The Alejandra Variations (15 page)

The Counselor had the door to his private compartment open and was listening in. Nicholas explained what he had in mind. "Hill Air Force base would have been a major target during the war, but most of it is deep underground. With a craft like this, it shouldn't be too hard to find."

Lazlo looked skeptically at Nicholas, chomping on his cigar. Smoke surrounded his goggled forehead like an ectoplasm. He punched up a three-dimensional grid of Colorado and eastern Utah.

The grid, in glowing green, showed the iron trails the Bores usually traced when they left DefCon. Those trails resembled the downward weaving of a tree's mighty roots, only the tree, DefCon, would never sprout above the earth's surface.

Lazlo moved the grid further west, and Nicholas could see that the longest iron trail went somewhere near the Unitas in eastern Utah before turning back.

The Captain pointed. "The badlands extend so far west that we just stopped looking for anything. We prefer traveling in the Midwest. At least we can find basements of old buildings, some foundations. Maybe a buried road. It's better than trying to find Los Angeles or even a place like Seattle. There's nothing there anymore." The Captain took a long, thoughtful pull on his cigar. "Besides, it's too far to stay under
genna
. We'd be zombies when we got there."

At least the Captain still had the desire to travel, to search. It seemed to be a remnant of the American spirit to move on, though he was obviously limited by practical considerations. Nick decided that the Captain was a man he could like, despite his moods.

But there was another reason for not moving west. Travel through the rocks of western Colorado was very difficult because of the lack of aquifers. Aquifers, such as the Oglalla in the Midwest, made travel less jerky, smoother. Their rate of travel to the west would depend upon how their computers handled what little information they had on the strata overhead.

Captain Lazlo didn't mind, though. He liked the Bore and he liked exploring. He would have preferred not to have the Counselor on board though. He didn't want the Historian to hinder his decision-making process.

The Counselor had been able to keep the committee from reaching the Bore bays and wreaking havoc on everyone involved in the discovery of the Eridani. It would take the vigilantes months, perhaps years, to search every cranny of DefCon for Nicholas. But, the Counselor reasoned with Lazlo, if they returned from Utah with worthwhile data, they might be able to placate the mob.

Nick had his doubts. He knew that the committee viewed him as something of an Antichrist. Religions in his time had always held out the promise of better things: a future in which a Messiah or Avatar would return and make things better. But when that future arrived as all-out nuclear warfare—no Messiah manifested Himself. No one was saved. The Bible became lies—and now was forgotten. Nicholas could find no copy or even computer-storage memory of one.

Nicholas gave the computer approximate directions to central Utah. "Rouse me if anything exciting happens," he said to the Captain. The Bore had leveled out at a depth of five miles.

Nicholas didn't know what he was going to do for the next week; he hoped there would be enough reading material in the computer's memory. No gaming system and no
genna
for him.

But when he got to his compartment door he smelled
genna
. Mist drifted around him. He slid the door open and discovered Lexie inside, wearing only a sheer, skimpy nightie and turning the dial to increase the output of the hypnotic, aphrodisiacal drug. She was half-gone already. It was clear that she had to make an effort just to stay upright on the love-couch.

"Oh, Christ," Nick said.

He hadn't checked his quarters when he got onto the Bore, but there was no way she could've gotten on board without being spotted. He was very surprised to see her.

"Hi, sweetheart," she sang sleepily. "Come on in."

How had she done it? There was nowhere he could go, it seemed, without her knowing about it. His heart sank.

He was beginning to get a contact high just from standing at the door. Lexie turned and made a space on the pillow for him.

Shaking with rage, he quickly pulled the plastic door to the compartment shut. There was no outside lock, so he had to hold the door against her with what strength his rage could muster. Which was a lot.

The hissing of the
genna
within was cut off. Surprised, Lexie shouted, "What are you doing? Nickie! You belong to me! You can't do this!" Her little fists beat against the door.

Nick braced his feet on the opposing chamber hatch and held the door to Lexie's compartment securely shut, keeping most of the gas trapped inside. Let her pound and scream. She'd use more oxygen and would soon hyperventilate.

After a few harried moments, the pounding did stop. Everything became quiet except for the low thrumming of the fusion engines. Nicholas opened the door, looked inside, and saw Lexie spread-eagled on the couch, lost to her hallucinations.

She must have known she wasn't going to make it to her prize. She had managed in her last few seconds of wakefulness to put on the gaming computer's headphones.

Either way, he realized, selfish little Lexie was going to get some fun out of the situation. Sex or
genna
, to her it didn't matter.

He closed the hatch and stepped into the chamber across from hers.

Chapter Six

THE TRIP LASTED five days, seven and a half hours, and in none of that time did he yield to either the temptation of
genna
or the presence of Lexie.

Nicholas wondered if there was a rejuvenating aspect to
genna
which prevented muscle and bone from atrophying. The Boremen barely stirred during the journey, but Nick recalled how fit the soldiers, seemed when they had found him. For himself, calisthenics, yoga, and jogging in place kept him fit enough.

In the middle of the fifth day, he was reading in the computer library about the founding two hundred years previous of one of DefCon's levels, when the Captain hailed him over the intercom.

"I think we've picked up something," Lazlo said.

Nicholas left his cabin immediately. He found the Captain pouring over the three-dimensional computer grid that hovered above the driving console.

"What have you got?" Nick asked, staring at the brilliant green hologram.

Lazlo, eyes still bleary from a recent spell with
genna
, pointed at the maze of tunnels and underground rooms the grid indicated was somewhere right above them. At the very bottom of the grid, at the lowermost level of the underground sanctum, was a yellow blip that represented the slowly moving Bore. Lazlo said, "We passed an electrical conduit about a half hour ago. I traced it, and the computer found a way to diagram the burial chambers. It's a big place."

The three-dimensional grid depicted an underground complex about the size of a ten-story building. There were long halls, all interconnected, and several very large chambers. It seemed linked to the surface of the earth by a single elevator shaft.

Lazlo gestured at the grid. "The computer says it's got electricity somewhere." He looked at Nicholas.

Nick nodded. "This is it. I'm sure of it."

Lazlo pointed to a place on the grid. "This looks like out best bet," he said. "It resembles where we found you, and looks pretty blast-proof."

"Makes sense," Nicholas responded.

Lazlo pulled back on the controls, and the Bore began moving upward. Nick followed the blip of yellow light on the grid.

"I'm heading for that large chamber," the Captain pointed out. "It's big enough to hold the Bore, and it's as close as we can get to the central chamber without doing too much damage to the complex."

"Shall I wake the Counselor?" Nick asked.

"He'll come out when the Bore stops. So will the men."

Nicholas paused, then, "What about your daughter?" Lexie hadn't been heard from since Nicholas had shut her in with the
genna
.

The Captain pondered, staring at the tip of his cigar. "Well, son, she's capable of taking care of herself. She's growing by leaps and bounds."

"I thought you had the Bore checked before we left. You know I didn't want her to come along."

"Beats me how she got in. She's beyond my control. She's beyond anyone's control now."

Nick had thought a lot about Lexie during their trip. His romantic adventures in the past had always led to disaster—but Lexie was a totally different experience. In Lexie's life, there were no rules. Her mother had died when she was a child, and Lazlo, as if to somehow make up for that emotional loss, was always burrowing hither and yon, staying away from the reminders of his own past.

The Bore tilted progressively toward the vertical. Nick watched the yellow light on the hologram move up through the different layers of steel and reinforced concrete of the complex. Lazlo guided the craft with a sure hand, feeling his way through the earth.

The Bore finally halted. "We're in a large chamber, about a hundred feet wide and thirty-five feet deep. The air's clean—that's a good sign. Looks like the whole complex survived the wars," the Captain informed him.

Nicholas climbed out of his seat. Because they were vertical, he had to swing out over the rungs which had extended from the floor of the corridor.

The Boremen were starting to rouse themselves and he descended to his own compartment before the soldiers could catch sight of him. None knew that he was on board, and he wanted the Captain himself to inform them of his presence.

Nick reached his compartment, but as he did the door to Lexie's chamber eased open, letting a breath of week-old
genna
wheeze out. Lexie appeared dressed in tunic and work-boots. He watched her closely.

She just stood there, staring back. He had expected her to burst out, knife-in-teeth, like a buccaneer ready to draw blood. But she seemed pacified.

"This better be good," she announced to him.

Nicholas looked deep into her whirlpool eyes. "At least coming here's better than getting your head kicked in back at DefCon, wouldn't you say?"

"That wasn't supposed to happen," she said in a huff.

The soldiers squirmed in their couches, looking for their equipment. Lazlo made his announcement. "Boys, the Counselor himself is here to oversee this mission. Nicholas Tejada is here as well. Now, I don't want any funny stuff on this job. Got that? Just assist the Historian here with anything he might need. Nothing's gonna happen."

Jarre craned his head downward, as did many of the others. Lazlo perched high above on the corridor's rungs.

"We've reached what seems to be an underground storage facility, probably belonging to Hill Air Force Base," he spoke as he began to descend. "I want everything categorized properly, and I don't want any of you guys messing around with things you shouldn't."

He climbed down the ladder to the bottom, where Lexie and Nicholas stood, and glared fiercely into his daughter's eyes.
Handy off the merchandise,
his expression said.

The soldiers above them waited for the Eridani to get out of their way. Nicholas didn't like their stares. Riordan clambered down beside them at the airlock.

The Captain stepped out first. Several of the wandering glow-globes came to life and rattled down the ramp, throwing out a frosty light.

"Wow!" gasped one of the Boremen as they piled out of the Bore.

The Captain turned. "Titus, check for sharks. We're too deep for floaters, but I want to make sure we're clear before we do anything stupid."

"Yes, sir," the redheaded boy said.

He set a device down on the floor, made some adjustments, then looked up at the Captain. "We're safe for at least four levels up, sir. Nothing moving—nothing even waiting to move."

"Good," Lazlo said. "OK, proceed."

The Bore had entered an immense hanger. Surrounding them were dozens of fighter planes and a predatory-looking bomber. All of their wings were folded up like hands in prayer, and their air-intake ducts were plugged with plastic plates. Equipment which must have serviced the aircraft was also covered in clear plastic. From the ceiling hung hoses waiting to spout fuel into the silent aircraft, along with various bomb racks and slender missiles.

The sound of their boots on the cold cement was magnified in this chamber which had not seen human life in ten centuries. Nicholas stood beneath the wing of one of the ships, realizing that its design was beyond anything of his day—and that it was in tip-top shape, ready to go.

The Counselor had a video unit perched on his shoulder and was panning the area. Seeing this, Lexie took out a smaller camera of her own, but made only a few obligatory clicks at the aircraft. She was watching Nick—as were the soldiers.

Captain Lazlo caught this and yelled at his men, "All right, guys! Knock it off! You've all got work to do, so do it!"

The soldiers reluctantly turned away from the Bore and began to unlimber their equipment. Lazio ordered them to spread out through the complex. A couple of the wandering globes of light pursued their hosts across the floor.

"Jarre!" Lazlo then turned to his second-in-command. "Over here."

Sergeant Jarre had been assisting Riordan, scanning with a powerful light beneath the very strange-looking bomber. He looked over to the Captain. "Yes, sir," he said.

Lazlo said, "Let's break into a computer line in the walls and follow it. Look for power leads that might sustain stasis couches."

"Stasis couches?" Jarre asked timorously.

"Yes, that's right. Stasis couches! That's why we're here!" Captain Lazlo barked. "And these aren't Eridani, either. So, get that out of your mind right now."

Sergeant Jarre turned to the Counselor, who smiled reassuringly at the Boreman. But Nicholas knew that it didn't help matters any to be in the presence of a cache of war machines a thousand years old which would easily enable any resurrected Eridani to spread their madness across the earth as they had done before.

Captain Lazlo reached for his pistol and snapped the holster buckle aside. "You've got your orders, mister."