“Who are you?” Jak demanded.
“Who are you? Where’s Miller?” The man countered.
Steve interrupted, “Let him up. What do you know about my father?”
“Don’t try to get away,” Jak warned, withdrawing his knee and pulling the man to his feet.
“I don’t know anything. If Miller’s not here I’ll just be on my way.”
“I don’t think so. What’s your name and what were you coming through the window for?”
“Peter Fredrichs. I saw you and got scared. Just let me go please?”
“What did you want with Miller?” Jak asked. “You might as well talk. I’ll hold you here all day until you do.”
It took some arm-twisting, literally, but Fredrichs finally poured out the whole story. He explained how he had invented a new hyperspace drive, one that could be used within a gravity well. Miller had provided funds and materials. “Then a few days ago he tells me he has partners who want to see the new drive,” Fredrichs said. “I didn’t like it. I thought it was just going to be me and him. But I guess that’s where he got the money so I had to accept it. So we tested the drive. And well, it had a few problems.”
“Wait a minute. You’re the one who caused the distortion wave?”
The man nodded, “Half the planet would have been destroyed if it had been a regular drive. I got scared and ran.”
Jak shook his head, “So why did you come back?”
The man’s face brightened, “I fixed it!”
“Yeah, right,” Steve countered.
“Really. I’m sure of it this time. All the money I have in the world is tied up in that machine. Miller has to help me sell it.”
Steve frowned, “Dad’s missing. We were attacked last night. They ransacked the place. If you know who did it...”
The door flew open hitting the wall with a bang. All three men snapped their heads around.
“Police! Everybody stand where you are,” the first Berellian through the door yelled.
Jak grabbed the back of Fredrichs’s shirt and raised his other hand. Gedden, I should have gone back to camp, he thought.
Chapter Twenty Eight
Aurelia triggered the vaccine into the Jidalian’s neck. He nodded and silently walked away. There was no one else waiting in line.
Leaning out of her booth, Aurelia looked around the court. Thirty booths had been set up and only ten of them had customers. All of them Jidalian. Not a single other race had showed up to be vaccinated.
She locked the hypogun in the storage case below the shelf and limped over to the Valerian’s dome. Every muscle protested.
Relly Ken, Bedden Gel’s second-in-command, was perched on an equipment case outside the dome. She blinked her big green eyes and smiled, waving one brown wing in front of her face like a fan.
“Bedden Gel around?” Aurelia asked.
“He’s doing a river check,” Relly Ken replied in her soft, whispery voice.
Aurelia folded her arms across her chest and looked around the court again. Those of her crew not working, most of them, stood around in small groups in the shade, talking quietly. Not at all like the noisy, boisterous group of yesterday.
Aurelia felt a slow trickle of sweat sliding down her back. “Not many customers today,” she said.
“And all of them Jidalian,” said Relly Ken.
“So you noticed too?”
Relly Ken waved a wing in front of her face again. “It’s hot.”
“Oppressive.
Millie came walking toward them. “I’m going for lunch,” she announced.
“Early for lunch isn’t it?” Aurelia asked.
“I had breakfast early. Can I get you anything, Relly?”
“I just ate, thank you.”
“Aura?”
“I don’t want anything, thanks.”
Millie’s’ eyes rolled. “I’ll bring you something anyway. After last night you cannot subsist on candy bars.”
Aurelia knew it was useless to argue although her stomach churned at the thought of food. She wandered back to the booth. At least she could sit down in the shade.
She had just gotten comfortable when she saw Renner Conlin waddling towards her. He wore pink pants and a green and yellow, flowered shirt loud enough to create a small earthquake.
“What have you been doing to yourself?” Conlin asked, staring at Aurelia. “Looks like you’ve been through hell.”
“And I just entered the ninth ring.”
The reference flew past his head without a ruffle.
Conlin rubbed his hands together. “How are vaccinations going?”
“Fine.”
“My, we are communicative aren’t we?”
Aurelia shrugged, leaning her cheek against her fist. “I don’t know about you but I’m not.”
“Very witty, Doctor.”
Conlin was...ebullient. Aurelia looked up and noticed his pupils were tiny little dots. Her scanner was lying on the shelf pointing right at him. It would be easy to reach over and trigger it. Also, illegal. Unfortunately, GEM Co. would never drug test its chief negotiator. Besides, there were too many ways to beat the test.
Conlin was craning his neck around. “Not very many people here. You will be here awhile?” He sounded worried.
“I suppose so.”
“Good. Things are going well.” Conlin practically bounced away.
Aurelia didn’t like the sound of that. Things were not going well. And they just got worse, she thought, seeing Bridget and Miguel followed by a huge Berellian. He said something to the two students then walked over to Aurelia’s booth alone.
“Who are you and what do you want?” Aurelia attacked immediately.
“My name is Radif. I am chief of planetary security.” He dangled a pair of boots before her. “These yours?”
Taking one she examined it carefully. She wasn’t about to answer without being absolutely sure. “Yes, they’re mine.”
“What were they doing on the beach next to a dead body?”
“I don’t know anything about a body. I left my boots on the beach last night.”
“Why?”
“It’s a long story.”
“I cleared all my appointments for today.” Radif folded his arms, his biceps rippling.
Tipping her head back, Aurelia studied his face. His dark eyes were unreadable, no emotion on his face. She had the strange feeling he already knew everything though he couldn’t possibly know anything. There was no reason not to tell the truth. Taking a breath, she plunged in, “I was taking a walk down by the river.”
“What time?”
“I don’t know. About 2400, no, maybe a little earlier. I heard a big splash, climbed over a hill and saw two men below me.”
“What did they look like?”
“I don’t know. They wore hoods.”
“How do you know they were men?”
“I don’t. I just said that.”
“Sure you don’t have a reason to think that?” Radif asked, setting the other boot on the countertop.
“Their voices were low I guess. One sounded vaguely familiar but I couldn’t place it.”
“What did they say?”
Aurelia blew a strand of hair out of her face. “I couldn’t make out what they were saying. They seemed to be arguing over a body.”
“So there was a body.”
“Well, no. I mean he was alive.”
“How do you know?”
“I’m a doctor. I think I know if someone is alive or not.”
“At that distance?”
“He moved.”
“Go on.”
“I could see his face. It was one of my students, Steven Miller. I stood up and yelled something. They threw Steve in the river and ran away. I took off my boots and jumped in after him.”
“So you rescued him.”
“No.”
Radif’s shaggy eyebrow
s lifted. “No?” he repeated.
“The current was too strong for me. One of the other doctors, Jak Rialus, rescued us both.”
“What was he doing there?”
Aurelia shrugged, “Taking a walk I guess.”
“A lot of people out walking by the river last night.”
“Anything wrong with that?”
Radif shook his head. “So what did this Steve Miller have to say about the two men?”
“I don’t know.”
“You didn’t ask him?”
“No.”
“What happened after you got out of the water?”
“I went back to camp.”
“And you didn’t ask Miller why two people had tried to kill him?”
“No.”
“You didn’t contact the police?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I didn’t think about it.”
“Did Miller offer any information?”
Aurelia paused. “I don’t remember.”
“Did you tell Dr. Rialus about the two men?”
“I don’t think so.”
“You’re not sure?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Did Rialus ask Miller what had happened?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why didn’t you go back for your boots?”
“I didn’t remember them.”
“According to my sources you have global memory, Doctor Aurelia. You don’t forget anything.”
“That’s not strictly true. My memory is not perfect.”
“All right. Let’s go back to before you jumped in the river. Do you remember anything more about the two men? Do you recall seeing anything else on the beach?”
“No.”
“I don’t want you to leave the planet just yet. That includes shuttling back and forth to your ship. I know where to find you if I need to talk to you again.”
“Can I keep my boots?”
“Yes. I’m done with them. Nice meeting you, Doctor.” The Berellian smiled and walked briskly away.
Aurelia sank down on the stool and slowly put on her boots, leaning her head against the counter. She had no idea what the big Berellian had thought of her story. His face had never changed expression.
“Here,” Millie’s voice interrupted her frantic thoughts. The sound of paper crackled in her ear. Lifting her head, she stared at the brown bag the nurse had placed in front of her then looked up at Millie.
“Do I have to eat it? What’s the matter?!” She jumped to her feet and clutched Millie’s shoulder to push her onto the stool. “Put your head down,” Aurelia commanded, pressing her fingers into Millie’s wrist to check her pulse. The beat was all right, maybe a little slow.
The skin around Millie’s eyes and mouth gradually changed from the stone-grey of someone about to faint to a more normal brown. Again Aurelia asked, “What’s wrong?”
“My arm just started to hurt,” Millie replied, carefully raising her head from its position against her knees. Even more carefully she held out her arm and rolled back the sleeve.
The long scratch on her forearm had raised and filled with greenish-colored pus. Aurelia slid her hand underneath to examine it with Millie wincing as she did so. The skin around the scratch was red and warm to the touch.
“That’s sort of interesting,” Millie’s voice sounded weak with tears.
“How did you get this?”
“I scratched it on the shuttle yesterday when I fell off.”
“Your vaccinations are up to date aren’t they?”
“Of course.”
Aurelia frowned and reached for her scanner. “I’m going to give you a booster anyway.”
The scan told her nothing she didn’t already know. Loading the hypogun, she gave Millie the shot.
“Hey, Mil, you okay?” Neil Sanders’s voice held a soft, intimate note as he leaned his head into the booth.
Millie smiled at him, “Just a nasty scratch.”
Sanders whistled as he looked at her arm, “Wow, that does look nasty.”
Pulling out a kit box from below the counter, Aurelia took out a vial and Phillip collecting unit, a small enclosed catheter with a pump. “I’m going to drain this,” she said, sliding the unit on top of the vial and carefully inserting it into Millie’s arm. “Farck!” She swore, grabbing for another vial as the other filled quickly to overflowing.
“Aura.” She turned her head in time to see Millie’s eyes roll up and her body start to slide off the stool. Flinging her arm out, she held onto Millie’s shoulder while struggling with the vial now slippery with pus.
“Dammit! Sanders!” she yelled.
He was already charging around the side of the booth. They bumped into each other in the small space. Then Sanders had Millie in his arms and Aurelia snatched at pieces of gauze to stop the discharge. The foul smell made her eyes water.
When she had the arm wrapped, she slipped a monitor over Millie’s wrist. Instantly, the alarm hit a shrill sustained note.
“What is it?”
“Her temp spiked. Martinez!” she yelled at the nearest passing body, “Code D!”
The boy looked confused for a moment then he ran to Dr. Michaelson’s booth. Michaelson and Zimbin arrived within seconds. Sanders placed Millie on the ground and stepped back.
“2 CC’s Liptocaine.”
“Rotan drip?”
“Yes.”
“Move that out of there!”
“I can’t get a vein.”
“Respiration’s dropping!”
“She’s out. Bag her.”
“Where’s that L.C.? Got it?”
“I got it.”
“Keep bagging. Shuttle 3 Move it!”
A flurry of papers and gauze. Wood cracked and splintered. Then Zimbin racing to the shuttle with Millie’s limp form, the two doctors right behind. Steel doors thumped open.
“Get her on. Two more CC’s L.C.!”
“Move that strap.”
“Hook that over there.”
“Come on people. Got that tube in?!” A flip of a switch, another. A steady hum. “She’s on. Resp is up. Pulse steady.”
Aurelia leaned against the cold steel of the security bar over the life support module and remembered to breathe herself. The adrenaline still washed through her but Millie was Millie again, not a nameless mindless machine that had to be kept functioning at all costs.
Don’t you dare die on me, she thought, staring down at the still face, pale beneath its brownness. “Anybody hear from the Pasteur? Can we get on?” she asked out loud.
Neil Sanders’s worried face appeared in the shuttle’s doorway. A small crowd collected behind him. “Is she okay?” he asked.
“No,” Aurelia replied.
“What is it?”
“I’m guessing Risanthum because of the amount of pus but I won’t know for sure until I get a pathology report.”
“Is that bad?”
“Yes.”
A concerned murmur went through the crowd.
“Someone call the Pasteur. I want to get her up there as soon as possible.” Aurelia frowned as she saw Radif pushing his way through the crowd.
“You are not to leave the planet,” he said.
Hot anger mixed with the adrenaline. With Aurelia standing in the shuttle, this time their heads were level with each other. She glared into his eyes.
Radif held up a comm-link. “This was found at the victim’s house. The registration number is LP001. That’s your number.”
Plucking it out of his hand, she opened a channel to the Pasteur, “This is Aurelia. Can we get on board?”
“We have two airlocks open,” came the reply.
“Good enough. I’m transporting a patient. Priority basis. I want a crash cart waiting.”
Radif folded his arms across his chest, “I’m not letting you leave Doctor.”
Aurelia stepped aside so he could see Millie in the life support bay. “I have a medical emergency. If you don’t move your overgrown, crango-smelling, uglified carcass, you colo-bate, I’ll show you just how capable of murder I am.”
`He placed a hand on the side of the door and pulled himself into the shuttle. “I’m going with you.”
Aurelia slammed the door hard enough to put the imprint of the handle into her hand. Clenching her fists, she forced herself past Radif without a look or word and sat down in the pilot’s seat. Zimbin and Michaelson quietly seated themselves and pulled on their five-point harnesses. She had the momentary satisfaction of knowing there was no seat for Radif and half contemplated practicing a few barrel rolls. But Millie’s safety had first priority, and she concentrated on getting the shuttle off the ground.
Chapter Twenty Nine
Shading her eyes, Bridget watched the shuttle lift smoothly off the ground. She felt Miguel move to her side and spoke, “This is so weird. Millie was fine just a little bit ago.”
“I know,” Miguel replied. “What the heck is a Code D? When Dr. Aurelia yelled at me I just figured Dr. Michaelson would know.”
“You’re supposed to memorize the list of codes on your cabin door,” Bridget said in her most self-righteous tone.
“Oh. I didn’t read all that junk.”
“I think D just means you need help right away. What did Dr. Aurelia say was wrong with her? I couldn’t hear.”
“Risanthum? I’ve never heard of it,” Miguel said with a shake of his head. “I used to think six years to be a doctor was a long time. Now I don’t think it’s going to be enough.”
Torp Nevad made them jump as he clapped his hands on both their shoulders. “Hey, you two, bodies for breakfast, sudden diseases for lunch, hunh?”
“It’s nothing to joke about,” said Bridget.
His expression was immediately contrite. “I didn’t mean it like that. I like Millie. I hope she’ll be all right.”
“How did you know about the body?” Miguel questioned.
“Everybody knows. I’ll bet that big Berellian will arrest Dr. Aurelia for murder.”
“Do you really think she killed someone?” Bridget asked.
Torp shrugged, “From what I’ve seen of her, I’m surprised bodies aren’t stacked up all over.”
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