The Stainless Steel Rat Sings the Blues Page 17

  I turned to him and raised my hands palms out in what I hoped was a universal sign of peace. "We're strangers, like you said. But what else did you say? Sounded like `my friends'?"

  "Friends, yes, friends!" he said, nodding like crazy, then shied away when Fido began barking.

  "Aida, please. Will you shut your plastic poodle up. He's frightening our guest."

  The thing stopped barking and spoke. "Just want to report that I am in contact with the watchers above. They report that the others who were rendered unconscious by the gas have regained consciousness and have retreated."

  "Great. Just file everything and report later." I turned back to our guest-who looked very impressed by the talking-dog sequence. "Well, friend. My name is Jim and this is Floyd. The furry fake is Fido. You have a name."

  "I am called Dreadnought, son of Impervious."

  "A pleasure to meet you. Now-can you tell us why you were about to be wasted by that firing squad?"

  "Disobeyment of orders. I was on Watch. Saw your group approaching. I fired the Watchturret at you-but do not yourselves anger! I aimed to miss. To fire demands permission of Watch Commander. That is why I was to be executed. I sought not his permission."

  "Accidents happen."

  "No accident. Fired because of orders."

  "Are you following this?" Floyd asked.

  "Not too well. Tell us, Dreadnought, who gave the order to fire if it wasn't the Watch Commander?"

  "We all decided together."

  "Who is we?"

  "I can not tell you."

  "Understandable. Loyalty to your friends." I clapped him on the back in a friendly manner and felt him shiver. "Getting cold. I'll get you a shirt."

  I dug through my pack and took advantage of the opportunity for a muttered conversation with my jawphone.

  "Any ideas? From you-or your indispensable strategic planning computer?"

  "Yes. If he won't talk to you perhaps the associates he referred to might be more communicative. Try to arrange a meeting.

  "Right." I went back with the shirt. "Here, Dreadnought, get out of the cold." He stood up and put it on. "Good. Now I've been thinking. I don't want you to tell me things that you are not supposed to. But maybe your friends, the ones you just told us about, maybe they can let us know what is going down. Can we meet them?"

  He bit his lip and shook his head.

  "No? Well let's try something else. Can you get back to your friends? Tell them about us. Talk about it. Find out if someone is prepared to tell us just what is happening. Okay?"

  He looked from me to Floyd, even down at Fido who wagged its tail, before he made his mind up.

  "Come with me."

  He was young and strong and trotted along at a mean trot. Floyd and the mechanical mutt kept up fine but my aches and pains were coming back. I trailed behind and was going to call a halt when Dreadnought stopped at the edge of a grove of polpettone trees.

  "Wait this place," he said when I had puffed and blown up to them. He twisted away among the trees. He didn't notice that Fido, legs folded, tail and head retracted, had slipped silently after him in the guise of a black floormop. The cessation of physical activity was welcome-as was the instant-heating meal I dug out of my pack. One porcuswine burger with gravy. Floyd popped his mealpak as well and we were licking the last drops of yummy from our fingers when the shadowlike mop reappeared. Legs, tail and head popped out and it barked. I scowled at it.

  "Report first, bark later."

  "Your new associate never saw me. Within the wood is a slab of rock that levers up with an opening beneath it. He went that way. Shall I show you where it is?"

  "Later-if we have to. Right now let us take ten and see if he passes on our message."

  Fatigue sat on me. I closed my eyes and took a lot more than ten. The sun was balancing on the horizon when I surfaced again. My computer obliged me by clicking the red six to a five when I checked the elapsed time. Don't worry, Jim-Admiral Steengo is on your side? This feeble reassurance didn't help and I was sure that I could feel the thirty-day poison beginning to bubble and seethe in my bloodstream.

  Floyd was snoring lightly, sound asleep. Yet his eyes were open the instant Fido reappeared, disturbing some stones as it slid down the embankment.

  "And a good-morning bow-wow to you gentlemen. Your new friend has emerged from under the lifting rock, along with an associate, and is coming this way. Remember-you heard it from me first."

  Fido sat and waited, then barked a welcome when the two men appeared. They were nattily., dressed in camouflaged uniforms and steel helmets, each helmet sporting a shiny spike on top. Bandoliers of bullets were draped over their shoulders, while there was a large and impressive handgun on each hip. But the guns were holstered and held in place by a buttoned strap. I relaxed knowing that with Floyd there the touch of a hand to one of those buttons would bring instant unconsciousness.

  "Welcome back, Dreadnought," I said. "Welcome as well your companion.

  "He is named Indefatigable and is the Area Commander. That is Floyd with the beard, the other is Jim."

  Indefatigable did not shake hands but instead hit his closed right fist against his chest with an echoing thud. We did the same since it never hurts to learn the local customs.

  "Why did you come here?" Indefatigable asked in a most cold and quizzical manner. I took slight umbrage.

  "You might say we came to save your companion from certain death by the firing squad-your thanks are appreciated."

  "If you had not come he would not have fired and have been condemned to death."

  "Good point. But I do remember that he fired because of a group decision. Are you part of that group?"

  I saw now that Indefatigable's brusque manner was a cover-up for the fact that he was very nervous. He chewed his lower lip and his eyes flicked from one to the other of us. He even looked down at the fake dog which barked. Finally, with great reluctance he spoke.

  "I cannot answer that. But I have been instructed to take you to those who may answer your question. Now-you must answer my question. Why did you come here?"

  "No point in keeping it a secret. We came here to find those who blew up a certain building and stole from it-and from us-an object of great importance."

  This news seemed to relax him a bit. He stopped the lip chewing and Dreadnought almost smiled; leaned forward to whisper something in his companion's ear. They both nodded, then remembered where they were and snapped into a military brace.

  "You will come with us," Indefatigable said, making it sound like an order.

  "Perhaps," I said. I hate orders. "But you must tell us first -will it be dangerous?"

  "We are born into danger; we leave it only when we die."

  It sounded like a quotation of some kind-particularly since Dreadnought's lips moved along with his.

  "Yes, well, that is a pretty general philosophical statement. But I was speaking specifically about like right now."

  "You will be protected," he answered, trying to control the sneer at our feeble physiques and his obvious superiority.

  "Oh, thank you," Floyd said with eye-popping sincerity. "With that kind of reassurance of course we will go with you. Isn't that right, Jim?"

  "Absolutely, Floyd. With their protection we need not feel insecure." He could eat them-and a dozen more-for breakfast, but there was no point in bragging.

  We reached for our packs but Indefatigable stopped us. "You bring nothing. No weapons. You must trust us."

  Floyd shrugged agreement since he was always armed. "At least some water first," I said. Picking up my canteen and drinking a bit. Palming a number of small bombs as I put it back. "And of course our companion, our pet dog goes with us.

  Fido played its role by barking, sticking out its tongue and panting. Then overplayed its role by lifting its hind leg on my pack. Though this bit of canine ham acting may have convinced our new militaristic mates, because they nodded agreement.

  "We must cover your eyes," Dreadno
ught said, pulling out two black scarves. "So you do not discover the secret of the entrance to Shelter."

  "If you mean the slab of rock under the polpettone trees that swings open, you can forget the blindfolds."

  "How do you know this!"

  "Just say that we do. Now-do we go with you?"

  They looked stricken by my revelation, stepped aside and conversed in quick whispers. Returned reluctantly, all scowls again.

  "You will come. Quickly."

  We dogtrotted, including the dog, to the grove, then followed Dreadnought down the ladder into the tunnel beneath the slab. Fido barked, and when I looked up launched itself down at me. I caught it, then dropped it. Looked gloomily into the darkness as Indefatigable closed the lid.

  I just hoped that we had made the right decision because my days were still running out. Going underground like this was a little too reminiscent of the grave. '

  And it would be my grave if I didn't get the antidote in time.

  CHAPTER 24

  Once my eyes had adjusted to the darkness I saw that a thin line of light ran along at shoulder height on each side of the tunnel. The floor was smooth and hard, as were the walls when I brushed my fingers against them. We walked in silence for some time until we came to a cross tunnel.

  "No talking now! Breathe silently-do not stir," one of our guides whispered. "Back against the wall."

  We stayed that way for long minutes. I saw that there were glowing numerals on the walls where the tunnels crossed. I added to my store of useless knowledge the data that we were in tunnel Y-82790 at the place where it crossed NJ28940. I leaned against the wall, and was thinking seriously about going to sleep, when I heard the thud of marching boots from NJ-28940. I woke up and remained silent and unmoving as a squad of about twenty men exited from the tunnel on our right and marched straight across and into the same numbered tunnel on the left. When the sound of their footsteps had almost died away we moved out to the whispered command.

  "Turn left, after them. Quiet as you can."

  This was apparently the only dangerous part of our journey, because once we had left this tunnel for another our companions whispered together again. I wondered if Fido teas still with us.

  "Don't bark," I said as softly as I could. "But if you are still there, man's best friend, and hearing this with your super hearing, a tiny growl is permitted."

  A guttural grrr sounded from somewhere around my ankles.

  "Great. A double growl now if you are reading the tunnel numbers and memorizing same."

  A quick grrr-grrr reassured me. So I did not have to keep track of our many turnings. After this we marched in silence for a tiresome period; my strength still wasn't what it should be. I was more than grateful when I saw a glow of light ahead; almost ran into our new companions when they stopped.

  "Silence!" Dreadnought whispered. Floyd and I silenced and listened-then heard the running footsteps as well. They thudded close, then stopped suddenly.

  "The sounds of deadly battle-" the newcomer said.

  "Echo with the cries of the dying," Dreadnought answered. Password and countersign. Pretty depressing though. "Is that you, Irredeemable?" Dreadnought asked.

  "It is. I was sent to warn you. A message was passed on from you-know-who that you were detected exiting and reentering the tunnels. Search parties are out and you must avoid them."

  "How?" Indefatigable asked. With just a touch of hysteria to his voice.

  "I do not know. I was sent only to warn. May the God of Battles go with you." With this blessing the footsteps thudded again into silence as he ran back the way he had come.

  "What do we do?" Dreadnought asked unhappily. His companion was just as assertive. "I don't know . . ."

  I swear that I could hear their teeth chattering. Whatever else they were, these two young men were not plotters or planners. Time for a pro to step in.

  "I will tell you what we must do." Speaking as an unhumble old plotter and planner.

  "What?" They spoke the word together.

  "If they are searching the tunnels-then we must leave the tunnels."

  "Wonderful," Floyd muttered. It may have seemed pretty obvious to him but these lads welcomed the idea as they would have orders from the God of Battles himself.

  "Yes! Leave-before they find us!"

  "Out of the tunnels!"

  Good so far, I thought. When the silence lengthened, and I realized that was the end of their contribution, I asked the vital question.

  "Out of the tunnels, right. But where do we go? Above ground again?"

  "No-all exits will be watched."

  "Only one other way," Dreadnought said, with rising enthusiasm. "Down, we must go down!"

  "To the Cultivastings!" his companion added, just as filled with enthusiasm.

  "Let's do it," I said wearily, not having the slightest idea of what they were talking about. "The God of Battles wants it that way."

  They double-timed and we followed. Around the bend into the next tunnel where a glowing outline revealed that there vas a metal door inset into the wall. Neither of our hosts tugged at the handle so there was a good chance that it was locked. Indefatigable stepped forward to face the illuminated keypad set into the wall beside it.

  "Avert your eyes," he said. "The access code is top secret."

  "Get it, Fido," I whispered. Aida reacted instantly; our plastic pet extruded sharp toenails, leaped high then climbed up my clothes, scratching my ear painfully as it jumped onto the top of my head. I resisted the temptation to say ouch and stood steady so it could read the punched-in numbers. The door creaked open and the creature jumped back to the ground.

  A gentle breeze blew out through the doorway as we passed through it, smelling fresh and summery. Here underground? We stumbled in the darkness until the door clanged shut and the lights came on. We were in a small chamber facing a spiral staircase. Our hosts instantly started down it and we followed.

  I was beginning to get dizzy from the round-and-round when we finally got to the bottom. The open door here glared with light. Blinking my tired eyes, I followed the others. Outdoors into a field of ripening corn. Startled birds flapped away when we emerged, while something small and furry disappeared among the stalks.

  I knew that we couldn't possibly be outdoors, not after all the cave crawling that we had been doing. So this had to be a really giant cavern, with some kind of brilliant light sources above. These people really were independent of the surface-no wonder they hadn't been spotted before.

  Dreadnought led the way between the rows of corn and we followed. It was hot and dusty, my fatigue was still there-and some species of tiny gnat kept trying to fly up my nose. I sneezed and rubbed and walked into Indefatigable's solid back when he stopped.

  "Hail the Home and Joy in Survival!" he called out.

  "Hail, hail and welcome, brave Defender," a voice answered.

  A sweet and high-pitched woman's voice.

  We started forward again and I stepped out from behind my guide's massive form, rubbing my nose and sniffling. I had a quick glimpse of a woman and three or four children working with hoes. It was a very quick glimpse-for the instant that she saw me she screamed.

  "Invasion Day! "

  It all happened incredibly fast. The children dived to the ground and she grabbed at the heavy pistol that hung from a ! lanyard around her neck. Raised it and began to fire at us.

  We all hit the dust faster than the children had. Dreadnought was shouting, the gun was banging, rounds screamed by and exploded among the crops.

  "Stop! No! No Invasion! Enough, enough?"

  I don't think she heard him at all. I tried to crawl down through the topsoil while I saw her squeezing and squeezing on the trigger; her eyes round and terrified, white teeth sunk into her lower lip. The only thing that kept us alive was the fact that the gun kicked hard and the muzzle rode up into the sky, with the last shots vanishing into the zenith.

  It ended just as quickly as it had started. The children
had disappeared. Indefatigable had grabbed the gun away from her and was patting her on the back as she sobbed hysterically.

  "Well trained," Dreadnought said approvingly. "Irreproachable is a fine woman, a good mother . . ."

  "And thankfully a rotten shot," I said. "Would you like to tell us what all that was about?"

  "Training. Survival. For to these many generations. With the galaxy at war we seek only peace. We survive. They will kill themselves, but we will survive!"

  He was winding himself up into a rallying speech so I broke in before he got into full spate.

  "Stop! One minute-enough. The galaxy's wars and the Breakdown ended centuries ago. There is no more war."

  He lowered his clenched fist and sighed; rubbed his knuckle across his nose. "I know. Some of us know. Most won't face the knowledge-cannot face it. We are too trained for survival and nothing else. Nothing in our programming and our lives has ever prepared us for a time without war. Without the threat of invasion. Some of us assemble, we talk, make decisions. About the future. We have a leader-I dare not tell you more!"

  He broke off as Indefatigable came running back.

  "The message has arrived-it is time to leave. The search has widened. If we move now we can stay behind the searchers and get to the meeting place. Quickly!"

  We quicklied-and I was beginning to get very tired of it. The circular staircase had been a lot easier to come down than it was to climb up. Floyd saw my condition and if he hadn't half dragged me I doubt if I would have been able to make it. Once more into the black tunnels. I was only vaguely aware of our two guides, Floyd and the scuttling form of Fido. The next time we stopped I sagged against the wall. Enough was enough yet already.

  "You will both stay here with Dreadnought," Indefatigable commanded. "You will be sent for."

  Nor would our watcher answer any questions in the few minutes that we waited. "Proceed," a voice commanded and we did. Into a dimly lit chamber that appeared glaringly bright to our dark-adapted eyes. A half-dozen young men, garbed like our guides, sat on the other side of a long table.