Heintz shrugged and grunted, "Probably on some higher level--some place
they could reach in a hurry from the tower. Pell, if we could grab one
of those blasters...." He left the thought unfinished, but Pell knew
what he was thinking.
They reached the main corridor. Cautiously Pell looked up and down its
long, deserted length. The lines about his mouth were tense and hard.
If they should be caught--he motioned for Heintz to follow.
They had not gone more than fifty feet on the main corridor toward the
automatic elevators when one of them suddenly opened and out stepped a
uniformed DIC mercenary!
Pell sighed under his breath and muttered to Heintz, "Pay no attention
to him--just keep walking as casually as you can. When we reach him,
we'll jump him and take his guns."
There was a single affirmative grunt from his rear. Pell watched
the soldier tensely while the latter regarded them with a blank and
incurious stare as he approached them. Suddenly a flash of suspicion
crossed the mercenary's eyes and he slowed his pace uncertainly. Pell
was no more than twenty feet from him when he charged, Heintz lumbering
at his heels.
With an oath, the mercenary dragged at the heavy automatic pistol at
his side. The impact of Pell's body sent him sprawling to the hard
surface of the corridor. Like a cat, Pell scrambled on top of him and
proceeded to throttle out the cries of the soldier. Heintz pulled him
roughly aside and picked up the soldier with one hairy paw on the
collar of his jacket and the other over his face, completely eclipsing
it.
Swiftly Pell snatched the man's pistol from its holster and slipped
it into his pocket. Then he unslung the soldier's machine-gun and
handed it to Heintz. Motioning toward the auto-dropper from which the
mercenary had just stepped, Pell helped Heintz shove the struggling
soldier inside and let the door slide shut.
Heintz released the enemy soldier who immediately began to howl loudly.
The fat man shook him and he ceased his useless cries. Terrified, he
looked from Heintz to Pell and back again.
"Where's the atomic armory?" Pell asked.
The man remained silent.
Pell repeated the question more vigorously, but still the man remained
silent.
Heintz unslung the captured machine-gun and pointed it at the other. He
fumbled curiously at its levers and spoke softly, as if to no one in
particular. "I wonder how this thing works--now, if I pull this thing
here...."
The soldier looked pleadingly at Pell, but he merely yawned and watched
disinterestedly.
The man made a strangling noise and capitulated. "Okay, you win. The
sixth level--that's up." He looked again at Pell. "Tell that idiot to
put that thing away," he pleaded.
Pell didn't answer, but looked at the controls for a moment. Then he
pressed the appropriate stud and turned to Heintz.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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