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Everyone looked at each other. "She's still- " "She's with
Needleton- "
"It would help to know her weight," Hudson said. "Harry, go
ask."
"Well, all right- " Harry walked across the square from the
hangar to the engineering building, and stood on the porch outside
the closed door to the Operations Planning Room.
He stood there a while, then came back. "Actually, you won't
be very far off if you say a hundred and fifty pounds."
Gary Hudson activated the speaker system. It wouldn't matter now,
voices wouldn't add to the noise of the turbo expander. "MINUS
EIGHTY MINUTES AND COUNTING," the computer said. Damn, it
feels good to hear that again!
The door to the Operations Planning Room opened, and Lee
Arteria came out wearing the silk kimono that Hudson kept in the
shower in his office suite. "Yours, Hudson? I like your taste," she
said. "But someone seems to have moved my clothes."
"Next room. You won't need all the weapons, you know."
"I don't need any, do I?"
Hudson frowned. "Not by me. But I haven't told them upstairs
about the change in the passenger list. Not too late to rethink it."
"Nothing to rethink. This career's over."
"So you run away. What do you think you'll do up there?"
She shook her head. "I'm not useless you know. I have an
engineering degree. Air Force ROTC. I wanted to work in the space
program. I g of my commission, but they didn't need engineers,
and they did need police investigators. I was good at that, but I can
learn anything." She smiled slightly, a thin, wistful smile. "I can
make babies. My biological clock is going tick, tick, brrinnggg!"
"OK, you convinced me. I gather you already convinced Dr.
Needleton."
"Let's say he's no longer objecting."
***
"All right, the hour's up. Where is she?" Moorkith demanded.
Colonel Murphy looked embarrassed. "She ordered the
helicopter to meet her at an area above Cajon Pass, but the place
was empty when they got there. We're searching the area."
"Searching the area."
"Yes, Mr. Moorkith. She may be hurt, or taken prisoner."
"I don't believe one word of that," Moorkith said. "And neither
do you. She's gone over. Helping them! That's what's happened.
Now, Colonel, unless you want to explain all this to the Secretary of
Defense, you will cooperate with me."
"What do you want me to do?"
"I want you to think! What could have persuaded her to help
the Angels? She must know they'd be caught."
Lieutenant Billings had been listening quietly. Now he drew in
his breath sharply.
Moorkith looked at him. "Well, Lieutenant?"
"Nothing, sir. Just a thought."
"Out with it," Moorkith said.
Billings shook his head. "Sir, it was nothing- "
"Tell us," Colonel Murphy said.
"Maybe they won't get caught, sir."
Murphy frowned. "Billings, there's no way! There's no place in
this country, on this continent- oh.
"What in hell are you talking about, Colonel?" Moorkith
demanded.
"Nothing, sir."
"God damn you people! You know something, you know
something- " He stopped and looked thoughtful. "So. Not on this
continent. Not on this planet, right? They have a way to get back to
orbit, don't they? What is it? Where?"
"No place," Murphy said. "It's silly."
"Silly or not, Colonel, this is a direct order from me acting with
the authority of the National Security Council: how might they get
those Angels back into orbit?"
Murphy and Billings looked at each other helplessly. Finally
Murphy said, slowly, "Phoenix."
"There's a rocket ship in Phoenix?"
***
"MINUS FIFTY MINUTES AND COUNTING. TAKE YOUR LAUNCH
STATIONS. CLEAR THE BASE AREA. CLEAR THE BASE AREA."
Bob Needleton was buttoning his shirt as he came out of the
Ops Planning Room. Everyone carefully looked away as he came out
onto the porch. "Where is she?" he asked.
"Getting aboard," Harry said. "Uh- you're not going to make
trouble?"
"Huh? No. She goes. I'll be staying here to fight the danelaw."
He went down to the Phoenix hangar. The roof was open now,
open to the stars burning brightly in the high desert. The moon
was just going down, and there was the faintest tinge of dawn to
the east, but straight above was cold and dark and clear.
Sherrine and Arteria were climbing up the scaffolding. Hudson
and Alex stood at the top, sixty feet above.
"Go with God," Gordon shouted.
"Yo!"
Bob Needleton waved. "Good-bye, Sherrine. Captain Arteria . .
. Lee. Name them after the kids in Doc Smith's Children of the
Lens. Guys, I'm hungry."
"There's food left over," Harry said. "Look we've all got our
escape assignments. You're to go in Lee's car. They thought that
would be appropriate. If you're- Sandy here will drive, he knows
the area."
Hudson got into the ship.
"CLEAR THE BASE AREA."
"Guess that's it, then," Bob Needleton said. "Seems like an- I
guess it's over. From the Ice to the Desert." He stood at the door
to the hangar, reluctant to leave, until Harry pulled him away.
They reached the car. Sandy Sanders was already in the
driver's seat.
Wheep! Wheep!
The fax machine startled them.
CAPTAIN LEE ARTERIA THIS IS COLONEL ANTHONY MURPHY.
OFFICIAL. MISTER JHERI MOORKITH WITH AUTHORITY OF THE
NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL HAS ASSUMED COMMAND OF
OPERATION FALLEN ANGEL. HE HAS DECIDED THAT THERE WILL
BE AN ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE OUR JURISDICTION BY ILLEGAL
LAUNCH OF A USAF EXPERIMENTAL SHIP CALLED PHOENIX AT
PRESENT HELD IN A USAF MUSEUM AT EDWARDS AIR FORCE
BASE. YOU ARE HEREBY ORDERED TO DO ALL IN YOUR POWER
TO PREVENT THE LAUNCH OF THE PHOENIX ROCKET. FYI
MOORKITH LEFT HERE TEN MINUTES AGO WITH LIEUTENANT
BILLINGS IN YOUR HELICOPTER, DESTINATION EDWARDS AIR
FORCE BASE, REPEAT, DESTINATION EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE.
"Holy shit," Needleton said. "How do we tell Hudson?"
"Cissy and Gordon are still in the blockhouse," Harry said. He
looked at his watch. "I think they are."
"Harry, run this over," Bob said. "Have him read it to Hudson."
"Then what?" Sandy asked.
"Then nothing," Harry said. "Hudson ordered us not to fight,
and it don't matter anyway. We can't fight a chopper. Can't even
mess up the landing areas, there are too many up here. Get Bob
out of here, Sandy."
Sandy looked to Needleton. Bob nodded. "Let's go," he said.
"Who knows, if enough of us run away, maybe they'll chase us.
Let's go."
Miller read the fax and shook his head. "I've got a bad feeling about
this- " He punched the intercom button. "Phoenix, we have a
problem." He read the fax.
There was a long pause.
"Okay, we got it," Hudson said. "Not that there's much we can
do. We wait. Know any prayers?"
"Edwards," Lee Arteria said. "Moorkith said Edwards, so that's
where they're taking him! I know Murphy, if they were coming to
Thunder Ridge he'd have said Thunder Ridge. I think we're going to
make it!"
"Cutting it damned close," Hudson said. "Miller, get your [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]