A Jungle of Stars (1976) (19 page)

"I'm convinced McBride is our man," he told her, explaining the evidence of the trail. "I think he was watching the ship crash just like everybody, and saw his daughter go in, too. He ran down, panicked, and jumped into the water trying to get to her. He didn't. But he met the lizard and its master just out from the ship. It fits."

"But why take the ice cream truck out today?" she mused. "You'd think with all the investigations going on, it'd want to stay hidden."

"Orientation, maybe," Savage theorized. "After all, the creature wanted to see what sort of place it was stuck in. And, I think, the kids have something to do with it."

Jennifer looked startled. "The kids? What?"

"I dunno. Maybe the Night Watch can give me some answers.

He called in, and told them of his progress to that point.

"Well," the watch replied, "they're supposedly really self-confident, cocky bastards, so they'd have nerve enough. And they get 'high' off other people's emotions, like a drug or something. Nobody more emotional than kids."

"Well, maybe. But the thing must know it's on The Hunter's home world.

It's not natural for it to tip its hand like this."

"Maybe it is," the watch replied. "After all, it's only six or seven hundred miles from Haven. If it's going to survive, it needs allies. Tell me, was the power in the ship still on?"

Savage thought for a moment. "Yeah," he answered. "Come to think of it; all the lights were on."

"That's what the creature is, then. I think you're all in real danger."

Savage's face was grim. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that the little bastards generally can't work their emotional games on many people at a time, and only on a few for any sustained period.

They've got to get a willing host. But they've got amplifiers in some of their ships that work through a gadget they carry with them, and with it they can change love to hate, laughter to tears, fierce opposition to slavish devotion.

I've got a report on the Fraskan takeover about five linked ships' generators controlling mobs up to ten thousand at a crack, in six different places simultaneously. What's the population of Mycroft?"

Savage turned to Jenny. "How many people around here, Jenny?"

She thought for a second, then replied uncertainly, "I think it's about twenty thousand, give or take."

"Call it twenty thou," Savage told the watch. "That's what the fourth seat is, Savage," the watch replied. "The engineer's seat, for the gadgetry.

And that's the engineer you've got running around, and he's plugged in with the power on. If you don't move fast you're gonna have twenty thousand slaves surrounding you, and you might be one of them."

Savage swallowed hard, then looked over at Jenny. She was sitting very still, staring straight ahead, but he knew she had heard the conversation. She was trembling slightly. For the first time in recent years, Paul Savage was scared, and not just for himself. He began to realize why people in his profession should not have any really deep emotional attachments.

Another, even more horrible thought came to him. "Hey, Night Watch," he called. "Could that water have an inhibiting effect on those generators this thing's depending on?"

"I dunno. I'll have to check with somebody good in that kind of physics and let you know."

"Well, let's assume it does. That could explain everything: the Kah'diz out testing its powers today, and finding out our ranges and limits through the most emotionally vulnerable, the children. But without that ship out of the water it can't get the full power it needs. Remember, three of us, at least, were down in that ship today and there was no noticeable effect."

Both the watch and Jenny listened anxiously.

"Sure. The military got here first because The Bromgrev's boys on Earth pulled the strings to beat us to the punch. Now, the military will do all the work for them, and the moment that thing's up in the open air: whammo! He's got everybody."

A silence followed at the other end. Then suddenly a new voice broke in.

"Savage," came Stephen Wade's voice, "this is The Hunter. I think you're right. Truth is, the Kah'diz can't hold twenty thousand with only one generator, but he can hold two or three thousand, and that's more than enough.

That military unit that came down first -- it's in charge of the presidential retreat in case of nuclear attack. The place is sophisticated, almost impregnable, and practically never visited. What a perfect headquarters!"

"So what do you want me to do?" Savage asked the boss of the whole organization.

"Kill it first," The Hunter ordered. "Get it tonight. Take Petersen and Della Rosa with you. Any ideas where it is?"

"One," Savage replied, and described the ice cream man theory.

"Okay, act on it. Assume you're right -- it sounds right. Think of the girl."Both Savage and Jennifer jumped at the comment.

"How'd you know about the girl?"

"Good God, man! What do I pay my agents to do? Falsify reports?"

"Can you get her clear before all hell breaks loose?" Savage asked.

"No!" Jenny said firmly. "I won't go!"

"Possibly," Wade replied, "if you do it right now. Give her to Della Rosa out at the lake site. Now move!"

The channel was clear.

Savage looked at her. "What do you mean, 'No'?"

"I won't," she repeated. "Hell, I'm scared to death right now, I admit, but I'm not going to leave you. You can't force me."

They got out of the car and started walking back to her apartment. He stopped her on the stair landing and grabbed her firmly.

"You've got to, Jenny," he pleaded. "Look -- I know what this thing is.

I've been trained to fight it. But you haven't. You're vulnerable to it."

"No, stop, listen!" she shot out angrily. "All my life I've been imprisoned. First in a big house, then in a tiny apartment. All my life I've been running away from the world out there. I'm not going to run anymore, Paul."He sighed. "Okay, wait here and I'll be back as soon as I can," he said resignedly.

"No, Paul. Let me come with you," she urged. "It'll be dark up there --

very dark. I'm used to the dark."

He was about to absolutely veto this when they heard a crash and a tinkling of glass outside. He made his way slowly and cautiously back down the stairs. Jennifer followed.

He could see from the doorway what had happened.

Somebody had just lobbed a rock through his windshield.

Drawing his pistol he ordered Jenny to stay inside the door; then he opened it and stepped into the parking lot, pistol drawn.

It was night, a cloudy, ugly night. flashes of lightning showed in the distance, and the heavy, humid air felt and smelled as if a storm would break any minute.

For a moment he saw nothing. Then came a betrayal of movement, first from just behind the car, then around him, in the dark.

It was the children of the neighborhood.

You're an enemy of Charley," accused a piping voice of a kid of six or seven, sex indeterminate in the dark.

"You're a bad man," another asserted.

A rock flew out of the darkness and almost hit Savage. He ducked back inside and practically pulled Jenny down the first floor hall toward the building entrance to the office, explaining what had happened along the way.

"How horrible!" she said, and shuddered. "And that's what will happen to everybody?"

Savage nodded, forgetting for a moment she couldn't see the gesture.

"And that's only mildly augmented -- or unaugmented -- power. Imagine boosting it a thousandfold. A millionfold!"

"I'm still coming with you," she insisted.

"You better believe you are!" he said firmly. "You're safer with me than alone. Not only do we have people here, so does the enemy. You're identified with me -- and trapped. They would want you here, I think, as a hold on me."

He used the pay phone and called Petersen's mobile. He told the other agent the problem, and Petersen said to hold tight, he would be out quickly.

Looking around at the windows, Savage could see six faces, hatred glowing in their eyes, peering in at him. But they would do nothing, he felt confident, as long as he stayed inside. "Charley" or whatever it was changed the way you looked or felt about something -- not the whole you. Those kids owed their loyalty to the creature up on the mountainside, but they were still kids -- and reacted like kids.

The old couple were apparently in their own quarters or somewhere else in the building. Savage and Jennifer were alone.

"Paul," she said suddenly.

"Yes, Jenny?"

"Marry me, Paul."

He kissed her, and managed a chuckle. "You better believe it, beautiful.

As soon as this night's over." pressed her hand firmly.

"No," she replied. "Now. Right now, Paul. Before we -- face what we have to face."

"Well, I'm sorry, miss," he replied jokingly, "but don't happen to have a judge handy. And the blood tests aren't in yet."

"You don't need those things, Paul," she whispered. "I'm serious. Will you do it?"

He realized she was serious, and he understood. A loud clap of thunder rang out, and the rain started down in buckets. The kids outside scattered.

He turned and faced her.

"I, Paul Carleton Savage, take this woman to be my lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, until death do us part," be intoned solemnly.

"I, Jennifer Ann Barron, take this man to be my lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, until death do us part," she respond.

They embraced and kissed.

"Well, Mrs. Savage, when do we have our honeymoon?" he asked her.

"Ms. Savage, if you please," she replied, and laughed. "I gotta protect myself and keep you in check."

"I promise you this, Jenny," he said seriously. "Never have I taken a more serious or solemn oath. I swear it."

She smiled and was silent.

At, that moment, the lights of Petersen's car showed out in front.

Savage quickly checked to see that it was Petersen and that the kids had fled the driving rain. In the car he saw the other agent, the little bald-head man he bad seen earlier. Grabbing Jenny's hand, he an she dashed through the rain to the car. Both. were soaked as they piled into the back seat.

Petersen nodded, and started off. "This is Della Rosa," he said, introducing the little man. "I thought we should all be in on this."

"This is Jenny," Savage responded, "my wife."

Both their eyebrows shot up but they said nothing. Jenny smiled, and tried to wring the water out of her matted hair.

Savage leaned over to her and whispered, "You know, that rain made that t-shirt a real clinger. You look like a shameless harlot with your assets stuck out front."

She laughed. "Be quiet and just remember my karate," she warned.

Savage turned to the men in the front seat. "I brought her because she wasn't safe back there, and with all of us working on this there wasn't anyplace else."

"Probably won't make any difference," Petersen commented dryly. "If we don't get him tonight, we're all up the creek, anyway."

They traveled on up the road, careful in the driving rain. Savage briefed the others on the way, sparing nothing. They passed the warning flasher where Alice Mary McBride had jumped the road and continued on to the house.By the time they reached it, the rain had almost passed, although they could see lightning off in the distance. It felt much cooler.

Petersen drove on past McBride's and stopped a hundred yards farther down the road, on a curve out of line of sight with the house. Making a three-point turn, he switched off the car lights, and eased slowly back down on the shoulder.

It was pitch dark and no lights showed in the house. They heard no sound except the ever-present crickets celebrating the end of the rain.

Della Rosa reached down and took out a belt on which hung a half-dozen hand grenades. "Picked them up this evening," be whispered. "Easiest way to get the thing, if we can spot it."

They took two each. "Give me one," Jenny urged.

"Why?" Delia Rosa asked. "You're staying in the car."

"No, in that darkness I'm better than you," she shot back firmly. "I can hear better. Besides, if he's not in the house, I'm a sitting duck here. I'd feel better with you."

"Okay," Savage told her, "but keep hold of me. I'll keep the pineapples, but if you hear anything tell me what and where -- fast."

They all got quietly out of the car. Savage and Della Rosa took off their coats, revealing their shoulder holsters. Petersen strapped his own on over his flowered sports shirt. They all removed their shoes and socks.

Della Rosa went off through some underbrush to cover the back. Petersen checked out the ice cream truck. It was empty. Slowly the three edged toward the front of the house. Quietly, gun drawn, Petersen slipped a skeleten key into the lock and turned it with an almost inaudible click.

The door opened inward at a touch.

A hall led directly back to the kitchen. They could see that Della Rosa had made the back porch, but had not been able to enter.

Petersen tiptoed upstairs while Savage and Jenny went into the pitch-dark living room.

"It's too dark to see anything in here," he barely whispered in her ear.

"Let me take the lead," she said, so faint he could hardly hear her.

"I've been in strange rooms before."

She had hold of his left hand and gingerly started making her way forward with the caution of the blind. She reached down and pulled her left pants leg up, then proceeded, using her left foot and arm as gentle probes.

Savage's eyes could not adjust to the bad light, for heavy drapes obscured all the windows. I'm in her world now, be thought. . .

They made their way, slowly, but surely, around into the small dining room and around to the hall again, this time in the kitchen, where Savage could see a little,

Petersen was already there, and gave a shrug. "I'm going back and call in," be whispered. "Looks like the only way will be to blast that craft before it can come up." He made his way back to the front door and stepped outside.