Antagonist - Childe Cycle 11 (105 page)

In
a
moment
Bleys
was
solidly
on
the
hard
floor.

"Now
close
your
eyes,"
his
companion
said;
and
Bley
s
had
barely done
so
before
he
heard
a
small
click,
and
a
flash
of
light
penetrated his
eyelids
like
a
bright
bolt
of
lightning.
Cries
sounded
from
above them.

"I
broke
the
cord's
molecular
bonds,"
Bleys'
unseen
ally
said
in explanation.
"We
need
to
go.
I
have
light-enhancing
goggles,
but they're
not
working
very
well
in
this
stairwell;
put
a
hand
on
my shoulder
and
try
to
stay
directly
behind
me.
They'll
already
be breaking
out
portable
emergency
lighting,
which
may
or
may
not have
been
affected
by
the
pulse
that
killed
the
circuits;
it'd
be
a good
idea
to
pass
through
the
lobby
before
they
do
that."

"Do
we
have
to
pass
through
the
lobby?"
Bleys
asked.
"There must
be
an
emergency
exit
opening
directly
off
this
stairwell."

"We're
heading
for
a
side
door,"
the
other
said.
"We'd
been
planning
on
using
the
emergency
exit,
but
it's
too
dangerous
now."

"What's
the
danger?"

"Police,"
the
other
said.
"They
were
setting
out
to
block
the emergency
exits
just
before
the
lights
went
out."

"Police?"
Bleys
said.
"Why
are
they
here?
Is
that
the
reason
for the
alarm?"

"We
don't
know
why
they
came,"
the
other
said,
"but
Henry
ordered
us
to
take
no
unnecessary
chances.
But
please,
now—no more
talking.
I'm
going
to
try
to
guide
us
past
all
the
people
stumbling
around
in
the
darkness,
and
while
it
won't
surprise
anybody
to hear
someone
speaking
nearby,
your
voice
is
very
distinctive."

He
chuckled.

"What?"
Bleys
asked.

"Sorry,"
the
other
said.
"I
was
just
thinking
about
all
those
people
out
in
the
lobby,
stumbling
around
in
the
darkness
and cursing—it
reminds
me
of
something
I
heard
in
church—here's
the door:
silence,
now,
unless
you
have
to
speak
for
some
reason.
And
if you
do
speak,
keep
your
voice
as
low
as
possible,
and
say
as
little
as possible—and
here
we
go."

His
companion
seemed
to
be
a
bit
of
an
apostate,
Bleys
thought. It
reassured
him,
with
its
implicit
message
of
confidence.

The
door
opened.

All
artificial
lighting
was
out
in
a
large
area
around
the
hotel,
but once
they
were
outside
there
was
illumination
from
the
city's
lights, still
on
beyond
the
affected
area.
Bleys
and
his
companion
were
met just
outside
the
hotel.
His
first
guide
vanished,
and
Bleys
found himself
walking
into
the
darkness
between
two
shadowy
forms.
He was
led
away
from
the
hotel
through
a
parking
lot
and
then
across grass
and
between
bushes
and
trees;
once
his
face
brushed
a
branch; he
started
at
the
touch,
and
the
person
in
front
of
him
apologized softly.

Noise
was
rising
behind
them,
but
they
were
well
away
from
it; and
now
Bleys
could
see
the
lights
of
vehicles
moving
in
streams
on distant
streets—vehicles
that
had
evidently
been
far
enough
away to
not
be
affected
by
the
electromagnetic
pulse,
but
were
now
moving
into
the
affected
area.

One
vehicle
turned
their
way,
and
Bleys
instinctively
started
to duck
to
the
side.

"It's
all
right,"
a
voice
said;
"it's
ours."

In
moments
Bleys
was
in
the
back
of
a
silent
float
vehicle,
its lights
dimmed
as
it
moved
through
a
park
toward
an
area
where
the nighttime
lights
were
still
on;
until
at
last,
turning
on
its
lights,
it slid
over
the
edge
of
a
trafficway
to
join
the
stream
of
vehicles.
The lights
in
this
area
were
on;
and,
looking
back,
Bleys
could
see
what appeared
to
be
a
pocket
of
blackness
surrounded
by
the
city's
night lights.

In
another
twenty
minutes
they
reached
a
private
landing
pad, where
the
float
drove
right
up
to
the
side
of
a
space-capable
shuttle. As
the
vehicle
settled
to
the
ground,
and
the
panel
separating
Bleys from
the
driver's
compartment
opened,
a
face
he
knew
smiled
at him:
the
face
of
one
of
Henry's
Soldiers.

"The
shuttle
will
take
you
up
to
a
low-orbit
transit
station,
sir," the
Soldier
said.
"You'll
get
there
in
time
to
board
a
jitney
that'll take
you
to
High
Africa—that's
a
high-orbit
station—where
you
can catch
a
ride
to
your
ship.
Everything
you
need's
in
this
packet—" She
passed
it
over
to
Bleys.
"But—"
She
stopped.

"Well?"
Bleys
said,
after
a
moment.

"Sorry,"
the
Soldier
said.
"I'm
getting
a
message—you
need
to get
on
board
right
away."

"I
was
told
it
was
police
who
came
after
me,"
Bleys
said.
"Do
you know
why
they'd
be
interested
in
me?"

"No,"
the
Soldier
said.
"We
alerted
you
as
soon
as
John
saw
them arrive
and
begin
blocking
exits."

It
had
been
John
Colville's
voice
that
Bleys
had
recognized
in
the stairwell.

"Then
you
don't
know
it
was
me
they
were
after?"
Bleys
asked. "No,
sir,"
she
said.

"But
Henry's
people
take
no
chances,"
Bleys
said,
a
little
grimly. He
wondered
if
he
had
not
made
that
long
drop
in
the
darkness
to
no purpose.

They
had
reached
the
ramp
at
the
shuttle's
side,
and
the
Soldier lifted
a
hand
to
an
ear,
listening;
and
then
smiled.

"Our
people
say
the
police
have
made
their
way
to
your
floor," she
said.
"You
need
to
be
in
the
air
before
an
alarm
goes
out."