Too Close to the Sun (The Sun 1) (11 page)

Running to the transport, she found the mechanism to open the back doors. They opened easily. Unsure if there would be a way to close them from the inside, she didn't waste time looking for one. Instead, she used the same external mechanism to close them, diving between the doors into the back of the transport before they could fully shut.

"I'm inside the transport," she whispered to Romanof as she looked around. It was more spacious than she'd expected considering the back was filled with four gurneys, each with a nude body lying on top.

She moved between them, trying not to think that each one had once been a living, breathing person. Reaching Romanof's side, she was momentarily distracted. Up close, he was even more impressive than he'd been up on stage. How was it that this man had gone so long without getting married, she wondered? Then it occurred to her that just because it hadn't come up in conversation didn't mean he wasn't.

Angel mentally shook herself. Romanof's marital status was none of her concern. Once this job was over, she'd never see him again.

"I'm going to start the transfer," she told him, her fingers reaching out to lightly touch his shoulder as if he was capable of sensing the comfort or reassurance she was trying to offer. With a quick glance out the back window to make sure the Harvesters weren't returning, she reached into her pocket for the disc.

"Be careful," Romanof hissed in her ear.

"Quiet," she snapped, needing to focus on what she was doing. Yanur had made her recite his instructions over and over until she thought she could recite them in her sleep. At the time, she'd found it irritating, but now was grateful.

Placing the disc on Romanof's forehead, she reached for the ampule hanging from her neck. About to pull it off, she stopped, hearing the sound of voices.

Glancing out the back window, she saw two Harvesters walking toward the shuttle.

"Damn it. They're coming back," she told Romanof.

"Get out of there," he ordered her.

Right. Snatching the disc, she shoved it into her pocket as she looked around. The Harvesters were close enough now that if she tried to escape, they'd surely see her. So she needed to find someplace to hide inside the transport.

Her gaze fell on the large bin in the corner, half concealed by the long white Harvester robes hanging along the back wall of the transport. Looking inside, Angel found the bin full of clothes, but not the same white robes as hanging above it. These were off-planet clothes and she wondered if they belonged to the donors.

She didn't like the idea of hiding under a pile of dead people's clothes, but it wasn't like she had options. Holding the side of the bin, she climbed into it. Burrowing beneath the clothes was easier in concept than in practice, but she managed to get far enough down that with the clothes piled on top of her, she was completely hidden. At least, she hoped she was.

She soon caught the muffled noise of the front transport doors opening and closing. Then she felt the vibrations of the engine as it roared to life.

Angel settled into as comfortable a position as was possible squatting in the bin but all too soon, her leg muscles began to ache. The bin was too small to provide any room to shift her position so there was nothing she could do but grit her teeth and hope the trip ended soon.

After what seemed like forever, she felt the transport rattle to a stop. The engines shut down and in the resulting silence, Angel heard the sound of the transport doors opening.

By now, her legs had grown numb. If the Harvesters discovered her in the bin, she doubted there was anything she could do to defend herself and she hated feeling so helpless.

The back transport doors opened and Angel heard the sound of the Harvesters walking up the ramp. She held her breath, praying they'd unload the bodies first.

She nearly wept with relief when she caught the sound of a gurney being moved out of the transport. She waited until the sound faded before cautiously peeking out.

The drivers were gone. But so was Romanof’s body!

A ramp now extended down from the transport and ran several meters before ending near the entrance to a building, the door to which was in the process of closing, leaving her little doubt as to where the Harvesters had gone.

Damn. It wasn't like she could just walk in after them.

Climbing from the bin, she stuffed the displaced clothing back inside. That's when her gaze fell on the white robes hanging above the bin. Maybe she
could
walk right in.

A quick glance out the back of the transport told her she was still alone. Taking down a robe, she slipped it on, doing her best not to think about who last wore it, and pulled the hood over her head. The Harvesters' habit of hiding their faces would work to her advantage.

Seeing past the fabric folds hanging in front of her wasn’t as bad as she’d thought and the loose weave of the material allowed her freedom of movement. This idea might work out better than she’d hoped.

“You there,” a man’s voice boomed out, speaking in standard Terran and startling her. "Help me with these bodies."

Angel whirled around to face the robed figure who'd just come through the door and was walking up the ramp toward her. He stopped just outside the transport and she heard him draw a quick breath.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Haun,” he hurried to apologize. “I didn’t know it was you. I'm Tech Dos'tre,” he added, gesturing to the off-white lettering across the front of his robe. Angel assumed there was similar lettering on the robe she was wearing, but didn't want to be obvious and look.

"I'm sorry again," the man continued, obviously misinterpreting her silence as a sign of displeasure. "I thought Central sent someone to help us with the bodies. We're behind schedule and short a man."

Was that opportunity she heard knocking? Think how much time would be saved searching for Romanof’s body if someone led her to it.

“I’ll help,” Angel offered, keeping her voice pitched low. She had no idea if Dr. Haun was male or female.

“No, really doctor. That's not necessary. I'm sure the other man will be here shortly.” The man sounded surprised she would offer.

"I insist," she said, keeping her tone short. "Unless you'd rather we fall further behind schedule."

"No, of course not."

He moved quickly to the nearest gurney, pulling it forward while Angel moved to the other end. Pushing it down the ramp, they went through the door and started down a cold, dark hallway.

Doors lined both sides, but they walked past them, stopping only when they reached the lift at the end. When the doors opened, they wheeled the gurney inside and Angel waited while the tech entered a command on a control panel. If he found her continued silence odd, he gave no indication of it.

Romanof was maintaining radio silence but she knew he was listening to everything going on.

When the lift doors opened on the lower level, she helped push the gurney off and they continued walking down another, equally dark hallway past more closed doors labeled with signs in a language Angel couldn’t read.

At the seventh door, Tech Dos'tre pulled the gurney to a stop.

“In here,” he said, backing into the door so it swung open and pulling the gurney in after him.

Angel nearly tripped over her own feet as she got her first look at the room. It looked like a morgue, filled with rows of donor bodies stretched out on gurneys. Some of them were hooked to IVs, which Angel assumed was how the Harvesters kept the bodies nourished. Countertops running along the side walls displayed various pieces of laboratory equipment. The tech steered the gurney through the door at the far end of the room which took them into another room filled with donors and, to Angel's great relief, Romanof’s body was one of them.

Before she could think what to do about it, the tech had steered their gurney to a spot at the far end of the room. Then he started back to the door, stopping when Angel didn't immediately follow after him.

"Dr. Haun? Is something wrong?"

"No. I'm coming.”

She went reluctantly out into the hallway and back to the lift, the tech walking by her side.

“You’re nothing like I expected,” he said as they rode up the lift. “I’d heard about you.” He laughed and it sounded self-conscious. “Who hasn’t heard about you? You’re the whole reason Operation Rebirth is possible. And here you are helping me unload donors. Who’s going to believe this?”

Who indeed, Angel wondered as she returned to the transport and helped him move another donor body into the building. Certainly not Romanof, who’d finally broken his silence and was setting up a low-level buzz in her ear, telling her to stop “playing around.”

Fortunately, the Harvester didn’t seem to notice the noise. They pushed the second donor along the same path they’d taken the first. About to return once more to the transport for the last body, the door to the room suddenly opened and two robed figures appeared pushing it between them.

“Pieta seems anxious about this group of donors,” one of the men was saying as he backed into the room, pulling the gurney after him. “You know what he’s like when he’s this way.”

“You’d think someone had just told him that he was headed for re-cycle, not re-birth," the other man agreed. Upon noticing Angel and Dos'tre standing there, he paused to stare at them. "Dr. Haun!” He pulled the gurney to a halt. “What are you doing here?”

Unsure how to answer, Angel kept quiet allowing Dos'tre to answer for her.

“Dr. Haun helped me unload the donors.”

“He what?” The first one asked, answering one of Angel's questions. Dr. Haun was male. "Dr. Haun, I must apologize for such an imposition." He turned to the tech. "I will deal with you later."

All three figures turned to her, expecting her to say something. The real Dr. Haun was obviously an important figure. What reason would someone like that have to be down here? “It served my purpose to assist the tech," she replied. "I wished to inspect the new arrivals as soon as possible."

Angel found herself holding her breath, hoping they accepted her explanation. They didn't.

“Let’s not mince words,” the second man said, speaking carefully. “I know why you’re here. I have already explained to Pieta about the mix-up with the tags. I’ve been forced to re-cycle several of my workers and with a shrinking pool to pull from, well, there are going to be mistakes. But I assure you, everything is under control once again and there’s no need for you to trouble yourself. I’m sure you have more important things to attend to. Please don't let us keep you.”

With three of them to one of her, she was not really in a position to argue.

"They're afraid of you," Romanof buzzed in her ear. "Use it to your advantage. Strike them now before they can anticipate it."

"Stop telling me what to do!" She bit out, too distracted by Romanof's incessant buzzing in her ear to realize she'd spoken out loud.

The three Harvesters visibly stiffened as they each took a step back.

Wonderful, Angel thought. Now they knew she wasn't one of them. She started to reach for her laser only to stop when she remembered it was lying in the planter back at the control tower. Hand-to-hand combat, then. Not her forte, but against men in robes - maybe she had a chance.

"My apologies, Dr. Haun," the man who'd just suggested she leave said. Angel could hear a new tension in his tone. "I meant no offense. Of course, you're welcome to stay. I only meant to reassure you that I have everything under control."

She dipped her head in acknowledgement. "I understand you have a job to do - as do I,” she replied. “We’ve already sent more workers than we can afford to re-cycle. It would be a shame to lose another. I'm here to examine the new arrivals but as I'm sure you have someplace you need to be, I won't keep you any longer.”

“Thank you, Dr. Haun,” mumbled the Harvester she’d originally helped as he backed out of the room. There was a muttered “your forgiveness” from the second Harvester as he did the same. Angel smiled at their submissive acceptance of her words, knowing the hood hid her expression. She turned to the remaining Harvester.

“Don’t say anything,” Romanof instructed. “Make him break the silence first.”

Leave it to Romanof to know all the power plays, Angel thought, but she did as he said and waited. It seemed to take forever, but finally the Harvester shrugged.

“Your forgiveness, Dr. Haun. Perhaps I may be of service?”

“I do not require your assistance - but thank you.” She thought he might argue with her, but then she saw his head dip in a nod.

“Very well. If you’ll excuse me, I have a job to finish.” He left the room and Angel relaxed a little.