Solbidyum Wars 3: Pirates of Goo'waddle Canals (40 page)

Kala kissed me sweetly and then got a serious look on her face that I had not seen before.  “Tibby, there is something I’ve been wanting to tell you for the past few days, but with all that has been going on I wasn’t able ….” 

She was about to say something more, when suddenly I felt her tense in my arms.  Her gaze shift intently to a spot over my shoulder and up in the air.  Just as quickly, she looked down and whispered, “Tibby, there’s a man.  He just ran across the roof of the house and dropped down through the open skylight.”

I turned and looked quickly, but didn’t see anyone.  “Did he see us?”

“I don’t think so; he seemed to be focused on the skylight.”

I quickly climbed out of the pool and didn’t bother to dress, but slipped into the house as stealthily as possible, heading in the direction of the room where the skylight opened into the great room.  When I arrived and peered around the corner, I was surprised to see him still there, as well as a second intruder who was dropping down into the room to join him.  The first thing I noted was that they were dressed all in black.  The second thing I noted was that they were not Ruwallie Rasson. 

I was near one of the entrances to the secret tunnels in the wall, so I slipped inside and moved to one of the stations that allowed me to monitor their movements and conversation.  My first hunch was that they were Brotherhood goons; but they just as easily could have been some of Agama’s – but it didn’t make any sense for Agama’s men to enter the house by these means.  Once the second man was inside, the first man pulled out a small vid pad and spoke into it while the second man stood watch. 

“We’re in, which way should we go?” the man with the vid pad whispered.

I could faintly hear a voice come back over the vid pad.  “I’ll display the map on your screen.  Follow the map and place the bomb where the red spot appears on the map, and then get out of the house.  I’ll detonate it remotely from here in thirty minutes.  That should give you enough time to plant the bomb and get back out of the place.”

“Right, boss,” he said, as he examined the vid pad.  He finally looked up and pointed toward one of the doors leading out of the room.  I was wondering where Kala had gone to by this point; but I was sure she wouldn’t do anything to confront the men on her own.  I stayed inside the tunnel and moved from one room to another, following the men as they moved past each consecutive viewing port.  At one point, they stopped and hid themselves behind some pillars when a servant passed through.  Once the servant was gone, they moved rapidly to the assembly hall where Padaran had met with the Ruwallie Rasson leaders.

The men roamed about the room and then moved to a statue that stood next to the
Dormon
chair where Padaran had been sitting the night before. 

“Shydak said to hide the bomb in here someplace.  He said it didn’t matter where
 — the bomb is only intended to do damage, not to kill anyone.  He just wants to send a warning to Kerabac that he can’t hide, and that he better cooperate or else.”

“Let’s just set the damn thing and get out of here.  I’m not thrilled about the thought of running into a bunch of Ruwallie Rasson warriors,” the other man said.

“Shydak said that there are only a few servants here, now that the young guy the Rasson seem to think is divine has made them set their slaves free.”

“Yeah, I wonder what that’s all about.”

When the men left, I followed them again from inside the secret passageway.  Instead of going back to the room with the skylight where they had entered, they headed to the outdoor pool where Kala and I had just been swimming.  I held my breath in the hope that she wasn’t still there as the men headed out the door.  I quickly followed and cracked the door slightly in time to see them climbing through the dense shrubbery and leap from the edge of the
calgana
wall either into a waiting boat or into the water — though I seriously doubted they would purposely jump into the polluted water of the canals.  Once they were out of sight, I immediately went back into the house to look for everyone.  I found them gathered in the main living room, all stationed around the perimeter and prepared for action, as Kala had managed to get to them and alert them of the intruders.  They relaxed when they saw me, but only for a moment. 

“Marranalis, I need your expertise,” I exclaimed.  “There is a bomb planted in the assembly hall set to detonate in about twenty-five minutes.  Everyone else, get to the far side of the house and stay there until we indicate that everything’s clear.”

Marranalis and I headed quickly to the assembly room, where I pointed out the location of the bomb.  Marranalis took one look at the bomb and quickly began working on the device; it only took him a few seconds to defuse it.

“Not much of a bomb, really,” he said.  “I doubt it would have done more than break the windows and char the room a bit.  You would literally have to be sitting right on top of the thing to be seriously hurt.”

“I heard one of the men say it was only intended to act as a warning to Kerabac to let him know that he could not escape selling the
RASSON BEDAN
to them, and that he would face the consequences if he didn’t comply.  I wish there were some way of knowing where their headquarters are located.  I would love to sneak this bomb into their own nest and have it explode in their laps.”

“Hmm.  Maybe Tondor knows where the Brotherhood hangs out here on the planet.”

“Speaking of Tondor, where is he?  I didn’t see him in the room with the rest of you.”

“Tondor has been living in the servant’s quarters since turning the place over to Padaran.  Padaran can call him if you like; he’ll respond immediately.”

By now we had made it back to where everyone had assembled.  Kala, Endina and Sokaia were protectively circling the children as Kerabac and Padaran guarded the doors and windows in the room.

“All’s clear,” I announced.  “The bomb has been diffused.  But we’re hoping that Tondor might be able to tell us where the Brotherhood has their headquarters.  We would like to return this bomb to them as a little gift.”

Padaran used his wrist com.  “Tondor, do you know where the Brotherhood has their central headquarters here in the city?”

“Yes,
Dormon
, but I do not think it wise that you go there, if that is your intent.”

“Actually, the Brotherhood dropped by here a few moments ago and left a bomb in the assembly room where we met last night.  I’m planning to have some of my men return the bomb to them as a sort of surprise.”

“No disrespect meant,
Dormon
, but…but… it that wise?” Tondor asked.

“It is wiser than allowing it to blow up here in our house,” Padaran stated, “and it will send a message to the Brotherhood that we are better prepared for their antics and more capable than they think.”

“Very well,
Dormon
.  I will personally take you to the Brotherhood’s meeting place.  However, I think it would be best if we took one of the smaller and faster watercraft, in the event we need to make a rapid departure.”

“Very well, Tondor.  We will need a craft large enough to carry two others besides yourself,” Padaran said before disconnecting his com link.

“Padaran, I want you, Kerabac and the others to stay here.  Marranalis and I will handle this matter,” I said.  “If all goes well, we should be back shortly. 

We may need to use the cloaking devices,” I said, turning to Marranalis.  “Is yours sufficiently charged?”  He nodded to me just as Tondor arrived.

“Tondor, I want you to take these two men and their cargo to the Brotherhood headquarters.  Wait for them to return and then get them back here as quickly as possible,” Padaran commanded.

“As you wish,
Dormon
.”

Tondor led us to a small cove on the side of the
calgana
.  There he revealed a sleek boat with lines similar to the racing boats that were common on Earth.  The boat could have carried about eight people, so we weren’t crowded.  Tondor navigated into the main canal and then activated a screen that displayed the canal as if it were broad daylight.  A second screen displayed an aerial map, showing our location on the canal, as well as any obstacles in the waterway and other craft nearby. 

Tondor opened the throttle on the craft and we moved through the canals at an incredible speed toward our destination.  Our boat was producing quite a wake, and I wondered how the waves it created would affect the smaller boats on the canals where the poor people lived and slept.

“It looks as though someone else is heading toward the Brotherhood headquarters ahead of us,” Tondor said as he pointed to the map screen.  I looked where he pointed and guessed the object, clearly a boat, to be about a kilometer ahead of us and moving rapidly through the water in the same direction.  Like us, that boat was moving at considerable speed, taking into account that it was nighttime and there were large number of smaller boats lining both sides of the canal.

“I have noticed that the
Dormon
does not treat you like a slave, nor does he treat you like the others,” Tondor said, looking at me.  “It is most strange, his behavior toward you.  Might I ask – are you his father?”

This comment caught me completely off guard and I was not sure how to answer.

“Ahh, no, I am not his father, though perhaps he looks up to me much in the same way that a young man might look up to a father,” I said, hoping that might suffice.

“I see,” Tondor said.  “Perhaps the two of you having been slaves together and his not having had a father in his life caused him to substitute you in this way.”

“Perhaps, something like that,” I said. 

“Look, the boat is slowing down and pulling into that small canal up ahead,” I said as I pointed to the screen.

“Indeed, that is where the Brotherhood maintains their headquarters.  I will not be able to dock there, but I can drop you off nearby and wait for you out in the canal.  When you’re ready for me to pick you up and return to the estate…” he said as he handed me a light, “flash this light out over the water and I will be there almost instantly.”

Moments later Tondor brought us up beside a small pier just around the corner from the boat that docked ahead of us. 

“You will have to get off here.  I shall wait out there.  May the gods protect you.”

No sooner were we off the boat than he was back out in the middle of the canal.  Marranalis and I moved just as rapidly into the shadows by a large building that I assumed was the opposite side of the structure that the men arriving ahead of us had entered.  It was a four-story warehouse; and the
first two floors appeared to be dark.  A light could be seen on the third floor.  Marranalis and I looked around for a way in. 

As we were about to round the corner to the front of the building, Marranalis silently stuck out his arm to stop me. 

“There’s a guard over there,” he said quietly, pointing to a small crate in front of which the guard’s silhouette could be seen pacing.  There was no mistaking that he was a guard, as he was fully armed and his gaze roved the canal just beyond the dock where his cohorts had arrived earlier.  “Shall we use the personal cloaking devices now to get past him?”

“No, let’s see if we can find some other way in.”  As I was saying this, another boat approached the dock.  The guard’s posture became more rigid until he apparently recognized it and relaxed as began walking toward it.  “You have another shipment?” he called out as the craft docked. 

Several men got out of the boat and approached the guard.  “Yeah,” one of them said.  “This is the pure refined stuff, ready to go out tomorrow.  Shydak plans to use it to make a payment to the Tottalax to keep them happy.  We’re leaving it here, and he’ll take it with him in the morning.”  The man turned to the boat and yelled out to the others who were still aboard.  “Get those crates up here!  Now!”  Two men wearing slave collars immediately lifted a heavy crate onto the dock and set it between us and the men.

“I have an idea,” I said.  “Plant the bomb in the crate.”

Marranalis looked at me and grinned.  While the slaves were going back to the boat for a second crate, Marranalis cloaked.  I watched and held my breath, as I saw a board on the crate slowly being pulled back.  I feared it might squeak or break, but it didn’t — or if it did, I didn’t hear it.  Meanwhile, the men on the dock continued to talk as the two slaves transferred three more crates to the dock.  At last, I saw the board on the crate being forced back into place, and a moment later Marranalis reappeared beside me.  “Let’s get out of here,” he said.

“I think that’s a very good idea.  How long do we have before the bomb goes off?”

“I reset it for 20 minutes.”

Moments later, we were back at our drop-off point.  I signaled with the light, and instantly we heard the boat motor start up as Tondor quickly swept in to pick us up.  He barely slowed down as we leaped aboard, and then he quickly steered the boat away from the dock and headed back toward the
Dormon calgana
.  We were far enough away after 20 minutes that, when the bomb went off — assuming it did detonate — we never heard it or saw the flash.

“I think Shydak is going to be madder than hell,” I said.