Страница 101 из 134
"That . . . might work," Wendy said, some of the shock coming off of her. "How in the hell are we going to get you down to H Sector, though?"
Harmon laughed and shook his head. "You're not. I am going to take the ladder down to D and then head for the cafeteria. But that's as far as I'm going."
"Dave . . ."
"Shut up, will you?" he asked. "We need to move and I need your help. I can climb down the ladder myself, but I need somebody to get the chair down."
"Can do," Wendy said. "But what about . . . ?"
"Wendy, if you can make it out of here, especially with the kids, it will be a miracle," he said. "You will not make it out dragging a . . . guy in a wheelchair. Too many ladders, too many small passages that are not exactly 'handicap friendly.' Understood?"
"Understood," Wendy answered.
Getting him down the ladder was easier than it appeared. Wendy found a length of tie-down strap and lowered the wheelchair almost the entire way, then Elgars climbed down and held onto it while Wendy climbed down and repeated the operation. Harmon, as he had said, was able to descend the ladder using only his arms. Maneuvering him into the chair at the bottom was tricky, but even that was accomplished with little trouble.
The corridors had actually thi
"I still don't like it," she said. She looked around and noted that most of the people in the room were older or infirm. On the other hand, most of them also looked like they were ready to handle anything hostile that came through the door.
"If it's a small incursion and anybody else turns up with a weapon we might make it," he said with a shrug. "And as long as you guys keep out of the way, we'll see each other later."
Elgars walked over and kissed him on the forehead then rubbed his stubble. "Aim low," she muttered. "They might be riding shetland ponies."
Harmon laughed and nodded. "I will. Get out of here."
One of the other defenders came over, a big old man with silver hair and hands that still had the calluses of a guy who had worked for a living. He was carrying a shortened pump shotgun similar to Harmon's and two mugs of steaming liquid. "Coffee, Dave?"
"Damn, where'd you get that, Pops?" Harmon asked with a laugh. "And I see that you are carrying a weapon, in clear violation of Sub-Urb regulation," he added in a stern tone.
"Oh, this?" the old man said, holding up the well-tended shotgun. "I just noticed it lying there in the corridor on my way over here. Undoubtedly it was dropped in panic by some miscreant. Probably at the thought of how angry Security would be if they caught him with it; I'm sure that he was shaking in his—or her, come to think of it—boots." He reached into his cavernous smock and pulled out a handful of twelve-gauge cartridges. "You fixed for ammo?"
Dave just laughed and shook his head. "Take off, ladies. I'll be fine."
Wendy gave him a last pat on the shoulder and walked out into the corridor.
"What we need," Wendy said, "is a plan."
Elgars looked thoughtful for a moment. " 'Kill them all; God will surely know his own.' "
"Where did you hear that?" Wendy asked.
"I have no idea, but when you said 'plan' it just popped in my head," Elgars sighed. "We need weapons. Those are in my room."
"Yeah, and we need to get the kids to Hydroponics," Wendy added. "You go for the guns, I'll go for the kids. We'll meet at the entrance to Hydro. Bring all the ammo you can carry."
"Oh, yes," Elgars said. "That part I can guarantee."
CHAPTER 30
Near Franklin, GA, United States, Sol III
2047 EDT Saturday September 26, 2009 ad
"I don't suppose you're going to let my oolt land there?" Cholosta'an said mournfully. Below, the stream of Posleen disappearing into the underground city was clear. As was the huge amount of booty seized from the military forces in the area.
"I don't think so," Orostan said. He was happier now that the plan seemed to be functioning and that the hated, impossible to catch, SheVa gun seemed to have fled. "There are too many objectives to be taken as it is and we are far behind schedule. Your oolt has a mission to perform and that is that."
"As long as I get my cut," Cholosta'an sighed. "But I could wish for some items in hand. I've never been in a successful assault before; it seems a waste to just let others take all the loot."
"There will be plenty later," Orostan snorted. "Think of this way; you get a cut of all of that. You'll be rolling in funds by the time this mission is done. And everyone who comes through a pass we take owes us a cut; so opening the way through to the plains is more important than sacking one stinking city. I could wish there was a way to stop them entirely. I need those oolt'os taking passes and ru
"What is the next objective?" the younger Kessentai asked.
"There is a bridge over a river called the Little Te
"A bridge, huh," Cholosta'an said mournfully. "And mountain roads."
"Don't worry, young Kessentai," the oolt'ondai said. "This time we shall have a surprise for the humans."
* * *
Major Ryan stood on the slope of Rocky Knob and watched the bridge below. He could see Posleen passing east of Franklin in the dying light, but they weren't to the bridge yet. And there were still refugees on it.
"When do you blow it?" the specialist asked, picking at her hands. Rigging a bridge for demolition had turned out to be hard work
"There's MPs still on it controlling traffic flow," Ryan answered, lowering his binoculars. "I don't know if they're like us, just doing what seems right, or under orders. But if they're still on it when the Posleen get to it, they're going sky high."
"That will be a bit tough on the MPs," she pointed out.
"It will be tougher on everyone else if the Posleen capture an intact bridge," he said. "But I have to wonder what they'll pull."
"What do you mean?"
He sat down on the verge of the road and dangled his feet over the side. They were stopped on a curve on a side road near Cook Creek and the other troopers were taking a break, eating their MREs, soaking their hands in the cold mountain water and wondering what the eccentric engineer in charge of them would have them doing next.
They had slowly picked up the group he was looking for, soldiers who had kept their equipment and were ready to follow a person who stated up front that he was part of a rearguard. He'd gathered eight instead of the four intended, and the bridge over the Te
"These guys are acting smart so they have to know that we'll try to delay them, right?"
"Right," Kittekut said.
"So they've got to have a way over the river," he continued. "I can't imagine these guys just stopping and giving up. Can you?"