Rebels of the Red Planet

by Charles L. Fontenay

  8

  The waiter unplugged the telephone and lifted it from their table.

  "We're ready to order now," Maya said to him. "And please ask Mr. Grento come in here."

  A few moments after the waiter left, the manager came to their table.Quelman Gren was dark and thin-faced, with sleek, oily hair.

  "When I told you I was here in an official capacity for the government,Mr. Gren, you said you would co-operate with me in every way possible,"said Maya.

  "Yes, Miss Cara Nome, I have made every effort to do so," replied Gren."Is there some way I can help you now?"

  "Yes, there is," she said. "This man is my prisoner, and I'm going tohave to keep him in custody here for two days and a half, until helparrives from Mars City. I'd like for you to arm a couple of dependablemen with heatguns and assign them to help me guard him."

  Gren shook his head.

  "I'm sorry, Miss Cara Nome, but none of the employees of the ChateauNectaris was employed for that sort of work, and I'm not going to askthem to do it. What you should have is police help."

  "As you know very well, there are no police nearer than Ophir," shesaid in an exasperated tone. "Surely, you have some semi-officialofficers employed in the chateau in case of trouble among the guests."

  "I have a house detective, but his duties are to intervene only whensome crime has been committed against a guest or against the chateau.You told me that you were seeking political rebels, and I assume thatthat is your charge against Mr. Kensington. My house detective has noauthority to act in such cases, and I do not intend to get the chateaumixed up in these affairs.

  "I've co-operated with you to the extent of giving you information youwanted, Miss Cara Nome, and I'll continue to co-operate insofar as I amnot asked to do something I have no authority to do. It occurs to methat if you came here seeking rebels, you should have come equipped tohandle them if you found them."

  "It occurs to me that you act very much as though you were in sympathywith the rebel cause," retorted Maya angrily.

  "My sympathies are not the government's affair, as long as I take noillegal actions," said Gren. "Good evening, Miss Cara Nome."

  Maya gazed after him furiously as he left the dining room. Dark, sittingcompletely relaxed, smiled pleasantly at her.

  "Please be assured," he said, "that I'm going to try to avoid injuringyou in any way when I escape your custody."

  "I'm not worried, because you aren't going to escape," she said. "But Iappreciate the thought. You seem to be a very mild-mannered person,for...."

  She stopped.

  "For a rebel?" he finished for her. "I really don't know what sort ofindoctrination you must have had, Maya--if I may call you Maya, andthere's no point in being formal under the circumstances. The studentsat the barber college were all rebels, and the reports I received werethat you got along nicely with most of them."

  "Yes, I did. I don't suppose it should surprise me to find that rebelsare human beings, too."

  "Merely a matter of a difference in orientation. And a question for youto consider is, which orientation actually is correct?"

  Maya did not like the direction the conversation was taking. She wasrelieved by the appearance of the waiter with their meals of thick,steaming steaks, with all the necessary trimmings.

  "It will be a long time before we can be served anything like this byteleportation," she said, laughing. "But, Mr. Kensington--"

  "Dark, if you don't mind."

  "Very well. Dark, you say that you drove here from Mars City. How didyou avoid the copter patrols that were out trying to intercept theescaping rebels?"

  "As a matter of fact, I didn't, and that's a very peculiar thing," hesaid thoughtfully. "One of them got me just outside Mars City andblasted the dome of my groundcar."

  "I noticed you were wearing a marsuit when you registered here, and Grensaid you were having the dome repaired."

  "That's what's peculiar about it. I wasn't wearing the marsuit when thecopter broke my dome. I didn't have any protection at all. The groundcarwent off the road and overturned. I don't know how long I wasunconscious, but it was evidently long enough for the copter to look meover, decide I was dead, and move on out of sight. What I can'tunderstand is why I didn't asphyxiate."

  "You mean that you were protected by no oxygen equipment at all?"

  "None. I returned to consciousness and I was lying there with the domebroken wide open and my face bare to the Martian air. I got into mymarsuit right away, of course, but that took a few minutes in additionto the time I was unconscious. And I didn't feel restricted by the lackof air. I wasn't even breathing. And I felt that I didn't need to!"

  "That is peculiar," she said meditatively. "Tell me, do you know a mannamed Goat Hennessey?"

  "You're the second person who's asked me that recently," said Dark. "Iknew him well, many years ago, but I haven't seen him in years. Why doyou ask?"

  "Because the only case I've heard about of any human being able to livewithout oxygen in the Martian atmosphere involved some geneticexperiments of Goat Hennessey, before the government made him stop themand destroy the creatures he'd been experimenting with."

  Dark laughed.

  "I can assure you I'm not one of Goat's genetic experiments," he said."Goat and I were colleagues in this rebel movement twenty-five yearsago, before I was hit by a period of amnesia that I've just come outof."

  She stared at him.

  "A twenty-five year period of amnesia? Impossible! You're not more thantwenty-five years old," she said positively.

  "If what people tell me is correct, I'm nearer sixty," said Dark."Terrestrial years, of course."

  "Of course. But I don't believe it."

  Dark shrugged, and cut another bite of steak. He seemed to be enjoyinghis meal quite as much as though he were not her prisoner and she hiscaptor--as, indeed, she was, too.

  They chatted pleasantly throughout the meal and Maya found, somewhat toher surprise, that she was talking about herself a great deal to thispale-eyed man. She told him of her childhood on Mars, among theMartians, and of going to Earth to live with her uncle, a World Senatorwho had had close and profitable connections with Marscorp.

  She went on to tell of her decision to become an agent of theterrestrial government, despite her uncle's objections but as a resultof his often-expressed enthusiasm for the government's role indeveloping the planetary colonies; and of her assignment to Mars toferret out a rebel headquarters which had eluded the best efforts of theMartian government. She even told him how she had met Nuwell and fallenin love with him.

  Some time after the meal's conclusion, she suddenly stopped inmid-sentence.

  "What's the matter?" asked Dark.

  "I just realized that you're my prisoner," she answered, smiling at him."Frankly, I'm not sure what to do with you. We can't just sit here inthe dining room all night."

  "Why not go out and sit on the terrace?" he suggested. "They say thatSolis Lacus is a beautiful sight when Phobos is up and moving."

  "And a shadowed terrace is a very convenient place from which to attemptan escape," she countered.

  "Look," he said, "there's no point in making the evening more difficultthan it is. I very definitely intend to get away from you and get out ofhere during the next two days if I can, but I'm enjoying thisconversation. If I promise that I won't attempt an escape in the nexttwo hours, are you willing to go up on the terrace for a while?"

  She studied his face carefully. It was a handsome, earnest face, full ofstrength, full of wisdom, with a touch of weariness.

  "All right," she said at last. "But I warn you that if my trust ismisplaced and you do attempt to escape, I'll burn you down withoutcompunction."

  They went up together, quite as casually as might any two guestsrelaxing at the resort, and found chairs in the semi-darknessoverlooking the moonlit lowland.

  Deimos hung near the zenith, a tiny globe of light, virtuallystationary. Phobos, larger and brighter, was not long risen, and itmoved swiftly and smo
othly across the sky, like the cold searchlight ofsome giant aircraft. Touched and transformed by the shifting shadows,Maya and Dark sat and chatted like old friends.

  Dark talked now, and he told her of his past life, of his coming toMars, of his joining the rebel movement upon realizing how thegovernment was holding back man's progress toward Martianself-sufficiency. He spoke soberly, with intense conviction, and Maya,listening, began to realize that there was another side to this conflictthan the one she had been taught.

  She began to waver and to wonder, for the grave voice of this man waslike a deep music she had never heard before but seemed to remember fromsome time before there was hearing, a music that touched the depths ofher being.

  Then his arm slid around her waist and he drew her gently toward him.For an instant, she responded, turning her face upward.

  And, on that instant, she remembered.

  With a lightning twist, she was free, and on her feet before him. Shestepped back, and the lighter-gun was in her hand.

  "I thought you said I could trust you," she said coldly. "Evidently, Iwas foolish to do so."

  He looked up at her, and there was nothing but surprise on his face.Then, slowly, he smiled at her.

  "It depends on your interpretation of the word," he said. "I was merelyattempting to kiss you, my dear."

  She let her hand sag, feeling rather foolish.

  "Well, don't," she said, her sharpness covering her confusion. "Wearen't lovers, Mr. Kensington."

  "No," he said, quite seriously. "And I find that I rather regret that wearen't."

  She stood looking at him, fighting off a sneaking regret of her own thathe hadn't succeeded in his intention.

  "I think this moonlight has had an unfortunate effect on us both," shesaid. "We'd better go inside. Besides, if I'm to keep watch over you allnight, I want to get into something more practical than an eveninggown."

  Without protest, Dark preceded her inside. They went to the manager'soffice, and Maya issued instructions to Gren.

  "Have a maid move my things from my third-floor room to a room on thetop floor," she ordered. "We'll wait here until it's done."

  When the maid brought Maya the key to the new room, she and Dark tookthe elevator to it. As soon as they were inside, she locked the doorbehind them.

  "I'm going into the bathroom to change clothes," she said precisely."The window to this room is six floors above a stone courtyard and Idon't think you can jump that far without being killed, even on Mars.Since these windows don't open, I'll hear you if you break it to getout, and I can burn you long before you can climb down the face of thewall."

  The lighter-gun in her hand, she went into the bathroom and closed thedoor behind her.

  She had just stripped off the evening gown when she heard the bathroomdoor lock from the outside. A moment later, there was the crashing soundof breaking glass.

  Calmly, Maya burned off the lock of the bathroom door with the littleheatgun. She pushed it open and went out into the room in her underwear.Dark was in the process of gingerly climbing through the broken window.

  "It's a long fall, Dark," she said.

  He looked back over his shoulder. He smiled ruefully, and came back intothe room.

  "Well, it was worth a try," he said philosophically.

  He surveyed her with frankly admiring eyes and added:

  "And it was worth failing, for the view."

  She turned pink. But, without taking her eyes off him, she reached backinto the bathroom, got the tunic and trousers she had laid out, andslipped them on.

  "I think it would be better if we go down and sit in the middle of thelobby," she said, unlocking the door to the room. "That way, you'll havefarther to run if you try to get away."

  They went down and found comfortable seats. They sat there, talking, toall casual appearance two of the chateau's guests. Gradually, theconversation moved back to its earlier informal and friendly terms.

  How long they sat chatting, Maya did not know, for she was wrapped up inher enjoyment of the things Dark said and his attitude toward life. Butafter a time she realized that no more guests were sitting in the lobbyor moving through it. They were the only ones there, except for Gren,sitting morosely behind the registration desk.

  "Just how do you propose to get any sleep and watch me at the sametime?" asked Dark.

  "I don't," she answered, smiling. "If you can stay awake for two nights,so can I."

  "You forget, young lady," he retorted. "I don't have to."

  With that, he stretched out unceremoniously on the sofa on which he hadbeen sitting, clasped his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.Within a very short time, he was obviously and genuinely sound asleep.

  Maya sat and watched him, piqued and a little nonplussed. She couldhardly afford to go to sleep, too. Her only course was to stay awake, tosit there and watch him sleeping comfortably and soundly. It was not apleasant prospect, for two nights.

  She sat, heavy-eyed, and racked her brain for some solution, andsilently cursed Gren for refusing to give her the help she needed. Darkslept on, and a faint smile touched his lips. Then Maya found herselfthinking pleasantly over the things they had talked about during thelong evening, and admiring this man and liking him....

  She woke up.

  With a start, she woke up, realizing that she had been asleep. She wasnot sitting in the chair any more, but curled up comfortably on a sofa,her head pillowed like a child's against--against what?

  Against Dark's chest! He was awake, sitting up, smiling down at her, andshe was cradled in the curve of his arm. And the little lighter-gun wasno longer in her hand.

  She did not react violently to the sudden realization. She sighed,almost happily, and murmured to him:

  "So you win, after all. I think I'm glad, Dark. Now you can go, if youwant to."

  He shook his head.

  "I'm glad you feel that way about it, Maya, but I'm afraid it's toolate. I really shouldn't have stayed around to serve as your pillow tillyou awoke."

  There was something in his face that caused her to sit up suddenly.

  Two uniformed men stood there in the lobby before them, relaxed butwatchful, regulation heatguns dangling from their hands. As she sat up,one of them touched his cap and spoke to her:

  "We're police officers from Ophir, Miss Cara Nome. Mr. Eli called fromMars City and directed us to drive over here and help you guard theprisoner until his arrival."

  She rose angrily.

  "I didn't ask for your help, so you may go," she said, aware of Dark'ssurprised gaze on her. "I made a mistake in identification."

  The policeman who had spoken shook his head.

  "I'm sorry," he said. "We're acting on Mr. Eli's orders, not yours.We'll have to hold Mr. Kensington until Mr. Eli arrives."

  She glared at them. The one who had spoken was big and burly andefficient-looking. The other was sallow and silent, with a deadly castto his thin face.

  Then she saw her lighter-gun, lying on the lobby floor beside the chairin which she had gone to sleep.

  She bent down, casually, and picked it up. She straightened, the littleinstrument ready in her hand.

  "This is not a cigaret lighter, but a heatgun," she said flatly. "I'm incharge here, and I say Mr. Kensington is to be permitted to go free. Ifany effort is made to stop him, I'll burn you down."

  Both police heatguns swung up in short arcs and trained on her. Theburly policeman spoke gently.

  "I'm sorry, Miss Cara Nome, but we're under orders from Mr. Eli, and weintend to follow them," he said. "I'd hate to see you injured, but ifyou blast either of us the other one will burn off your hand."

  "No, Maya!" exclaimed Dark, getting to his feet. "Don't! There's nopoint in your getting hurt for my sake."

  She ignored him.

  "Drop those heatguns, both of you, or I blast!" she snapped, almosthysterically.

  Then Dark hurled himself bodily at the two men.

  The thin-faced man swung his heatgun around to meet Dark
's charge. Mayatwisted the lighter-gun toward him, and at the same moment the burlypoliceman threw himself against her. Her heat beam singed the thin-facedone's shoulder, then she collapsed under the impact of the other's body.

  As she fell, she saw the almost invisible beam of the thin-facedpoliceman's heatgun strike Dark directly in the stomach, burning awaythe cloth, burning a great gaping hole in his abdomen. Dark slid to thefloor, writhing, gasping, clutching his stomach.

  Her lighter-gun knocked from her hand, Maya struggled, half-dazed, toher feet. The burly policeman had swung his own gun on the prostrateDark, but the other one, grimacing with the pain of his woundedshoulder, stopped him.

  "Let him be," he said. "I like to watch them die."

  With a wail, Maya dropped to Dark's side. She cradled his head againsther breast and sobbed as he died in her arms.