Imperial Guard (24 page)

“This way,” he urged.

As they approached the shadow, Adriel saw that it was a recess in the wall and that it was above the waterline. Brogan pushed her up with his one hand, then climbed up with some difficulty beside her. It was a tight fit. They both had to stand up sideways, but they squeezed in facing each other.

Adriel was panting hard.
This is miserable,
she silently complained.
I’m cold, wet, and exhausted.
On further reflection, she added,
But I suppose that’s better than dead . . . or kidnapped!

Adriel was shivering uncontrollably, so she was grateful when Brogan unfastened his cape and pulled her close to his body as he slid it between her back and the wall. Then he pulled it around her.

“Thanks,” Adriel gasped.

Brogan kept his arm around her in an effort to warm her up. She liked the feeling.

“We’ll rest here for a few minutes,” he whispered. “If anybody’s following, they won’t hear any splashing. And we’re out of sight here. We’ll know soon enough if we’re safe.”

Adriel felt fear rising in her breast. “You think they’ll know we’re down here?”

“I doubt it. Their thermal sensors will pick up enough heat from the others that they’ll assume we’re all there. Whatever heat they pick up down here they’ll probably attribute to something else. At any rate, they’ll check out the others first.”

“I hope they’ll be alright.”

“Me, too. But Manazes and Abby are the best. And Willum seems to know his way around well enough.” Brogan smiled in the darkness. “He sure came up with a good plan.”

“Speak for yourself!” Adriel retorted. “I’m half-frozen!”

“I’ll warm you up.” Brogan pulled her closer. She felt her emotions stirring because of his nearness, his confidence, and his strength, and because of something else. She did not know what it was, but she sensed it.

She looked up at his face. He bent down and kissed her on the lips. Startled, Adriel instinctively pushed him away with her hands against his chest.

“I’m not that cold!”

Nonplused, Brogan pulled her back and kissed her again. Adriel pushed away again but with less determination. “I’m attracted to you, Timothy, but . . .” She didn’t finish her sentence.

Brogan laughed softly. Adriel stared at him in surprise. Again she sensed something different about him. “You’ve changed, haven’t you? There’s something . . . I don’t know. You’re not the same person.”

“I’ve grown up. I’m not living for myself anymore. I’ve got a higher purpose now.”

Lights went off in Adriel’s head. “That’s what’s different about you!” She paused and smiled coyly. “I like it!”

She threw her arms around Brogan’s neck and kissed him passionately. As a result, they both nearly fell out of their perch into the water. When they had regained their balance, Brogan returned her kiss, both of them savoring their self-acknowledged love.

After a couple of minutes they reluctantly disengaged, and Brogan whispered, “I love you, you know. That’s why I came to rescue you.”

Adriel smiled, her heart bursting for joy. She gave him a hug and said, “I love you, too. I have for a long time.”

They rested in each other’s arms for a few more minutes, then Brogan stirred. “Come on. It looks like we’re home free. But first we have to find a way outa here.”

He lowered himself into the cold, dirty liquid and helped Adriel down. Then they began to push through the water at a more leisurely pace, hand in hand.

*

Manazes and Willum crouched next to the brown, dingy building as Abby zigzagged across the street and reached the side of the next building. They had just emerged from the terminal, and Manazes knew that it was more imperative than ever that they exercise caution. But they also had to push caution to the limits or their slow progress would allow their pursuers to catch up too quickly.

Manazes motioned for Willum to go next, then he fingered the special emergency frequency that Mizpala had arranged as a precaution. Before Willum was across, Manazes began his running crouch. Abby was surveying the sky and buildings. When all three were across, they repeated the procedure, Abby leading off, while Manazes watched their rear.

A few people were walking the streets listlessly. Occasionally one would stop and stare at the odd trio with curiosity, then trudge on, having barely enough emotional energy to care about themselves. Consequently they were indifferent to the plight of others.

Everything went well for several minutes. They had put half a click between themselves and the terminal, and Manazes prepared to follow Abby and Willum in another zigzag sprint. As he sped off across the open area, a flyer zoomed into view. As he ran Manazes turned his head to look at it just as it altered course and flew straight at him.

Manazes looked ahead and sprinted with all his might for cover. The locals who were on the street also started racing for cover. People were scattering in every direction. A beam of light emanated from Abby’s position at the next building just as two lasers flared from the flyer. Manazes felt a searing pain in his left side. His legs buckled, and he tumbled onto the concrete in agony, rolling until his momentum was exhausted.

He came to rest on his back. When he did, he saw that Abby’s shot had crippled the flyer. It was making an emergency landing some distance away.

Manazes pushed himself up on his elbow to get himself to safety and screamed at the pain. He collapsed again onto his back, panting and screwing up his face as he pressed his arm to his side.

Suddenly strong arms grabbed him and lifted him up, causing Manazes to nearly black out from the white-hot searing in his side. Willum tossed him over his shoulder and started running for cover. Manazes gasped as each jarring footfall conjured up more pain.

They joined Abby and ducked into the doorway of the next building just as another flyer appeared. Laser fire began peppering the area as they squirmed down behind some debris. By this time the street was deserted except for the attackers.

“Good work, Willum,” Abby said, punching him in the shoulder.

“Yeah, thanks big fella,” grunted Manazes.

“No problem. You’d have done the same for me.”

“I doubt it,” gasped Manazes, trying to block out the situation with humor. “It would take three of me to lift you.” Manazes grinned through the pain, and Willum smiled back.

Abby shouted, “We gotta get outa here, guys! We won’t last another two minutes in this exposed position.”

As if in response, they were rocked by the explosion of a concussion bomb that had landed on the other side of the debris. Unidentifiable fragments showered down on them.

“Next time you boys want to go on a little outing, do me a favor and leave me out of it,” Abby quipped.

“I hope the cavalry shows up soon,” responded Manazes.

“Well, I don’t think we can wait,” Abby said with a grimace. “I’m going to try to draw their fire away from you two.”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Manazes said, grabbing her arm as she started to get up. “You won’t
—”

Manazes’s remark was cut short as four flyers screamed down the street wreaking fiery havoc in their wake. Lasers boiled the air, and the explosion of concussion bombs blanketed the area.

Mogul’s men returned fire, but they were soon overwhelmed by Mizpala’s. All died but two. Those two were seriously wounded and taken to a secret clinic, where they would be treated until strong enough to have truth scans administered to them. But first Manazes, Abby, and Willum were hustled into a flyer and taken to a maximum-security military hospital.

“Now look who’s loafing around,” joked Brogan. “I guess you got your wish, huh?”

Manazes grimaced in response. “Touché! I suppose I deserved that. But from where I’m sitting right now, I’d rather be in your shoes.”

“Not much fun, is it?”

Manazes shook his head. “At least I didn’t get my ticket punched and you got back in one piece. Say, how’s your girl anyway?”

Brogan smiled self-consciously at the reference. “She’s fine. A hot shower and clean clothes, and she’s good as new. Running through a storm drain system isn’t anything to write home about.” Brogan looked up at the ceiling as he made a clucking sound with his tongue. “But it did have its high points.”

“Ha! I’ll bet. But you’re not going to tell me about it, are you?”

Brogan shook his head with a smirk.

“Figures.” Manazes changed subjects abruptly. “You know, I’m sure getting tired of being shot at on your account.” He looked down at his injuries. “So what’re we going to do about these gun-crazy Moguls?”

“Hey, I didn’t come here to talk business. I came to see how you were doing.”

“Fine. You’ve seen me. Now let’s talk business.”

Brogan sat down with a sigh. Then he crossed his legs and started drumming the right arm of the chair with his fingers.

“Let’s look at this objectively,” he said finally. “One.” He stabbed with his index finger emphatically. “The Moguls are not likely to quit till I’m dead. In fact, by this time they’re probably pretty fed up over their failures. Which means, two, they’ll plan their next attempt so well and so massively that the only possible outcome will be my death. Mizpala and General Calderon can give me all the protection in the world, but sooner or later the Moguls will succeed. Which brings us to number three.”

Brogan pushed himself out of the chair and began to walk around the room as he talked. “If things continue as they are, I’m a dead man. So I’ve got to throw a wrinkle into their plans.”

He stopped and faced Manazes. “I’ve got to fight Josh now. It’s the only solution I can come up with.”

Manazes nodded. “I agree,” he said simply, but his eyes betrayed his reluctance. “But you’ll be at a huge disadvantage.”

“I know.” Brogan looked at his biopack and rubbed it with his hand. “But even though my arm’s not healed, I’ve got to go ahead with it. I’ve got absolutely nothing to lose. The threat of my eventual duel with Josh is not the only reason the Moguls want me dead. But it’s one of ’em. And if I arrange to fight him now with the use of only one arm, maybe they’ll be confident that Josh will save them the trouble of further assassination attempts. That’ll give both Adriel and me a brief reprieve. And who knows? Maybe if I win, it’ll shake something loose for us.”

“Maybe
if
you win? Nothing like going into a hopeless situation with confidence,” Manazes grunted as he stirred in his bed. “Well, I don’t want to see you fight this duel with only one arm, but I also don’t see as you have much of a choice.”

“I don’t either. But there’s a fourth thing.” Brogan frowned even more and knitted his normally level brows. “I’m going to have to send Adriel back to Cirrus ASAP.”

Understanding showed on Manazes’s face. “Ah, yes. She’s a danger to herself and to us as long as she stays on Earth.”

“Right. As long as she’s in immediate reach of the Moguls, she’s in as much danger as I am. When I began recruiting for the IAD, two of my prerequisites were that a candidate had to be single and from off-planet. With no close relatives on Earth they would be harder to blackmail. The same needs to hold true even more for me. I don’t want to lose Adriel now that I’ve found her, but I have no choice.”

“That’s rough, sir.” Manazes pursed his lips, and Brogan rubbed his biopack absently. “Well,” Manazes said, breaking the silence, “first things first. Make sure you beat the Mogul whelp. I don’t feel like breaking in another commander.”

*

The bodyguard assigned to Adriel answered the door. Waiting to be admitted, Brogan stood between the Imperial Guardsmen stationed on either side of the entrance. Adriel’s heart leaped to see him, her body keeping pace as she veritably launched herself off the sofa. But she managed enough self-control to wait where she stood.

The bodyguard stood aside, and as Brogan walked in he said to her, “You may take a break, Private. I’ll send for you when I leave.”

“Thank you, sir.” Adriel smiled as the bodyguard disappeared into the hallway and Brogan turned from closing the door.

“Hi,” she said coyly.

“Hi! How are you doing?”

“I’m OK. I’m not used to so much protection, though. Come in and make yourself comfortable.”

Brogan walked into the room and continued past Adriel to take a seat when she grabbed him, swung him around, and kissed him on the lips. “It’s good to see you again,” she said as she released him, smiling.

“Likewise,” Brogan replied, a slight smile curling his lips. He pulled her back and embraced her in another kiss. Then he said, “Why don’t you join me on the couch?”

Brogan ushered her to the sofa with his arm around her, and they sat. Adriel snuggled into the crook of his arm, enjoying his nearness. She took his hand, and they caressed each other’s palms with their fingers. Adriel closed her eyes and felt the warmth of love fill her. After several minutes had passed this way in silence, she forced herself back to the urgency of the present.

“What’s going to happen to me, Timothy? And what about the rest of the med team . . . and Willum?”

“Well, I have some great news!” His whole face smiled as he looked down at her. “First Minister Mizpala has arranged an Imperial pardon for the entire med team. You are all to be reinstated as third-class citizens. Mizpala convinced Henry that punishing a religious agency for giving humanitarian aid was not in the spirit of his governmental policies.”

“That’s great!” Adriel squealed as she gave him a hug.

“Oh, and Willum has had his citizenship restored as a reward for saving the life of an officer of the Imperial Guard.”

A tear started to Adriel’s eye. She hid it by wiping it on Brogan’s uniform. “I’m so happy for him. He’s been in the lower levels for so long!”

Brogan looked at her. “He seems to have quite a few admirable qualities.”

“He was my best friend in the lower levels. I’ll never forget him. He was always there when I needed him.” She looked up at Brogan with the unspoken question in her eyes:
Will
you
always be there when I need you?

Brogan seemed to read her thoughts and shifted uncomfortably.

“What is it, Timothy?”

Brogan cleared his throat and scratched his cheek absently. “Well, I’m afraid I have some bad news to go along with the good.” He cleared his throat again.

Adriel sat up and faced him. “What is it, Timothy? Tell me.” She searched his face.

Brogan put his hand in his lap and stared at it. With a choked voice he said, “I have to send you back to Cirrus. It’s too dangerous for you here.”

“What do you mean ‘too dangerous’?” Adriel asked shrilly. “You rescued me! I’m safe now! I have bodyguards!”

Brogan shook his hand in front of his face. “What I mean is, I can’t keep you safe indefinitely. And it’s not only
your
life that’s in jeopardy. I can’t concentrate on protecting myself or doing my job of arresting and prosecuting corrupt Imperial Guardsmen when I have to constantly think about your safety. The only solution I can think of is to send you back to Cirrus with a bodyguard.”

Adriel felt the tears welling up in her eyes. “Timothy, it’s not fair!” She balled her hands into fists and hit her legs with them to emphasize each word of her next sentence. “I want to be with you. We haven’t had any time together since we found out we loved each other. I won’t go!” Again her fists hit her legs in rhythm with her words.

Brogan reached out and took hold of one of her wrists gently. He would have taken them both in his hands, but his biopack prevented him. “You should know by now that life isn’t always fair,” he said quietly. “Sometimes we’re forced to do things we don’t want to. Don’t you think I want you to stay? But I can’t let you.”

Adriel reached up and touched his cheek. “I know you want me to stay. It’s just that”
—she sighed, trying to quell the trembling in her voice—“it looked like everything was going to work out—like in a fairy tale. You know, ‘And they lived happily ever after.’”

“I know,” replied Brogan. “I know. Come here.”

For a few minutes they held each other in silence. Adriel was heavy with the ache of the approaching departure, and the tears flowed freely. But she knew Timothy felt the same way.

Who knows if we will even see each other again?
She could not help the remorse and self-pity she felt.

Eventually Adriel sat up and dried her face. Brogan stroked her hair. “Will you wait for me?” he asked.

Adriel turned to look at him, “Of course I will, you big dummy.” They both smiled in spite of themselves.

But then Brogan pushed himself off the couch and paced away. Adriel stood up too. Brogan dragged his hand through his curly hair. “I’m afraid that’s only part of the bad news.”

“Oh, no,” Adriel groaned as she sank back onto the couch and put her face in her hands.

Brogan sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “I’ve decided to fight Josh Mogul as soon as I can arrange it.”

Adriel’s mouth dropped open and her face went slack. She was speechless.

Brogan laughed at her expression. “Have I told you recently how beautiful you are?”

“Yes, you have,” Adriel said, recovering her composure. “But this is no laughing matter. You have only one good arm. How can you fight a duel with one good arm?”

“I have some ideas. But first I have to consult with the doctors.”

Adriel felt trapped and desperate. “Timothy! This is crazy! You’ve got to wait!”

Brogan shook his head. “If I don’t fight him now, I’m as good as dead anyway. The Moguls have tried to have me killed three times now. Next time they may succeed.”

Adriel put her face in her hand. The fight went out of her as she began to grasp the big picture. But she was not convinced that jumping out of the fire and into the frying pan was going to keep him from getting burned.

She took a deep breath and let it out. “Will you try to kill him?”

Brogan looked away. “If I have to. I hope it doesn’t come to that. But if it does, I have to do what I have to do. Whatever
my
motivation, Josh will be fighting to kill me. If I hold back,
I’ll
be the one dying, not Josh. I can’t take that risk.”

“I know you can’t, and I don’t want you to. I only hope you don’t have to.”

“Me too.” Brogan’s smile was strained. “If the court sets an early date, I don’t think you—or I—will be in much danger until after the duel. The Moguls wouldn’t be foolish enough to try anything with the duel date set. And they’ll probably be confident that Josh will kill me in the amphitheater and solve their problems that way. Nevertheless, don’t take any unnecessary chances. OK?”

“OK. I’ll be a good girl.”

“You couldn’t be anything but.” Brogan grinned, and Adriel kissed him.

“You are so handsome when you smile. That’s what first attracted me to you years ago.”

“Really? I never knew that.” He ran his hand through her hair. “After your stunning good looks, I think it was your spunk that attracted me to you.”

“My spunk? Well, I hope I have enough spunk to get me through all this.” A frown creased her face. “And even if everything turns out alright, I won’t see you for months, maybe years.”

Brogan nodded his head in sympathy. “I know. It’s hard. But Adriel, whether you come to the duel or not, you must be packed and ready to go the second the fight is over. If I win, we must get you to your ship without delay. There’s no telling what the Moguls may have planned. If I don’t . . . win, it won’t matter. But your passage home has been paid for. Whatever happens, you’re going home.”

*

Brogan flexed his biopack. The new elbow joint moved freely.
Boy, that feels good,
he reflected.
Weak and strange, but good.

His specialist had decided that Brogan’s arm had healed sufficiently to install a new biopack
—one that bent at the elbow. He cautioned Brogan not to overdo it, however, for his newly grown muscles were not accustomed to being stretched. Though they needed careful exercise, and they could be used, he was advised to take it easy.

That was good news to Brogan, who felt that it was essential to be able to have some mobility with his left arm if he was going to fight this duel. But it worried him how weak his new arm was and how quickly it tired.

The biopack’s flexibility was not its only novel feature. A circular retainer had been fitted onto the convex hand-end of the biopack. It was designed to receive the handle of the stiletto that Brogan would be using in the duel. That retainer in itself would be a huge, unexpected advantage for a one-armed fighter, but there was more.

Brogan smiled as he contemplated the secret capability of his new biopack that he had talked the technician into installing. Inside the gleaming exterior was a release mechanism that allowed Brogan to throw his stiletto should the need arise. His middle finger, which had not been severely injured in the explosion on Peru II, and the forearm muscles that worked it were completely healed and functional. Brogan was able to use it to trigger the release.