That’s a lie! They did the eagle count last month. Martin must have contacted Red? He’s a better actor than I thought. Joe was behind goon one and looked at Red, giving a slight nod—the manager returned his look, nodding back.
This’ll make it a lot easier for Martin to land closer to us. We have to stay alert. We’ve got our rings; I don’t know if we’ll get a chance to use them. If we have to climb over anything, ask for help from your goon. Make sure he doesn’t grab your ring hand. As he’s pulling you up, you can reach up with your other hand and nail him. After your target collapses, act surprised. Then when goon two checks him out, I will try to hit him with my ring. We have to get both of them down for this to work. If you’d rather not, I understand.
I’m game if you’re game. It’ll be easy for me if buddy boy offers to help me. That’s the key here. I may become a little helpless for the next couple of hours. If we make it to the rockfall, we should have lots of opportunities. The only other place would be after we leave the trail and head for the canyon. We can only hope. Harriet looked over at Joe. She could see him frowning. They had to be ready for the right opportunity and jump on it.
They went out toward the lift with little talk. “Keep your mouths shut and get on the lift. I’ll do the talking.” Goon number two ordered.
Once in their seats, they made the slow ride up the hill. Harriet was so tempted to reach over and grab the back of her guard’s hand. But, if he fell it would draw too much attention and that would put Joe in danger. So, she waited for the lift to come to a stop and jumped down with the other three.
They hoisted their backpacks and took off down the trail toward whatever danger lay ahead.
Neither Joe nor Harriet derived any pleasure from the beautiful trail. Deaf to the birds’ chorus and blind to the beauty of the lush, June forest, they focused their hearing on the sound of any nearing rotary engines.
It took them two hours on the trail before they arrived at the waterfall. “I need to stop… I have a stone in my shoe.” Harriet was stalling.
Goon one growled, “Make it fast!”
Sitting on a rock alongside the trail, Harriet took off her sneaker and emptied the imaginary stone. She sat rubbing her foot. Her sneaks were okay for strolling but not suitable for this kind of trail.
Can you hear anything yet? I don’t hear a thing. Where’s Martin? We’ve got an hour at the most before we get to the rockfall. I could reach out my hand to my guard and when he pulls me up, I could hit him with my ring. I’m terrified, but I don’t want to go back through that door.
God, Slick, it’s too risky, let’s wait. I think we’ll have a better chance of getting them off balance at the rockfall.
Relieved, Harriet nodded and reached out for help anyway. She would have had no issues on her own, but she figured it was a good opportunity to show that she needed a hand at times.
Her guard reached down and pulled her to her feet. Nodding, they carried on.
They turned off the main trail to the deer path heading toward the canyon and rockfall. Once there, they would have to scale the boulders as they’d done four years ago.
Harriet assumed the two men had packed climbing gear in their backpacks, although not that much was necessary.
The men were taller than Joe by at least two inches. Built like weightlifters they might have been twins. Each of them had dark, close-cropped hair and ruddy complexions. She noted that the one who helped her had huge hands. In the beginning she wasn’t sure if he was an android, but then she felt his warm hand. This meant their defense rings would work. Had the guards been androids, they were screwed. Neither man had spoken more than a dozen words during the trip so far. They seemed to be focused on the job at hand.
Hearing a faint sound in the distance, Harriet almost stopped dead in her tracks. Her head came up at the same time as Joe’s. He’d heard it too.
What do you think? Are we hearing things, or is that the helicopter? I wonder if Martin can reach us telepathically. Harriet had to work at suppressing her excitement.
It was getting closer, coming from behind. It was following the trail they were on. The distinctive whop, whop, whop, echoed through the forest, scattering birds and small wildlife. The guards turned to watch as the sleek machine drew nearer. It was traveling not too far above the treetops at its slowest speed. The rear door was open. They could see an observer with binoculars scanning the trees for eagle’s nests. Nova Scotia has more breeding birds than anywhere else on the Eastern Seaboard.
I see you, sorry we took so long—the helicopter needed some minor maintenance before we left. Harriet picked up Martin’s transmission without difficulty.
We were about to give up on you. What are you planning? Joe looked up with his hand shielding his eyes.
We’re moving over the cliff and will hover there for a while and then we will fly to a clearing a little further on and set down. I will get out and backtrack to the cliff and try to stay out of your way. Delay as much as you can. I have my weapon, but I can’t take a chance of firing from the air and missing. Stay calm, and if you can disable them, do it!
That would be next to impossible without the right opportunity. They realized this was becoming far more difficult than they’d hoped.
They were just now coming into the canyon and the familiar rockfall was dead ahead and time was running out.
Their guards were ahead of them on the trail, figuring the two captives had no place to run at this stage. They could see the helicopter hovering over the cliff, then watched it move off up the trail where it disappeared behind a rise. What they didn’t know was that the helicopter had landed and dropped off Martin who was already on his way back toward the top of the cliff. The underbrush hid him from those below. There was little danger of him being seen.
The sound of the chopper fading into the distance, was replaced by the noise of Harriet’s own heart pounding in her ears. God, can we pull this off? It was all she could do to maintain control.
Chapter 22
A Deadly Game
Goon one turned to them, “We’re here, stay close.”
He moved, not toward the base of the rockfall, but to a spot under the cave opening high overhead.
What’s he up to? Joe could see any plans they had for one of them reaching down to help Harriet up the rockfall, was no longer an option.
Oh my God, I totally forgot about the damned rope ladder. Brian and Martin both used it. Shit, shit, shit. Joe’s face reflected his concern.
They were all under the opening, when goon one reached in behind a clump of bushes growing from the face of the cliff pulling out an almost invisible thread. He unwound it from the rock tied to it and shaking it, they saw the ladder drop.
This changed everything. Climbing the ladder required them to proceed one at a time. No doubt they would have one guard in the lead with one following them.
Harriet’s heart sank. Crap, how did we both forget this detail? How the hell am I going to make contact? This is getting worse by the minute.
Don’t panic and stay alert take any opportunity to grab his hand. Remember Martin should be above us. I’ll try to reach him and let him know what’s happening. They’ll most likely have you go first. Joe’s mind was working overtime.
He tried contacting their guardian telepathically. Martin, are you there? We’re in trouble…
Yes, I’m here, look up, I’m above the opening. The ledge is blocking me from seeing you. What’s happening?
Joe explained their predicament.
Okay, follow their instructions, and once you’re at the cave opening I’ll have a clear view. Let me know what’s happening as you go. If you can get one of them disabled, I should be able to hit the other—I have a good view of the ledge. Martin sounded confident which gave Joe the lift he needed right now.
He passed the instructions on to Harriet.
Martin’s right overhead. He wants us to take out at least one of them if we can. I suspect goon one will go up first. You wi
ll more than likely go next, then me. At the last step, reach up, let him pull you to the ledge and then hit him with your ring. We have to hope he doesn’t tumble over the side. Pull him back if you can. Grab my hand when I get to the top and help get me up out of the way. When the second guard reaches the top, let’s hope Martin can take him out.
Harriet nodded. It was a good workable plan, no matter which one of them went first. The key here was to make contact with at least one of them.
With their hearts racing, the pair of them stood at the bottom of the cliff watching the other two make their preparations.
Sure enough goon one dropped his backpack and went up the ladder. He hauled his large frame over the ledge and then threw down a rope. Goon two tied the backpack and watched it lifted to the cave opening. They surrendered their backpacks and watched them taken to the top.
Goon two took Harriet’s arm and said, “Climb.”
She figured there would be no use protesting so with her heart beating double time, she climbed the swinging ladder and tried not to show her fear. She rehearsed the steps in her mind. Give him my hand, then when he reaches down to pull me up I’d hit him with my ring. Her heart was pounding so hard, she was sure that everyone could hear it.
It was a tense trip up the ladder, but not as bad as she’d thought it might be—the other guard had put his weight on the bottom rung which kept it from swinging too much. Plus her fit lifestyle was paying off. She had no fear because of all her wall climbing experience.
At the top she reached up and the guard grabbed her hand pulling her hard. Harriet flew over the edge but recovered her balance. She grabbed the guard’s wrist, then jammed the back of her hand against his bare flesh and pressed down on her ring with her thumb. The guard was off balance and moved backward away from the edge of the cliff. Harriet said a silent prayer as he collapsed on the ledge out of sight of those below. Phase one was a success. Harriet breathed a sigh of relief.
She did her best to pull him back further but knew that his weight was more than she could handle.
Joe was on his way up. Harriet stayed back out of sight. As soon as she saw his head she grabbed his hand and hauled him up.
Joe looked up, Martin… the other guard should reach the top any second. This is not the time to miss. Harriet and Joe prepared to take him out themselves if they had to. But if the goon on the ladder saw his buddy out cold, he wouldn’t take Joe’s hand. So they backed against the canyon wall and stayed low, out of the way of Martin’s stun gun.
They saw the guard’s head pop up over the ledge. Taking in the scene he knew he was in trouble. Before he could react, they saw a flash. Martin nailed him. He had a thirty-foot drop to the canyon floor. This could be the first fatality.
Martin called down to them. “I don’t think you have to worry about either of these guys bothering you again. I’ve contacted the helicopter… it should be back in five minutes. Meanwhile, we have to get you up here. Can you toss up the end of that rope, Joe? There’s a good-sized tree here that I can secure it to. Get your backpacks ready to haul up first. I hope you two are up for another climb.”
Harriet felt like the weight of the world had lifted from her shoulders. She was game for anything Martin suggested.
The helicopter arrived as scheduled five minutes later and landed in a clearing nearer to the top of the cliff. Joe found another anchor pin in the goon’s backpack and attached the rope to it and then heaved the weighted rope up over the top of the cliff. Martin tied it to a tree and hauled up the two backpacks.
“Hang on, Martin,” Joe called up. “I’ll pull up the ladder and tie it to the end of the rope. Then you can haul it up and secure it to the tree. It’ll be a lot easier for us to climb.”
Harriet was busy pulling up the ladder and then handed it over to Joe to finish the job. They tied the rope to the top rung and signaled Martin to pull it up. Five minutes later, they secured the ladder on an angle from the front of the ledge to the top of the cliff. It was not all that steady, but it was only about fifteen feet to the top. Joe was having his doubts but he helped Harriet up and she made her way to the top where Martin grabbed her hand. Joe did the same. He held his breath, knowing a fall would only bang him up.
He needn’t have worried, he was up and over in two minutes. They untied the ladder and dropped it down to the ledge. No sense making it visible. And besides that, their unconscious friend would need to climb down after he came to and figured out how to get his partner in crime back to the ledge. His own life wouldn’t be worth living if he left his partner behind.
They made their way to the waiting helicopter, tossed in their bags, and climbed in.
Harriet grinned at the boys. “Life will seem dull after today.” She put her head down trying to keep it together. Trembling, she wanted to cry and scream, but managed to suppress the screams and wept silently instead.
Joe hugged her knowing that this was her way of coping with all the terror of the past few hours. Once again he envied her ability to let it all out. He sat back enjoying his freedom, knowing that as long as the commander was alive, their liberty would always be tenuous.
They couldn’t discuss too much with Martin in the front seat next to the pilot so Joe used his telepathy. What will happen to those two now, assuming the one you nailed survived the fall?
I suspect the one on the ledge will check to see if his partner’s alive, or just injured. The canyon floor is soft there with moss and leaves and rotting vegetation, so the chances are he’ll only be bruised. Then he’ll use his climbing gear to hoist him up. From there he can either carry him or make a stretcher and drag him through the tunnel.. Dying or dead, he’ll take him back. Either way, I can guarantee they won’t be in this century long. We can only hope that the commander recognizes that you have outwitted him for the fourth time.
“How are you doing?” Joe reached down and stroked Harriet’s hair. She had buried her head in his lap to hide her tear-streaked face. Sitting up, she raised her chin, “I’m fine now—everything caught up with me just then. But I’m okay.” Her big smile showed that she meant it.
He used his telepathy to explain the conversation he and Martin had just had, which relieved Harriet’s anxiety.
“It’ll be nice to get on with our honeymoon.” They‘d missed a full day of it and needed to talk about what they could do for the two days they had left.
The pilot radioed the control tower and requested permission to land in front of the Executive Flight Center. Five minutes later he touched down. Joe and Harriet grabbed their backpacks and got out. Martin would go back to the waterfront with the pilot. He told them to contact him as soon as they returned to the city.
They went into the passenger lounge and booked a ride to get to the airport parking lot where they had left their car that morning.
While they waited for the courtesy car to arrive, they sat in the lounge with a cup of complimentary coffee and figured out their next step.
Chapter 23
Regrouping
They’d lost their luggage but had salvaged most of their clothes and Harriet had stuffed her jewelry in her backpack, not wanting to leave it in the goon’s vehicle. At some point, they knew the rental company would pick up the goon’s rental car, and they’d get a call about their luggage. A phone call to the rental company might speed up the process and it would get the car back to the company a lot sooner. Also, they owed a call to Red in the office at the ski hill. That was a conversation they would have to run by Martin later.
Flying to Quebec City was out of the question. They’d lost their fare, and with only two days left of their planned three days, they decided they’d postpone their honeymoon to another time.
They’d had their fill of excitement for a while and were looking forward to some quiet time. The best place to do that was at home in their apartment.
Their ride arrived and the driver took them to the parking lot and let them out. Joe tipped him and stowed their backpacks in the Jeep.
/> During their drive home, they rehashed events and recognized that the drama in their life was not over. But they knew the commander had to figure out his next move, which would give them a break.
Joe let Harriet out in front and drove the Jeep around back to the parking lot. He collected all the bags, stacking them on the luggage cart, and then wrestled the load up the rear steps to the back door.
He dropped the bags in their bedroom and then flopped on the couch with Harriet.
“I’ll call Martin—I know he’s anxious to hear from us.” Joe dialed the number. He’d had enough telepathy for one day. They needed to get back to a normal life.
“I’m glad you’re back, I think I should come over—we have lots to talk about. Is that all right?”
“Martin wants to come over, he sounds anxious, are you okay with that?” Harriet nodded. They couldn’t say no. A lot had happened since this morning and it was still only six o’clock.
“I’d better put on the coffee.” Harriet went to the kitchen. She took a banana loaf out of the freezer. These time travelers from the future loved their sweets so she kept the freezer stocked with goodies.
While she was fussing in the kitchen, she felt Martin’s tingle. It made her smile. Who needs a doorbell?
Joe opened the door before Martin could knock. “C’mon in, bud.” He opened the door wide, taking Martin’s jacket.
“I’m not surprised to see you home. You didn’t have much left of your long weekend away. I’m sorry about that.” Martin looked troubled.
“It’s okay, man. It’s not your fault. We knew it was coming. I just didn’t expect it now. It was careless—this was too close this time. We can’t let it happen again.”
Martin nodded, “You’re okay now though? He searched their faces for signs of stress then continued.
“It will take the commander time to figure out what to do next. I’m sure today’s events will anger him. And whatever he does next, we have to stop him. I think staying ahead of him is the only way we can put an end to this nightmare.” Martin’s voice rose, “You are not the only people subjected to his madness. He’s having a hard time recruiting for his insane breeding program.”
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