Pulling The Dragon's Tail (37 page)

The soldiers shoved them down the several
flights of stairs until they reached the great room.
Just
maybe
, thought Nate,
we’re not going to our execution. Just
maybe
.

They trudged across the room, making their way
past the massive stone fireplace. The door to the basement lie
ahead.

Dugan explained the plan. He finished by saying,
“When I say jump, whoever is in front, immediately jump as far
ahead as possible. If you are side by side, then on my signal you
both must jump, again, as far ahead as possible. The one who is
behind must fall to the ground, and quickly.”

The soldiers put on helmets with imbedded
flashlights. They sank ever deeper into the darkness, the movement
of their heads sending swirling shadows around. The basement was a
huge storage unit for the former ski lodge before it was buried
under a landslide. The other end of the large basement contained
the entrance to the cave, which burrowed through the landslide, and
served as exit and entrance for Red Dawn’s headquarters.

Nate was wrested away from Campbell and forced
into the lead.
So, I’m the one to take the leap. But this is
only one leap of many, all of them into the dark. Father, sustain
me
.

Campbell’s mind raced. Straining her eyes, but
without moving her head, she looked in vain for proof.
Es must
be here somewhere. And to my long-legged friend, perhaps Father
Abraham has put you in front for a reason. Whatever you have to
leap past or over, it’s your legs that have to carry you
.

Nate walked more slowly, feeling with each step
the firm, cold ground. Senses of dread and anticipation grew with
each step.

“Speed up!” barked the soldier.

“JUMP!” ordered Dugan.

Nate planted his right foot, the same foot he
had once used for the long jump in high school. His left leg swung
out ahead of him as his arms instinctively stretched ahead of his
body. A moment later the ball of his left foot touched solid
ground. As he brought his trailing right foot up toward his body,
it dipped down into the edge of a hole.

“Hey, slow down! Or I’ll shoot you right—Ahhh!”
The voice trailed away below Nate. A split second later, Nate heard
a splash.

Nate rolled onto the ground, searching for a
corner to hide in. The strong pungent smell of sewer accosted his
nose.

A lone figure emerged from the darkness,
punching the remaining soldier, who slumped over and onto the
ground. Quickly the figure disarmed the soldier and removed the
communications badge and helmet. The figure shoved him into the
gaping hole, and a moment later another splash was heard.

The automatic door closed over the sewer system
tank.

The figure bent over Campbell. “It is me,
Es.”

Nate came running over and hugged her. “Thank
you.” Silently he gave a prayer of thanks to Father Abraham.

“Shhh!” she warned, holding the soldier’s
gun.

They heard Sheridan on the Comm badge. “Is
everything okay down there?”

Es fired two bullets into the darkness. Then, in
as deep a voice as possible, she said, “The deed is done.”

“Good,” responded Sheridan. “Now come back up
here. A few more trips to carry supplies to the vehicle, and then
we’ll go.”

“What about your son?” replied Es

“He’s coming with us, of course.”

“Do we salvage any more of the CCR?” continued
Es in the disguised gruff voice.

“That damn robot? Naw, leave it. We didn’t
wrangle anything from the woman, but Thatcher should prove useful
when I’m done working him over.”

Es crushed the Comm badge with the heel of her
boot.

“I want to kill him!” screamed Campbell.

“We have to leave,” said Es. “There is no time
to waste. He will soon come to look for his missing soldiers.”

“What do you propose?” asked Nate.

“Out the same way I came in,” said Es. “Come.
There is no time to explain.”

“Wait!” said Nate. “We have to rescue
Thatcher.”

Es stopped short. “Rescue Thatcher?”

“Thatcher already made his choice,” snorted
Campbell.

“Come on guys!” protested Nate. “He fell under
the spell of Sheridan. After Sheridan’s used him, he’ll either kill
him or manipulate him. You heard what Sheridan just said. Thatcher
deserves better than that. He deserves a second chance.”

Campbell hesitated. “What if we get to him and
he refuses?”

“He won’t,” said Nate. “I won’t let him have any
other choice.”

“How noble of you,” mocked Campbell.

“I can’t let Sheridan get away with everything.
Besides, Thatcher’s knowledge of the Alpha Group could prove
dangerous. I just hope he hasn’t told Sheridan too much.”

She sighed heavily. “Okay, we’re a team. Es, you
with us?”

“Most definitely, I am with you. Here’s what I
suggest. First, you’ll need weapons.”

“I’ll use anything non-lethal,” said Nate.

Campbell sighed in disgust, but said
nothing.

Es was well armed with several small laser
weapons imbedded in her clothing and in a robotic implant in her
right leg. She handed a PPD-like weapon to Nate and a regular laser
gun to Campbell.

* * * * * *

A bullet whizzed by Campbell’s head.

“Quick! Back this way!” yelled Nate.

They ducked and ran back down the stairwell to
the fourth floor of the decrepit ski lodge.

"Okay, we got their attention just like we
planned,” observed Nate. “Which way to the elevator?”

“Over here!” Campbell ran across the floor. On
her left was the railing and on her right were hotel rooms. She
rushed past them and saw the elevator at the end of the hallway.
Boxes, beds, and cartons were stacked in the hallway with only a
narrow pathway between them.

Es had better get here soon
, thought a
worried Campbell.

A soldier emerged from the stairwell from which
they had just exited.

Campbell and Nate rounded the corner and ran
past the elevator, which was centered on the narrower side of the
resort’s four walls. Campbell dove behind some boxes. Nate was
right behind her. The soldier stopped across from them, peering
into the low light looking for them.

Campbell looked up, breathing heavily. She
fingered her gun. “Throw that box over there for a
distraction!”

Nate hurled a small box back toward the
elevator. It crashed, scattering its contents of old Christmas
ornaments. He fingered his PPD.

The soldier fired in that direction. Campbell
rolled over onto her stomach and fired between the railings
.
Damn it! Missed!

She fired again. The soldier turned toward her.
She pulled the trigger.
Nothing!

“He’s coming around the corner! Get him!” Nate
screamed.

The soldier smiled, sensing their predicament.
He approached the elevator, heading toward them.

Es,
pleaded Campbell,
now would be a
good time!

The elevator doors creaked open. The soldier
halted in amazement. “What the—”

Es flung the doors open wide, and before the
soldier could utter another word, she launched a powerful kick at
his ribcage. The gun flew out of his hand.

He recovered in time to take a swing at her. She
ducked and then grabbed him. He wrestled her to the ground. Spying
the gun a meter away, he punched her fiercely in the stomach. Then
he lunged for the weapon. In one quick move, he picked it up,
turned around, and fired.

But Es was too quick, rolling out of the way and
against the wall. She quickly removed a small gun from her lower
leg and shot him.

He stumbled, grabbed onto the railing. He
clutched at the blood spurting out of his chest. His weight shifted
precariously, pushing him hard against the railing. He stumbled
over the railing and fell into the murky darkness below.

A door slammed shut. Standing about ten meters
away in front of the same stairwell was the biggest transhuman
soldier Nate had ever seen. The soldier aimed a gun directly at Es.
Behind the soldier stood a subdued Thatcher, and Sheridan. Sheridan
pointed a gun at Nate and Campbell.

“Well, well. What have we here? Not dead yet?
Thought you could outfox me with your little TH friend? It’s too
little, too late. I guess I’m going to have to do it myself.”

Es arose slowly, with an uncharacteristic
stiffness. The TH soldier took a threatening step forward.

“Watch it!” threatened Sheridan. “Syd here will
kill those two so fast that—”

“I will fight him,” Es said in a low voice.

“I’m sorry,” said Sheridan mockingly, “but I
thought I heard your TH say she’d fight my TH.”

“My name is Es,” she said in a bit stronger
voice. “I said I will fight him.”

“Es!” whispered Campbell, “I don’t think that’s
wise.” She thought the first soldier had taxed Es already.

Sheridan roared with derisive laughter. “Sure,
we can accommodate your request, if you want to bravely fight to
your death. Isn’t that right, Syd?”

“I would be honored to avenge my fallen
comrade,” he hissed.

“Throw the weapons down first!” barked Sheridan,
who still had his gun trained on Nate. All three complied.

“Rules,” called out Es, “strength only. No
weapons.”

“Fine,” agreed Sheridan.

Campbell huddled next to Nate as the two
transhumans frisked each other for weapons. Standing silently next
to Sheridan was Thatcher. The reporter’s eyes were glued to the
floor. He looked to be in a stupor, and she wondered if he’d been
drugged.

Nate looked around and what he saw surprised
him. Another stairwell, opposite the other, lie directly behind
them.

The fight began and Es was doing poorly. Syd,
twice her size, slammed her against the wall. Campbell cringed,
incredulous that the blow to the head didn’t crush Es’s skull.

Syd powered his fist toward her head, but with
her forearm Es deflected its blow. Instead, he smashed a hole in
the wall next to her.

She got a kick in to his head, temporarily
stunning him. But he quickly recovered and again approached her.
They squared off like two wrestlers.

Sheridan, grinning from ear to ear, was clearly
enjoying the spectacle.

Only Es’s speed was saving her. She got behind
Syd and placed a chokehold around his neck. He stumbled and fell to
his knees.

“Go, Es! Crush him!” yelled Nate.

But Syd bent over in a flash, his agility
belying his size, and flipped Es over his head. She landed on the
wooden floor close to the railing with a resounding crash. He
grabbed her and tried to hoist her over his head.

“He’s trying to throw you over,” screamed
Campbell.

“This is the end,” laughed Sheridan.

But Es grabbed the top horizontal bar of the
railing and refused to let go. Not able to loosen her grip, Syd
attempted to pull her by the legs.

With her strength waning, her hold weakened. She
fell to the floor, face down. Syd reached into his flap of clothing
and produced a knife.

She rolled over. The plunge of the knife just
missed her, the blade sticking into the floor. “You do not fight
fairly,” she panted as she kicked the knife out of the way. “That
is not the transhuman ethic.” She stood up, hands on her hips,
fighting for breath.

Syd approached her menacingly. “That is why I
left. I fight for Red Dawn now. I fight to win.” The smug look on
his face communicated what everyone knew: Syd was winning.

Slowly but steadily, he backed Es up toward the
open elevator shaft.

She could resist no longer. He lifted her
weakened body and, with a loud grunt of satisfaction, threw her
down the empty shaft and into the waiting darkness.

“Oh, God! No!” Campbell buried her head into
Nate’s chest.

Syd turned around in triumph. A small thump
echoed out of the shaft.

Nate shuddered in horror. “Dear Father,
please!”

Syd looked over at Sheridan, wiping off his
hands in triumph. Sheridan gave him a thumbs up signal.

And then, unbelievably, Es leaped out of the
shaft. With all of her might, she barreled into Syd, planting the
heels of both her boots into his back. He crumpled to the
ground.

He struggled to rise. “Get her, you bastard!”
yelled Sheridan impatiently.

With another strong kick to his head, Es knocked
him over again and this time he did not move. She picked him up and
threw him over the railing. A low thud sounded below, indicating
Syd had met the same fate as his fallen comrade.

Sheridan’s shock quickly changed to anger and
rage. Grabbing Thatcher by the collar, he pointed his gun
threateningly at Nate, Campbell, and Es, who lie between Sheridan
and the nearest stairway exit. “Move back,” he ordered.

Campbell put her hands in the air and gingerly
backed up until she reached an exhausted Es.

Sheridan, with Thatcher in tow, approached Nate.
The stairwell lie just a few steps away.

“Sorry, ol’ buddy, first you, then the other
two. Bye.” He raised his gun at Nate’s head.

“NO!” shouted Thatcher. He pushed the gun up as
Sheridan fired. The bullet’s trajectory took it over Nate and into
the ceiling.

The loaded gun flailed wildly as Thatcher and
Sheridan wrestled for control of the weapon. Sheridan said, “No!
Someday you’ll understand. This needs to be done! Stop! I don’t
want to hurt you,” said Sheridan angrily.

“God damn it!” shouted Thatcher defiantly. “You
may be my father, but you’re not fit for the job!” He elbowed
Sheridan in the face, and with a mighty grasp on Sheridan’s wrists,
the gun fell to the floor and slid toward Nate.

Nate lunged for the gun as Sheridan got to his
feet. The door to the stairwell was five steps away. Sheridan
stared at his son, who was shouting, “Kill the bastard!”

For a fleeting second, Nate hesitated, holding
the strange, evil instrument of death in his hands. Then he aimed
and squeezed the trigger.