by John Bowers
“Yeah?”
“False alarm,” Blake said. “It’s Jason Kline and some cowboys.”
Nick’s heart let off the acceleration and began to slow. He stopped running and swallowed with relief, stepping into the street to wait for the caravan to arrive. A moment later he saw seven hovercars appear out of the grit and glide toward the street. The lead car settled beside him and Jason Kline opened the window. Jason’s eyes were wide with surprise as he saw the mound of rubble on the corner.
“Marshal! What the hell happened to the hotel?”
“KK blew it up,” Nick told him. “Just after you left. Look, things are escalating really fast. I need you to get those women out of town right now. I have reason to believe the KK is on the way to take them back, and we may not have much time.”
Young Kline’s eyes were filled with more questions, but he simply nodded.
“Okay. I brought some extra men, just in case of trouble. I can leave some here if you need them.”
“Just get the women to safety,” Nick told him. “After that, if you have time, come on back and we’ll see. Are your men armed?”
“Always.”
“Good. I told Dr. Taylor to get the girls into the basement, so you may have to get her attention. Get them out of here, scatter them to the winds. Tell the girls we’ll come back for them later and see about returning them to their families.”
With a final nod, Jason Kline closed his window and led his convoy to the corner, making a right turn toward Dr. Taylor’s residence. Nick watched them go, and when the last car had turned the corner, he felt a little weight lift off his shoulders. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about the safety of those girls for awhile. If and when the KK did show up, they wouldn’t find what they were looking for.
An hour crawled by. Nick traversed Main Street four times, walking from one end of town to the other. His radio headset remained silent. The wind blew ever harder, dust collected on his shirt and filtered through to his skin. He felt gritty and miserable, but none of it mattered. The big question in his mind was the KK—what were they up to? He’d been absolutely certain they were on their way, but maybe he’d been wrong. He began to second-guess himself. Had the warning been merely a threat instead of a harbinger of imminent attack? Tatum had said it was his “final warning”, but what did that really mean? Was it the final warning, or just the final warning before the final appeal to release the women to the KK?
Or was the KK fighting a war of nerves, stringing him along until he was exhausted, unable to think, and vulnerable to an attack at his weakest moment?
He didn’t know. He called Marshal Colwell and filled him in on recent developments. Colwell was too far away to help, but in the event this ended badly, he would be able to file an accurate report of what led up to it. Nick checked in with Blake and Nathan, but since Jason Kline’s arrival, nothing had approached Kline Corners from any direction. Jason had successfully left town with the girls, so that was something.
But Nick couldn’t escape the belief that the town itself was in mortal danger.
The only question was…when would it come?
He stepped inside the Vega a few minutes after eight. The place was deserted. He rounded the bar and poured himself a cup of coffee. It was old and black, but it was hot and the caffeine reenergized his blood. He was about to leave when Suzanne came through the door from the kitchen, laser rifle in hand.
“You were supposed to be in the basement,” he said.
She made a face. “I heard you come in. Anything new?”
He shook his head grimly. “I may have misjudged this thing, but it’s too soon to tell.”
“I think you judged it right. The timing may be a little off, that’s all.”
He heaved a deep sigh.
“I just wish they’d come and get it over with. However it turns out, I’d rather have it done with.”
She took his shoulders and turned him to face her. She brushed dust off his shirt, then seized his head in both hands and kissed him hungrily.
“I’m much too old for you,” she said, “but I needed that.”
“So did I,” he grinned.
“When this is over, I’m going to fuck your brains out.”
“You already did.”
She pretended to inspect his head, first one side, then the other. She shook her lovely head.
“No, I missed one or two. I can’t leave the job half done.”
“How’s Mr. Kline doing?”
“He’ll be all right. He’s still in mourning.”
“I had no idea Judy Norris was his daughter.”
“Not many people do.”
“So her name was really Kline?”
“No. Her mother was Evelyn Norris. Evelyn’s husband was killed in a farming accident. They didn’t have any children, but she had nowhere to go, so Mr. Kline let her live on the ranch and paid her a pension for her husband’s death. After his wife died he started sleeping with her, and Judy was the result.”
“Roy Blake told me that Kline set her up in the hotel to do business.”
Suzanne nodded. “Judy was always a little wild. After her mother died, she was sleeping with every man she could seduce. That was causing problems around the ranch, and Mr. Kline couldn’t control her, so he did the next best thing. He told her to stay in town and be nice to the men who came to see her, but to stop pursuing married men. It more or less worked.”
Nick shook his head sadly. “He really loved her.”
“Yes, he did. Now he only has one daughter left.”
Nick frowned slightly. He’d never heard anyone mention that Willard Kline had any daughters at all. Now he had two? He realized Suzanne was staring intently at him, and slowly it dawned on him. He felt a tingle in his scalp.
“Kristina?” he gasped.
Suzanne’s gaze didn’t waver. “You’ve been dying to know,” she told him. “Haven’t you?”
“Well—I’ve been curious, but—it wasn’t really any of my business.”
“No, it wasn’t. But it isn’t something I’m ashamed of, so you might as well know. Everyone else does.”
“Kristina too?”
“Of course Kristina too. You don’t think I would keep her in the dark about her father, do you?”
Nick stood there another moment. His mind really should be on the KK, but this was hard to ignore. Inevitably, he did the math.
“You were seventeen when Kristina was born.”
“That’s right.” Suzanne’s gaze didn’t falter.
“So…when you got pregnant, you were—”
“Sixteen. The statute of limitations has run out, Nick. You don’t have a case. Yes, it was statutory rape, but it was one hundred percent consensual.”
“Willard Kline took advantage of you!”
“Willard Kline saved my life. And he saved the Vega. I owe him everything.”
“But he took advantage of you!”
She placed a hand against his cheek, reached up and kissed him.
“No, Nick, he didn’t. He was a perfect gentleman.”
“But—Kristina…”
“I crawled into his bed, Nick. Not the other way around.”
It had been a long day. It promised to be a longer “night”. Nick was already numb from events, and this information left him speechless. It really was none of his business, yet he felt as if it was. But his mind had ground to a halt. He was still searching for something to say when his radio sounded.
“Nick Walker.”
“Marshal, this is Nathan Green. Something just landed at the shuttleport. Something big.”
“Did you see it?”
“I didn’t see anything. I didn’t even hear it. But the radar picked it up, coming in from the north, and then it disappeared exactly six miles north of here. It has to be the shuttleport.”
“Okay, I’m on my way.”
He disconnected and pushed Suzanne toward the kitchen.
“Back in the basement,” he said
. “They’re here!”
Chapter 28
“The best-laid battle plans are only good until the shooting starts.”
—Professor Milligan, U.F. Marshal Academy
“Where are you, Nathan?”
“I’m parked by the fuel pumps just north of the garage.”
“Okay, I’m headed your way. Keep out of sight until I get there. Anything else on the radar?”
“Not yet. Whatever landed is still there, because I would have seen it leave.”
Nick walked rapidly to the corner and turned left. Dennis Green had closed the garage, but the doors were still open. Nick tried to anticipate the next move—the airstrip was six miles away—if the KK had landed, they would need transportation to get into town. Nathan had said that whatever landed was big, so maybe they had landed a transport large enough to carry vehicles. It seemed a terribly expensive move on their part, considering that the women they were after would bring no more than a quarter million sirios on the open market, but maybe it was a matter of principle for them. Maybe they wanted to make an example of Kline Corners as an object lesson for the rest of the planet…
And maybe he was thinking too much. What the hell did it matter right this moment? Nick needed to keep his wits if he wanted to stop them, and leave the philosophizing for later.
He spotted the fuel pumps just ahead and trotted toward them. Nathan’s car was sitting beside the road, facing north; Nathan was in the front seat, the clamshell open, bending over the radar display. He heard Nick’s footsteps and looked around. He had a laser pistol in his hand.
“What’re you doing with that gun?” Nick asked. “I told you—”
“It’s okay, Marshal. I gave Nathan permission.”
Nick spun toward the voice. Dennis Green emerged from the alley behind the garage, a powerful slug rifle in his hand. His eyes met Nick’s in a steady gaze.
“Are you sure?” Nick asked him. “He’s still a minor.”
“No he isn’t. Not after yesterday.”
Nick blinked. “He told you?”
Green nodded. As if sensing Nick’s discomfort, he put a hand on his shoulder.
“It’s okay, Marshal. He did what he had to do. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”
Nick glanced up the road toward the north. “This is going to be worse,” he said.
“That’s why we’re both here,” Green said. “I don’t know how many are out there, but I got a feeling you won’t be able to handle them alone.”
For a moment Nick was unable to speak. He glanced back at the older man and nodded.
“Thank you.”
“Marshal!” Nathan was bending over the radar sweep again. “Something is coming this way!”
Nick leaned into the car and looked for himself. He saw five or six tiny returns on the circular screen, smaller than any radar signature he’d ever seen.
“What is that?” he whispered.
“I dunno,” Nathan said. “But they’re coming this way.”
“How soon until they get here?”
“I can’t tell for sure, but maybe two or three minutes.”
They watched the dots moving steadily toward them, and as the seconds passed, it became obvious the signatures were spreading out. Two were coming straight toward them, the rest angled toward the other end of town.
“They’re spreading out,” Nick muttered. He keyed his headset. “Roy, are you there?”
“I’m here, Nick.”
“We have visitors coming from the airstrip. They don’t look like cars, but they may be hoversleds. Some are coming in your direction, so be alert.”
“How many?”
“Six altogether. Keep your head down, don’t draw fire if you don’t have to. I may need you in reserve.”
“I got it. Keep me posted.”
Nick disconnected and watched the radar for another minute. Some of the returns were almost to the edge of town, west of him, and they began dropping off the display.
“Nathan, get over to the Vega,” Nick said quietly. “The women are in the basement with Mr. Kline. I want you there in case they need help. Don’t shoot unless absolutely necessary. You got that?”
Nathan glanced at him with wide eyes. Under normal circumstances he might have protested, but Kristina was in the Vega. Nathan nodded and scrambled out of the car, sprinting down the alley behind the garage. Nick watched the radar for another thirty seconds; two radar returns were approaching from directly in front of him, completely occluded by the blowing sand. They stopped suddenly, and one of them disappeared.
Nick shut off the radar and stepped out of the car.
“Take cover,” he told Mr. Green. “Get away from the fuel pumps.”
Green shrank back into the alley and crouched behind a solid steel turbine cover. He jacked a bullet into his rifle. Nick moved behind Nathan’s car and waited, peering into the dust storm. His heart pounded and his nerves sang. Whoever was out there was about to make an appearance, and one way or the other, the crisis was about to be settled.
* * *
Willard Kline sat on the floor in the basement of the Vega with his head resting against a wall. Eyes closed, he appeared to be asleep, or perhaps unconscious. Maria Escobar, the cook, sat nearby, hands across her lap, her eyes nervously watching the ceiling, as if it might come crashing down at any second. Kristina sat next to her, hands clasped and knuckles white as she whispered an urgent prayer to her goddess. Suzanne Norgaard stood near the steps leading up to the kitchen, Nick’s laser rifle in her hands.
It had been quiet for ten minutes, ever since Nick left. The wind still howled outside, and would continue for a couple more hours, until the planet rotated far enough for the atmosphere to stabilize after the setting of Sirius A. The wind was the worst part of Sirian Summer, she thought—the heat was hellish enough, but it didn’t set your nerves on edge as the wind did. More important right now, of course, was what was happening outside.
Suzanne didn’t seriously believe the KK was any threat to the people inside the Vega, but Nick had been taking no chances, and Suzanne trusted his judgment. If there was the remotest possibility that her daughter might be in danger, she would follow his lead to the end. She had never shot anyone before, or even shot at anybody, but if the wrong person came down those steps with malicious intent, she knew she wouldn’t hesitate.
She almost jumped when she heard the rear door open and rapid footsteps hurry across the floor. Her grip tightened on the rifle and she took aim at the door above the steps. Her heart pounded and her face felt hot—she prayed it wasn’t trouble.
The door slid into its groove and a shadow filled the frame. He was young and tall, and a gun dangled from his hand. For just an instant Suzanne’s heart seemed to stop, then she let her breath out explosively.
“Nathan!”
Nathan Green trotted quickly down the steps, his eyes anxious. Kristina leaped to her feet and rushed toward him, throwing her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder.
“Is everyone okay here?” he asked.
“We’re fine,” Suzanne told him. “What’s happening up there?”
Nathan glanced up the steps toward the door, breathing hard from his dash to get there.
“I don’t know. We saw half a dozen radar returns headed this way, then they started dropping off the scope. Nick sent me over here because they were spreading out, like they’re going to infiltrate the whole town.”
“Do you think they’re coming here?”
“They could be. You need to stay put. I’m going back up and find a spot to ambush them if they do.” He kissed Kristina briefly and pushed her away. “You need to hide, in case they get past me.” He glanced at Suzanne. “All of you.”
Suzanne stared at him a moment, and recognized his strength. He was no longer a boy, she realized—from this crisis, a man had been born.
“You be careful, Nathan!” she whispered.
He met her gaze and saw the intensity in them. He also s
aw respect.
“I’ll be okay.”
A groan and scuffle from the floor made them all turn. Willard Kline struggled to his feet, looking pale, and swayed slightly until he found his balance. He coughed into his fist and cleared his throat, frowning, then focused his eyes on Nathan. No one spoke for a moment, then he stretched a hand toward Suzanne.
“Give me that rifle,” he said in a large but low voice. “I don’t know what’s the matter with me. I’m acting like a w—”
“Don’t say it!” Suzanne snapped. “If you say ‘woman’ I’ll have to slap you.”
She handed him the rifle. Kline took it and stared at her a moment, then grinned tightly.
“Those bastards out there murdered my daughter and here I sit like an invalid, crying over it. I think it’s time I went outside and killed somebody.”
He started for the steps, but Nathan Green gripped his arm.
“Mr. Kline, I think we should stay inside and defend the Vega,” he said. “That’s what Marshal Walker wants and I think we should do that.”
“Bullshit! The best defense is a powerful offense.”
“Yes, sir.” Nathan’s tongue traced across his lips. “That’s a great strategy in most cases, but right now we’re badly outnumbered. We don’t have any idea exactly how many there are or where they are. I think we should stay put until we get a better picture of things, and maybe then we can take the offensive.”
Kline glared at him for ten seconds.
“That’s what you think, is it?” he growled.
Nathan nodded. “Yes, sir. That’s what I think.”
Kline chewed his lip a moment, glanced up at the door, then back at Nathan.
“That’s what I think too,” he said grudgingly. “Why don’t you and I set up a crossfire upstairs. Anybody who tries to get past us is gonna get fried!”
Nathan smiled fleetingly and nodded.
“That sounds like a perfect plan,” he said.
* * *
As Nick watched with racing pulse and narrowed eyes, six figures materialized out of the swirling dust, walking side by side down the middle of the road. He couldn’t make them out yet, just silhouettes in the gloom, but for a fleeting instant he thought of the gunslingers in the final scene of the latest Yancy West vid. But these weren’t gunslingers—at least not in the purest sense of the word—they were KK men, he was absolutely certain. Not sure if he was crazy or just stupid, he stepped out into the middle of the road and faced them, waiting.