“I expected the girl,” Ned said. “Karen and Pete have vouched for you,” he nodded at Andy, “and Karen tells me that you insist I want to meet these two. If they are who they claim to be ...” His inclined head and raised brows made it a question.
Andy nodded, shooting a nervous glance at Pete, who flipped a hand without looking up from his computer. It was up to Andy. “It’s quite complex,” he said. “The short explanation is that these two people come from an alternate universe, using a quite advanced form of physics. They were prisoners of Albert Feldman.”
“Which begs a question.” Ned held up a finger and fixed a sharp gaze on Sam and Sarah. “That’s an incredible bit of technology you’ve got there. How did Feldman manage to imprison you? Can’t you just use your time machine, or whatever it is, and go back where you came from?”
“We were stunned unconscious.” Sam shrugged. “Feldman filched our equipment. When he returned it, he kept the chip that facilitates travel between the universes. We can go anywhere in this universe, but we can’t go home without that part.”
“That’s Feldman, all right.” Ned’s finger twirled in a “please continue” gesture. “What is it he wanted you to do?”
“Build him a bridge machine of his own,” Sam said. “He wants to use bridges as transport corridors around the planet, and out to the space station.”
“Is that possible?”
Sam rubbed his forehead and sighed. “Look, I’m not unsympathetic to the problems in this world. But can you understand that we did not come here to be used as pawns in your war? Feldman wants to use our technology, and now, so do you. How can we truly understand what’s going on here, even assuming we wanted to get involved?
“Well of course, I understand,” Ned said. “But you must understand that there’s not a bloody thing I can do about it. Leaving aside the question of why you came here, you must have known that you were taking a wee chance. You didn’t know what you’d find, but you came anyway.”
He smiled, but Andy saw very little amusement in it. “I could just let you wander out of here. Let you take your chances with Feldman and his security forces. I can guarantee you’d be back in his clutches in a few hours.”
“We could build a bridge,” Sarah said. “We can go anywhere. He won’t find us.”
Ned laughed, and this time Andy heard real amusement. The guards thought it was funny, too. “How much do you know about this planet? Even if you were lucky, and picked a place that wasn’t toxic, you’d just be picked up by that sector’s security. Assuming they didn’t kill you outright.”
Pete chimed in, turning his chair to face the group. “Feldman’s got forces deployed all over the world, too. He’s the closest we have to a world-wide despot.”
“And he’s got neutrino detectors everywhere,” Andy said. “He wanted to be ready for you no matter where in the world you came through. You remember the men who found us at the university? He could find you that quickly no matter where you go.”
Sarah took a breath, as if preparing to argue, but Ned jerked his chin at Pete. “What’d you find?”
“That you’ve been busier than any of us thought.” Pete swung the monitor around so it faced the group. Andy could see that the screen displayed a manifest of some kind, but he wasn’t near enough to see detail.
Pete tapped a button, flipped through documents. Ned peered over his shoulder, and after three quick pages, his finger started tapping on the back of Pete’s chair. “What the feck is he after?”
Pete shook his head, intent on his screen. “Framing you, for whatever it is.”
“Is he trying to blow up NISS?”
“With this many explosives, there’s no “try” about it.”
“NISS is your space station, isn’t it?” Sarah asked.
When no one responded, Andy answered. “Yeah. It’s in a LaGrange orbit ...”
“I know its orbit,” Sarah said. “And its coordinates. Feldman had me designing containers to transport over the bridge to it.”
Everyone turned to look at her. “Containers for what?” Ned asked.
“Didn’t say. But he wanted the containers to be weapons-proof.”
“Maybe he’s trying to take it over?” Sam asked.
The crowd was silent, exchanging glances. Pete held up a hand. “Sun already controls security on NISS, and they’re de facto managers of the place. But it really is international, and there is strong favor for the rebels among the people who live there full time. They can’t act overtly, but they still manage to cause headaches. So Feldman blows up the station, or at least part of it, making it look like we did it. Then he gets his army on site, using new technology. The army declares martial law and restores order, with Sun firmly in control and Allied Rebels thoroughly discredited.”
“But people will die.” Sarah’s face revealed her shock.
“That’s never stopped Feldman before,” Ned said.
“I would think,” Sam said, looking to Ned, “that with your extensive drop in population, human life would be considered precious. That your governments would be engaged in protecting lives to increase your numbers.”
“Oh, they are.” Karen hoisted herself onto a table and let her legs swing loose as she answered. “Governments all over the world have been sure to protect girls and women of childbearing age. Vast numbers of them are restricted to the enclaves and spend their lives having babies.”
“Babies whose only purpose in life is to have more babies if they are girls, or to work in Sun or government labor camps if they are boys,” Andy said.
“But you’re not doing that.” Sam looked around, then turned back to Andy. “You’re in school, doing ground-breaking work in science. Why aren’t you in a labor camp? Was your mother in one of those enclaves?”
“No, she wasn’t.” Andy shrugged. “The majority of the population went into enclaves after the first famines, and their descendants are rarely allowed to leave. But some people refused to enter them at the start, preferring to take their chances on their own. In my village, several families stayed behind and helped each other survive. Karen’s and Pete’s families were among them, as well as mine.”
Sam’s brow was still wrinkled and Sarah stared at him with her mouth open, obviously disturbed. So he tried to explain further. “Our leaders have molded it all into a system beneficial to them. The enclaves provide slaves, and the rest of us toe the line to stay free. Troublemakers, or those people who flunk out of school, are assigned to an enclave. They get a choice as to where, but not whether, to go.”
“At least half the rebels in the world are people who’ve escaped from enclaves,” Karen said.
“Moira is one of them.” Andy looked troubled. “That’s her story to tell, though.”
“I’ll talk to her later,” Ned said. “For now, I need an answer.” He pointed at Pete’s screen where a damaging document was displayed. “If Feldman’s working on blowing up NISS, how do we stop him?”
“What are the dates on the documents?” Karen asked.
“The oldest is dated six months ago,” Pete said. “The most recent was two weeks ago.” No indication if that’s all of them or not.”
Ned paced, his fingers drumming with restless energy against his leg. “I can’t contact the station until Arkady comes on duty in four hours. He can start searching for the explosives, but we need more information.” He stopped and turned to Pete. “Warner rides a neutrino detector. Her job has nothing to do with shipments to NISS. How’d she get this chip?”
“Ah, I believe I can answer that.” Pete spun his chair so he faced another computer, waving his fingers over the virtual display with furious speed. “I remember seeing something when we checked her out ... yes. Right here.” He jabbed the air and a photo appeared: a sharp man in the white and black uniform of a Sun soldier, the bill of his formal cap shading a freckled face and stern mouth. No personality dared shine through.
“William Warner, Captain.” Pete said. “Her big brother. Curr
ently assigned to the Western Brigade in Galway.”
“Where shipments for NISS are loaded.” Ned paced behind Pete’s chair, his eyes on the photo.
Pete waved the photo away and flipped up a flow chart. “He’s in our files. A couple of our Galway operatives are acquainted with him. He’s provided Intel before, but he’s cautious about it.”
“Has he ever used his sister before?” Ned asked.
“Nope.”
“Uh ...” Andy half-raised a hand, not sure what the protocol was. Everyone turned to him, but it was Ned’s narrowed eyes that told him to finish what he started. He cleared his throat and tried to speak with more confidence than he felt. “Feldman’s had neutrino detectors on alert all over the world since March. It stands to reason that defense units would also be on alert. If Captain Warner knew about the neutrinos, he probably knew his sister was involved. Maybe he just wanted her to know that Feldman had another agenda.”
Everyone was silent as they thought about it. Ned nodded slowly. “Could be.” He slapped his hands together and swung on his heel to pin a challenging stare on Sam and Sarah. “As you said, people will die. This isn’t your world, but you’re here, and you have the means to save lives. Will you help us?”
The travelers exchanged a look. All Andy could see in their glance was worry, and maybe fear. But Sam nodded as they faced Ned. “Yes, we’ll help. But I’d like your promise for something when it’s over.”
Ned took a deep breath, as if holding back a shout of triumph. He spread his hands. “If it’s in my power.”
“Help us get the rest of our equipment from Feldman. And let us go home.”
“Mate,” Ned said, his voice deep with feeling, “we want a society where people are free to come and go, and live in peace. We’d never stop you from going home. But yes, I’ll do what I can about your equipment.”
Chapter 31
Feldman stepped from the lift onto the silent 28th floor. The stark lines and gleaming metal and glass were designed to intimidate. The artwork, sculptures and fountains were perhaps of a higher magnitude than he could afford, but it was just a matter of time.
There was no reception desk, but he turned left, walking with unhurried steps. He stopped when the wall on his right morphed from a marble surface into a floor-to-ceiling screen showing the city beneath them, and the restless Irish Sea in the distance.
He waited.
A few seconds later, the city disappeared and was replaced by the ten-foot image of Sun’s AI, in the form of a beautiful woman in impeccable business dress. Her dark brown hair flowed in casual waves around her shoulders as she turned to face him.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Feldman,” she said. “He is expecting you in the Greeting Room.”
“Thank you, Ari.” He nodded before continuing forward. At the end of the hall, two oak doors clicked open as he approached. He entered, aware that his jaw was tighter than he wished. He permitted himself to attribute the tension to his anger. It wouldn’t do to appear nervous.
Green leather sofas and chairs littered the large room, in between tables for magazines and drinks. The bar at the far right end was quiet, the mirror reflecting the room and the clouds visible through the wall of windows across from him.
No one else was here.
His cheek twitched once, before he forced himself to be still. He took one, slow breath and let it out while he stared at the window.
Before he drew another breath, a voice broke the silence. “You let Altair walk away with the most advanced technology we’ve seen.”
“It’s a temporary situation, sir. He can’t go anywhere that we won’t find him.”
“I’d feel better about that statement if we had a better track record of rounding up rebel commanders. But some of them manage to elude us, don’t they, Feldman?”
“Some,” he admitted. “But Altair will be back, sir. Soon, I suspect.”
“Why is that, Mr. Feldman?”
“I have his chip, sir. The one that allows them to return home.”
“Ah.” The voice was silent. Feldman felt some of his tension lighten, until it spoke again. “Surely, he can build another chip?”
Knowing he could be seen, Feldman propped himself on the arm of a sofa, the picture of nonchalance. “I’m certain he could. Eventually. But he would have to test it, and we’d have him in seconds. In addition, some of the components he would need are tightly controlled. It’s possible we could find him before he ever got another built. And by then, we might be able to use the chip I have to transport into his universe.” Feldman shrugged. “His cooperation is guaranteed.”
“What about Green? How the hell did he get by us?”
“There’s no evidence that he’s working with the rebels. Despite his brilliance, it looks like he has the morals of a gutter-rat, and the sorry connections that go with it. In fact, I can use this situation to our favor. I just need to make a couple of calls.”
“Get on it, then. Your ass has never been so close to the fire, Feldman. I don’t like it.”
“Can’t say that I like it either, sir.” Good, that was said with just the right amount of humble aplomb. Feldman stood up, his confidence returning. “I’ll keep you appraised, sir.”
The connection closed without another word from the voice. So. He was still in hot water. The best he could hope, was that the water had cooled a few degrees. He walked to the bar and poured a Scotch. “Ari,” he said, watching amber lights shift within the liquid, “place a call to Cyrus Sherman in Chelmsford. I’d like a word with him.”
~~~
Moira didn’t open her eyes immediately upon waking. As consciousness returned, she listened, searching for voices, footsteps, the beeping of equipment ... anything to give her a sense of place and time.
She heard only silence at first, but soon made out the Doppler sound of someone approaching, then receding. She opened her eyes to find a ragged, plaster ceiling above her. She lay on a bed, with a pillow under her head and a blanket covering her. The air of the room touched her face with warmth. Such comforts assured her that she had not been turned over to Security preparatory to being sent back to her stepfather.
That worry had crossed her mind just as they were administering the anesthetic for the surgery, probably a last-second firing of nervous neurons. Thank goodness it had not haunted her drugged sleep.
A glance around the room completed her quick inventory. Beside her bed, there was a white, metal cabinet with a small pitcher, and an empty glass with a bent straw in it. An open door to her left revealed a loo. The closed door to her right must by the way out.
She sat up, only then realizing that her stomach did not hurt, although there was a pulling sensation in her skin. Pushing the blanket aside, she lifted the hospital gown to see a small white bandage taped below and to the right of her belly button. Her abdomen was still a spectacular montage of yellow and black, but there was no pain. She decided she was probably still heavily drugged.
The door opened and Moira dropped the gown as she glanced up. Her visitor was not one of the nurses she’d met last night, if it had been last night and not any longer. Like them, this woman wore scrubs, with a medical Feinberger sticking up from the large front pouch of her shirt. She was about the age of Moira’s mother, and her skin had the splotchy brown-and-white characteristic of people from the ozone-free west coast. Her smile as she approached Moira seemed friendly and heart-felt.
“Mornin’ love,” she said. “I’m Sheila, and imagine my surprise to come to work and find a wee, beaten girl to be in my care. Escaped from an enclave, did you? That’s bravery, that is, and such good luck you had with it, too. You’re safe now, though, so you just breathe easy and let us take care of keeping your presence a secret. It’s what we do, ye know.” While she was talking, she smoothed Moira’s gown, fluffed the pillow, and produced a hairbrush from the cabinet drawer. She stroked it through Moira’s hair with gentle pulls.
“They tell me your name is Moira, is that right?” Mo
ira started to say yes, but the avalanche of words swept over her voice. “That’s a pretty name, one of my favorites. Now, you need to tell me how you feel. You’ve been on a monitor, o’ course, which shows you’re healing nicely, but I like to hear it from the patient’s own mouth. I’ve got a nice warm breakfast waiting for you, nothing too hard to digest, you understand. Want to give your poor sore muscles a chance to recover, but Dr. Mullweather has a deft hand with the lasers, and he did a right job sealing up your wounds. Still, no need to overdo, is there?”
Whereupon she stood straight, hairbrush held in folded hands as she beamed at Moira, and waited for a reply. Moira cleared her throat and ventured to speak, surprising herself when her first words were, “I’m starving.”
Sheila did not quite clap her hands, as the brush was a hindrance, but she tapped it once before returning it to the drawer. “Splendid. That’s what I like to hear. I’ll bring your tray right in, dearie. The loo’s behind you if you want to freshen up. I’ll just stand close for a minute, in case you’ve any dizziness, there’s a good girl.”
Her left hand stood guard a few inches from Moira’s shoulder as her right hand pushed aside the blanket and helped Moira swing her legs off the bed. Realizing that she did need to use the loo, Moira planted her stockinged feet on the floor and stood, with a deep breath to banish the vertigo that swept over her. As it receded, she met Sheila’s sharp gaze and smiled. “I think I can manage now. Thanks.”
“In with you, then,” Sheila said, making shooing motions with her hands. “Take your time, dearie, don’t move too fast.”
Moira took a step in obedience to the shooing motions, but paused, suddenly anxious about what had been happening while she was unconscious. “Can you tell me,” she asked, “if Andy Green is still here? Do you know where he is?”
Sheila lifted her eyes to the ceiling. “That young man has been a thorn in my side since I came on this morning, pesterin’ me about when you’d wake up and be sure to let him know the second you’d come around.” She fixed her gaze on Moira with a confidential wink. “I’ll be doin’ that, Miss, unless you’d rather I didn’t?”
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