Order of the Air Omnibus: Books 1-3 (130 page)

"Leave the window, Jerry," Alma yelled. "We're going after them."

Jerry waved a hand in answer, dropping the mat, and dropped back into his seat.

"Let's make sure they stay gone," Alma said, almost to herself, and banked the Dude.

It was harder to follow them on the winding road, the steep slope on one side and the overhanging trees cutting off her view. Jerry lobbed another flash bomb after them anyway, and it hit with a satisfying crack and flash. Three miles on, the road leveled for a brief instant, and Alma dove on them again. She caught a brief glimpse of someone hanging out the car's window, trying to get a shot at her, but then Jerry had dropped two more bombs, and the car swerved and skidded before it disappeared into the trees again.

"I don't think they're coming back," Jerry shouted, and Alma nodded, banking the Dude into a rising turn. Kirsch's men were still making tracks for Colorado Springs, taking the snowy road at reckless speed, and she reached for the radio.

"Stasi? Stasi, can you hear me?"

"I hear you." Stasi sounded unusually subdued. "They've gone. And we're all fine."

"They're still making tracks for town," Alma said. "I think there's a chance we've run them off permanently."

"I don't know —"

"Tell Lewis I'm putting down in the clearing where the Ford landed. Can he bring the truck to collect us?"

"Just a minute, darling, I'll ask."

Alma circled the mine, frowning at the light. The sun was well below the rim of the mountain; she needed to land soon, or head back to a lighted field. Not to mention that it was four-thirty, and the device was supposed to go off again in twenty-five minutes. Was there more static on the frequency, or was that just her imagination?

"Alma. Lewis says he'll follow you there."

"Roger that," Alma answered. "See you soon."

Jerry pulled himself into the co-pilot's seat, fumbling with the seatbelt. "I've got Dr. Tesla strapped in," he said. "Are you really going to try it?"

"Oh, yes." Alma nodded. "Piece of cake."

Jerry stared at her. "And when was the last time you landed in an open, unprepared, snow-covered field? No, on second thought, don't answer that!"

Alma grinned in spite of herself, and banked left, searching for the break in the trees. Yes, there it was, a nice long open stretch, perfect for the rail terminal if that had ever been finished, and definitely long enough for the Dude to land. Takeoff might be a bit tight, but she'd worry about that later. The main thing was to get Tesla up to the mine.

The wrecked Ford was still crumpled at the end of the clearing, one wing shattered against the trees. It had left a long trail in the snow, still visible in spite of the earlier snows, and she circled twice, studying it. The Guard trucks hadn't cut up the ground much at all, and it looked as though this was her best bet. And she'd need to do it soon, before the light went any further.

She brought the Dude around a final time and skimmed the length of the track once, skis just touching the snow. She felt no major obstacles, and came round to make a second pass, then a third, packing the snow a little more each time before she lined up for the landing. She dropped in over the trees and the broken Ford, shedding speed and altitude as fast as she dared. She was still too fast as she skimmed the snow, kissed it once, twice, the skis rattling, then dumped the last of the lift. The Dude dropped hard, fighting her, tail still up and no control, and she kicked the rudder, trying to get some kind of steering. The tail came down, swerving hard to the left; she fought it back, no brakes, just the control surfaces to slow her, flaps down and the trees still coming, fast, too fast. She held on to the bucking wheel, and at last the Dude slowed enough for her to swing it into a wide circle. One ski tugged and sank in the unpacked snow, but she gunned the motor and pulled free on to the harder pack. Through the trees, she could see the lights of the truck, picking its way down the access road, and brought the Dude to a stop.

"Nice flying," Jerry said, in a strangled voice, and the truck pulled to a stop, Lewis opening the door to wave from the running board.

They made it back to the mine in deepening twilight, which made the lights crawling behind the mine windows even brighter by contrast. Mitch and Stasi were outside, Stasi hunched in her best coat, which didn't seem to be doing much to cut the wind, but she waved a hand in greeting.

"Darling! You're just in time for the fireworks."

Mitch nodded, glancing at his watch. "We've got less than five minutes — nice flying, Al."

"Thanks," Alma said, sliding out of the back of the truck. Lewis came around to help Jerry, and together they grabbed Tesla's satchel and the Dude's toolkit.

"Very interesting," Tesla said. "Very interesting indeed."

"I wouldn't go in there, sir," Mitch began, but Tesla ignored him, brushing past him into the flickering light.

"Dr. Tesla?" Alma said, and started to follow, but Lewis caught her arm.

"Wait."

Through the open door, Alma could see the strands of electricity crawling down the legs of the device, a weird blue-violet that was both vividly bright and strangely hard to see. Tesla stood near the base, staring up at it expectantly, just as he'd stood in the lab in town all those years before. And then there was a crack of light and sound, enough to jar the ground under her feet, but Tesla never moved.

"There's a safe spot," Jerry said, in her ear. "That's how — there has to be."

"Fascinating." Tesla's voice carried in the echoing silence. "That's not at all what it was supposed to do."

Alma saw Lewis and Mitch exchange looks, and then Mitch cleared his throat.

"Be that as it may, Dr. Tesla, there are some nasty and determined people after that thing. And we need your help."

"Of course." Tesla gave him a cheerful smile. "Let's see what I can do."

"And in the meantime," Lewis said, "let's get under cover."

L
ewis followed Alma and Tesla across the open space of the mine building. His heart had slowed from the rush of the fight and now he felt loose and hyperalert, ready to take on anything. It was illusion, he knew. There were plenty of things he couldn't and shouldn't take on, but right now he coasted on a natural high of pure adrenaline.

"I imagine they'll be back," Dr. Tesla was saying. "Very inconvenient. But it should take them some hours to restore their shattered nerves."

"And then what?" Mitch asked. "The Guard may get up here tomorrow, but we can't hold off an army, and Al can't pull that stunt again in the dark."

Alma nodded. "The temperature is dropping and we're going to have to try to stay warm in the mine office. The main space is too open for body heat to help much, and those upper windows are broken out."

Tesla looked pleased. "Fortunately, I have plans for eventualities." He stopped just short of the minehead, his eyes twinkling. "Did you really think I had a lab that I couldn't heat? In Colorado in the winter?"

Alma blinked. "This space is wide open and I don't see any kind of furnace."

"Not up here, my dear," Tesla said. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a metal cylinder, then stretched up and inserted it into the first light bulb socket in the row at the minehead. "Down there." The bulbs all lit, a row of bright light leading into the mountain.

"How did you…" Alma began.

"All in good time," Tesla said, and set off down the ore tracks into the mine.

Behind Lewis, Stasi said to Mitch in a stage whisper, "You see? I told you he was a vampire."

Tesla stopped and turned back. "Nonsense, miss," he said with a wink. "There are no such things as vampires. Except for Countess Bathory of course, but I'm sure you know that story.'"

"Of course, Dr. Tesla," she said. "I'm honored to make your acquaintance."

"Come along, then," Tesla said, and led the way.

Mitch raised his voice. "Where are we going?" It seemed that they were following a gentle slope deeper into the mine, squared walls occasionally showing a branching corridor following a vein, shallow and empty. The electric lights above blazed brightly.

"My lair," Tesla said cheerfully.

There was a metal door across the corridor set tightly into the walls on either side, maybe an added protection for the active part of the mine or a safe chamber or something -- Lewis wasn't certain. Tesla pushed the door open one handed and they followed him in, Alma stopping in the middle of the room and turning around.

Lewis blinked. The walls of the room were raw stone, but there the resemblance to a mine ended. It was brightly lit with a furnace in the corner of the room, laboratory tables down the center swept clean of everything but a layer of dust that had accumulated. White metal cabinets lined two walls, while the others held a cot and a blocked off area with a curtain pulled back to show a commode and sink of plain white porcelain. Glassware was neatly arranged in an open fronted cupboard along with Bunsen burners and other equipment. Along the wall beside the door was a complicated console that looked as though it belonged in a radio station, all wires and switches and tubes.

"These are the controls for Silver Bullet," Tesla said. "It's quite useless without them, I assure you. That's simply the transmitter above. This is the actual device. Oh, and my lab." He swung the metal door closed and dropped the locking bar across it. "And they'd need a blow torch to get in. And a considerable amount of time to use it."

Alma laughed in sheer delight. "This is wonderful! This is amazing!"

"I thought you would like it," Tesla said with a little courtly bow. "Now if we can get the furnace going, we should be completely comfortable. I expect the tinned food has given out, however, so unless…."

"We have food," Mitch said, putting a pack down on one of the lab tables. "Dinner, anyone?"

They ate sandwiches perched on metal stools around the lab table. By this time Lewis was actually hungry, and relief made him curious. "Why did you build this lab all the way out here, Dr. Tesla?"

Tesla looked across the table at him, fixing him with a rather intense gaze. "Can you imagine trying to build this in town? The city fathers were somewhat upset with me after some other experiments didn't entirely go as planned."

"He electrified the sewer system," Alma said with a glance sideways at Tesla. "It was terrific!"

"I'm glad Miss Sullivan enjoyed it," Tesla said. "Unfortunately others weren't so amused. It seemed that renting a space far enough from town that unfortunate side effects wouldn't be observed was the wisest course." He folded his hands. "My goal was the wireless transmission of electricity, freeing devices from the plug to the wall and making electricity free to everyone, anywhere, any time. This device was the first step toward atmospheric transmission."

"Only it didn't work," Mitch guessed.

"Not as planned," Tesla said primly. "I believe you can see that it works."

"It works brilliantly!" Stasi said. "I've never seen a more wonderful death ray!"

"I imagine you've never seen another death ray at all." The corner of Tesla's mouth twitched.

"Not per se," Stasi said, her expression animated. "But I've seen a few mysterious devices in my time and this is absolutely the most interesting."

"I shall have to find out what other mysterious devices you've seen," Tesla said. Lewis got the distinct impression they were playing with each other. "I shouldn't want this one to fail to measure up."

"Oh, it's head and shoulders above the others," Stasi assured him.

Jerry cleared his throat. "The problem is how to we prevent these men from taking it. They're not going to give up easily. We may have scared them back to town, but I don't think we've scared them off for good." He looked at Lewis. "Do you?"

"I doubt it," Lewis said.

"Then we will have to put on a better show," Tesla said. "Something dramatic enough that they will leave Silver Bullet alone forever."

"You could rip out their throats with teeth and claws," Stasi suggested, hopefully tongue in cheek.

"Unhygienic," Tesla said distastefully. "And unlikely. But I do have a few odds and ends around here that might serve the purpose. If I might rely on your help, Mrs. Segura?"

"Absolutely," Alma said.

S
omehow, helping Dr. Tesla seemed to have changed very little over the years. Alma trailed after him, collecting the coils of wire and less identifiable objects that he unearthed from various cabinets, then held things in place as he tinkered with objects she barely recognized. Finally, she hoisted the satchel containing the remaining bombs, plus the new boxes that he had built, and followed Tesla back to the device itself. It hadn't gone off since they'd reached the inner chamber, so presumably Tesla's control panel worked as well as he claimed. Even so, Alma couldn't help casting wary glances over her shoulder as she ran strands of wire across the dirt floor.

"Unfortunately, there are only two flash bombs left," Tesla said. "But they are easy to detonate with electricity. Let's put them both in front of the main door — that ought to deter anyone from coming inside."

"It won't do more than discourage them," Alma said, stringing the wire. "Not once they realize that's all there is."

Tesla nodded. "I'm afraid they'll only be warning shots — a shot across the bow, as it were."

"It won't stop them."

"No." For a moment, Tesla looked all of his seventy-three years, but then he straightened. "However, they will buy us time, as will these." He lifted the first of boxes out of the satchel. "It's a pity they won't actually explode, but they should give us a fountain of sparks. I doubt anyone will be eager to run through them, at least not until they're quite sure they'll come to no harm. And I believe I can keep them guessing."

Alma looked up from nestling the first of the flash powder bombs in the hold she'd carved in the floor by the door. "You don't mean to confront them yourself."

"But I must," Tesla said. "They will believe almost anything from me, and that will definitely work in our favor."