A flicker of memory crossed my mind. A towheaded, blue-eyed toddler hurrying toward me with a few stones clutched in her tiny fists, watching with solemn fascination as I fitted them together into a crude wall or tower, oftentimes directing the castle"s construction, then tottering off to fetch another handful.
"That was you?" I asked. "That pretty little blond girl?"
"That was me, Hays. And you. I had such a crush on you. When you were five."
Chapter 52 52.
UNFORTUNATELY, THE ACTION and drama wasn"t stopping. How could it with President Jacklin"s plan against the humans under way? An hour later, Lucy jumped out of the car and hurried toward two grizzled pilots who were about to climb into a jet parked on the tarmac. The locale was a small private airport just outside New Vancouver that operated luxury aircraft for Elite corporate executives and military officers with special clearance to travel into Human Wasteland.
I was still crowded in the car trunk, watching through a slightly open lid.
"Hey, could you guys give a girl a lift?" she called to them as she approached.
They stopped and turned, looking amused at what they saw. While they stared at Lucy, I eased out of the trunk and moved around behind them.
"Where you going, sweetheart?" the older of the two said.
Lucy had both hands on her hips, and the top b.u.t.tons of her blouse were undone. Nothing too understated about that; nothing too understated about Lucy, period.
"I"m not real particular. Anywhere but here. You follow me, Captain?"
"We"re not supposed to carry unauthorized pa.s.sengers," the younger one said. He had a close, army-style haircut, looked buff, and was definitely checking her out.
"People do a lot of things they"re not supposed to," Lucy answered back. "Or so they tell me."
The older one laughed out loud. "Got yourself in a little trouble?"
"Let"s just say I need to relocate-quickly-and I"m flat broke. That give you the picture?"
"Well, it"s pretty tight up in the c.o.c.kpit, but we could probably sneak you in."
"I"ll be fine. I can be very very flexible." flexible."
"I"m not sure about this," the younger pilot said nervously. "We could get in trouble, Mel. Couldn"t we?"
"Come on, who"s going to know?" his partner said with a c.o.c.ky shrug. "n.o.body cares who flies out out of the country." of the country."
"You want a peek at the cargo first?" Lucy said. She smiled cheerfully and reached to unb.u.t.ton her blouse another notch or two.
Well, that eliminated resistance for both of them. As they stepped closer to her, I came up behind, grabbed a handful of hair from each, and bashed their heads together. Just hard enough to knock the pilots out.
"Nice work, Hays," Lucy said and grinned. "But I"m still still driving." driving."
I was done arguing with her-at least for right now. She was the one, after all, who was too important to be captured too important to be captured. I wondered what that was all about.
"I"ll let the pa.s.sengers know there"s been a change in flight plans," I said.
"Try to be subtle, Hays."
"Definitely."
We jumped on board, with Lucy ducking into the c.o.c.kpit and me heading back into the pa.s.senger compartment.
Chapter 53 53.
SUBTLE, I REMINDED myself. That is certainly sound advice under the circ.u.mstances. We are, after all, hijacking this plane. That is certainly sound advice under the circ.u.mstances. We are, after all, hijacking this plane.
Unfortunately, when I walked into the cabin, which was decked out like a luxury hotel suite-with plush couches, a full bar, and the latest entertainment devices from the Toyz Corporation-the three executive types seated there weren"t particularly overjoyed to see me on board.
I guess I could understand why. They were just getting acquainted with the other pa.s.sengers: two beautiful and well-endowed female androids who were at the preflight teasing stage of their "coffee, tea, or me" routine. And the "me" part could be taken quite literally.
"What are you you doing in here?" the oldest of the businessmen asked, probably the boss. "We didn"t order any male androids." doing in here?" the oldest of the businessmen asked, probably the boss. "We didn"t order any male androids."
The executive brushed a partially undressed female companion off his lap and stood, glaring at me with the self-a.s.sured look of somebody used to being in charge.
Subtle, Hays.
I snapped to attention and gave him a salute. "I"m with the Agency of Change," I answered. "I"m on a mission here."
I was was on a mission-to find something in the compartment I could use as a weapon. These three execs might not be trained fighters, but they weren"t ordinary humans, either-they were Elite males, and I didn"t have the edge of surprise I"d had with the pilots. "We"re bringing a bomb simulator on board. It"s a prototype... for wiping out human cities. Don"t worry, there"s no danger to any of you. This is President Jacklin"s initiative." on a mission-to find something in the compartment I could use as a weapon. These three execs might not be trained fighters, but they weren"t ordinary humans, either-they were Elite males, and I didn"t have the edge of surprise I"d had with the pilots. "We"re bringing a bomb simulator on board. It"s a prototype... for wiping out human cities. Don"t worry, there"s no danger to any of you. This is President Jacklin"s initiative."
The hostility on their faces changed to interest, and duty. So now what did I tell them?
"The machine will be loaded on in just a minute," I said as I sidestepped into a storage area that held metal canisters of fire r.e.t.a.r.dant. I wrenched one of them from its rack. It would have to do.
The plane had suddenly started forward in a smooth glide that, at first, was barely perceptible. The senior executive who"d first challenged me did it again. "The door"s still open! And if the prototype"s coming in, why are we moving?" he asked.
"To give you a running start," I said and spun around with the heavy canister, lashing it at his jaw. It connected with a rinnng rinnng that vibrated through my fingers all the way to my teeth. that vibrated through my fingers all the way to my teeth.
As he staggered away, I planted my boot in his chest and shoved him, flailing and yelping, out the open door to the tarmac below. Before I could recover my balance, the other two gents piled onto me. I could tell by the way they moved that they had military backgrounds.
I was still clutching the canister in my hands, so I snapped the seal off the nozzle. I aimed it at them. Then I coated the men with a blast of gooey, greenish fire r.e.t.a.r.dant.
"What the h.e.l.l!" one of them yelled. "I can"t see!"
They reeled away, crashing into each other, blinded for the moment. Next, I used the canister to bludgeon them out the door behind their bossy friend.
Then I turned my attention to the two androids. "Ladies, I"m afraid you get off here too!" They were only too happy to oblige.
"That"s your idea of subtle? subtle?" I heard Lucy call from up front. "Now shut the d.a.m.n door!"
Chapter 54 54.
IT TOOK SOME wrestling to get the plane"s door closed. Seconds later though, we were off, streaking out across the vast expanse of the North Pacific-toward only Lucy knew precisely where, and why.
After a few hours of resting back in the cabin, I finally went up in the c.o.c.kpit with her. "Now what happens?" I asked.
"More trouble, I"m afraid. The radar shows an interceptor craft, and it"s gaining on us. We"ve got maybe ten minutes before it catches up. They really really don"t want you to get away, Hays." don"t want you to get away, Hays."
"Maybe Lizbeth just wants me back."
"No offense, but I doubt that very much. You are a human, Hays. She"s High High Elite, and I don"t mean that as a compliment. The two of you are oil and water." Elite, and I don"t mean that as a compliment. The two of you are oil and water."
She gazed at me calmly, but we both had an idea of what was coming next. The interceptor was a smart-missile that would clamp onto our plane, cut a hole through the fuselage, and unleash a team of highly trained Elite commandos inside.
"We"re going to have to bail out," she said. "You"ve used a Deathwish Suit before, haven"t you?"
"Unfortunately, yes," I answered. "Deathwish Suit" was a pejorative nickname for superinsulated silicone uniforms with jet-propulsion packs and parachutes. They were designed for high-alt.i.tude bailouts, like this one would be. The jetpacks would last an hour, keeping you aloft, then you needed to pop the chute and hope for a pinpoint landing.
"Come in here and put one on," she said. "I"m trying to contact friends in Russia who might help us. But it"s going to be down to the wire."
"Just the way I like it," I said.
"You"re such a liar."
"Not me. Everybody else. Everybody else."
Chapter 55 55.
THE ATTACK CAME much faster than Lucy or I would have liked. With a harsh grinding sound, the interceptor latched like a giant, metal remora onto the outside of the jet. It rocked us sideways, but the Elites apparently didn"t want to knock us out of control and risk a crash. Maybe I was still usable to them-or to Lizbeth. Or maybe Jax Moore wanted to kill me himself.
I was snuggled up beside the rear cargo-hatch controls, my body wedged tightly into a storage s.p.a.ce, my feet braced against a wall.
A laser saw from the interceptor, with a sharp hiss, had already started to cut into metal. A smoldering line appeared in our hull as the beam sliced through.
In less than a minute, the cutout fell inward, and two well-built Elite guards charged through, with three more right behind them. They were armed with a.s.sault rifles and wearing their own Deathwish Suits, ready for anything.
Well, not anything.
I dropped the cargo hatch!
Instantly, a ferocious wind sprang up inside the plane.
The first two commandos were too shocked and surprised to grab hold of anything. The suction pulled them flying through the cabin, then shot them out the hatch into the dark ether.
The same could be said for just about everything else that wasn"t fastened down tightly. Bottles from the bar flew past me like a hail of bullets, along with luggage, wads of plush upholstery, entire cabinets that had been torn from the walls.
Then my luck turned bad again. Our Our luck, since Lucy was involved now too. The cutout section of hull was wrenched off the floor and came spinning along with the rest of the debris-but it hit the hatch opening flat, blocking most of it. luck, since Lucy was involved now too. The cutout section of hull was wrenched off the floor and came spinning along with the rest of the debris-but it hit the hatch opening flat, blocking most of it.
When the three remaining commandos got sucked toward the hatch, they slammed into the hull cutout instead. Not good for me. Suddenly, it was three against one, and these guys were trained to maim, then kill.
Of course, I tried to remind myself, I tried to remind myself, so am I. so am I.
I unwedged myself, pointed my feet at them, and let go of my grip. The wind shot me toward the hatch like a human pile driver. This certainly should be interesting. If I survive. This certainly should be interesting. If I survive.
Chapter 56 56.
PROVING THAT I still had "it," I slammed into two of the muscular commandos, a boot planted squarely in each man"s chest. The force of our impact caved in the hull section, folding it in the middle. It blew out through the hatch and we went with it, we went with it, twisting into the air outside with gut-wrenching speed. twisting into the air outside with gut-wrenching speed.
I grabbed hold of the nearest commando"s throat, then gave my jetpack a hard blast.
The two of us broke free from the others and rocketed away, punching and kneeing each other viciously as we struggled for control of his rifle.
His buddies were quick to follow, moving faster than I could with my unwilling pa.s.senger in tow. Flashing bursts of laser fire started hissing past us.
I managed to spin the commando around and into a headlock with the rifle pinned across his throat. As best I could, I was using him as a shield.
His "buddies" didn"t hesitate for a second. They continued to fire mercilessly. The tough skin of the Deathwish Suits kept the blasts from traveling all the way through, but I suffered the shock of successive shots. .h.i.tting his body. I felt him convulse-then go limp in my arms.
Hanging on to the rifle, I curled myself up tightly and shoved the dead body into their path. Then I jetted away in a series of sharp, erratic somersaults. That bought me a few seconds, long enough to turn around and start shooting back.
That was when another Deathwish-Suited figure came spinning into sight.
Lucy in the sky-no diamonds!
She was zooming in behind the pair of commandos, so they didn"t see her-not until she crashed piggyback onto one Elite"s shoulders. She locked the poor guy"s neck between her thighs in a scissor hold. Then her hands snapped his neck, tearing off his helmet with such fury that I was surprised when his head wasn"t still inside it.
As she rode that flopping body past the other commando, the sight distracted him for the instant I needed to fire off several shots. The lasers slammed his back; his hands jerked up and tossed his rifle into the icy wind rushing around us.