"I do. You and your toy handcuffs. They only wanted me; Thorsan thought
I knew he killed Feyjak. He was afraid I might give him away. They had
to drag you along on account of your silly handcuffs. If you hadn't
split my lip, I could laugh at you. They're going to kill us, you know."
"Yes, I heard him say that."
"What are we going to do? Any ideas?"
"Not so far. How about you?"
"Nothing definite. I still have the benzedrine tablets I swiped. They
didn't find 'em when they searched me. I'll split with you. If we take
it before they come for us, we may get a chance to make a break. It'll
counteract the paralysis drug if they're counting on that to make us
dead pigeons while they haul us around."
Her hand found his in the dark and thrust six pellets into his open
palm. Her fingers were wet and sticky.
"You're bleeding."
"It's nothing serious. That bracelet of yours cut my arm when they
chiselled it off."
"I'm sorry about everything, Ria--"
"Skip it," she said harshly. "Of course you're sorry. Now shut up. I
hate post-mortems. Besides, I think they're coming. Better get your
benzedrine down."
* * * * *
There was sound of the bar being withdrawn. A heavy foot kicked the
door open. A man with a twisted face held the light and the gun while
two others approached warily and jabbed needles into the captives.
Coarse hands jerked them to their feet, and the two were dragged
outside, feigning limpness.
"Now," said Ria. She thrust out her foot. The man with the gun tripped
and went sprawling on the floor. Heydrick swung with all he had at the
darkness where he remembered a chin and felt bone shatter beneath his
fist. Then he was tangled in a savage knot with the third man, rolling
and threshing about in deadly fury.
Ria was not idle. She salvaged the light, switched the radilume back
on, and hunted for the dropped gun. In a matter of seconds, she brought
the butt down on an exposed skull. The thug let go and sank to the
floor.
Heydrick dusted himself off.
"I ought to let you have it, too," Ria mumbled, "but I always was a
softy. Come on, sucker."
"Which way?"
"I think they brought me that way," the girl said slowly. "Let's try
the other. Heaven knows where it leads."
Heydrick took the gun from her and thrust it through his belt. They
struck off down the tunnel, taking forks at random, but going as
cautiously as they could.
Luck was against them. They came suddenly round a turn and into a
chamber full of Wildings. It was the room where Heydrick had been
questioned by Thorsan. The man still sat at the desk. Heydrick drew the
gun and pressed its trigger as Thorsan dived for a doorway. The desk
glowed, then exploded. The room was choked with dust.
Heydrick remembered a nightmarish pursuit, running down a series of
criss-cross galleries with endless side passages. The gallery ended
abruptly. An open mine-shaft barred their way.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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