Brought up in a society where – apart from the role of guard-mother – men and women enjoyed absolute equality (the Federation, for example, took no account of gender differences in its provision of communal toilets and wash-rooms) Steve was not used to having a female adopt a subservient domestic role.
At first, it had caused him some embarrassment, but the primitive life-style of the Mutes brought with it a host of chores that, given his Tracker upbringing, he would have preferred to do without. In the Federation, where everything was highly organized, heating came through ducts, hot food was constantly available, water was on tap, and the only life-forms moving under the bedclothes had two legs.
Out here, on the overground, the basic necessities had to be thought about every day. And that included choosing a spot to make your bowel movements. Apart from the last item, Night-Fever took care of everything. Steve couldn’t figure out why, but he admired her dedication and showed his appreciation in every way except in the one area that might have left Night-Fever feeling totally fulfilled.
‘Cadillac asks if you will speak with him.’
‘Is he alone?’
‘Yes.’
‘Tell him I’ll be right out.’
Having heard about their last angry exchange at which knives were almost drawn, Night-Fever planted herself outside the door-flap. Anyone exiting from the low huts had to bend double, or drop to their hands and knees – making it difficult for that brief moment to defend themselves from an angry caller. Such attacks were rare but they were not unknown.
On this occasion, Steve did not require the protection offered by her muscular knife-arm. Cadillac, who was no stranger to Mute body-language – had taken several diplomatic paces backwards and, as Steve emerged, he raised his hands, placing both palms together then opening them towards his rival – the open-handed greeting that was a sign of peace.
Steve stepped towards him and exchanged the ritual grips and hand-slaps used by warriors.
‘I may have misjudged you,’said Cadillac, with what appeared to be genuine regret.
Steve responded with an understanding smile. ‘I have a feeling both of us said things we didn’t mean.’
‘Can we talk?’
‘Sure. Come on in …’
Night-Fever held the door-flap open for them. ‘Shall I prepare food?’
Steve questioned Cadillac with his eyes then said: ‘No. Go to your sisters by the fire-circle and wait for my call.’
Night-Fever nodded obediently, her face glowing in response to the brief smile he gave her as their eyes met. Amazing, thought Steve – how some people react to even the slightest hint of kindness or affection. If she had a tail, she’d be wagging it – just like Baz. The memory of the wolf cub’s sudden end in Malone’s hands flashed through Steve’s mind, leaving a trail of bitterness in its wake.
Seated on talking mats inside the hut, Steve watched Cadillac stare at the flame in the firestone – and waited. With his eyes still averted, Cadillac said: ‘You’re right. I am scared they won’t follow me.’
‘You shouldn’t be. You heard what Awesome-Wells told the clan gathering. The Old One named you as his successor and called upon them to heed your words. He’s a tough act to follow, but we should do as he said and go for it.’
Cadillac faced up to Steve. ‘I know! But it’s not as simple as that!’
‘Who said it was going to be simple!’
‘Brickman, just for once, keep quiet and listen to me. And remember I know everything you’ve ever learnt about wagon-trains. Neither you nor I know what Malone and that bunch of killers on board Red River are cooking up. And from what you’ve said so far, your kin-sister doesn’t have much of a clue either.
‘Maybe she can use this new power she has to help us but it’s virtually untried. These hallucinations for instance – can she apply them selectively? It’s not going to be much use if the good guys and bad guys end up sharing the same nightmare.’
Steve shrugged. ‘I don’t think even she knows exactly what she’s capable of.’
‘Which places another question mark over the operation when what we need are answers.’ He raised his hands to cut off Steve’s reply. ‘Okay, okay, maybe she will be able to help. What you haven’t faced up to is the sheer size of the problem. The actual physical dimensions of the wagon-train itself, the number of people on board and its weapon-systems – especially its defences.’
‘You mean the steam jets …’
‘And the rest. Malone thought he was talking to an idiot but here’s the plan he sold me. A hundred of us – fifty renegades and fifty Mutes, including you, Mr Snow and myself – dressed up in the Trail-Blazer uniforms we captured, are going to pose as this signals outfit being pursued by a large posse of Mutes –’
‘Is Malone going to be handling the radio traffic?’
‘Yehh … Here’s the picture. As the light starts to fade, he puts out a May-Day and we move in towards Red River –’
‘Who drops a ramp …’
Cadillac’s lips tightened. ‘Brickman – am I telling you this story, or are you telling me?’
‘Sorry, go on …’
‘The wagon-train lays down covering fire. The pursuing Mutes fall back and fade into the bush. We go up the ramp – and all of us are wearing a coloured armband so we’ll know who’s who – then, when we get to the top, we split into three groups. One will hold the ramp and the immediate area around it on the lower floor, the other two will go up onto the middle and top floors and start blasting their way through to the front and rear of the train.
‘Malone is going to override the ramp controls so that it stays down and deactivate the operating system that feeds steam to the jets under the wagons –’
‘And Mr Snow?’
‘We’d left that open. I told Malone he would do whatever was appropriate in the circumstances. He obviously wasn’t going to produce a storm inside the train –’
‘Wouldn’t be a bad idea …’
‘Perhaps not. But since he’s dead he can’t help us. Are you going to allow me to continue or not?’
‘I’m all ears.’
‘The immediate objective is to seize two complete wagons – so we can drop a second ramp – and get through the doors into those beyond.
‘As soon as this is achieved, a group will go out through the top hatches onto the roof and release green flares – the signal which will bring the rest of the clan out of hiding and onto the train. With the steam jets deactivated, they’ll come screaming up the ramps and …’
‘Goodbye Red River …’
‘That’s what Malone would like us to think,’ said Cadillac. ‘Spot the deliberate mistake.’
‘Mmmm, well, apart from the basic problem of how a force of one hundred men – fifty of whom are operating in a totally alien environment – can overcome a whole battalion –’
‘No, that’s obvious. That’s why we needed the Old One.’
‘Now you’re interrupting me!’ cried Steve.
Cadillac motioned him to continue.
‘There are two major flaws in the plan. Malone can override the ramp controls and hold it down. That’s a standard EOP. So is the steam-jet cut-off. But that’s automatic. The jets under the closed wagons can still be used to pipe steam if needed but whenever a ramp goes down the jets under that wagon are deactivated. Otherwise things could get kinda messy.
‘There’s a cut-off button on a panel at the top of the ramp on each side. Its main function is to reassure the dog-soldiers waiting to go into action. When the ramp-master gets the green, he hits the “STEAM OFF” button and it lights up to confirm that the jets under that wagon are off line.
‘That’s all fine as far as it goes. But you’ve got problems on the roof. You can get onto it – provided you can operate the emergency hatches – but your people won’t be up there long. The front and rear command cars have dorsal turrets with six-barrelled 20 milimetre Vulcan cannon covering the roof from both ends. You won’t be able to
knock them out unless you get into both command cars – and we aint gonna do that with a hundred men split three ways. We’re already outnumbered ten to one. We don’t have enough men to hold all three floors and every stairwell. They’ll just fall back and come round behind us.’
‘Precisely. And the other deliberate mistake?’
Steve laughed. ‘What is this – some kind of a test?’
‘Just answer the question, Brickman.’
‘Even if we got onto the train, took the two wagons and lowered a second ramp and had Mr Snow helping us we still couldn’t capture Red River.’
‘Why?’
‘Because both ends of the wagon-train can operate independently! All the wagon-master has to do is to activate the door seals on either side of the wagons we’re in, uncouple the front and rear sections of the train and roll ’em away. We’d be left trapped like fish in a barrel!’
‘So for us to have even an outside chance, both command cars have to be immobilized first …’
‘Yeah. But you won’t flatten one of those tyres with a cross-bow bolt or a rifle bullet.’
‘I know that.’
‘There’s another problem. Even if you immobilised the train, knocked out the dorsal turrets and held the two wagons long enough to get onto the roof and give the green light, how are the rest of the clan going to get aboard? All the side turrets will still be working – and presumably the steam-jets. The M’Calls’ll be chopped to pieces on the way in!’
‘But it’s getting dark.’
‘The gunners have infra-red sights! And your people’ll be funnelling in towards those two ramps.’
‘The guns … are they all air-powered weapons?’
‘No. The 20 and 40 millimetre Vulcan cannons use what we call caseless ammunition. An explosive charge in a closed breech drives the shell up the barrel. Like a rocket only different.’
‘But they’re power-operated turrets …’
‘Yeah, they use electric motors to traverse –’
‘And the six-barrels that spin round …’
‘They’re driven by an electric motor.’
‘So if there was no electricity they couldn’t fire …’
‘That’s right.’
‘I see … So if we were to immobilize the command cars to prevent the train from splitting up and cut the steam lines and the power as we go up the first ramp, we’ve got a fighting chance.’
‘A slim one,’ conceded Steve. He laughed. ‘I thought you were trying to find reasons for not attacking the train.’
Cadillac gestured wearily. ‘I knew it couldn’t be as simple as Malone made out. I wanted to hear you say it.’
‘So it was a test! Goddammit, Caddy! What more do I have to do to prove I’m on your side?!’
‘I don’t know. Despite everything you’ve done there’s … something about you that doesn’t hang together.’
‘What is it, for crissakes?!’
‘Well, I know I’m a wordsmith but it’s hard to describe. At times it’s almost as if you were two people. One of you seems to be trying to help us and the other one’s working for the Federation.’
‘Pretending to work for the Federation.’
‘That’s what I call the good side. I think the other side wants to. On the other hand I could be letting personal feelings cloud my judgement.’ Cadillac shrugged. ‘Time will tell.’
‘If we’re gonna get our act together it’d better be sooner than later,’ snapped Steve. ‘Cos I’m getting mightily pissed off with all this character analysis shit! If you don’t want to attack Red River tell me now and we can cut out all this frigging around! Malone can tell Mother we couldn’t swing it. I’ll do what I suggested earlier – go back into the Federation with Clearwater and Roz and try and get them out some other way.’
‘I’m not saying I don’t want to attack Red River –’
‘Then what the fuck are you saying?!’
Cadillac became equally irritated. ‘Don’t get snotty with me, Brickman! You’re on my turf! One word from me and you’ll be pitched out – not on your ear, but minus both of them and with your balls stuffed in that big mouth of yours! Getting Clearwater off that wagon-train would be a high-risk operation even if the Old One was here to help us. Without him it’s more like a suicide mission!
‘Before I ask my people to make that kind of sacrifice – and there’s no guarantee they’ll follow me – I have to know what we’re up against. You’ve confirmed the flaws I spotted in Malone’s plan but that whole scheme was only to keep us happy – a bunch of stupid lump-heads. That’s not good enough. We have to find out what the real plan is. Because you and I both know that none of the people letting off green flares on the roof of that wagon-train are gonna be from the Clan M’Call!’
‘Sure. Even I’d figured that out.’
‘The six weeks you asked for expired two weeks ago. So the reception committee on board Red River have had time to rehearse their drills.’
‘Yeah, but…’ Steve clawed air to express his frustration. ‘That was all put together after I left to rejoin you and Malone. I know the object of the exercise was to capture you and Mr Snow but apart from that I’m as much in the dark as you are.’
‘Not quite …’
‘How do you mean?’
‘Your kin-sister is a member of the task force assigned to look after Clearwater. She must know something. Don’t you think you ought to get in touch?’
‘I could try. But I don’t think it’ll do much good.’
‘Why?’
‘Because Karlstrom, the man who runs the outfit I work for wasn’t born yesterday. Until I deliver you and Mr Snow there’ll be a big question mark hanging over me. Although she’s better at it than I am, they know Roz and I can communicate with each other. Which means whatever they tell her could be passed on to me. If they have any lingering doubts about my loyalty, they’re going to feed her false information – stuff they want you to know about.’
Cadillac looked dismayed. ‘But if you’re to play a part in our capture shouldn’t you be told what’s going to happen?!’
‘Yeah. They said Malone would clue me in just before the off.’
‘So Malone must know.’
‘He may do. When I tried to pump him he said his orders were to deliver you and Mr Snow and the rest of the boarding party to the top of the ramp. From then on the Red River team would take whatever measures were necessary to contain the attack.’
‘But he didn’t drop any hints as to what form they might …?’
‘Nope …’
‘And if we forced him to speak?’
‘Torture him?’ Steve shrugged. ‘You could try but I don’t think you’ll get much out of him. Agents on a high-risk station, like Malone, are briefed on a need-to-know basis. That way, if their cover is blown, they can’t jeopardize the whole operation.’
It was Cadillac’s turn to be frustrated. ‘Sweet Sky Mother! There must be some way we can discover what their plans are!’
‘I’ll see if I can get through to Roz. She may have found a way to get inside other heads besides my own. But maybe we ought to start looking at this from another angle.’
‘And what’s that?’ asked Cadillac suspiciously.
‘Well, instead of wondering what the other side is going to do we should make the running. Seize the initiative. Throw them off balance.’
‘Oh, yes. And how do we do that?’
‘We’ve already started. They were braced to resist the most powerful summoner of the Plainfolk – and now Malone will have told them he isn’t coming.’ Steve spread his hands. ‘With just you left to lead the clan they’re bound to think it’ll be a pushover.’
‘Thank you. And …?’
‘Well, this is only a suggestion but we could start by eliminating Malone and his renegades. When we go up that ramp we might as well take a hundred men we can trust. What’s the point of going in with fifty guys we dare not turn our backs on?’
Cadillac fro
wned. ‘But you said that Malone’s participation was vital if this rescue plan was to succeed!’
‘It still is – but only until everything is set up. If we can come up with a rescue package that puts us in with a chance, then we should take him out just before we start the run-in towards Red River. That’s the best time to make the switch. We’ll be on board before they know what’s hit ’em.’ Steve caught Cadillac’s questioning look. ‘It’s okay. I don’t owe Malone any favours.’
‘But the other renegades …’
‘That’s the point. They’re not real renegades.’
‘Are you saying they’re all undercover agents?’
‘No, just some. But what difference does it make? Christopher! We’re talking about seventy or eighty defaulters with close to zero life-expectancy. Piddleshit compared with the number of your people who died in order to save the She-Kargo! If you don’t kill ’em some other clan or a bunch of Trail-Blazers’ll hunt them down. With the trading post closed for good, they have no value!’
‘Yes, but… they’re your own people.’
‘If a general thought like that he’d never send his troops into battle. You want Clearwater back, don’t you?’
‘Yes!’
‘Then when the time comes, I’ll do whatever has to be done,’ said Steve. ‘But before any of that can happen, you have to win over the clan – get them solidly behind you.’
‘Don’t remind me.’ Cadillac sighed gloomily. ‘If only the Old One hadn’t died on the way back from the trading post.’
‘Yehh,’ said Steve, ‘It was rather thoughtless of him.’
‘That’s not what I meant! If he’d died here, he might have been able to tell the clan to accept my leadership and have the same faith in me as they had in him!’
Steve mulled this over then said: ‘He still can.’
Cadillac looked puzzled.
‘Besides being a seer, you have another gift that some people might also regard as magical. A gift that saved our lives on the wheel-boat.’ Steve paused, but the penny failed to drop. ‘The gift of mimicry. Let the spirit of Mr Snow speak through you. If you do it right you’ll have them eating out of your hand.’
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