Humanity Unlimited 1: Liberty Station (11 page)

The reflections of their light were just strong enough for her to see the door. Refusing to run, she walked toward it as quietly as she could.

The door opened onto a dirty chamber scarcely three feet across. A passage led straight up from there with holes cut into the rock for climbing. Dim light filtered in from somewhere above.

She considered closing the door, but even if she could move it, she might be trapping those people down here to die. She’d just have to take the chance that they wouldn’t come up and catch her in the act of escaping.

Jess made it about two thirds of the way up when someone shouted below her. A glance down showed someone climbing rapidly toward her while a second person shined a bright light upward.

Time to pick up the pace.

She threw caution to the wind and raced toward the surface. If she fell now, they’d kill or capture her, so she jammed her boots into the holes as deeply as she could.

Which, in hindsight, might have been a mistake. Her foot got stuck just shy of the surface.

Jess cursed and wiggled her foot. When she felt it give, she yanked hard. Her boot came loose, and so did the stone. It fell straight down and smashed into the man behind her. Much screaming ensued.

“Sorry,” she said as she pulled herself up to the surface. Hopefully it didn’t kill either of them.

She came out into the dim light filtering through the trees and jumped to her feet. It looked as though they’d rolled a rock out of the way to gain access to the passage.

“Well, well. It looks like I get a second chance after all. There must be a god.”

Jess whirled and stared at the man in camouflage leaning against a tree. He had a pistol held loosely in his hand. “Come along quietly and I won’t have to use this. Resist and my idiot brother can carry your corpse home in a body bag.”

* * * * *

Harry was still trying to widen the hole enough to wedge himself inside when shots rang out to the west. A lot of shots. He sprang to his feet and headed for the tree line at a jog.

“Shots fired,” Rex said. “Somewhere back toward the clearing.”

“Who’s engaged?” Harry asked.

A chorus of negatives came back.

He looked around the tree he’d chosen for cover. “Enough of this crap. Pop smoke and drive our visitors back. Rex, you and I will find the source of those shots.”

It had sounded like a pistol. Someone had let off at least a dozen shots in short order. He wondered what the hell they’d been shooting at.

A sound off to his right caught his attention as he eased into the undergrowth. Someone was hauling ass. He headed in that direction, stopping occasionally to listen.

He knew he’d focused on the movement a little too closely when the tree beside him took a bullet that sent splinters into his face. He dropped and rolled, looking for his attacker.

“You think you can sneak up on me, shithead? Wrong answer!” The voice was obviously a very stressed out Jess.

“Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”

* * * * *

“Harry?” She stared toward to source of the voice, trying to ignore the ringing in her ears.

“I’m going to stand up,” he said. “Don’t shoot me.”

He rose cautiously out of the undergrowth. “You want to put that thing away?”

She stared at the pistol for a second and then lowered it to her side. “Sorry. It was your brother. He ambushed me.”

“It looks like that didn’t work out so well for him. Where the hell did you come from? I was about to dig my way in.”

She gestured behind her. “There’s a secret tunnel back there. There were two guys in the chamber and I dropped a rock on them.”

Harry shook his head in amused disbelief. “Aren’t you the resourceful one?” He took her pistol from her, checked it, and held out his hand. “You’re almost dry. Give me the other magazine.”

She handed it to him as Rex came through the trees at a run. He hefted his rifle and scanned the area, making her feel a whole lot better.

Harry swapped out the magazines and slid the pistol into her holster. “Are you hit? Turn around.”

“No. He missed me. He said he was your brother. He shot at me and I drove him off.”

“So you said. Where’s this hole down?”

Jess felt like she was in shock. Her vision was all weird and tight, and she couldn’t seem to think straight. She took a deep breath, focused, and led him into the trees.

He grabbed her arm when they spotted two men hobbling away. One was supporting the other. “No need to shoot at people who’re retreating. Just let them go.”

“I wouldn’t have shot them,” she said indignantly. At least she hoped not. She’d been reaching for her pistol when he grabbed her.

The man supporting what looked like a teen saw them and hobbled faster. In moments, they were gone in the trees.

Rex came into the small clearing. “I found a few blood drops, so I think he took a round. You want me to chase him down?” He inclined his head toward Jess. “Good shooting.”

Harry grunted. “No. We can’t afford to let him ambush one of us alone. Help me close this off. We’ll post a guard and make sure the new people know about it. I don’t want that asshole slipping in there to blow anything up. Pardon the language.”

She smiled. “I said something like that a few minutes ago. How long before the ringing stops? That gun is loud.”

Jess cocked her head. She heard something in the distance. It was the distinctive sound of a helicopter. “We have more company.”

The two men rolled the rock back over the opening. “Rex, stay here.”

He led her back to the clearing. A helicopter was hovering overhead and men in Rainforest security uniforms were rappelling down.

“Thank God,” Harry said. “We’ll let them get deployed and then I’ll fill their team leader in. Once they’re good, we’ll hoist you up and get the hell out of this damned jungle.”

She felt relieved. “That’s the best thing I’ve heard since this sorry trip started.”

Chapter Ten

Once the security team was in place, Harry quickly briefed the Rainforest team leader as the helicopter searched the area looking for signs of Nathan. There wasn’t much chance of spotting him, but it was worth a try.

He dialed his father’s private number as soon as he finished the briefing.

“Are you on your way out?” his father asked.

“Almost. Nathan showed back up. We drove him off and we’re about to take to the air. You’ll want a total lockdown of the two sites, particularly this one.”

The line was quiet for a moment. “I’ll call my friends in the Guatemalan government. With the generous application of some bribes, I should be able to gain control of the Mayan site. At least in the short term. It will take significantly more money to extend that into the long term and I’ll need a compelling reason for doing so.”

“You’ll want to talk to Miss Cook about that as soon as she gets back to the spaceport. I believe you’ll find her reasoning and evidence compelling.”

“Speaking to her is my highest priority. There’s a chartered plane waiting for all of you at a private airport nearby. It will fly you directly to the Yucatan Spaceport as soon as the helicopter delivers you.”

Jess walked over to Harry. “Are you talking to Mister Rogers? Give me the phone.”

He handed it over. “Don’t go into any detail over an unsecured line.”

She put the phone to her ear. “Good evening, sir. Jessica Cook here. I need to meet with you as soon as possible. This information has some bearing on the project and it’s literally earthshattering.”

After a moment of listening, she continued. “Yes, sir. It’s that important. Thank you.”

Harry took the phone from her. “We’ll be there sometime tonight.” He disconnected without waiting for a response.

“You’re not looking forward to seeing him,” she said.

He allowed the corner of his mouth to quirk up. “You’re very perceptive. No. He and I haven’t seen eye to eye for a very long time. But that’s me. He’s your boss. God save you.”

“What happened? Your split with him, his split with his ex-wife and his other son, and your not-so-subtle war with your brother. That’s a bit dysfunctional.”

“It’s also a bit personal.”

“We’ve saved one another’s lives. We’re like blood brothers now. Blood siblings? Something like that. We’re supposed to bond.”

Harry laughed in spite of himself. She was a bold one.

“Let’s just say that the two of us didn’t see the world the same way. My mother is like him, only worse. As for my brother, he’s a homicidal maniac that I’ll take out of play one day very soon.”

She nodded seriously. “I can’t argue with that.”

“And what about you?” he asked. “I didn’t think there were many orbital engineers left after the collapse of the American space program. Nobody is building anything anymore. Well, except for the Indians and the Chinese. Who’d have expected those two to get into a race to Mars? It’s kind of sad, really.”

“Once the government liquidated NASA and sold off all their assets, those kinds of jobs pretty much went away,” Jess said. “The Russians bought the skeleton of the ISS2 station from the other partners and sold it to a private firm. It’s not common knowledge, but if you dig through all the shell companies, Rainforest is where they all lead. And that’s how I come into the story.”

He frowned. “What the hell does a global seller of everything need with a space station? Aren’t drones fast enough?”

“We’re always looking for new ways to deliver things more quickly. You’d be surprised how fast a package dropped from orbit can get to your house.”

“Nice.”

A grin lit up her face. “I use that at parties. Would you believe we’re turning it into a space hotel?”

“Actually, I might. I heard my father talking about something like that a few times when I was growing up. How could you make a profit? The construction costs must be ruinous. Even with the skeleton already in place when you bought it.”

“That wasn’t any help, cost-wise. I did an inspection after we purchased it and there were flaws in a number of critical struts and supports. Your mother’s company cut some very serious corners. The thing would’ve probably come apart when they spun her up. It certainly wouldn’t have lasted the entire planned lifecycle.”

He felt his eyebrows rise. “You’ve been in space? Impressive.”

“I know, right? I’ve been up there six times.”

“And this thing can turn a profit?”

“I’m just the construction boss. You’d need to talk to someone on the business side for that.”

The helicopter circled back around and dropped lines for them. The crew chief handed out earplugs and hauled them up one at a time.

On the flight to the airport, he thought about his father’s plans. The idea of building a hotel in space was ludicrous. He must’ve spent billions on the project. No way he’d make that money back with paying guests. There must be a different angle.

Harry hadn’t figured out any answers by the time the helicopter landed. It was after dark. They walked over to a private hangar.

The interior was lit up brighter than day. A sleek private jet with the Rainforest logo on the tail waited for them. A woman in an immaculate light green uniform stood at the foot of the fold-down stairs.

“Good evening,” she said. “I’m Alicia and I’ll be your attendant tonight. If you and your party will board, we’ll take off immediately, Mister Rogers.”

The faint smirk on her lips told him she was one of the shrinking minority of people that had seen the old television program. At least she hadn’t felt the need to sing the damned song.

He let his people board while some men opened the hangar door. A small tug backed in and attached a tow bar to the front wheel of the aircraft.

The interior of the plane smelled like money. Leather and dark wood everywhere. Wide seats that looked more inviting than his bed. His father knew how to live.

That’s when he saw him come out from a door at the rear of the cabin. The Devil had come to Guatemala in person.

* * * * *

Clayton looked his son over with a critical eye. “You look like hell, boy.”

His son’s expression hardened. “Let’s see how you look when someone drops a pyramid on you. I didn’t expect to see you so quickly.”

“Obviously not. Everyone, get your gear put away and Alicia will serve dinner and drinks while we fly out of this hellhole.”

He stepped up to the cockpit as everyone found places for their gear. The pilot looked back at him questioningly.

“What did the tower say when you didn’t file a flight plan?” Clayton asked.

“The same thing they said when I didn’t give them a tail number. Thanks for the money. I’ll fly us out on a course that doesn’t lead to Mexico. I’ll turn when we’re safely away.”

Clayton nodded. “Excellent. Carry on.”

He returned to his seat and openly studied his son. Which no doubt led to the steam he could almost see rising from the boy’s ears. Harry had never been the best at concealing his emotions. Especially the hostile ones. Perhaps that was a plus in his line of work.

Alicia made the rounds and had everyone secured by the time the pilot started the engines. They’d only landed a short while ago, so the warm up time was minimal. They took off and rose into the night sky without incident. Once they leveled off, Alicia took orders for food and drink.

Clayton gestured for Miss Cook and his son to join him at the rear of the craft. He had an office there that would give them privacy to probe what had sent the levelheaded engineer into a tailspin. He couldn’t imagine how she intended to link an ancient Mayan ruin to Project Liberty, so it was undoubtedly going to be a surprise.

Because he knew that sitting behind the desk would only make matters worse with Harry, he arranged all the seats in the open area in front of it. He’d already eaten, so he sipped a fine double malt whisky as the others put some food in their bellies.

Once the intensity of their hunger diminished, he spoke. “Miss Cook, I’m delighted to see you alive and well. I heard your friend didn’t make it. Please accept my deepest condolences. I regret that my ex-wife and son perpetrated this vicious attack. If I may be so bold, what did you find that warrants my immediate attention?”