by Paul Sims
Suddenly, the Lieutenant looked at Sophie and froze. He gasped, clutched his chest and fell as she ‘signed her signature’ on proceedings. His squad, all of whom had drawn their weapons, turned towards her and fired, but the bullets passed through the empty air where she no longer was. After a moment of stunned silence, everyone panicked at once.
More security troops arrived, both through the door and from the veranda. Tanya looked around for Sophie in the confusion, and caught sight of her across the room just as several poppies seemed to bloom on the white cotton of her dress. The red stains grew and merged as her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She’d been knocked back against a partition and slipped slowly to the floor leaving a smear of blood behind her.
Chapter 16
When the security detail entered the restaurant, Bartes had been on his way back from the lavatory. Oh my God, he thought, we’re really in the shit now. What can I do?
It was clear, though, that there was nothing he needed to do: Sophie was giving an encore of her previous performance. Tanya had described her abilities, but the reality was more impressive still. She’s literally a heart-breaker, thought Bartes, smiling sardonically at his own wit – and... dear God, she used psionic blur to avoid those bullets. Where the hell has she gone? Did she manage to escape? He looked around and noted that the security detachment had sealed the room.
Another volley rang out. A figure in a dress no longer white lurched against a partition and collapsed in a bloody heap.
Bartes’ reflexes took over. He broke into a run, but before he could reach Sophie’s body, a security guard dived in front of him. She was shorter than Bartes, and over her head, he could see the crumpled corpse. Sophie’s corpse... No. Something’s not right, he thought. It looks like Sophie all right – but it doesn’t feel like her.
He cleared his mind and looked again. Now he saw the body of a woman in a security uniform – a woman who looked strangely like the one that was now standing in front of him. The latter winked at him, whispered, “Thank Tanya for teaching me that trick, would you?” and walked past him and out on to the veranda.
He returned to the table, where Tanya was comforting a near-hysterical Anoushka, and relayed the message to her in an undertone.
“Comrades, would you please remain in your seats while I ascertain what happened,” Major Valentine said as he sat down next to Sophie’s general, who was looking completely bewildered. “Just where did you meet that young lady, General?” he asked.
“At the ballet – just last week,” the General told him.
“Did you see her perform?”
“N-no…”
“Then how did you know who she was?”
“She told me. A-and you could tell she was a ballerina, just by looking at her.”
“And she’s been staying with you? And meeting all your friends?”
“Yes…”
“Hmm… I think you’d better get yourself home now. I’ll visit you later to discuss what she may have learned.”
As the General got unsteadily to his feet and staggered off toward the cloakroom, the Major turned back to the others. “Comrades,” he said, “it appears that the young lady who was accompanying the General was a spy.”
Tanya gasped and put her fingertips to her lips. “Was she here after us?” she asked.
“I don’t think so. I think she was gathering information from the General and his acquaintances for the Telphanians. She was a very talented psionic, so the General shouldn’t be blamed – though no doubt he will be. I wish we could have captured her quietly for interrogation, but my over-zealous colleagues chose to shoot her instead. They will be severely reprimanded, not just for the loss of a valuable prisoner, but also for alarming you, our guests. In the meantime, let me assure you that you were in no danger, as she was unarmed. Now, please excuse me while I check on my other guests.”
As soon as he was out of earshot, Tanya muttered, “Who needs weapons with psionics like that?” She looked pointedly in Bartes’ direction.
“Well-armed is well prepared,” he replied.
She shook her head. “You shouldn’t rely on artificial aids. You ought to practise with your mind more – let your brain take the strain.”
Bartes laughed briefly, but no one else seemed to see the joke; their faces showed a mixture of puzzlement and distress. None of them could face much more to eat, but they drank a fair bit to steady their nerves.
Major Valentine circled the room, talking with the guests at all the other tables, giving everyone his personal reassurances, and no doubt subtly rearranging their memories. He came and sat with Bartes and his friends. “A terrible business,” he began. “I know we’re all under a great deal of stress, but Lieutenant Kaspertin should not have acted like that.” He shook his head and sighed. “For once, though, my friends, it appears you were not the targets. That fake ballerina was obviously after the general. May I ask what you and she talked about in the Ladies’ Room, Comrade Talia?”
Tanya’s brow furrowed. “Nothing untoward, Major. Clothes, make-up – and one or two more personal feminine matters that I’d be happy to reveal to one of your female officers.” She blushed artistically.
“I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” the Major replied, his own face reddening slightly. “Now, when you’ve finished your meal, I suggest that I escort you back to the dacha.”
“I don’t think any of us wants anything more to eat,” Bartes replied.
The Major looked around at the half-eaten desserts, and at everyone’s ashen faces, and nodded. “I understand. Just wait here while I check on your transport.”
As they boarded the helicopter for the flight back to the dacha, RD and Joseph joined them.
“What happened?” RD asked, looking with concern at Anoushka’s tear-stained face. “We heard a commotion and some shots, but the Major’s guards blocked the door and wouldn’t let us out.
“There was another incident, Comrade,” the Major explained as they took off, “but none of your friends were hurt. For once they appear to be innocent bystanders, to an attempt to capture a Telphanian spy who had infiltrated our gathering. Unfortunately, there was a brief fire-fight, and the spy was killed. Now, I suggest you put today’s events out of your minds and look forward to the trip to Lake Kuraken. By the way, my superiors think that it is time you took an extended vacation.”
“Now?” Bartes asked.
“Yes – at least until we’re sure it’s safe for you to go back to work. The incompetence of some of my men has put you in danger even when they’re trying to keep you safe – how you’d fare unprotected I dread to think.”
“But –” Tanya interjected.
“The Medical Centre can function without you for a week or two, Comrade Talia, and I know Boris and Ivan were bored with their work at the moment. And as for Comrades Goran and Josef, we’ll put in a Temporary Manager at The Tangled Comet, and I’ll arrange for the boy’s tutor to come to him rather than the other way round.”
“That reminds me: how badly damaged was the Comet?” RD asked.
“Don’t worry,” the Major replied. “My men will clean up and make repairs. Everything will be as it was before when you return from your ‘vacation’. Oh, and I’ve ensured that the occurrence will go unreported so that your business won’t suffer.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t be too concerned about that.” RD’s offhand manner surprised them. “Something like that would actually be good for business. It attracts the ghouls – and their money is as good as anyone else’s.”
Some minutes later, they landed by the dacha and waved goodbye to the Major. As soon as he departed, RD looked at Anoushka and his eyes softened. He took her by the hand, and led her inside and over to the sofa.
“Can I get you anything?” he asked.
“A-a drink?” she murmured dazedly.
“Coffee?”
Her eyes focussed and she shook her head emphatically. “No – vodka – lots of it. Enough so I can forget t
he look on that poor girl’s face. If I ever c-can.” She buried her head in her hands and her shoulders heaved as she sobbed uncontrollably. Tanya sat down next to her and held her close.
Iain and Bartes accompanied RD to the kitchen and the latter filled large glasses of vodka for them all. “What really happened?” he asked them.
“Tanya’s friend from last night, Sophie the Psionic Ballerina, turned up with her tame security general in tow. Something alerted the security forces and they tried to arrest her,” Iain said.
“They were no match for her,” Bartes added. “She pulled the heart out of one of them and outran a hail of bullets. She swapped appearances with another officer – who was shot down by her own colleagues – and made her escape psionically disguised. I encountered her on her way out, and she even claimed that our Tanya had taught her the trick.”
RD grunted. “I knew that woman was a witch.”
Bartes gritted his teeth. “Whoever or whatever she is, she’s one of us. It’s all of us or none. We’ll have to work together to have a ghost of a chance. You’ll have to get over your prejudice.”
RD’s eyes flashed, but he swallowed his reply. He paused. “And what did that woman learn from her fellow sorceress?”
“She and Tanya went to the Ladies’ Room together, but I haven’t yet had a chance to talk to her about it.”
“Well, let’s go and ask her.”
When they re-entered the living room with the tray of drinks, Iain switched on the radio and found a channel playing a patriotic march. “Was your friend Sophie any help?” Bartes asked Tanya quietly.
“Well, from what she told me, we’ve been set up: we were never at Pregeor, for a start. And the Zelynan government was actually responsible for what happened, so – as their figureheads – we’re shouldering the blame.”
“That makes sense,” Bartes said. “Can she do anything to help us escape?”
Tanya shook her head. “Not really. She’s a Mercy operative with her own mission: to avert war between Zelyna and Telphania – and as such, she’s got her work cut out, without much time or effort to spare in our cause. She did say she’d got word to the Telphanians that we’re not their enemies, and she gave me the name of someone at the Shuttle Port in Brogovel, the Telphanian capital, who might be able to get us off this dirt-ball.”
“Then, by all means, let’s get to Brogovel as quickly as possible,” RD said.
Tanya nodded. “There’s only one other way off this planet that I’m aware of – the Skyport. If we escape, our captors will assume we’ll head there because we daren’t go to Telphania.”
“But what about John?” Anoushka asked.
“The Major told us that John would be joining us at the Lake. If we can break his conditioning there, we’ll take him with us, but if not – well, the mission comes first. Sophie said to head east, and that she’d help as much as she could.”
“Right, Telphania it is,” RD said. “But, if I remember correctly, it’s a long way from the Lake to the Telphanian border. We’ll never make it on foot.”
“We’ll need transportation,” Bartes mused. “If we can cross the lake in the Reaper’s Darling, perhaps we can steal something. But I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves. We’ve still got to get free from our ‘bodyguards’.”
“But at least we’ve got a plan now,” Tanya said. “We can’t do much more till we arrive at the Lake and see how the land lies.”
“Did you pick up anything more from Sophie?” Bartes asked Tanya.
She looked pensive. “I don’t think so – there was a horrible cartoon of us in The Free Silvanan…”
Iain shrugged. “So what else is new?”
Tanya’s brows knit in thought. “There was one other thing: she said that, as far as she was aware, nobody back on Regni knew we were missing – but she thought nothing untoward had yet happened.”
“That’s a relief, but our doppelgängers must be intending some sort of mischief,” Iain pointed out.
“But I still don’t understand why whoever kidnapped us is keeping us alive,” Bartes said.
“Probably so that we can shoulder the blame for whatever they’re planning,” RD said. “It’s just one more reason why it’s vital that we escape as soon as we can.”
Anoushka had been drinking the vodka that RD had provided and her misery gradually subsided. Soon she was only producing the occasional sniffle, and she laid her drowsy head on Tanya’s lap. After a while, she seemed to have fallen asleep and Tanya beckoned RD over. “I assume that you’ve finished your own preparations for the trip?” she asked sotto voce.
“Both the boat and I are ready to go,” he replied quietly. “I’ve stored the weapons safely.”
“Good.” She lifted Anoushka’s head and shoulders gently and slid from under them. “Sit here – I’ve got to go and pack for the two of us.”
“But –” He seemed nonplussed.
“Don’t worry – she shouldn’t wake. Just stroke her hair every so often.”
He sat and did what he’d been asked to do. He seemed rather tentative, and the confused look on his face told Tanya that, though he didn’t really feel comfortable about what he was doing, in an odd way he was really enjoying it.
“I didn’t realise the old man had a soft spot for Blondie,” Iain muttered as Tanya passed him on the way to the bedrooms.
“Neither did I – but I wouldn’t tease him about it – at least not until we’ve escaped. He’s a bit touchy, and I wouldn’t want to have to transport your unconscious body.”
He guffawed. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep it to myself – for now.”
Chapter 17
When their transport arrived, they were surprised to find that Peter was on board. “What happened to you?” Joseph asked him, as he sat down beside him.
“I don’t know,” the boy replied. “I can’t remember anything between eating and drinking with you at the Opera House and waking up with a terrible headache at Security Headquarters.”
“Nothing at all?”
“Nothing. They told me that I’d been found this morning, wandering the streets in a daze.”
The Major confirmed the boy’s story. “He must have escaped his kidnappers somehow,” he said, “or they may have got the wrong person – perhaps they were after Josef and freed Peter when they realised their mistake.” Given what Bartes and Tanya had seen, neither explanation held water – the boy had gone willingly. What mystified them now was why he was playing along with the Major’s tale.
They arrived at the lakeside as dusk was beginning to fall. The helicopter lowered the boat into the water and landed beside it. Leaving RD to supervise as his precious catamaran was unchained and tied up to the jetty, the rest of them went inside their new dacha which, apart from extra heating and insulation against the cold, appeared to follow the same pattern as the one at Plune.
Tanya drew Joseph aside as they entered. “Could you keep Peter occupied as much as possible?” she asked him quietly. “We’ll need to make plans, and I don’t trust him.”
“But I want to help!”
“Shh! You’ll help most by keeping him out of our hair. Don’t worry, you’ll get plenty of excitement when we escape.”
“Okay... but just ’cause you asked me,” he muttered.
“Look, you’ll have to get over your resentment soon,” Tanya said. “The only way we’ll get out of this predicament is to put aside our differences and work together - all of us.” He shrugged resentfully and went off to distract Peter.
When they’d unpacked, they gathered in the lounge – apart from the two youngsters, who were playing chess in their room. They’d hoped the Major might have left them by now, but he seemed to want to help them settle in, so they sat and made small-talk. It was typical of Iain that he was the first to think of his stomach. “Whose turn is it to cook?” he asked, looking pointedly at Tanya.
There was a brief silence before Tanya said, “Well, I don’t feel like making anything tonight.
”
“There’s a superb restaurant by the lakeside,” the Major told them. “I could get us reservations.”
“Would it be safe?” Anoushka asked.
“I can’t think that our enemies will be prepared to cause us any trouble up here yet,” he replied. “Anyway, I’ll make sure there’s a heavy security presence. I’ll go and make arrangements now.”
Iain turned on the radio once he’d left. “Do you reckon that this would be an opportunity to escape?” he asked.
“I doubt it,” RD replied. “We’d better keep our eyes open in case there’s a chance, but we’re woefully unprepared as yet. I think we need to know a lot more about the lay of the land before we make our move.”
The Major returned. “Our tables will be ready in an hour,” he told them.
“Let’s have a coffee before we go,” RD suggested. “I’ll make it, if Comrade Talia will give me a hand,” he added, and disappeared in the direction of the kitchen, with Tanya following. When they got there, he filled the kettle and, as he was transferring it to the cooker, he unaccountably dropped it. He cursed, and gave Tanya an exasperated look. “Well, don’t just stand there,” he snapped. “Help me mop up.”
Tanya found some cloths and they started drying the floor. When they’d cleared up most of the water, RD gave her a knowing smile. With a slight inclination of his head, he indicated a similar drainage pattern in the floor to the one they’d seen at Plune, which showed that there was a trapdoor in exactly the same location as before – the two dachas were practically identical.
They sat making further small talk until the transport arrived – in the form of an Armoured Personnel Carrier. “This vehicle is not exactly subtle,” Iain observed as they skirted the lake.