Morgan's Return (26 page)

"Don't make any sudden moves. Turn around, very slowly."

Her heart racing, Ellen's head hit the inside lining of her helmet. How had she missed somebody coming in? She floated around in a semi-circle, coming face to face with a figure suited up as she was, but this one held a pistol in one gloved hand. Judging by the voice, the new arrival was female, and judging by the suit, she was security. The woman knew what she was doing, too, braced in the hatch, out of reach.

"Sorry. You startled me. Can I help you?" Ellen stayed polite. Maybe she could bluff her way out of this?

"Entrance records show your entry to this ship as Chief Theebald. Who you quite clearly are not." The woman gestured with the pistol. "Out. Onto the dock. And don't do anything stupid."

Damn damn damn
. Ellen couldn't afford to be caught. How could she have been so careless? The woman had eased away from the hatch to let Ellen through, but the weapon was trained and ready. Ellen pulled herself along the corridor, hand over hand.

"Into the airlock. And make no mistake, I
will
shoot."

Yes, and it might not kill, since the pistol was set to low power, but it would hurt. A lot. Ellen forced down the rising panic that made her palms sweat. If the woman had called for backup, it would be all over. One thing she could do. The thought made her gag, but she had no choice. She'd done this twice before, put on enough pressure to make a bully sick. Both times, she'd saved herself from physical harm, and this was self defense, too.

She concentrated her Supertech mind on the other woman's implant, bombarded it with transactions, twisted the medical alert systems.

The security woman started to twitch, her eyes widened. The pistol clattered to the floor, while around them, air rushed in and the gauges changed from red to orange. Her jaw opening and closing, the woman lunged at Ellen, grabbing her arms. Fighting down rising nausea, Ellen bombarded her adversary with data. The woman's grip eased. She vomited in the helmet, covering the inside with an oozing, sagging, red-tinged mess. Just as the airlock hatch released, the woman's eyes rolled up and she sagged to the ground.

Her heart thundering, Ellen dragged the body out, erasing all signs of her system intrusion as she did so. She had to get out of here. Withdrawing the helmet into the suit, she sprinted for the gate out of the dock, while her implant excised all reference to Chief Theebald's presence here. Boots clattered on the walkway just as she stepped onto the travelator. Security guards, four of them. Her heart rate slowed. It would be a mysterious death, a failure in the woman's health monitoring functions.

Ellen stopped at a bar, and found a seat in a corner booth. The menu rose from the tabletop, offering an assortment of snacks and drinks. She pushed the option to talk to an operator. "I'm from off world. Do you have some sort of brandy?"

They did. An attractive young man set a glass with a shot of amber fluid in the bottom, on the table in front of her. When he'd gone away she lifted the glass with a trembling hand, and threw the lot down in one hit.

Chapter 23
 

M
organ slowed the skimmer down. "What did Prasad's message say?"

Ravindra glanced at her. "Asked me to call him. They've been arrested, I'd say."

"I reckon. How do you want to play this?"

"They'll be waiting for us at the landing pad. But they won't be expecting this machine." He tapped his fingers together. "I would think our people are already gone, taken somewhere. That island back there, perhaps. But we can't be sure."

"So we land somewhere else, go into the hotel grounds through the gardens, see if we can find out what happened to them."

"Perhaps not go and look. Can you tap into the hotel's systems from outside?"

"Sure."

"Well, then."

Morgan checked the map, searching for the best place to set down. Somewhere close to the hotel, but not where the skimmer would stand out. The entertainment precinct close to the resort was a good idea. A strip of restaurants and clubs lined a roadway near the beach, just along from the hotel's grounds. They were advertised in the rooms, places to go for a break from the resort. She flew the skimmer overhead, checking for anything unusual. The place was moderately busy. Couples strolled along the footpaths, and the tables outside the cafés were doing a good trade. The thumping music coming from a club could be heard even up here.

Morgan landed in a parking area that serviced the businesses, and slipped out into a balmy night. The loud music coming from the club at the other end of the strip was almost drowned by the boom of the nearby surf. The air smelled of salt and night-flowering plants. Ravindra walked around the skimmer to join her.

She would prefer to be a bit closer to the resort buildings. The path through the bushes behind the parking lot looked promising, leading as it did toward the resort grounds. "Let's go down there," she said. "I'll find it easier to get a signal. We can just be a happy couple wanting some privacy."

Chuckling, Ravindra put an arm around her waist and drew her against him. "That might be a good idea. Later."

She rubbed her head against his side.
I really do love you, Ravindra
. The smell of him, his touch, his voice. She drank it all in. Later.

An alarm intruded, relayed from her implant. She stopped, pushing away from him.

Ravindra's arm dropped to his side. "What?"

"I'm getting an intruder alert from
Vulsaur
."

He stiffened. "Someone trying to get in?"

"It's mixed. It's odd." She shook her head. "Then again, if they've arrested the others, they'd be impounding the ship, wouldn't they?"

"Yes. So they'll be waiting for us up there."

"Fuck."

"Can they break into your communications system?"

"No. It's completely different to anything they have here and it's got my security on it. They won't trace us from
Vulsaur
."

He slung an arm around her shoulders. "So. One thing at a time, my love. We have a crew to rescue."

True enough. Morgan gave him a brief hug. They walked on, along a sandy path underneath the branches. The heady scent of a blossom floated out from one as they brushed past. The fence appeared, moonlight dusting the mesh. Not far away a tower supporting a sensor grid stood silhouetted against the sky.

"I expect this is also an access path to that." She glanced at the tower.

Ravindra's head turned as he looked along the fence. "Yes. There's a gate over there. Do we need to go inside?"

She shook her head. She had already connected with the repeater, following the data packets down into the computer system. Surveillance cameras first. She entered their room numbers, one at a time. All empty, except the one she and Ravindra used. "We have a two-person welcoming committee in our room."

He grunted. "That won't be all. Do they have a vehicle in the landing area?"

Good thought. Morgan disconnected from the hotel system and roved further afield, searching for other connections. Fourth time lucky. "Got it. The records say this crew has been deployed to pick us up. They have our names and pictures. Acting on a complaint from… oh dear… Marina Seabright."

She couldn't resist directing a huge grin at Ravindra, who scowled. "She fell on her face after she tried to hit me."

"I know. But it says here you're violent and dangerous and," she raised her eyebrows, "oh-ho. It seems we're suspected insurgents. Supporters of a local dissident group." She searched the databases for the name. "It's called 'Veritas'. They don't believe in the Goddess or the Temple. They want to elect a government, give equal rights to men."

Ravindra's scowl deepened. "Any idea where our people have been taken?"

"Nowhere by this team. Let's see if I can follow this back to base."

She hitched a ride with the data packets up into the communications network girdling every civilized planet. Through a controlled gateway, into a powerful main system. What Morgan wanted was the fabled Temple. Ah. New arrivals. Pictures of Prasad, Davaskar, Jirra and Tullamarran appeared. They looked grim, and resolute. She found the cell numbers, and took a copy of the layout, all the time blocking the security program. Then she faded away, once more human.

"They're in the Temple." She showed Ravindra the pictures via his
sanvad
.

"Ideas?" he barked.

Back in admiral mode; you didn't even have to flick a switch
. "The cells are in what probably used to be the dungeons. And you saw the lights. The place is lit up like a festive decoration, so slipping in from the air might be a bit dicey."

Morgan stopped, gazing up at him.

"Keep talking," Ravindra said. "You have an idea."

"I have. But I don't think you're going to like it."

His eyes narrowed.

"We go back to Partridge and borrow his sub again, see if we can land from the sea."

He blinked. She was right. He didn't like that idea, not one little bit.

"Do you have a better idea?" she asked.

"Can't you make us different identities, set us up as part of this police force? Forge permits for the Temple?"

"To all of the above, yes. Given time. We'd also need to change our appearance."

He sighed. "I don't like the notion of the submarine. And I don't see how it will get us anywhere."

"Maybe we can do a bit of both. Sneak onto the island, then see if we can take out a couple of guards. Like we did when we stole the ship at Zaffra Bay."

Ravindra retreated into command mode, his face calm and blank. "All right. Take us back to Partridge's house."

***

Lights were still on at the house when Morgan landed the skimmer. They waited at the front door for a few minutes while the house's IS alerted Partridge and Eastly. Partridge came himself to open the door.

"You gave us a helluva fright. We wondered if we'd alerted something. Brent said an alarm went off in that undersea lab." He stood aside to gesture them in. "Or did they realize you'd been here?"

Morgan shook her head. "There are no bugs in your house. I checked. It seems we're on the wanted list. Ashkar managed to offend Marina Seabright, who has reported us to the security police."

Partridge and Eastly exchanged a look. "I'm not surprised. I did wonder what she'd do about falling on her face." Eastly's eyes twinkled. "Derryn told me about it. I laughed till I cried. Pompous bitch."

Partridge led them to the sitting room and gestured at chairs, sitting down himself. "Seabright's great friends with a number of the senior members of government. And she's completely full of herself. I can see her rushing off to complain."

"They decided we were insurgents, here to help a group called 'Veritas'." Morgan noticed the quickly covered exchange of glances. Both their heart beats had sped up, and Partridge's grip on the arm of his chair had tightened.

"What did you want from us?"

"Our people have been arrested, and taken to the Temple," Ravindra said.

Partridge's brows lowered. "How can you be sure?"

"I found out through their systems." Morgan flicked her head. Oh, what the hell? They needed the man's help. "Yes, I'm a Supertech. So I know they're there, and I know where. We want a way of getting onto the island without being detected, and I thought you might be able to tell us a little more about the place."

Partridge crossed his legs. "The sub."

"You don't have to come," Morgan said. "You can just wait here until we come back for you."

But Partridge was lost in his own world, gazing at the desktop. "Well, that changes the odds quite a bit."

"Oh? Why?" Morgan said.

Partridge heaved a sigh. "Because Brent and I are suspected of being part of Veritas. Mainly because of what we are, our relationship. Two men, you understand." His voice trailed off. He cleared his throat. "We've kept a very low profile, but if you and your crew escape, and they work out you've been here, I think we'll be invited for a little visit to the Temple ourselves. I don't think this house will be safe for much longer."

Eastly placed a hand on the other man's shoulder. The distant murmur of the surf filled the room.

Ravindra's deep voice broke the silence. "If we can't release our crew, we can't help you leave the planet."

"And we can't stay here. So you'll have to take us with you." Partridge's gaze moved from her to Ravindra. "Or kill us."

Morgan's heart jolted. She jerked her head around so fast it hurt.

Ravindra's expression was part amusement, part contempt, part something else. "It is an option. But I do not think my beautiful lady would allow it." His eyes glittered. "Apart from that, I gave you my word to take you away from here."

Morgan said nothing. Ashkar was a pragmatist above all else. He would do what he had to do. But he would try to get Partridge and Eastly out if he could. Of course, that meant having them along in the sub. Again. Oh well. Partridge was all right, and Eastly seemed repentant. Everybody deserved a second chance, she supposed. Especially if there wasn't much choice. Now all they needed was for Partridge to agree. He hadn't spoken yet, just sat there with an enigmatic smile on his face.