Roboteer (31 page)

‘Probably,’ said Will, unconvinced.

He thought back to the woman’s face when he’d appeared at the door. On reflection, her expression had looked more like guarded panic than surprise.

‘Don’t you think it’s a bit odd that she didn’t ask us what happened?’ said Will.

‘From the look of Hugo she could probably guess,’ said Rachel. ‘Plus it’ll be all across the pervasivenet by now.’

But then something horrible occurred to Will. What if the resistance had something to do with their predicament?

‘And why did the police fire at us in the first place?’ he asked. ‘They shot John before he even saw them.’

Rachel looked at him nervously. ‘He was armed,’ she said.

‘But Hugo wasn’t. He even told them as much. It’s as if they wanted us dead then and there, regardless of what we did.’

‘Are you surprised?’ said Rachel. ‘These are Earthers, remember?’

Her face, however, betrayed a mounting sense of alarm that echoed his. There’d been no time for either of them to think about the police raid till now. On reflection, there was something very wrong about the way it had played out.

‘I don’t buy it,’ Will replied. ‘They’d want to interrogate us, surely. Find our ship. Find out what we know. If they just wanted us dead, why did they bother to announce themselves as police? It doesn’t add up … Unless,’ he added slowly, ‘they weren’t police.’ He started to get a sour, unpleasant feeling deep in his belly. ‘What if they were resistance? Or police in the pay of the resistance, like the ones John mentioned? John probably worked out something was going down – that’s why he was armed. The negotiations must have failed at the last hurdle. Either that or they set us up from the start, because of the heat we were bringing down on them.’

The more Will thought about it, the more convincing that interpretation became.

‘Shit!’ he exclaimed. ‘I’ve gone and killed us by coming here. I’ve killed the whole mission!’ He clapped his forehead with his hands. They were trapped in a locked room, most likely with assassins on the way.

Rachel grabbed him by the shoulders and stared hard into his eyes. ‘No, you haven’t, Will! Neither of us saw this possibility. And where else were we supposed to go? If we’d headed back to the depot, we’d never have made it out of the city alive. We had no choice but to trust them, and they might still come through for us. We have no idea what’s really going on out there, and if we jump to the wrong conclusion it could lose us our last chance.’

Will looked down at the floor, appalled with himself regardless.

Rachel grabbed his head in both hands. ‘Look at me, Will.’

He glanced up at her.

She kissed him then, for the second time that day, and Will’s world suspended for a while. Nothing existed except Rachel’s lips.

She pulled back and examined him. ‘That’s for getting us here in one piece,’ she said.

Then she kissed him again, more softly this time. Will found his arms around her. She pressed against him.

‘And that’s for helping me with Hugo,’ she said breathlessly. ‘And this is just because I want to.’

They kissed a third time. Will felt his loins stirring. His mind filled with sparks.

She pulled away at last and held his hands in hers. ‘While I was stuck in that hopper, I realised I wanted to kiss you again,’ she told him. ‘I wanted you to know what I felt before it was too late for both of us.’

‘You like me,’ Will said stupidly, barely able to grasp his good fortune. Somehow, it made the prospect of their impending deaths less frightening.

She smiled lopsidedly at him. ‘Yes, I like you. I like you because of the way you treat me. And the way you look at me. The way you sneak a glance at me every time I step out of my bunk. And the fact that you bothered to make an avatar of me.’

Will flushed. How long had she known?

‘You make me feel beautiful, Will,’ she said. ‘I’ve never felt like much except a starship officer before. Around you, I feel like a woman.’

‘You don’t mind?’ he said. ‘That I made an avatar of you, I mean.’

She laughed. ‘No. It’s very flattering, actually.’

‘When … I mean, how did you find out?’ he asked, but then guessed before she answered and regretted asking.

‘John,’ she said, her smile falling away. The mood between them cooled by a few degrees. ‘It’s a small ship,’ she added, ‘and he can be quite a gossip.’

Wrong tense
, Will thought, but chose not to correct her.

Rachel looked away, hurt showing on her face. She stared into the middle distance. ‘That’s one of the reasons why our relationship never worked out,’ she said absently.

Will’s mouth fell open. ‘You and he were … together?’

‘Ages ago. Back in Doug’s time.’ The lines of pain around her eyes took on extra depth. ‘We don’t talk about it much. Old wounds aren’t exactly good for ship morale.’

‘I can imagine,’ said Will.

‘I could never get close to him,’ she said, hugging herself. ‘Whenever it looked like he was really going to become intimate, he’d laugh it off. He couldn’t bear to let himself be vulnerable to anyone, I guess. Eventually, I got bored of trying. And now he’s dead.’

Tears welled up in her eyes and she buried her face in her hands and wept. Will had no idea what to do. He didn’t try to speak, just awkwardly wrapped his arms around her again.

‘He’s dead, Will,’ she wailed into her hands. ‘The stupid, smug bastard’s dead.’

Will held her close.

Their moment of intimacy was broken seconds later when the door flew open. Resistance heavies strode into the room pointing personal cannons very much like those the police had used. Behind came Metta, immaculate in a form-fitting teal business suit.

Her gaze scanned across Will and Rachel, who were still holding each other in the middle of the room. She
tsked
to herself.

‘Well, well, our
allies
,’ she said with an ironic sneer. ‘I wonder if you realise how difficult you’ve made life for us. I think it’s fairly clear that we can’t trust you any more.’

Rachel blinked at her. ‘
You
can’t trust
us
?’ she said incredulously.

But Metta wasn’t listening. ‘Boys, take them outside,’ she said, jerking a thumb towards the door.

The heavies pushed Will and Rachel out of the room with the barrels of their guns.

‘What about Hugo?’ said Will.

‘Don’t worry,’ said Metta. ‘He’s coming with you.’

Another couple of resistance men stepped in behind them and picked up Hugo’s limp body. They were taken up the stairs and out through the back door the way they’d come in. A delivery truck was waiting there. The plastic plating that comprised the floor had been removed to reveal a space where the spare fuel cells should have been.

‘Get in and lie down,’ ordered one of the heavies.

‘Where are you taking us?’ said Rachel.

‘Away,’ said the heavy. ‘Now shut up and get in.’

He prodded her hard with the muzzle of his gun. Rachel spared him a withering look and stepped inside. Hugo was placed in the truck next to them and the flooring laid back over their faces. It was a tight fit. There was barely any room to move and the darkness was total. Will noticed with concern that the hiding place had been lined against net traffic. His electronic senses were dead.

‘If we get out of this, I’m never going to complain about the
Ariel
’s cabin again,’ said Rachel, in an effort to break the tension. Will dearly hoped they got the opportunity.

With a whine from the truck’s motors that reverberated around their heads, the truck set off, back into the streets of New Angeles.

13:
BETRAYAL

13.1: WILL

They hadn’t been travelling in the truck long before Hugo started to stir. The drugs they’d given him were kicking in fast.

‘Where am I?’ he groaned.

‘In a resistance truck,’ Rachel told him simply. ‘Stay quiet and keep calm.’

But to Will’s dismay, Hugo’s disorientation rapidly turned to panic as he discovered the immovable floor pressed up against his face.

‘Let me out of here! Help!’ he gasped.

‘Hugo,’ Rachel hissed, ‘shut up or you’ll get us all killed.’

‘Why are we here?’ Hugo demanded. ‘What happened?’

Rachel started to fill him in, but as she talked, the truck slowed to a halt.

‘What’s going on?’ said the delirious scientist.

‘Shhh!’ said Rachel.

Will held his breath as he heard voices. Someone spoke in an Angeleno drawl. Rapid dialog in an Earther dialect followed. Boots clumped back and forth just centimetres above their heads. It had to be some kind of vehicle check. The Earthers must be on full alert, Will realised. Then, to his immense relief, the sound of boots receded and the truck started off again.

At least now he knew the resistance didn’t intend to hand them over to the authorities, though that didn’t exactly lift his spirits. The police would no doubt want live prisoners to interrogate. Will still wasn’t convinced the resistance were as concerned for their welfare. After all, he and Rachel knew the location of one of their safe houses, which left their organisation exposed.

Half an hour’s tense driving later, the truck stopped again. This time, the lid came off their secret compartment. Will held his hands up to shield his eyes against the sudden glare.

A large figure stood over him – Will recognised him as one of the heavies from their first resistance meeting, the one Metta had called Stone.

‘Get up,’ Stone said. ‘It’s time to go.’ He waved the barrel of a handgun towards the truck’s open doors.

Will levered himself upright. Together, he and Rachel helped Hugo out. Will was surprised when he emerged from the back of the vehicle into the parking bay of the freight terminus where they’d entered the city. He wondered if his fears about the resistance had been unfounded. Why would they have brought their Galatean charges here if they didn’t intend for them to live? However, Will noticed that the four resistance men were still pointing guns at them.

A woman ran up from the direction of the guardhouse. She was dressed in an outfit that was revealing even by Angeleno standards.

‘It’s done,’ she said. ‘Their comm-links are all off and the men are high as kites.’

‘Good,’ said Stone. He turned to regard his captives with an unpleasant half-smile. ‘You’re leaving. You being here is making things too hot for us, but Metta says no hard feelings. We’ve arranged to make your exit a little easier. The guards should be out of action for a while – hopefully long enough to give you a clear run back to your ship.’

Will began to feel embarrassed by his own mistrust.

‘But just in case,’ said Stone, ‘take these.’

Stone’s men passed Will and his shipmates each a wicked-looking flech-gun.

‘They’re empty,’ Rachel observed dryly.

‘That’s so you don’t mess with us before we go,’ said Stone. ‘We left ammunition for you over there in the yellow container.’

He pointed diagonally across the broad depot forecourt to one of the great metal boxes at the far corner. The door stood slightly ajar, like the darkened entrance to a steel cave. Will’s sense of mistrust came back redoubled.

‘You can go and get it after we leave, but not before,’ said Stone. Then he gestured to his men, who started to climb back into the truck. ‘Oh, and a message from Metta,’ he said, pausing by the driver’s cabin. ‘Don’t come back unless you bring your Fleet with you.’

He chuckled to himself as if this was some kind of joke, then climbed inside and pulled the door shut. The truck reversed hard and turned sharply back into the street.

Will watched their departure with more than a little unease. For a moment, the three of them stood there wordlessly, not sure they could trust their good fortune.

‘Come on,’ said Rachel. ‘We’d better get a move on.’

She and Will hurried across the polycrete apron towards the sanctuary of the containers, dragging a limping Hugo along between them.

Something about this exit was ironic, Will thought. They’d arrived with one weakened crewman, and that was how they were leaving. He doubted Hugo would find the symmetry particularly amusing.

A quick glance at the guardroom revealed that the resistance had been true to their word. Every man in there was sprawled in a chair, apparently unconscious. Smiles of mindless bliss curved their drooling mouths.

They were only halfway across the open area when they heard a screech of tires that echoed off the high ceiling. Will looked back and saw two red and yellow vehicles pulling up at speed.

‘Halt!’ commanded a voice from a loudhailer. ‘Protectorate Police!’

Will’s insides froze solid. Here they were, conveniently holding dangerous weapons on open ground, just as John had been. It was too perfect to be a coincidence. The resistance had led them into a trap after all – one that laid the blame firmly at the authorities’ door, just like the last. Genuine police they might be, but Will didn’t doubt they were in league with Metta, and likely to be generous with their ammunition.

‘Hurry!’ said Rachel.

They ran full tilt towards the closest containers as guns roared into life. Will ducked behind cover as streams of flechs ripped past him, smashing dents in the metal walls. The whole building rang with the clamour of their impact.

Rachel sneaked a look out and darted back. ‘There’s no way we can get to that ammo from here,’ she breathed.

Will had already guessed that. The yellow container was two aisles away, with a door that opened in the direction of the gunmen.

‘Forget it,’ said Will. ‘We’ve only got their word there’s anything in there, and this looks too much like a set-up to me. We’re armed, which gives them an excuse for shooting to kill. I say let’s ditch the guns and get out of here as fast as we can.’

Rachel nodded quickly. She and Will threw down their weapons. Hugo looked unwilling to give his up but Rachel pulled it from his hand with a scowl. Then they hurried down the narrow passage towards the airlocks while Hugo breathlessly chided them for their foolishness.

‘Do you think they’re going to stop shooting just because we don’t have guns?’ he spat. ‘They won’t. In case you’ve forgotten, I tried surrendering already.’

The sounds of shouting and warning shots dogged them all the way to the end of the facility. As the bank of boxy doorways that led to the transit cars finally came in sight, Will reached out to the depot computer and instructed it to open one. The computer sent its apologies. The site had been sealed on police orders. Will’s heart lurched. Of course it had. The resistance had never meant for them to leave here alive.

‘They’re locked,’ he told the others. ‘I’ll need time to get them open.’

Rachel nodded grimly. ‘Stay here,’ she said, pointing to an open box at the end of the line. ‘I’ll try to make some kind of diversion.’

She ran off, leaving Will clutching a pale-faced Hugo. Will helped the man to shelter.

‘Keep a lookout,’ said Will. ‘Rouse me if anything happens.’

He shut his eyes and dived fully into the depot computer. It was a mess. Old-fashioned Angeleno software laid out in hierarchical blocks had been overlaid with linked Earther security modules marked in warning colours. It looked like a cubist tree that had been assaulted by fluorescent ivy.

Will applied himself to the tangle of modules at the root node where the police control keys would be. He dug into the hackpack John had supplied and pulled out a cracker SAP to find an override code. The SAP went straight to work, ploughing through combinations faster than Will’s mind could follow. But Will could see almost immediately that it was getting nowhere. Either police security had improved a lot in the last few hours, or the resistance had set the place up to be impenetrable. They’d probably used John’s own software to do it, Will realised in disgust.

He grunted with frustration and jammed himself into the mind of the struggling SAP. Being inside a code-breaker was never comfortable – there was no good mapping between Will’s senses and their input. But Will had endured plenty of that recently at the hands of the Transcended, and he could feel his mind intuitively adapting to compensate for the scramble of perceptions.

It was as if he were revolving the parts of some fabulously complex four-dimensional lock, looking for a straight line through it in which to fit a key. Though it stretched his brain just to look at it, Will refused to be beaten by the thing. He seized the lock in a pair of virtual hands and stared at it hard, willing it to explain itself to him.

Miraculously, it did.

His perspective shifted, and suddenly, patterns of shapes that had been meaningless before made perfect sense to him. Will spun the lock and shoved the key straight through it.

‘Will!’ said Hugo, seizing his arm and dragging him back to reality.

Will opened his eyes just in time to see two police in blood-red armour running around the corner of the container where they were hiding. At the sound of Hugo’s voice, the men spun, bringing their weapons to bear. But in the split-second before their fingers could squeeze the triggers, a figure darted out from the aisle opposite armed with a long steel bar. It was Rachel.

With a roar to curdle the blood, she took a vicious swipe at the first policeman’s head. It cracked sideways and the spray of flechs from his gun chased harmlessly up the wall. As the second policeman swung his weapon around, Rachel had already begun to kick. Her leg scythed through the air, sending the man’s weapon flying from his grasp. She followed up with the bar, driving it straight into the man’s visor and knocking his head back with an ugly snap.

She let go of the bar and threw herself into a somersault, seizing one of the fallen guns as she rolled. Rachel sent a stream of high-velocity steel into the chest of another policeman just as he came around the corner. As he toppled, she grabbed the remaining cannon and threw it to Will, who endeavoured to catch it with both hands as it flew towards him.

‘You boys all right?’ she said breathlessly, sweeping hair away from her eyes.

Will nodded, still awed by the speed and power of her attack.

‘How’s that security coming on?’ she asked.

‘Just cracked it,’ said Will.

‘Good,’ said Rachel as the sound of fresh gunfire ripped the air, ‘because we’re pretty much surrounded.’

She dashed into the container after them as another assault cannon roared. She took up a position just inside the door and motioned them both behind her.

‘You’d better do something, Will,’ she said. ‘I can’t hold them off for ever.’

‘Hold on,’ said Will.

He jumped into the security system and drove an override code into the root node of the tree. The ivy turned a peaceful green from the system’s root to the tips of its cubist leaves. Will dragged up a manifest of the depot’s robotic resources. Sure enough, there were six very large lifter trucks idling there with not much to do. Will smiled to himself. He knew all about lifter trucks. With a flick of one virtual hand, he put them all to work. Their task was simple – to park themselves exactly over certain moving targets, namely the police.

Huge electric motors moaned like saurian carnivores waking up as the trucks stirred to life. It took the police a few seconds to work out exactly what was happening. Then there was a deafening screech of metal on metal and the sounds of screaming. Short bursts of gunfire sprayed randomly all around the depot.

Will watched with satisfaction through the security cameras high above as the ten-ton lifter trucks trundled this way and that, cheerfully knocking down bodies. The police peppered them with flechs, but the machines were invulnerable.

‘Hey, Will,’ said Rachel. ‘How about that airlock?’

‘Right,’ said Will.

He chose the doorway that led back to the little transit car they’d arrived in and started cycling the air. A new voice came over a loudhailer from the depot’s entrance.

‘This is Coordinator Chopra!’ said a furious voice. ‘What the
hell
are you people doing using live ammo? Hold your fire! Use stun weapons only! I will personally execute
anyone
responsible for the death of these spies!’

So the real police had arrived. Will didn’t know if that was good news or bad, but he had no intention of waiting around to find out. He took advantage of the lull in the fighting to make his move.

‘Now!’ he said. He and Rachel ran headlong for the airlock with Hugo between them.

The lock slid open at their approach and shut behind them. Once inside the transit car, Will braced himself against the wall and shut his eyes again.

‘Get us out of here, Will,’ Rachel urged.

‘Not yet,’ said Will.

With the authorities so hot on their tail, their exit was going to be painfully obvious. The Earthers would probably reach the shuttle before they did. They needed camouflage. A furious sweep of his arm across the depot’s metaphor space readied every single train in the place. Eleven outbound tracks exited the building. Will intended to make use of all of them.

All across the facility, engines whined. Environment doors swung open. As a parting shot, Will opened a portal to the police computer system and fired through the most exotic-looking crash program in John’s arsenal. A few extra minutes might make all the difference.

‘Hang on, everybody,’ he said. ‘We’re leaving.’

He gave the command to the transit car and it sped across the desert, accelerating as fast as it could go. A dozen alarms went off across the building as trains pulled away from their bays half-loaded and started speeding out onto the surface.

Rachel whooped at the sight and laughed. Even Hugo cracked a smile. And in less than a minute, Goldwin was a fairy-tale bubble once again, rapidly receding into the distance. Rachel hugged Will tightly and kissed him. This time, he was ready for it and returned the gesture.