And there it was, exactly where Amadi's diagram had said it would be.

The box was metal, three meters by two meters, built into the ground. A blast of hot air hit him in the face as he approached. He shone the light on the junction box, illuminated the fan a.s.sembly. The fan blades rotated at such a high speed that all he could see was a blur. Sucking the hot air out of the box, the fan kept the electronic circuitry cool, and at the same time prevented rain, insects, and golf b.a.l.l.s from falling inside and damaging the equipment.

Xris reached into his leg compartment, selected various components. On a scanner, they appeared to be part of his own internal machinery. When a.s.sembled, they turned into a multihead screwdriver. He unbolted the fan shroud, stared down at the whirring blades.

"Good thing you spotted that snake, buddy," Xris said to his partner.

Xris ran back to where Ito had seen the stick. Picking it up, he returned to the junction box, looked again at his watch. Harry's s.p.a.ceplane would be entering orbit. Which meant that at any moment the prison's radar would pick it up; the lascannons would start to zero in on their target.

Xris thrust the stick into the fan blades. The force of the blades. .h.i.tting the stick nearly wrenched it from his hand. He held on desperately, hoped like h.e.l.l the stick didn't break. The fan blades stopped turning. He could smell their motor already starting to overheat.

He peered down into the electronic switching circuitry below.

Xris stood up, opened the flap his sweatpants. For a panicked moment he thought he was going to fail and he swore grimly. It figured. Every single time before this, when he'd carried out a dangerous mission, he always had to pee. Now, when he needed to, when his full bladder finally might prove useful, he couldn't.

Harry was going to die, they were all going to die, all because Xris couldn't take a p.i.s.s.

The absurdity of the situation struck him. He couldn't help but grin, and with that he relaxed, his bladder emptied. Urine streaked in a graceful arc down into the delicate electronics of the power grid.

Circuits shorted out with a hissing sound. Then came a crackling and ominous, angry buzz. Xris scrambled backward. He flattened himself on the green and covered his head just as the box exploded in a shower of sparks.

Xris was on his feet before the debris had quit falling. The fan a.s.sembly landed only about one meter away from him, its blades twisted. By some freak of the explosion, the stick was still firmly wedged inside.

Xris looked at his watch. It was 0156 and all h.e.l.l was breaking loose. The lights had gone out in the compound, alarms sounded. Emergency strobe lights flooded the compound; Xris could have read tea leaves out there. Within seconds, the backup power generators kicked in. The lights in the cellblocks came back on. Guards were shouting, running from building to building.

The guards had heard the explosiona"everyone must have heard the explosiona"but unless someone had been staring directly at the golf course in the dead of night, no one had seen it. They had to figure it was an attempt at a breakout, but where? There would be an immediate lock-down. The guards would do a bed check, going to each cell and waking the prisoners. The search would take a long time.

But Xris had only ten minutes until the lascannons came back on line.

0158. Where the devil was Macdonald? And, for that matter, where was Harry? Xris listened for the s.p.a.ceplane's engines, which he should have been able to detect even over the raucous screaming of the Klaxons. Perhaps his augmented hearing was malfunctioning, as well as his eye.

0159. It wasn't like Harry to be late.

0200. Something big, dark, and silent as the hand of G.o.d blotted out the stars above Xris's head. He stared at it, awed. The thing made no sound, had no lights, had no distinct shape. It took him a moment to figure out the thing was landing. Landing slowly, ponderously.

"What the h.e.l.l is that?"

Xris, who had been readjusting his shorts, turned to find Macdonald standing at his shoulder, with Becking and Mair behind him. Either these guys were awfully good or his hearing was failing him. Xris glanced at their soft-soled shoes, their black sweats. They'd even blackened their faces. Pros, all right.

"What were you in the beginninga"a G.o.ddam cat burglar?" Xris demanded, irritated at being caughta"literallya" with his pants down. He gave his sweats a twitch.

"We were hiding in back of the shop, watching. We saw no need to make ourselves known to you," Macdonald said in his chill voice.

"Checking me out, huh?" Xris tried to appear nonchalant, but he was worried. The ship was taking its own sweet time about landing, and by the sound of the shouts from the compound, the guards had spotted it.

"We only made one mistake in our lives," Macdonald said, by way of answering him, "and that was to trust someone who turned out to be a FISA agent. We let him get at our secrets. We won't make that mistake again."

At any other time, Xris would have found this conversation very interesting, but now he was engaged in mentally hurrying Harry Luck.

Xris calculated they had two minutes to go. The ship didn't appear to have moved at all in the last few seconds. He couldn't believe how enormous it was. It covered at least half the golf course. He could hear the ship's engines now, but just barely; it must have some sort of sound-dampening shielding. Xris was familiar with every s.p.a.ceplane, shuttle, s.p.a.ceship, and transport in the Royal Navy and he'd never seen anything like this.

"Harry, Harry," he murmured, shaking his head.

The shouts of the guards were closing in. Macdonald was breathing cold tomb breath on Xris's neck and swearing.

And then, suddenly, the ship gave a lurch, covered the last few kilometers in a split second. It settled gently on the ground, flattening out the rolling hills of the golf course which, snakes or no snakes, would not be playable for a some time. A rectangle of light appeared in the side.

Harry's bulky figure could be seen in the hatchway. "Xris?" he yelled, sounding worried.

"Come on!" Xris said, but he was talking to himself.

The Hung leaders hadn't bothered to wait around for his orders. They were already racing for the ship. Macdonald had the leada"no surprise, considering his expertise on the jogging track. Mair wasn't far behind and Becking, grunting and groaning from the aftereffects of his beating, brought up the rear. Xris exerted himself, but by the time he reached the hatchway, the other three were already inside. Go! Go back to the c.o.c.kpit!" Xris shouted at Harry, who had his hand stretched out, wanting to help his friend up the stairs. "What are you standing around here for? Get this mother off the ground!"

Xris dove inside. The hatch swung shut behind him. He felt a gentle movement and realized that the ship was lifting off.

Harry Luck stood beside him. Harry's normally cheerful face was all twisted up with worry and anxiety, but Xris was too preoccupied, had too many worries of his own to notice.

"Who's flying this thing? The computer? You know I don't like computers doing the flying! That's why I hire you!"

"Yeah, Xris. I know. But, uh, Xrisa""

"Where's Amadi?"

"Up front. Xris, there's somethinga""

"It can wait." Xris brushed him off. "In about five minutes, those lascannons are going to open up on us. Are the shields up? I want you at the controls of this contraption, not some computer."

Xris had Harry by the arm, was propelling him bodily through the empty, cavernous belly of the ship, steering him in the direction of the c.o.c.kpit. The three Hung leaders clumped along behind; Xris could hear their footsteps ringing hollowly on the metal deck. Xris glanced around.

"What kind of ship is this, anyway?"

"This is a brand-new prototype cargo transport, Xris," Harry said defensively. "The new Xena cla.s.s. Bear Olefsky loaned it to us. It's got all sorts of special featuresa""

"I hope strong shields are one of them!" Xris said grimly. Now that he looked at it closely, of course it was a cargo transport.

They were inside the belly of the transport now, moving away from the hatch at the back, heading toward what he presumed was the c.o.c.kpit at the front. The overhead was far, far over his head. Heavy steel ribs gleamed in the semidarkness. Giant hooks hung from the ceiling. Metal tracks ran along the deck. He could have fit the first four stories of his cellblock in this thing and have room left over.

"It'll hold forty T-26 Dominatorsa"a whole regiment's worth," said Harry with a nervous glance at Xris.

"Fine!" Xris snapped. "When I want to haul around forty T-26 Dominators, I'll know what to buy. Where the h.e.l.l is the c.o.c.kpit?"

He had just stumbled into a metal bulkhead.

"Through here," Harry said, indicating another hatch. "Same as any transport. The c.o.c.kpit is separate from the cargo hold so that the hold can be jettisoned in case of emergency. Look, Xris," Harry said, speaking in low, urgent tones, "we've got to talk."

The deck rocked beneath Xris's feet, throwing him against the bulkhead. The three Hung leaders staggered, reached out to grab on to each other for support.

"What was that?" Becking gasped.

"We're under attack," Xris said. "Lascannon fire."

"My G.o.d!" Mair was pale, his eyes rolling. "Do something! Get us out of here!"

"The computer can handle it," Harry said. "She's a really nice computer, Xris. Very polite and professional. I like her. And the shieldsa""

Another blast struck them. Macdonald was knocked to his knees. Becking, clinging to a steel beam, was white and pasty.

Xris. .h.i.t the hatch release, opened the hatch leading to the c.o.c.kpit. A man holding a beam rifle stood framed in the hatchway.

a.s.suming the man was Amadi, Xris started to shove past him.

Not Amadi.

Xris came up with a jolt.

"h.e.l.lo, Xris," said Andrew Robison.

CHAPTER 42.

Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, Notebooks.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you," said Harry Luck. "I'm sorry, Xris, but there wasn't anything I could do. They got my mom!"

"Shields holding, Pilot Luck," came the computer's voice, a female voice, calm and rea.s.suring. "We will be out of range of lascannon fire in one minute. Do you want to return fire?"

"Do we?" Harry asked. He wasn't looking to Xris for the answer. Harry looked to Robison.

"No, don't bother. Take us out of here. Greetings, gentlemen," Robinson said to the Hung leaders. "I'm Mr. Trevor. The real Mr. Trevor. It's good to meet you face-to-face at last. Please take your seats and make yourselves comfortable. The trip will last about two hours. Sorry for the crude mode of transportation, but I didn't have much choice."

"As long as we're out of that h.e.l.lhole, I don't care if I'm traveling by trash hauler," said Mair, sinking into his seat and heaving a sigh.

Macdonald strapped himself in, gazed into the cold empty vacuum of s.p.a.ce, a vacuum that seemed cozy and cheerful in comparison to his eyes. Becking had located the head. From the sounds of it, he was busy losing his dinner.

There was one other pa.s.senger. Jafar el Amadi.

Amadi lay huddled between one of the pa.s.senger seats and a control panel. He had restrainers on his hands and feet. Blood covered his face, was matted in his silver-gray hair. His eyes were closed, his body limp.

"Is he dead?" Xris asked.

"No," Robison answered offhandedly. "At least I don't think so. He was waiting for Mr. Luck at the s.p.a.ceport. My people arrived first. They had orders not to hurt him. I wanted information from him, but he put up a fight and they didn't have any choice."

"Where are the rest of your people?" Xris asked, glancing around.

"They stayed behind," Robison replied. "For security reasons, this needs to be kept quiet."

In other words, the lower echelons didn't need to know the names and faces of those who paid their salaries.

"We are out of range of lascannon fire, Pilot Luck," the computer reported. "Shall I lower the shields?"

"Yeah," said Harry dispiritedly.

Harry's greatest joy was flying, especially in tense situations. Now he sat slumped in the pilot's chair, unhappy and upset.

"Would you like the damage report, Pilot Luck?" asked computer.

Whatever." Harry sighed.

"There is no damage to report," said the computer, who appeared to be genuinely fond of Harry and seemed to be trying to coax him into a good mood. "Would you like me to set the course and make the preparations for the Jump to hypers.p.a.ce?"

"What is our course, Harry?" Xris asked, hoping to jolt Harry out of his lethargy.

"Beats the h.e.l.l out of me." Harry looked up listlessly. "What is our course?"

"Del Sol," said Robison.

The shock was like a kick in the stomach and Robinson had done it deliberately. He was watching, waiting to see Xris's reaction. Xris gazed back blankly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Harry jerk to attention, sit bolt upright, and open his mouth.

"Dela"" Harry began.

Xris shifted his jaw a certain way and Harry's subdermal transmitter burst into a roar of static.

"Ow!" Harry clutched at his head and yelped.

"What's wrong with him?" Robison glanced around.

"Migraine headache. He gets them when he's under stress. He needs to learn to calm down," said Xris. "Not overreact."

Harry ducked his head, avoiding Xris's gaze, and hurriedly turned back to the computer.

"Enter a course for ... what was the name of that place?" Harry asked.

"You know it. Your friends are there. Or should I say were there. Are you really that stupid or is it just an act?" Robison asked.

"It's not an act," Harry protested indignantly, and went back to plotting the course with the computer.

"As for Del Sola"that was the name, wasn't it?" Xris shrugged. "I've never heard of it."

"Uh-huh." Robison poked Xris in the small of the back with the beam rifle, indicated one of the pa.s.senger seats. "Sit down."

"What do you intend to do with that gun?" Xris asked, amused. "You certainly don't plan to fire it. If you do, you'll kill us all. You'll blow a hole in the hull. We'll decompress."