The Stainless Steel Rat eBook Collection (122 page)

But a small window, high on the wall, coated with insect corpses and dirt. And heavily barred.

Behind me in the darkness there were shouts, running feet, crashing noises
and healthy curses. What to
do?

Obvious. Get out. I stepped back, raised the gun, shielded my face, and blew the window out. And part of the wall around it and some of the street outside until my gun clicked empty. I dropped it, slung my box over my shoulder and used my free hand to help me scrabble up the slope of rubble and out into the street.

To start running again. Someone saw me and shouted but I did not shout back.
I ran harder even though I was getting winded and more than a little fatigued by the effort. It is one thing to escape, it is another thing altogether to stay free once out. Barefooted, dressed in totally transparent clothes with a collar and some meters of wire about my neck, not to mention the control box, I must have presented a rather unusual and unmistakable sight. I needed to hide, hole
up, change, get rid of the collar, a lot of things. And I was getting very tired.

I went around a corner as fast as I could and slammed into someone coming in the opposite direction. We both went down and I rolled on my back like a bug, near exhaustion, gasping for air. Then I saw the face of the man I had run into and had a last little burst of hope.

‘Ostrov,’ I gasped. ‘Old friend, old roommate,
old co-pilot. I am in trouble and need your help. The locals, you see …’

I saw Ostrov, a mild man at the worst of times, turn into a very angry animal. Twisted face, bulging eyes, the works. He dived on me and pinned me to the cold ground.

‘Locals nothing,’ he shouted. ‘Kraj has been asking after you. Kraj wants you. What have you done?’

I
STRUGGLED A BIT
, but it did
me no good. My heart wasn’t in it and I was close to exhaustion. Though I did manage to catch my ex-friend Ostrov a good one on the side of the head with my torture box. His eyes crossed but he didn’t let go and by that time a small squad of gray men were upon us, peeling him off and prodding me to my feet with their rifle barrels. I prodded slowly.
Sunk in dark despair and limp with fatigue I was certainly in no hurry.

There were six of them and Ostrov, who had a look on his face of wishing to be elsewhere.

‘Kraj talked to me, you see. About Vaska here, said he wanted him …’ His voice ran down and expired when the stoney faced men completely ignored him. I didn’t.

‘What did you expect – gratitude? You rat. Starting your own bowb-your-buddy
week, aren’t you?’ I tried to sneer but it turned to a gurgle when one of my captors jerked on my cable. One of my five captors. I blinked and looked again because I could swear there had been six there a moment ago.

While I was still counting a pair of hands reached up and closed around the neck of number five. His eyeballs bulged and his mouth gaped and I worked to keep my expression calm and
not to bulge my own eyes in the same manner. The hands scrunched, the eyes closed, and number five vanished from sight. I struggled a bit so the survivors would keep their attention on me, even lashing out a foot and getting Ostrov
in the ankle to keep him occupied as well.

‘You didn’t have to do that,’ he complained. I smiled as number four went the way of the others.

There was something to
be admired in the efficient and quiet disposal of the enemy. It reminded me of a hunter I once worked with on a planet whose name I forget. He was a professional and very good at his job. He would go out at dawn when a flock of birds was going over and shoot the last bird in the flight. Then the next one and the next one. He could get four or five sometimes without the other birds even knowing what
was happening. The same principle was being applied here in an equally professional way.

The system broke down with number four who thrashed a bit and drew the attention of one of the others, human beings being slightly smarter than birds after all. I waited until they had turned towards the disturbance then let the nearest gray man have it in the side of the neck with the edge of my hand. Fatigue
weakened the blow so that he didn’t drop at once and I had to let him have a few more to quiet him. And while I worked I was aware of thuds and cut-off screams from the others.

When I straightened up I saw that Ostrov and all but one of the gray men were dozing happily in a heap, while my rescuers put down the final one. He was a big bruiser and fought well, but he was outclassed and soon unconscious.
Which was interesting because both of his attackers were women – dressed in skimpy and colorful Burada shifts and high-heeled local shoes. The nearest one turned and I recognized Sergeant Taze and some of the pieces began to fall into place.

The other woman was smaller and quite neatly formed, with a figure I remembered and a face I could not forget. My wife.

‘There, there,’ Angelina said, patting
me on one cheek and giving me a quick kiss on the other. ‘I hope you can run a bit darling, because more of these thugs are on the way.’ A projectile of some kind whined by to punctuate the statement.

‘Run …’ I said hoarsely and staggered off, still not quite sure what had happened but at least still bright enough to not ask any questions. Taze put her arm around me, getting me going in the right
direction and pulling me along, while my Angelina relieved me of the weight of box and cable. We rushed away like that and I’m sure we made a charming sight, me in my transparent coveralls and the girls in their neat little frocks, except no one was on the street to appreciate the scene.

‘Keep going!’ Taze shouted as she dragged me around a corner. There were explosions close behind us. I ignored
everything except putting one foot in front of the other as fast as I could and wondered just how long I would last.

Taze seemed to know what she was doing. Before we had gone very far in this new direction she turned, half carried me up a few steps and into a building. She threw the bolts on the heavy door and we staggered on, a little slower now, through deserted offices of some kind, to the
rear where the windows faced on a courtyard. There was a good sized drop here and Taze went first, lithe as a big cat, then helped me down with Angelina lowering from above. I was as putty in their hands, and a very nice sensation it was too. Taze ran ahead to open a large door. Inside was a Cliaand command car with a general’s flag still flying from the antenna.

‘That’s more like it,’ I said,
walking over on rubbery legs.

‘In the back, you two,’ Taze ordered, pulling on a military jacket and pushing her hair up under a Cliaand helmet. I did not ask what had
happened to the original owner. Angelina was right behind me when I crawled into the back and collapsed on the floor, snuggling her warm round curves up against me. I felt very comfortable as the car bounced forward. I enjoyed
a good hug and a kiss before I could get in any questions.

‘Your figure has improved,’ I managed to gasp when I came up for air.

‘You’ll be so happy to know that you are now the proud father of twins. Both boys. With big mouths and hearty appetites like their father. I’ve named them James and Bolivar after you.’

‘Anything you say, my sweet. I suppose you would not mind telling me how you came
to be here at this most opportune moment?’

‘I came to take care of you, and as you can see I was right.’

‘Yes, of course,’ I said, and nodded dimly at this fine bit of female logic. ‘Mechanically, I mean. The last I saw you were headed for the hospital with a bulge in your midriff and the light of motherhood in your eyes.’

‘Well that all worked out fine as I’ve told you, weren’t you listening?
Then I heard that these filthy Cliaand people were off to invade another planet and that you were probably taking part in the invasion.’

‘Inskipp told you all this?’

‘Of course not!’ She sniffed delicately at the thought. ‘I broke into his files and found the records. He was very angry but did not try to stop me when I came here with the follow-up team. I imagine he knew better than to interfere.
In fact he promised to keep an eye on the nurse and the children for me. We went into orbit, received the message and I came down, that’s about all there is to it. Let me try this lock pick on that horrid collar thing you’re wearing. I don’t know why you ever let them
treat you like this.’

‘There are one or two gaps in your story,’ I insisted. ‘Like what message?’

‘My message,’ Taze said, who
had been shamelessly eavesdropping while she drove. ‘You forget that I am a sergeant in the Guard and I had seen the message you prepared, the one they took away. So of course I had memorized it as well as the radio frequencies. Those swine took me to a prison camp for
civilians
so I left it that same night.’ Taze was quite sure of herself and, looking back at the record, I realized she had cause
to be.

‘I came down in a scout ship as soon as the call was heard.’ Angelina diddled with the lock pick while she talked. ‘I had to shoot my way in which certainly was not hard to do. For galaxy conquerors these people are very indifferent pilots. Then I met Taze.’ Angelina touched her lips to my ear and hissed coldly. ‘How well do you know this girl?’ She twisted the collar at the same time.

‘Just met her that once,’ I gasped, and the pressure let off. ‘Not my type at all.’

‘You like them buxom like that, don’t lie to me Jim diGriz.’

I blinked rapidly and tried to restore the conversation to its original direction.

‘But then, how did you find me? What did you do?’

‘Simple enough.’ There was a click and the collar snapped open. I rubbed my sore neck with relief. ‘There is only one
building where these men in gray uniforms operate. We watched it, trying to find a way in. Our only trouble was the soldiers, trying to pick us up all the time. But we extracted information from them. And this car.’

I had a vision of these two murderous cuties slowly decimating the Cliaandian invasion with their own secret weapons, and knew enough
not to ask about the fate of the driver and his
friends.

‘Now tell us what happened to you,’ Angelina said, and snuggled down to hear a good story. ‘I’m dying to find out what this thing is they had on your neck and why in heaven you are wearing that awful transparent suit.’

I told them all right, and was rewarded with a number of girlish gasps, and at least one screech when I got to the wrist part. Taze even stopped the car so she could
look at the scars too. After that they listened in cold-eyed stillness and I almost felt sorry for any of the gray men they might meet in the future. By the time I had finished my fascinating and slightly repulsive story we had arrived at wherever we were going. A wide door opened at our approach and closed behind us. Other girls were there, well armed and attractive for the most part, and I wondered
how the Konsolosluk party had ever managed to muster up a resistance to a government like this. Thank the Cliaandians for that. When it comes to governments and armies I’m pretty much of an anarchist and think least is best in both departments. But if you have to have them it sure helps if they are pretty. I shook my head, and let myself be led to a room where there was a very enticing army cot.
I dropped onto it.

‘Clothes,’ I said, ‘and drink, and not necessarily in that order.’ I tucked a corner of the blanket coyly over me not out of shame, rather that these alert amazons should not be subject to temptation. And besides, my wife was there. She knew very well what I meant by drink and pushed aside the glass of water one of the ladies was trying to force on me and passed over a small
flask of potent brew. It burned sweetly down my throat and sent tendrils of fire into my brain.

‘I’m afraid my thoughts … my sense of reality is still a little confused,’ I admitted, and from the look on Angelina’s face I knew that
she was already aware of it. ‘They did something to me, don’t know what, but it’ll wear off soon I’m sure.’

‘I’ll kill them, every one, terribly,’ Angelina said through
tight-clenched teeth and there was a murmur of agreement from all the listeners. I closed my eyes for a moment to rest them and when I opened them again the room was empty except for Angelina; a light had been lit and the window was dark. It was like a spliced break in a film with a chunk left out. I respected Kraj’s mental diddling techniques and roundly loathed him for it.

‘Hungry,’ I told
Angelina and she came over and sat by me and held my hand.

‘You’ve been asleep – and talking. Some awfully strange things.’

‘I feel better for it. When we get back to base I’ll have the medics vacuum out all the dark corners. But there are more important things for the present. We have to organize the resistance here before the Cliaand get a tight grip on everything. And …’

‘No.’

‘What do
you mean
no
?’

I had the feeling that I had missed some important part of the conversation. Was this more results of the brain fiddling – or just female conversation?

‘I mean no, we won’t do that. While you were sleeping I sent a long report to Inskipp, everything you told me about the Cliaand plans and how they work their invasions and how they are out to get the Corps, everything.’

‘Did you
at least sign my name?’ I asked, petulantly.

She patted my hand. ‘Of course, darling. It was
your
work and I wouldn’t
think
of trying to get credit for it.’

I was filled with instant regret for speaking like that, and apologized, then she apologized because my ill temper probably had to do with the brain business, and we had a drink and that was settled
and I tried to get back to the business
at hand.

‘So you sent the report. And then—?’

‘Then it went to a relay ship on the other side of this sun and was sent out as a psigram to Inskipp. His answer came in and he said “message received, congratulations, return at once”. So you see you will have to go back.’

I snorted through my nose, then sipped my drink.

‘Do you think I’ll go back?’

‘You’re not well, you need medical attention,
you’ve done what you came to do—’