"Yes," Ulv nodded, "all except one. I knew I could possibly save one,
and I was not sure who. So I took the woman you were with in the desert,
she is here now. She was hurt, but not badly, when I brought her out."
Guilty relief flooded through Brion. He shouldn't exult, not with the
death of everyone in the Foundation still fresh in his mind. But at that
instant he was happy.
"May I see her?" he asked Ulv. He was seized by the sudden fear that
there might be a mistake. Perhaps Ulv had saved a different girl.
* * * * *
Ulv led the way across the empty loading bay. Brion followed closely,
fighting down the temptation to tell him to hurry. When he saw that Ulv
was heading towards an office in the far wall, he could control himself
no longer and ran on ahead.
It was Lea, lying unconscious on a couch. Sweat beaded her face and she
moaned and stirred without opening her eyes.
"I gave her _sover_, then wrapped her in cloth so no one would know,"
Ulv said.
Telt was close behind them looking in through the open door.
"_Sover_ is a drug they take from one of their plants," he said. "We got
a lot of experience with it. A little makes a good knock-out drug, but
it's deadly poison in large doses. I got the antidote in the car, wait
and I'll get it." He went out.
Brion sat next to Lea and wiped her face clean of dirt and perspiration.
The dark shadows under her eyes were almost black now and her elfin face
even thinner. Yet she was alive, that was the important thing. Some of
the tension drained away and he could think again. There was still the
job to do. After this last experience she should be in a hospital bed.
Yet this was impossible. He had to drag her to her feet and put her back
to work. The answer might still be found. Each second ticked away
another fraction of the planet's life.
"Good as new in a minute," Telt said, banging down the heavy medbox. He
watched intently as Ulv left the room. "Hys should know about this
renegade. Might be useful as a spy or for information. Of course it's
too late now to do anything, so the hell with it." He pulled a
pistol-shaped hypodermic gun from the box and dialed a number on the
side. "Now, if you'll roll her sleeve up I'll bring her back to life."
He pressed the bell-shaped sterilizing muzzle against her skin and
pulled the trigger. The hypo gun hummed briefly, ending its cycle with a
large click.
"Does it work fast?" Brion asked.
"Couple of minutes. Just let her be and she'll come to by herself."
"Killer!" Ulv hissed from the doorway. His blowgun was in his hand, half
raised to his mouth.
"He's been in the car--he's seen it!" Telt shouted and grabbed for his
gun.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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