“No sign of them, I presume,” the Major said.
“None.”
“That’s no great surprise.” He leaned back, his reflection clearly mirrored in the polished expanse of the empty desk top, and his hands came up to form a fingertip steeple.
“Major, I haven’t had much chance before now to say this, but I’m sorry about your home.”
The older man shrugged. “Houses can be rebuilt.” Then in a musing tone he continued slowly. “In a way, it has value, for it’s revealed a flaw in Eric Lloyd that could prove very helpful to us. Eric is a man of principle and has a rather highly charged sense of fairness.”
“Your wife, you mean?”
“Yes. He could have taken her hostage or even killed her and done me great harm. But he didn’t. If he won’t go for the jugular when he has the chance, that gives us a decided advantage.”
Travis shook his head dubiously. “Maybe.”
To Travis’s surprise, the Major smiled. “Actually, in addition to Eric’s high principles, we have another strong advantage.”
“What?”
“Joe Jensen.”
“Joe Jensen?”
“Yes.”
“Do you mean—”
“Yes. Joe came to me a couple of days ago. He and Rod Loopes are old friends. Rod had called him and offered him a chance to join Eric. Joe played along with them. Said he wanted time to consider it. Then he came directly to me.”
“Well, well, well,” Travis breathed in admiration as he leaned back in his seat.
“I told him to go along with anything up to serious injury of our people. If it comes to that, he’s to get out.”
“And Shirley?”
“Yes. Her too. We figured that having Joe ask her to join him was a natural for Eric to swallow.” He groaned. “I didn’t expect her to send that message over the wrist computers. But on the other hand, I gave her the same instructions as Joe. I suppose it’s worth it. I think Eric has bought their authenticity.”
“Have you heard anything from them?”
“Not yet. It’s still too early. I told them to watch for a chance to use the radio, call in to us when they can. If we could find that base camp…But they are to risk calling only if they can bring us to Eric or if something critical is going to happen. I don’t want the others without him.”
“Well, well, well,” Travis said again, his spirits suddenly soaring.
“I thought you’d be pleased. I think you can understand why I didn’t tell you earlier. I wanted your reaction to be completely natural.”
“Of course.” Travis sat back, unable to believe that the tide had just turned in their favor. “So the Trojan horse is inside the enemy camp.”
“Yes, but the battle isn’t won yet. I—” At that moment, a soft knock came at the door. “Oh good, that’s Dr. Gould now. Come in.”
The short, balding man entered, still clad in the brown suit he had worn at the conference the night before, his face lined with weariness. They exchanged greetings, and, as Dr. Gould sank into the chair with a groan, the Major sat back down. “What did you and Max decide?”
“Yes, he says he can do it. In fact, he brought a unit that will fit inside her wrist computer nicely. We’re ready any time you are.”
Travis started. Her wrist computer? But the Major broke into his thoughts.
“Do you remember Max Grant from our Research and Development Department in Mount Pleasant?” the Major asked.
“Yes.”
“I sent the chopper for him last night. He and Wayne have been working on an idea.”
“Good.”
The Major rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Well, you may not think so when you hear it.”
“Oh? Why not?”
“It has to do with Nicole.”
“Nicole?”
“Yes. First of all, let me say that my hope is that with the help of Joe and Shirley, we can find Eric and put an end to the whole matter. But if not…” He took a deep breath. “Travis, I think Nicole has gone over with them too.”
For a long moment Travis stared back at the Major. “Why do you think so?” he finally said softly.
The Major held up the fingers on one hand and began to tick them off with the index finger of his other. “First her ‘miraculous’ escape. She says she hit Eric over the head and fled, yet she had the presence of mind to take the packhorse, the radio, matches, and so on, so she could signal us for the rescue.”
“Don’t underestimate Nicole’s resourcefulness.”
“I don’t. But the whole thing looks a bit too pat.”
“Then why did she come to the stadium without a uniform? Why did she insist on running to Mount Pleasant to see her aunt? If she was with Eric, she would have come right back to us. Why did she tell me she was going to resign from the Guardians?”
“All excellent questions, and I must admit they threw me too. But number two, why did she suddenly change her mind when she felt so strongly about it? And third, why all of a sudden is she so cooperative, almost eager to please?”
“I—”
But the Major went on, swiftly overriding his answer. “When I called her in after the meeting last night, why did she agree to continue in Central Monitoring during the period of martial law? If she’s so squeamish about what happened to Dr. Cameron, why is she willing to stay on now when we are threatening maximum Punishment Modes all over the place?”
“So she won’t be implanted.”
“Maybe,” the Major agreed. “Yes, that’s a possibility. But I still wonder. I think Eric let her go in the mountains. She wasn’t completely convinced then, but she was wavering. She wanted time to think. After talking to you Saturday night, she finally decided. Or maybe Eric or one of his men finally got to her and convinced her to join them.”
“What do you want to do?” Travis asked.
“Put another Trojan horse inside the gates. Only this time even the horse won’t know it.”
“How?”
“Two things. First, we want an electronic bug on Nicole’s person. If she is teamed up with the rebels, that will be the quickest way to know it.”
Travis took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “And second?”
Dr. Gould leaned forward and turned to look at Travis. “In the early stages of our research, even before Termination, Dr. Denison and I experimented with different kinds of implantations, and—”
“No!” Travis shouted. “No implantation! It will destroy her!”
“Hear him out, Travis,” the Major said gently.
“It was crude by our standards today. We took a tiny radio receiver with two stubby little electrodes and inserted it under the skin at the base of the spinal column. A patient would be put under observation. If he misbehaved, we triggered a signal that pumped an electrical charge into the spinal cord. Intense pain resulted as long as the signal was maintained. But it was very unwieldy and impractical because the person had to be kept under twenty-four-hour observation, and only outward behavioral symptoms could be punished. That’s when we started developing an internal, automatic control system implanted in the brain.”
“There is no automatic punishment response in this system, Travis.” The Major waved his hand. “She won’t even know it’s there. Unless we push the button, she’ll never have any pain.”
“You insert a radio receiver in her back, and she doesn’t even know it?”
“Yes. I’ll explain how in a moment.”
“Why the implantation?” Travis demanded, obviously wavering. “Bugging her wrist computer will lead us to Eric, if—” he paused, his eyes bitter, “—if she’s really with them. So what’s the purpose of implanting her?”
The Major looked away, unable to meet Travis’s demanding stare. “We think something may be developing between Eric and Nicole, Travis. I’m sorry, and I sincerely hope we’re wrong. But if we’re right and somehow he cuts her wrist computer and she slips away to him, the implantation will give us leverage. We’ll have a
hold on Eric. We can trigger intense pain from virtually any distance.”
Travis was silent for almost a full minute, his face drawn. Finally he nodded. “How can you implant her without her knowing it?”
The Major smiled. “We have arranged for a minor accident to happen tomorrow in the Monitoring Room.”
Chapter 31
Clayne Robertson stared at the patches of white on Sarah’s neck as she bent over the stack of blocks to help her younger brother. He looked away angrily.
Adrienne leaned across the table, pushing aside the dishes from the quick dinner she had fixed for him, and put her hand over his. He looked up, his own eyes softening when he saw the moistness in hers. He swung around to face her, covering her slim fingers with his massive palms. “Hi.”
“Hello, big man.”
“I love you.”
The tears welled up and spilled onto her cheeks. “And I love you,” she whispered fiercely.
He started to rise, but she reached out with her other hand to hold his on the table. “Clayne, do you really want them to catch Eric?”
His eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You liked him, didn’t you?”
“Once,” he snapped. “Once I thought he liked me until he blasted me with my own stun gun.”
Adrienne nodded, “He was hardly himself that night.”
Clayne shook his head stubbornly. “Be that as it may, my feelings have nothing to do with it. He’ll be caught, and the Major won’t be as lenient with him as with Clifford Cameron. Eric will be executed.”
“I know,” she whispered, “ and yet what he’s doing is right.”
“Adrienne!”
“Well it is, and you know it.”
“That’s treason talk, and I won’t hear any more of it. The Major is not playing. He’ll stop Eric and anybody who tries to help him. Now that’s enough.”
“What if Eric asked you to join him?”
“Adrienne!” Though he had meant to whisper, his voice was so sharp that both Sarah and Timothy looked up, their eyes wide. Clayne leaned closer to his wife. “Adrienne, I mean it,” he said in a fierce whisper. “No more!”
“I have a right to ask that question, because whether the answer is yes or no, it profoundly affects me and the children. So I want to know, Clayne. What would you do if Eric said, ‘Clayne, come with us’?”
“I’d whip his fool tail into custody so fast he wouldn’t know what hit him.”
“Would you?”
“You’d better believe it. The man’s insane to try this.”
“Is he?”
Clayne leaped to his feet. “Woman, what’s the matter with you tonight? You’re acting as crazy as he is.”
Once more her eyes swam with tears. “You know as well as I do that even if you were to catch Eric tonight, the Major will never remove our implantations. He’s losing his grip on the city, and even killing Eric won’t change that. Not ever. He can’t risk decontrolling us again.”
“That’s not…” His voice trailed off, and he looked away.
“Your children and your wife are very soon going to be just like everyone else in Shalev. Is that what you want?”
He put his hands on the table and leaned forward, his eyes stricken. “Adrienne, the Major implanted you and every other family member of a Guardian officer precisely for this reason. One misstep and he will terminate you or one of the children. There will be no more mercy.”
“I know that.”
“I waited ten years to find you and start a family. I would rather have you and the kids implanted and alive than—” He broke off and shook his head angrily. “No, Adrienne. The risk is too great.”
“Eric has freed almost two dozen people now. Not one has been either punished or caught.”
“Except for Dr. Clifford Cameron.”
“All right. One. And that was only because he stayed behind to cover Eric’s escape. Whole families have been freed, Clayne. Whole families.”
“Not since martial law was imposed,” he countered angrily. “It’s a whole new ball game now, Adrienne. They’ve rigged up the computers so that the moment someone’s wrist computer is cut, it begins an automatic trace on them. Nicole says they can pinpoint the location of removal in under thirty seconds. And Travis has blanketed the city with roving teams of Guardians so they can respond quickly. No, Adrienne,” he finished firmly. “I can’t risk losing either you or one of the kids.”
A figure suddenly stepped out of the hallway that led to the bedrooms, and Clayne shot up out of his chair, sending it crashing to the ground.
“Is that the only thing stopping you?” Eric asked. “The risk?”
“Come in, Eric,” Adrienne said calmly. “As I told you, he isn’t very easy to convince.”
“Eric!” Sarah and Timothy leaped up and threw their arms around his legs.
“Hi, kids.” Eric bent down and swooped them into his arms and swung them around. When he came full circle, he came face to face with the muzzle of Clayne’s stun gun.
“Put them down, Eric.”
Eric smiled. “Hey, big fella, you don’t need that. I came unarmed, and I sure don’t want to tangle with a moose like you.”
“Put them down!”
Eric let them slide down his arms to the floor. “Okay, kids, away you go. Your dad and I need to have a little talk now.”
Adrienne motioned toward the family room. “Okay, you two. It’s time for television. Off you go.”
“But, Mama,” Sarah wailed plaintively.
“Now!” thundered Clayne, causing both children to jump and scamper into the next room. Timothy stopped long enough to peek around the door and give Eric one last wave.
Adrienne stepped directly in front of Eric and stared at her husband. “Clayne, I let him in.”
“You what?”
“About ten minutes before you got home. At least listen to him.”
“Clayne,” Eric said, stepping out from behind Adrienne, “you’re in it now, like it or not. Your wife has committed a treasonable offense by even letting me in the door. So what have you got to lose by listening to me? If I can’t convince you, you can still take me in. Tell the Major you set me up in a trap.”
The muzzle of the weapon lowered slowly, and Eric plunged in. “I find it interesting that in countering Adrienne’s arguments, you only talked about the risk.”
“So?”
“I heard no cries of betrayal, no speeches supporting the Major’s cause, no affirmations of loyalty. Suppose I told you we have eliminated the risks. Then what?”
“Garbage!”
“Not all the risks, of course. You’d be in with us, and until this is over, that means danger. But what if I could guarantee that the Major cannot terminate your family via implantation?”
“Stop the snow job, Eric. You heard what I said about the computers.”
“Clayne,” Eric said softly, “Adrienne and the kids are not implanted.”
Both husband and wife stared at him in stunned surprise.
“They’re not,” Eric continued calmly. “They were operated on, but nothing was inserted. We have a doctor and a nurse sympathetic to our cause who operated on Adrienne and the kids. An incision was made and the implantation was palmed. Then they were simply stitched back up again.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Adrienne, have you felt even one pain response since your operation?”
“No. But I’ve been careful.”
“Have the children?”
“No,” Clayne said. “But there again, we’ve been making a special effort to prepare them.”
“If I can prove to you that they are not implanted, will you join us?”
Clayne shook his head slowly, but Eric eagerly pressed in. “You’re right about the increased risk now. We don’t want to jeopardize people’s lives, so we’ve changed our strategy. We’re planning one swift and final blow, one stroke designed to end it all and put the Major’s littl
e black boxes out of commission for good. Everybody is out of the city now except me and two others. And we’re going tonight. If you come with us, your family will be safe.”
“You can’t get out of the city,” Clayne said firmly. “We’ve doubled the patrols and—”
“We’ve sent six people out in the past two nights.”
“I don’t believe it,” Clayne retorted, but it was obviously more of a startled reaction than an open challenge.
“We need you, Clayne.” Eric’s voice was full of earnest pleading. “We need your courage, we need your leadership, we need your knowledge of Shalev.”
The older man watched Eric steadily, unblinking.
“And besides that,” Eric added softly, “I think a great deal of you and your family. I’d like them to be free and safe from all this. I can’t promise you no more snubs at the country club, but I can promise you that when people treat you right, it won’t be because they’ve been electronically blackmailed into it.”
Clayne finally turned to Adrienne. “And you knew this all along?”
“No. He only asked me to get you to listen to him.”
“You keep forgetting this is the little twerp who blasted me unconscious.”
Eric laughed softly. “The Bible says to turn the other cheek, to pray for them that despitefully use you.”
Clayne looked first at his wife, then at Eric. Then he nodded. “Okay, how can you prove Adrienne isn’t implanted?”
“Hit me, Adrienne.”
“What?”
“Hit me. Slap my face. If you’re implanted, you’ll get an instant response the moment you lift your hand.”
“I—I can’t do that.”
“Let me do it,” Clayne broke in with a wicked grin.
“No way, you moose,” Eric said. “You’re not the one implanted. Come on, Adrienne, do it before he does.”
Still she shrank back.
“Adrienne, hit him! It’ll serve him right for sneaking in here and making a revolutionary of my wife.”
The swiftness of Adrienne’s hand caught both men by surprise, and the sharp sound of palm against cheek cracked like a rifle shot. Instantly she grabbed Eric’s arm. “Oh, Eric, I’m sorry! Are you all right?”
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