Trespassers: a science-fiction novel (28 page)

Grizzly
’
s gun instinctively rose from its holster and took aim, and the nephews followed suit. Stewart bounded forward and threw himself in front of the pistols.

“
No!
”
he ordered, using his body as a shield. This was pure impulse and emotion. He faced the danger without hesitation or second thought. Seeing that Grizzly and the nephews were relaxing their aim, Stewart turned to the two women: hostage and abductor. Mindy
’
s heart melted, certain that this compassionate act was for her. She hadn
’
t guessed that, at that moment, Stewart
’
s concern was only for Lyntic, a face he hadn
’
t seen in many years, except for every night, moments before sleep drifted in. In those brief seconds, when his thoughts were no longer under his control, the face of this angel would float back into his life and haunt him with sweet memories.

As Mindy gazed lovingly back at Stewart, she noticed that his gaze was just a bit off. He was missing the mark. She felt Lyntic
’
s grip loosen enough so that she could turn to see the woman
’
s face. She saw that this strange alien beauty had Love in her eyes. It was a guarded love, though
—
as guarded as it was intense. It was as if she had to work to keep it under control, or else it would betray her.

“
Lyntic,
”
Stewart said, as if saying her name would confirm her presence.

“
Stewart.
”
She was just as surprised by the sight of him.

In the silence that followed, Lyntic could see in Stewart
’
s familiar eyes that he was going to let them go.

“
I can
’
t let you take a hostage,
”
Stewart said.

These words hit Mindy with all the grace of a mackerel to the side of the face.
Hostage
? she thought.
Take a hostage
? Had she really been reduced to the low-level title of hostage? Was that how he thought of her? It had such an impersonal feel, as if he was negotiating the release of a piece of furniture that belonged to the Limestone Deposit Survey Group. She quite well expected him to produce a receipt to prove his point. Where was the impassioned plea to save the woman he loved? Just a moment ago she was taking a shower with him. Her hair was still wet from the reality of it, as were other things from the mere thought of it.

“
Let them go,
”
Lyntic said. She wasn
’
t asking or demanding. She was simply laying out the terms. Stewart instructed the bounty hunters to remove the handcuffs, and Jin snatched the tracking device back from Web.

“
Where
’
s the girl?
”
Lyntic asked Dexim.

“
She
’
s not here,
”
Dexim said.
“
It was a fake signal.
”

“
You can fake a heart signal?
”

“
Somebody did.
”

Lyntic turned to Stewart.
“
She
’
ll walk us out, in case these guys get jumpy.
”

Stewart didn
’
t say a word, but his look communicated everything. He would agree to whatever she wanted. He was happily defeated in a way that only she could manage.

All eyes watched as Lyntic and her team backed through the doorway and disappeared into the harsh sunlight. Grizzly and the nephews rushed to the aid of their fellow bounty hunter writhing on the floor.

“
It
’
s not broken,
”
Stewart said coldly.
“
It just feels that way. And it
’
ll feel that way for another twenty minutes or so. He
’
s fine.
”

Stewart was right. Michael-James was fine. The quoret Lyntic used on him was a simple pulse emitter, which had many purposes: industrial, medical, and even military. Lyntic
’
s was the military version, specially modified for field use. It certainly had the capability to break human bone. But if it had been turned up that high, it would have severed the entire arm. The pulse that Lyntic sent into the man
’
s bicep only tightened the muscles into a dense mass of contracted tissue. It would gradually loosen, but only after a painful waiting period.

Outside, Mindy stood in the middle of the street, watching her abductors drive off. A refreshing thought grew in her mind: Stewart
had
to treat her coldly. It was a tactic. This brought a smile to her face. It was like the way Superman kept his private life a secret so that villains couldn
’
t take advantage of his weakness for his loved ones.

She was suddenly disappointed in her own thoughts: comparing Stewart to Superman. That gave the whole thing an adolescent feel, as if she were some schoolgirl fawning over an idealized teacher. That took all the substance out of it, and she wanted substance. She didn
’
t want to believe it was just an idle crush.

“
Are you okay?
”
Stewart asked. As he approached, he knew her reaction was going to be either very good or very bad. That
’
s how it worked with intense situations like this. From what he had seen of Mindy, her reaction was going to be heartfelt and extreme. Whether it would be positive or negative was yet to be seen.

Mindy
’
s eyes quickly found Stewart. Her arms flew up from her sides. Here it was .
.
. a bright smile.

“
Did you see that!?
”
Mindy gushed.
“
Holy cow! That was intense!
”
She let out a deep, satisfying laugh and wrapped him in a bear hug.

Stewart breathed a sigh of relief. This would be easier to deal with than the panic-attack version, not to mention the lawsuit that probably would have followed.

“
You
’
re okay, then?
”

“
I
’
m okay,
”
Mindy answered.

By the time Stewart and his crew were loaded up in the SUV and headed back to
Home
, Stewart had officially called the whole thing off. Mindy didn
’
t understand how he could go from being so excited about this case to suddenly dropping it. Was he scared of these trespassers? He didn
’
t seem scared
—
more like annoyed.

“
I don
’
t understand,
”
she finally said.

Stewart turned halfway around in the front passenger
’
s seat to point an ear in her direction.

“
We
’
re just dropping this altogether?
”
she asked.
“
Why?
”

“
There
’
s nothing there.
”
Stewart shrugged.

“
You knew that girl, didn
’
t you?
”

“
We worked together before .
.
. a long time ago.
”

This caught Web
’
s attention.

“
Would she have used that thing on me
—
that arm-breaking thing?
”
Mindy asked.

“
No.
”

“
She worked for the Limestone Group?
”
Web asked.

“
Not really .
.
. we worked on several projects together. We were both after the same trespassers, so we teamed up.
”

“
If she used to chase trespassers,
”
Mindy asked,
“
why would she be trespassing now?
”

“
I don
’
t know,
”
Stewart replied.
“
But I
’
m sure they have a good reason.
”

“
What
’
s our official take on this?
”
Web asked.

“
It never happened,
”
Stewart said.

Two-and-a-half miles away from the Juniper Hotel, Bruner was settling onto a barstool to kill an hour and a half the best way he knew how. The bartender poured Dewar
’
s Scotch Whiskey into a chilled glass, and Bruner began swirling it on the counter.

The thought that began swirling in Bruner
’
s mind was a familiar one
—
his wife
’
s shoulders. He was remembering the way she would use them to communicate.
Come closer
.
.
.
touch me
.
.
.
hold me
.
.
.
whisper in my ear
, she could say it all with a subtle curl of her shoulders. Several years ago though, those shoulders had turned cold, and all they would say was
stay away
.

A voice from a booth in the corner drifted over and caught Bruner
’
s attention:
weather balloon
.
.
.
tracking device
.
.
.
can
’
t vote for anybody
.

Bruner stopped the swirling and angled his ear to listen. He picked up something about a stranger needing a ride. The drink would have to wait. Bruner drifted over to the booth and made eye contact with the old man.

“
What were you saying,
”
Bruner inquired,
“
about .
.
. weather balloons?
”

Suddenly, Stewart Faulkner wasn
’
t his best lead.

Twenty minutes later, Bruner
’
s car was parked just outside town, along a certain county road that cut straight as an arrow through endless fields of corn. Parked just ahead of Bruner
’
s car was Ken Thompson
’
s truck. Bruner walked to the passenger
’
s door and opened it to hear Ken Thompson
’
s voice.

“
That
’
s where I dropped him off,
”
Ken called from behind the wheel.
“
Then he headed out through the corn.
”

Bruner turned and gazed into the thick corn. This was the type of unusual behavior that he was always on the lookout for. He crouched down and inspected the ground.

“
Okay,
”
Ken called out over the idling engine, trying to get some reaction from the man. Bruner just stared into the corn, and Ken stared at the back of Bruner
’
s head.

“
Can you shut my door?
”
Ken finally said.

Bruner eased out of his crouch and reached behind to push the door closed, his eyes still scanning the terrain, trying to find a footprint in the soil.

“
Thanks again,
”
Bruner called out, still not taking his attention off the ground. Ken nodded and eased down the road.

A few minutes later, Bruner found himself enveloped in cornstalks. The vegetation was thick enough that he could rest his weight on it as he pushed his way forward, searching for anything in the shape of a clue.

Bruner wasn
’
t able to pick up the path that Jin had taken, but he did see the tall, proud farmhouse peering through the ragged edges of the cornstalks. He approached with caution. He didn
’
t want to get bitten by a dog or shot by a farmer.