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of his peripheral vision, approaching cautiously.
A sec man was in hiding there, trying to remain out of sight in the recessed door he stood
guard over. The man was obviously reluctant to engage the enemy creeping through the
underground fortress, though whether by his own reticence or by order Ryan didn't know.
The one-eyed man kept moving, staying loose and ready to move. The other companions
kept going, following Jak. When he was sure he was out of the sec man's field of view,
Ryan doubled back, quick and quiet.
At the edge of the recessed doorway, the SIG-Sauer blaster hard in his hand, Ryan
paused, waiting. When the companions passed from the sec man's sight, the guard wasn't
able to resist peering out to confirm they'd gone.
Ryan brought the blaster around in a tight, fast arc, crunching the butt into the man's
forehead. Bone shattered, giving way before the pistol.
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The man bleated in pain, trying to bring his assault rifle up to defend himself.
Blood sprayed over Ryan's hand as he hit the sec man again. He moved up quick, not
giving his enemy a chance. There was no doubt that the pain-filled screams had been
heard by Ryan's companions or anyone who was on the other side of the door.
Ryan went in fast, using his body weight to slam the sec man against the door. He swung
the blaster once more, dropping his adversary with a blow to the temple. If the impacts
against his forehead hadn't killed him, the sec man would recover.
Movement sounded on the other side of the door.
Knowing he was expected, Ryan gripped the doorknob, twisted and followed it in. He
dropped into a prone position at once, the blaster out before him.
Light spilled out of the room, coming from the small fungus positioned overhead, as well
as from the monitor screens along one wall. Two men were in the room, scrambling for
their weapons as they retreated to the door sliding open at the back wall.
Ryan brought up his blaster, firing at once. He put four rounds into the lead man,
dropping him in his tracks, then another three into the man behind. Both seemed to be
dead.
Ryan grabbed a swivel chair in front of one of the monitors lining one wall in the sec
station. Whipping his body to use his weight as well as his strength, he threw the chair at
the closing doorway at the back of the room, knowing he wouldn't have been able to
cover the distance on foot. And even if he had, struggling with the door would have left
him an open target for hostile guns on the other side.
The chair sailed on target, clanging and ringing against the metal loudly when it slammed
into the gap. Steel crunched when the door closed on the chair. A red light went on over
the doorway, bleeding out letters that read Error Door Malfunction.
The space left in the gap was large enough for a man to slip through if he was careful.
Ryan entered the room with the blaster in his hand. "J.B."
"Yeah."
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"You got our retreat."
"Count on it."
Stooping, Ryan lifted a flashlight from one of the dead men in the room. A small wind
gusted from the open doorway, shifting his hair. It was dark beyond, but there was
enough light to see that a tunnel continued on.
Krysty and Doc went to the sec-monitor station and started looking over the controls. Jak
brought up their prisoner and quickly tied his hands behind his back with a length of
chewed rawhide.
Ryan switched on the flashlight, standing at the edge of the door so he wouldn't be
highlighted by the bright yellow beam. A cone of light was cast down the tunnel, sending
shadows scurrying. He followed his sweep with the blaster.
No one was there.
Ryan kept watch over the tunnel. Just because no one was there now didn't mean it would
stay that way. "What have you got?" he asked Krysty and Doc.
"A satellite system, Ryan," the old man replied. His long fingers played across one of the
keyboards in front of him. Scenes altered on the monitors, creating new patterns of light
that filled the room. "It operates off a mainframe computer."
"Can you find Mildred?"
"We're looking, but it appears this system is tied in with outside viewers, as well."
"I'm looking for a master list," Krysty said. She was at another keyboard, her brow
wrinkled as she studied lines of programming on the monitor in front of her. "This system
isn't as simple as the one back in White Sands. And there's a number of lockouts on
different areas."
"We don't have a lot of time here."
"I know, lover. If we can't turn something in the next minute or two, we'll give up."
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"I'm going to hold you to that." Ryan glanced at the man Jak had dragged in.
The albino squatted beside the guy and uncapped a canteen. He poured water over the
man's face, sluicing away some of the blood, which was quickly replaced by more
gushing from the wounds Ryan had inflicted.
The sec man groaned in pain and shock. His eyelids snapped open, and he blinked to
clear the water from his vision. He started struggling at once, crying out in fear.
Jak leaned in close and shoved one of the leaf-bladed knives under the man's jaw, with
almost enough force to break the skin. "Not talk," the albino said in a low voice. His ruby
eyes sparked with threat. "Not yell. Not breathe if told you no."
The sec man fell silent.
Jak held the knife in place a little longer, his gaze never faltering. Almost reluctantly he
took the knife away. "Breathe."
The man exhaled loudly and noisily, his jugular pulsing madly along his neck. A white
spot still showed where the knife blade had been pressed.
Ryan walked over and looked down at the guard. "The black woman," he said. "We want
to know where she is."
"In the lockup," the guard said hoarsely. He had trouble focusing his eyes on Ryan.
"How is she?"
"Prince Boldt didn't want her hurt."
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