through my poor body. She sniffed her disdain and ran her hand along the back of my jacket. 'The dirty little men put up a better fight than you. Ah, that's mine... And here's theirs,' she said, showing me two tiny burrs resting in the palm of her hand. 'Must have been one of the waiters...'
She looked about the room and settled on a desk chair. She drew a small knife from a pocket and sliced out a hunk of the back cushion with a few strokes, and set the tags in the fabric.
'Our decoy.' she said, and giving me a hard, cold look. 'It's either me or them, Litang. I can recover your corpse, if you choose them, so it makes no difference to me.'
'Oh, it's you, my dear. The two of us against the Legion. Besides, I need you to get me out of this alive,' I added, painfully stretching my body to get it to move against the pain. 'You're the expert in getting in and out of places, or so I've been told.'
She smiled, briefly, 'Fair enough. I want you out of this place as well. Let's get moving. Not a sound and do exactly as I do. I'll have to leave you to the Legion if you make a mistake.'
'That's always been your rule, hasn't it?' I whispered back, as we crouched low to avoid being seen through the windows overlooking the stack.
She gave me a sharp cutting smile. 'Yes,' she hissed, and slowly opened the door. 'Follow me and do exactly as I do.'
We scuttled out the door and she pointed to rungs set in the wall next to us. 'Up.'
I climbed up into the darkness under the roof to find a platform with another set of rungs going up to a second, enclosed platform with a ladder going up into shadows to reach an access point on the roof.
She took the hunk of fabric and stuffing from the seat cushion she was holding and sent it sailing across the tops of the racks away from door where the Legionnaires were organizing their search. It made hardly a sound as it dropped to the floor and out of sight. She pointed to the roof access ladder.
'I'll go first. Stay here while I scout the roof.'
I graciously backed out of the way to let her climb ahead. I followed her up the rungs slowly, biting back grunts of pain when I had to use my sore shoulder and bruised arms to climb the ladder in the black shadows between the heavy rafters. It took her only seconds to open the door a crack and let a shaft of light in. She spent a minute, slowly widening it, crouched low. Satisfied that she could exit without notice, she whispered. 'Stay,' and slipped out and closed the door.
Left alone, I felt a rising knot of fear twisting in my gut and tried stomping it down with a few deep breaths and a dose of spaceer fatalism – what was written was written. The Litang on this page would never know the next page and if I was dead on the next page, so be it – I was alive on this page.
I then turned my attention to the question of what could I do, having been left casually unattended? There was likely some sort of an alarm or com unit I could activate to contact the Patrol in the security office we'd just vacated. If I acted promptly, I might be able to set off an alarm and hide amongst the racks until the Patrol arrived. But I only toyed with that idea. It was the flip side of spaceer fatalism. I didn't know how long Cin would be away, and if I failed to raise the alarm I'd have both Cin and the Legion after me, both content to deal with a corpse. I decided to trust Cin to get me clear of the Legion and my karma to get me clear of her when the time came. As I mentioned, I feared Cin a whole lot less than the Legion. For no good reason at all.
So I spent the time (long enough to have done just about anything I wanted to with the office security controls as it turned out) considering all the decisions that had me clinging to rungs in the rafters of a Despar warehouse with a pack of killers looking for me below and my assassin above. Going to lunch alone today topped the list. I deserved this, but I had time to trace all the decisions back to my youthful ambition to see more of the Nebula than dear ol'Faelrain. I'd likely be a full trade inspector now if I'd stayed. Regular, Unity Standard hours, cushy job flying rocket boats. Alas, that's not how it was written.
'We've a chance,' she whispered, startling me as she slipping through the narrow crack of the door above me. 'There are Legion fliers about, but they've not occupied the roof yet. We must move quickly. Follow me and don't hesitate. If you hear a flier, freeze. The fog is still heavy enough that they might mistake you for a vent or something. Are you with me, Litang?'
'Aye.'
'Right. Across this section, it’s a jump down to a lower section. That takes us to the rail tracks. We'll jump to the top of one of the bulk wagons and then down the far side. After that we run alongside of the wagons. Be sure to dodge under them if you hear a flier. We're close to the bay and the tracks lead to the spaceport. With any luck, the fog will hold and we'll get clear away on foot. Once we make port we'll be safe enough. Got it?'
'Right, just follow you.'
She smiled. 'Right. And don't count on the Patrol. I won't tolerate that. We'll wait for the next flier to go over, and make our break.'
We didn't wait long, and as soon as the hissing whine of its hover jets passed into silence, we were off running.
Half blinded as I emerged into the milky brightness that clung to everything, I followed Cin as she dashed from environ-unit to environ-unit, keeping an eye and ear to the bright, white and low sky.
She raced ahead and, reaching the edge of the roof, disappeared over the side. I followed, but skidded to a stop. The roof of the next section was six or seven meters lower. She had landed in a crouch and was looking up at me. She gestured to jump. But I hesitated. Heights are tricky, each planet has its own gravity, so visual clues are misleading, easy jumps on some moons and planets will break your legs on others. I turned and lowered myself over the side – my bruised shoulder sending darts of pain down my arm before dropping and rolling, without twisting anything else. She gave a disgusted shake of her head, and took off. I found my feet and took off after her.
This section was narrow and we reached the edge in seconds. Below stretched several long lines of wide and large bulk grain wagons, disappearing into the fog in either direction. Choosing her landing spot, she stepped back and took a running leap, clearing the three to four-meter gap between the building and first line of freight wagons landing with meter a to spare, landing lightly on the wagon' s sloping roof. She spun and had her darter out in an instant, searching the dock for our pursuers. Finding none, she waved me on.
I took several deep breaths as I retreated to make my run and focusing on the certain death behind me I took off. I came to the edge in mid-stride – indecision on how to manage the leap, and made a hash if it, hitting the wagon, half on, half off the side, winding me, but managing to hold on to the rim on the top edge of the wagon. Cin, thank Neb, grabbed my jacket and held on while I found a hand hold and tried to grab some air to replace what the impact had knocked out of me.
'You must want to kill me very badly,' I gasped as I crawled beside her on the top of the bulk carrier.
She smiled, 'Oh, I do. Now let's go. Over the far side and keep up with me, or I'll...' she added with a glance at her darter. She swung around and scuttled over to the end of the wagon where rungs lead down to a small platform between the wagons.
I heaved myself up and after her, still drawing in lungfuls of air. I landed at her side and looked to the sky to find the suns and our direction, but she was already off running. It looked to be the right direction, so I followed.
&n
bsp; So far, so good, but the shaft of bright, and foolish optimism that shot through me as I started running for Port Sanjoor made me uneasy – it was probably unwarranted. Half a dozen long viaducts link Port Sanjoor to the mainland. They're built over the shallow bay with its channels, low lying islands and reefs. Despar is one of the major agricultural planets for this section of the drifts and the viaducts carried the rail wagons with its agricultural harvest to the various loading bays for lighters scattered about the port's islands. It took less than a minute to cross the bay in a flier, but on foot, it had to be perhaps ten kilometers. I certainly hoped we'd not have to walk the wide rails the big wagons rolled on... Still, it'd be a two-hour journey, at least. Likely more. It'd be dark, or nearly so by the time we got to the islands if the viaducts were passable on foot, assuming the Legion didn't find us and if I didn't collapse from a heart attack. And I'd have little chance of shaking Cin before reaching the space port.
But... But the Patrol was about somewhere, and the Legion under some sort of observation, so that it was possible that an alarm somewhere had been tripped.
We stuck to the line of grain wagons, running along the siding littered with debris and rubble. The whining jets of a flier drove us underneath a wagon twice, but they stayed far off – searching behind us. We started out as soon as they faded into the white mists.
I was hot, damp and gasping for breath. I didn't know how much longer I could keep even the easy trot we had settled into. And then, the line of grain wagons came to an end, and we were in the open, the mist brightening around us and I could smell the sea.
Cin was opening her lead over me, easily jogging along, while I huffed and puffed. She danced a bit to glance back to check the sky behind us, saw me puffing to keep up and smiled, waiting for me to catch up. 'Really, Wil, you've been downside here far longer than I.'
I saved my breath. I needed it for more important things than banter. I staggered on.
Soon we were out over the bay running along the edge of a wide viaduct. Below us, under the viaducts and dim in the fog, I could see a series of a low islands of sand, rocks, tall grasses, and shallow pools. Shanties stood scattered about on tall stilts – brightly painted small boats were drawn up along the water's edge. Kids played about the beach and boats. The lingering aroma of their evening meal wafted about us. The further out into the bay we got, the thinner the fog became, the further we could see. And be seen.
We began to stir up the sea birds perched on the low guard rail on either side of the viaduct sending them spiraling up into the air. They wheeled overhead scolding us before settling again behind us. At times there was just water below us, moving in a lazy, oily swell. And then another small island with shanties, boats and children.
Gradually, the further out into the bay we got, the wide viaduct began to split off into separate viaducts leading to different parts of the space port, still far ahead in the mist.
'Hold up,' I gasped with my last breath when I could no longer catch one anymore. I staggered over to a large control box on an extended platform and collapsed beside it, a damp, heaving sack of aches and pains. I'm not sure she heard my protest, but must have noted the lack of my foot falls, for she went on for ten yards before pulling up and turning around. Hands on hips she glared at me, but she was also breathing hard, a little, anyway, and slowly walked back.
'Come on. Do you want to die?' she demanded looking down at me.
'Have I... gasp...a choice now?'
She laughed, 'Allow me to rephrase that, do you want to let the Legion kill you after all this?'
'We can't outrun...fliers...They'll either figure out...what we've done...or not. Running won't...make much...of a difference.'
'Once aboard your gig or a bumboat, they can't touch us. The sooner we get there and slip aboard, the sooner we'll be safe from them. We're not even half way there yet. Not by a long shot.'
'Five minutes to catch my breath,'
She settled down next to me and glanced at her com link to check the time.
I glanced at where mine used to be. 'Why not call a flier?'
She shook her head. 'The Legion likely has the flier companies in their pocket. They held the power in Despar and still do, unofficially. That was a legit flier that picked you up. I suspect the same thing would happen again. We're better off walking or swimming.'
'How about my ship? I might be able to have a boat in fifteen minutes.' (If the crew was back from their day on the beach, that is. Min took the Ghost with her, so we were back down to two boats.)
She smiled and shook her head. 'No, Wil. I'll bring my poor battered pal, Captain Litang up in in his gig or a hired bumboat should the gig be too well guarded.'
We sat together comfortably. I glanced at her sitting beside me and wondered again about that bond between us, which I couldn't begin to describe. It wasn't some romantic notion. I'd seen enough of the cold cruelty in her eyes, I'd felt her lashes and had seen her pleasure in my pain, to know that wasn't going to happen. I was just her grey ship-mouse to toy with for a while. But I also knew that I could trust her to get us out of this, if it was possible to get free. She was having fun – this was what she was best at, and getting me safely out of the clutches of the Legion and to the ship where she believed she could reach Min was like her old school days, a challenge she still savored.
As my breaths came easier I said, 'I wonder where that goes,' indicating a railed opening in the extended platform with a nod of my head.
Naylea, inpatient, heaved herself to her feet and went over to investigate, and climbed down into the opening, sending up a rush of seabirds, a complaining chorus of sharp calls up from below.
She stuck her head up, 'Come on, my dear, time to move. There's a service road below. We'll be much less exposed.'
I wasn't ready. I doubt she gave me the promised five minutes. But the prospect of being less exposed, especially as the mist was rapidly lifting as the evening wore one – I could see the distant outlines of Port Sanjoor against the low sun – was enough motivation to haul myself to my feet, and follow her down the steep, steel staircase.
The service road proved to be a single lane of metal grid work suspended below the concrete rail bed. At this point, it was only five meters above the oily, languid waves of the bay and covered with the acid smelling droppings of the sea birds that sailed around us, their siesta disturbed by our passage. Cin set out at a brisk walk that seemed sustainable. There were still small sandy islands scattered about, but they were just grass covered low mounds in the wide oily bay. The smell of the sea, and the sea-things rotting on the little islands of rocks piled around the supports for the viaduct came in whiffs and puffs, offering little relief from the constant tropical heat of Sanjoor. Ahead I could see the viaduct rising over a deep channel passage before falling again. I hoped that wasn't the midway point, for it was still some distance ahead.
The seabirds swirled around us, complaining in squawks and cries.
'I'm sorry about all that's happened to you Naylea,' I said, more a thought out loud than an attempt at conversation. 'By following me.'
She stopped and gave me a questioning look that quickly turned to anger, and a smarting slap.
'You're a fool if you think you can soften me, Litang. It angers me that you'd even think to try.' And increased the pace.
'I wasn't,' I dumbly protested (A mild lie.), as I tasted blood. 'I was merely thinking out loud. I'm sorry. You're trying to save my life. I can't help it if I feel a little grateful... You know how Unity Standard I am.'
'You'll feel a whole lot less grateful soon enough...' but without a great deal of venom.
'Whatever's written, Naylea. And whatever's written in the future doesn't hurt me now.'
She just hurried on, and I stepped up my pace to keep up. We walked in silence after that, Cin likely calculating her next moves while I should have been, but wasn't. Too many unknowns. Too Unity Standard to expect the worst. And well, we did have a long bridge to cross befo
re anything would need be done. I spent my time listening for the whine of flier engines and trying to figure out just how I got here.
In the end, we didn't hear them until one was nearly on us.
We'd been walking and jogging for the better part of an hour and were crossing over the high ship channel, some thirty meters over the bay below. The sky was deepening into night as the major sun slipped into the sea beyond the godowns and rocket ship spires of Port Sanjoor. It didn't exactly get chilly, but the sea air cooled down to tepid. We had to be more than half way across and I tried to keep my optimism in check while beginning to think of what I needed to do to escape from her. I felt a low, rumbling vibration in the viaduct and turned to see an engine and line of wagons slowly approaching, with a cloud of seabirds in its wake. As the train neared, the rumble turned into a squealing, grinding roar, sending the white seabirds settled on the viaduct into the pale blue air – their chorus of squawking complaints drowned by the thunder of the wagons rolling over our heads.
It was this rumble and clatter of the train overhead that masked the jets of the approaching flier.
It was almost beside us – indeed, I believe it was heat from its hover jets that made me turn to discover it, a mere twenty meters away, flying nearly alongside the viaduct, obviously searching. We were fortunate to have just passed the first set of pilings after the ship channel, or they'd have likely shot us before we even knew they were on us.
Once they did spy us in the deepening gloom under the tracks, the passenger side door swung open and the passenger opened fire as the flier came abreast of us through the swirling flight of startled birds.
'Naylea!' I yelled, as the blue lightning of plasma darts erupted from the railing beside us and the bridgework just above and beyond us.
She didn't need my warning. She had the darter out, and was standing stock still, her arms straight out taking careful aim. Before the Legionnaire could deliver a second volley, she's sent two darts into him. His body jerked in a haze of blue, and slumped half out of the flier only his safety harness keeping him from falling into the bay. This allowed her a clear, but tight, shot at the pilot and she deliver two darts to the flier's pilot's shoulder and head, once more filling the cabin with blue flames as the flier drifted past us.
'To the next pilings,' she snapped and raced ahead, searching the sky for more fliers.
I was right behind her.
The now pilotless flier drifted ahead, striking the viaduct with a glancing blow that tipped it into the sea setting off an explosion of steam as its hot hover jets hit the water. We made the next set of pilings and watched as the water poured into the cabin shorting out its controls in a flash of flame. The air was filled with screaming birds and the hiss of the dying jets.
'More of them,' said she, pointing to the now distant viaducts across the water to our right with the lights and small dark shapes of fliers drifting along them. The pilot must have sounded an alert, because a second flier came roaring overhead and hovered over the downed one just ahead of us. We clung to the shadows of the rusting, brine coated pillars and waited, Cin with her darter in hand following the movements of the flier.
Seeing no sign of life from the downed flier, the second darted up and off. A glance across the water showed the lights of perhaps half a dozen fliers rising from the more distant viaducts.
'Let's go,' she said, and took off. 'We may have to fight our way through, but the closer we're to the islands, the better our odds. If you're really lucky, Litang, the darter lightning might even attract the Port's Patrol units.'
We'd have to cover several more kilometers for that to happen, but I took off anyway, hoping to earn my luck. It was getting quite dark below the tracks, and in our black spaceer uniforms, we could run with a fair amount of confidence of not being seen. Twilight was our ally, at the moment.
'Keep a sharp lookout on your side. They know we're here now. They'll come in hot and fast, the next time.'
We raced past the slowly setting flier, without a glance, and past half a dozen more pilings before I reached out and touched her arm. She looked and I pointed ahead, panting, unable to speak. The viaduct was still curving my way and less than a kilometer ahead, I could see the lights of four or five fliers converging on the now empty viaduct tracks as the long train passed into the shadows of the space port islands. She glanced back and pointed. The lights of several more bobbed behind us, likely where the first one was downed.
'Looks like they're going to do it from the ground. Let's get as close we can get to this first line. If we keep moving forward, we'll not have to worry about those behind us. Keep low and in the shadows.'
We cautiously made our way to the next piling, but it was getting iffy now. The shadows were deep, but we could see along the roadway to the next set of pillars, and anyone hiding in them would likely see our approach as well, if we chose to continue.
'Keep watch, Wil,' Cin ordered, and began to search the structure for some sort of ambush position.
There didn't seem to be any, the rail bed above was supported by heavy concrete beams and the service road suspended from them. We'd be hard to take from the front since we could shelter behind the pilings, but there was no cover from behind. We'd also have to watch the access stairs leading up to the tracks at every piling. We had cover to hold off any attack from ahead, but with fliers, the access points and an unprotected rear to attack us from, the Legion would likely take us sooner or later. We had no way to escape them.
'I believe you can swim, Litang,' she said quietly, stepping over to the edge of the roadway and peering down into the now inky water that swashed about the rocks and sand dunes of a small island that huddled around the pilings.
I glanced at the dark silhouette of Port Sanjoor in the distance. 'Yes, but not that far, not in my condition, Drowning might seem my best option, though.'
'That's my brave captain,' she exclaimed. 'Strip down and slip over the side. Be quick about it. We might not have to make the islands. If we can slip around the blockade ahead, we might still be able to get back on the viaduct. The island below seems close enough for us to reach it without breaking our necks.'
It seemed the only plan, so I stripped to my underwear and quickly bundled up my clothes in my jacket, using my belt to sling the bundle over my back.
'I'm glad to see you're not shy, Wil, it will make it easier to swim,' she said as she stripped to a thin top and bottom, a slim form in the shadows, as she tied her clothes in a bundle as well.
'Why, Naylea, after our night together on Lontria, there can be no cause for shyness between us,' I replied. I hadn't spent all those free days on the beaches of dear old Belbania without shedding that taboo.
She laughed quietly and slipping her darter into an accessible pocket at the top of her bundle, she said, 'Over the top, Quickly, we can be seen. I'll follow.'
Looking down, I found a spot where a grassy dune seemed a short fall from the roadway, and, carefully, climbing over the railing, I quickly dropped two meters into the sand and sharply bladed grass.
'Should I catch you?' I asked, looking up.
'Just move aside,' she hissed, 'I'm ticklish and I might kick something...'
I moved aside. She was almost certainly kidding, but decided not to take any chances. My pain, her pleasure.
She landed lightly and surveyed our position. She noticed the white band above my right ankle. 'Is that my phantom glass knife?' she hissed.
''Ah, yes. I found a nice sheath for it, and in your memory, I wear it next to, well, my ankle, every time I go down to a drift world.'
She grinned and whispered sarcastically, 'That's sweet. I'm touched. Let's be going.'
Crouching low, we started carefully down the dune, to the wet sandy beach keeping in the shadows directly under the roadway. The sand was littered with sharp shells, so we had to walk carefully, and slowly wade into the oily bay, swishing idly about.
A minor moon/sun was rising over the glowing towers of Sanjoor
, giving the bay a silver sheen. The specks of seabirds could be vaguely seen bobbing in the bay glistening with the lights of Sanjoor's towers. It would be hard to swim unobserved though them without calling attention to ourselves.
'We won't risk open water. We'll stay under the viaduct. We can cross the pilings by the islands. They'll soon be above us, so no talking or splashing, remember, they'll not have to hit us to kill us in the water,' she whispered after surveying the bay, adding, 'The water will carry every near charge to us.'
'Lead on, I said, treading water, and struck out in slow, low effort strokes. With Despar's .5 gee gravity, I'd plenty of buoyancy, and was unlikely to drown anytime soon.
We advanced slowly in the darkness under the viaduct, hardly swimming at all, so as not to splash and to reduce the little “v” wave that might give us away as much as possible.
We advanced to the next pilings, there was no island around this set so we swam slowly around it. As we reached the next little island, I felt a tingle as the blue flash of light briefly outlined the shape of the island ahead of us. And then a second one. We scrambled out of the water on to the oily beach and scurried for the shelter of the pilings.
Two pilings ahead they were firing darts into the water apparently as a precaution against just what we were attempting. Cin watched until they repeated the performance. She gazed out over the bay – we could see the sea birds floating in the swell even clearer as the minor sun rose higher in the sky. We'd not escape that way if they were paying any attention at all. And with the downed flier and dead comrades, they weren't about to let us just swim under them. They had us trapped and were intent on finishing the job.
'We'll have to do it the hard way. Get dressed,' she sighed in my ear. 'Trousers and coat only, not the white shirt. Barefoot. Don't make a sound – they may be overhead any moment now. And they may have enhanced vision glasses, so make believe you're a shadow in between these pilings.'
Flush against the pilings, I pulled on my pants, tied my shirt around my waist, fastened my coat up to my chin, and pulled my cap low over my forehead. I tucked my light boots into my coat pockets.
When I was done, she handed me my darter and leaned close. 'Now we wait until they do something, either an advance from the party ahead, or a sweep in from the party behind. When they pass by, we'll climb up to the roadway and follow the guard rails forward like a shadow until we run into someone. If you can put the darter to their body, do so. The less flash, the better. Then we run. In the dark, we may have a chance. Follow my lead and don't say anything.'
'Right. Good luck.'
'I want you alive. Don't screw up.' she said, and slipped over to her side of the roadway and disappeared into the narrow space between the pilings. I pocketed my trusty sissy and squeezed into the space on my side of the piling.
The strange thing, I thought as I shivered in the hollow of the pilings, is that it seemed I always could tell what she was feeling, if not thinking. Oh, it changed fast enough, second to second sometimes, but she never bothered hiding her feelings, unlike Min, who always did. I could see the cold, ruthless cruelty in her eyes, her delight in inflicting pain and teasing pain to come, and her relish in contemplated her revenge on me. And then there were moments when we were almost like old friends. And tonight we were comrades in arms. Oh, I knew she'd kill me just as slowly as she promised, and if she regretted it even a little, it would likely add to her cold pleasure.
In the damp darkness below the viaduct, I saw – and shared – her wild delight in the challenge our situation presented. Even though I could only see the faint outline of her face in the glow of the distant towers, I'd catch her confidence and indeed, her barely contained glee. She was in her element. This was what she was best at, a grown up version of her school days' escapades and she was absolutely certain she'd win again. And if I did exactly as I was told, I'd win with her. Though the fate of those classmates who got caught served as a stark warning to do exactly as she directed. And I believe it was that same rush of joy which prompted her to hand my darter back to me with no conditions attached. It was simply another of her almost, but not quite, careless gambles.
It's never cold in Sanjoor, but it's always damp, and with the nearness of the water, it grew chilly. And as I waited, and waited alone, that wild abandon of Naylea evaporated away and left only the prospect of following a mercenary of Saint Bleyth into battle, and I'd seen where that leads. I must confess I grew very chilled. Chilled to the bone.
They continued to regularly electrocute fish, two spans down, for the next hour or so, it seemed, anyway. I'd not my com link so I don't know how long we waited...
The subtle click of space boots on the roadway above me brought me out of my dark reverie. I stopped breathing, but the clicks hurried on, and stopped overhead. From the sound, Legionnaires from the force ahead of us. I held my breath until they moved on, two dark shapes scurrying along each side of the roadway away from us. We waited. When they reached the far pilings, they must have signaled back, for four more dark shapes hurried overhead, not bothering to stay under cover, and out of sight beyond the pilings behind us. We waited.
And when no more followed, she moved. I rose and carefully stretched my sore body.
'Give me a boost,' she whispered.
I glanced up at the roadway and positioning myself, just under the edge of it as she stepped close. And with the same flash of instinct that had me countering Barlan's attack with an attack of my own, I put my hands on her waist, pulled her close and kissed her, let's say, for good luck. For a second or two longer than, well, what I might have expected to get away with, if I'd actually thought about it. And without a knee to the groin.
She pushed me away, the shadows too dark to read her eyes. She simply said again, 'Lift me up, Litang.'
I whispered, 'Good luck.' And moving my hands lower, braced myself and with her hands pushing on my shoulders, lifted her just high enough for her to grasp the railing and carefully pull herself up and over. I waited until she'd scouted the area, and then she dropped a hand down, and on the count of three, I jumped grabbed it with my sore left one and, and with an uff! she swung me high enough so that I could reach and grasp the edge of the roadway. I hung for a moment to get my strength, and then swung and grasped the railing with my other hand and hauled myself up. We caught our breaths for half a minute before she pointed to the other side and the direction we were to going. I nodded, and slipped across to the shadows along the railing, and started forward, running low and bare footed on the cold grating, keeping pace with her, my darter in hand.
As I approached the first set of pilings, I caught a piece of darkness move just ahead of me, and lunged forward at the shadow in the shadows. We collided, scrambling to react in the darkness and I discharged two shots point blank as instructed. The force of my lunge had carried us to the ground. I pushed myself up, and found Cin standing beside me. She'd gotten the other one. She grinned and nodded and off we went. One outpost down.
They must have been relying on their advanced party, for we reached the next set of pilings undetected. On the far side of the pilings they had their base camp – four, perhaps six, depending on the substance of the shadows, lounging Legionnaires were outlined in the faint light of a dim lantern on the deck of the roadway.
She didn't give me a chance to think, she crouched and streaked off, a St Bleyth stealth. I'd no choice but to do the same. Well, I did have a choice, but, I wanted to be on the other side in the end, so I'd best follow her. The schoolmates of hers that held back paid for it, I'm certain.
They never saw her coming. She hit the first thug and drove him –or his body – into the next fellow, and darted him as he staggered. The fellow on my side started forward and I hit him in the back, my darter on his neck. I pulled the trigger back for both darts, and half stumbled into the next one. He was bringing his darter to bear on me, I knocked aside with my darter arm, and crashed into him. He was bigger than I and only staggered back.
Cin stepped over and dispatched him, and we sprinted forward in the inky shadows. There were only four and they hadn't fired a shot. We still had better part of three kilometers to go, but they were likely all behind us again. I would've liked to have stopped and put on my shoes, but she didn't, so we ran lightly onwards
They had to have been in constant radio contact, because we'd hardly gone half way to the islands before we could hear the jets of a flier far behind us. It grew louder as it approached. It landed briefly on the viaduct above the base we'd overrun, and then continued along the viaduct, roaring overhead as they swept low over rails, a second flier firing up in the distance as they discovered their outpost overrun. They settled ahead of us again, at the far end of the viaduct, half a kilometer before it entered the deep shadows of the godowns on the edge of the island. It would be their last outpost – once in the maze of Port Sanjoor and the Patrol marine patrols, their chances of stopping us before we reached the gig would likely be gone.
She grabbed my arm as we neared the last three sets of piling.
'We'll stand a better chance on top,' she whispered between breaths. ‘There are lines of wagons on the rails, more cover.'
I nodded, saving my breath.
She led the way to the access stairs and cautiously climbed them. When she disappeared, I followed her up and found her crouching next to the large control box.
'Take the inside of this line and keep in the shadows, I'll take the far side of the far line. Stay close to the wagons, crawl under them, if you care to. And don't worry about showing fire, fireworks might just attract the Patrol,' she whispered, adding, 'I'll find you.'
I nodded. 'Right. Take care.'
She slipped into the night.
I was in no hurry – she was the professional, after all. I was just a very winded tramp ship captain. I put on my shoes and gave her a minute's head start before starting down the line of wagons. I decided that I'd rely on speed, and luck, rather than stealth and firepower, so I took off running again. The legion had to be stretched thin, with both the top and bottom to cover, and with wagons on both rail lines, I stood a chance of getting by. A slight one.
Lightning flared and flashed ahead. I skidded to a stop. Fire flared again, and I scurried under the wagon to the outside. Lightning flashed again beyond the wagon, and I took off running once more. I was in no mind to contribute to the ambiance of that darter fight tonight.
I didn't meet anyone on my side – if any had been on guard, the fire fight on the far side had drawn them off. I made it into the deep shadows of the island with its looming godowns and after half a kilometer or so, paused, too winded to go further. I slunk into the even deeper shadow of a control box and searched for a point where I could get off the lines and into the teeming lanes of Port Sanjoor as I tried to catch my breath. A few minutes passed.
'So you made it,' she said slipping into the shadows beside me.
I jumped and spun in surprise. I could just make out her smile in the darkness as I turned. I'd my darter in my hand and I had it against her ribcage in a flash and fired the two dart charge. Her smile faded as she collapsed in my arms, her darter dropping beside her.
My streak of ruthlessness, my drifteer blood is, I'd like to believe, thin, but it's there and in that instant, just like when I was sparing with Barlan, and the kiss, I knew exactly what I had to do and how to do it. And I did it. I let her body slip to the ground and picked up her darter. My little sissy had only non-lethal darts, so I'd have to use hers. Captain D'Lay had been quite specific on what I needed to do, not only to save my life, but possibly Min's as well. I knelt and pressed the darter to her side to avoid a flash.
I closed my eyes. It didn't help, nor did the low curse. I'd realized that even as I laid her down. I'd already found the limit of my ruthlessness.
No matter, I'd just leave her here for the New Order to find. They'd likely be along shortly – we – or Cin, anyway – had killed too many of them to let us go free, Patrol or no Patrol.
I searched her pocket and found my com link. Good enough. I stood and looked around, and down at her again. I still owed her something. I glanced about and reaching down, dragged her limp body to the far side of the control box. There was just enough room between it and the godown wall to shove her body into. I quickly stuffed her into the darkness, folding her legs up so she'd not be seen unless they flashed a light into the narrow space. She deserved a chance.
I peered around the box, and seeing no movement, prepared to go. I drew out her darter. It was against my principles to fire lethal darts, so it was useless to me. I went back and gently tossed it into her lap, half expecting her to snatch it and shoot me. But she didn't move, so I turned and slipped along the wall towards the far end of the godown. I came to a bridge over a narrow road – no doubt the outlet for the service lane under the viaduct. I climbed over a low railing and drop down into that road, and followed into the shadows. Within minutes I was once more in the now familiar maze of Port Sanjoor. I spent an hour twisting my way through those dark and sinister, bright and loud haunts in the company of spaceers on sprees, slowly making my way to the gig.
I had to assume the Legion knew where my gig lay and would be waiting in ambush. I debated signaling the Patrol. But, if the Legion could trace my com link, turning its communication band on might well lead them to me before the Patrol arrived. I rather suspect the Legion has people everywhere in Sanjoor, including any security resources they might need to locate and capture Wil Litang if he showed up on the communication grid again. And then, too, having just gotten clear of the snares of officialdom, I'd no wish to entangle myself again with an affair that likely left a score of ex-naval personnel dead. Plus, there was Naylea. I'd probably be mind-probed in the investigation – as a Unity citizen they'd have no qualms about doing that to me – and the results would likely lead to her capture and eventually to a felons' rift – forcing St Bleyth to assign a killer I didn't know. Better the killer I knew – especially since she wasn't all that effective. To date. So, I decided to cautiously survey the gig and if it looked too well guarded, wait for morning before risking a signal to the ship and if need be, have the long boat sent down to collect me. I got myself into this mess, and if possible, I'd get myself out.
I circled the landing field to approach the gig from the opposite side from the viaducts and then, cautiously, advanced by attaching myself to bands of boisterous spaceers who were making their rather erratic way back to their boats after a long night, or day and night of it. Fortunately, there were plenty of them about – and since all drunk spaceers are grey in the dark, even if the Legionnaires could identify me on sight, which I doubted – I made my way to within thirty meters of the gig by choosing my mates and stopping to relieve myself when they veered off course. I stood in the dark shadow of a longboat studying my gig glistening in the moon light while awaiting another band of spaceers to get me near enough to make a final dash for it. I didn't see any sign of the Legion, but I was still certain they'd be lurking somewhere in the deep shadows of the surrounding boats.
A robot crawler clanked by pulling a train of cargo-laden trailers behind it, steering towards my gig. I slipped out of the shadow, climbed on one of the trailers and crouching, hitched a ride that took me within five meters of my gig. I keyed open the hatch with my com link, slipped off the trailer and dashed, still crouching to the gig's – oh, so slowly – opening hatch. The widening patch of light shining on the tarmac from the gig's interior no doubt tipped off the Legion that I'd arrived. They sprang into action.
They'd been waiting in a large longboat parked close by and tumbled out as soon as the gig's hatch opened. More dark shapes materialized out of the shadows of the surrounding boats as well, as I ducked under the rising hatch without waiting for the steps to descend and lunged in. Blue flashes peppered the tarmac and sparked off the gig as I reached the gig's deck. I rolled, found my feet to slam the hatch switch to close the hatch and turned to return fire. As I did so, a hulki
ng legionnaire reared up in front of me from beneath the gig, intent on grabbing me and hauling me out. There was a flash of blue outlining his form and he shuddered and fell into me, pushing me half on my back. I shoved him out, back onto the tarmac just in time to allow the gig's hatch to close – outlined in a sheen of blue light.
I'd made it. They couldn't take the gig. Not with hand weapons. I slumped for a second and then dove for the control compartment aft. I swung around the control console and hit the jets lifting the gig a couple of meters up, balancing on its hot taxi jets. I began to sweep it forward to drive the Legion back and scorch them if I could. My store of pity had been depleted some time ago. In the night view screen, I watched them scurry under nearby boats, and then sickened of the whole affair, I shot up to the black marbled sky of the Nine Star Nebula and the Lost Star.
Only when I was in space did I have time to process that last attack. I had the distinct, though fleeting impression, that the last legionnaire was shot in the back by a slim figure in the shadows, several boats away. Most likely Cin. I could almost believe I'd seen her in that instant standing, braced, arms out aiming at me as the hatch shut. The final shot that hit the hatch was hers too. Both shots were likely meant for me, or the second one would have been unnecessary. It is possible that she shot the legionnaire and the second shot was from someone else – there were lots of darts about, but I rather doubt it. She'd come too far and paid too high a price to let me slip away again. And yet I did, once more. I wonder how St Bleyth will treat her... Hopefully, I'll never know. I can live with that.