Prisoners of Tomorrow (99 page)

Sterm emitted a sigh of sorely tried patience. “I will endeavor to spell it out in simple terms,” he replied. “This act of clowns has been . . .”

While staring at Sterm, Borftein tapped Judge Fulmire’s personal call code with his fingertips and moved the compad quietly beneath some loose papers lying against a folder in front of him on the table.

Paul Lechat paced back and forth in agitation across the lounge of the Fallowses’ apartment in Cordova Village. “I didn’t think the Chironians would go that far,” he said. “I thought they would react only against direct violence. Why couldn’t they have just let everything die a natural death?”

“Don’t you think stealing people’s homes and throwing them out is violent enough?” Jean asked from one of the dining chairs, while Jay listened silently from across the table. “What were they supposed to do? They ignored the soldiers and settled it with the man responsible. He should have been expecting it.”

Lechat shook his head. “It wasn’t necessary. In a few more days Ramisson would have been elected, almost certainly. Then everything would have worked itself out smoothly and tidily. This action complicates everything again. Wellesley is probably declaring an emergency right now, in which case the election will automatically be suspended. It puts everything back weeks, maybe months.”

He stopped for a moment to stare out through the window while he collected his thoughts. Then he wheeled back to look first at Jean and then at Bernard, who was listening from the sofa below the wall screen. “Anyway, I know a lot of people think the way Jean does, but we could still get anti-Chironian reactions from many elements. That’s what worries me. But if we set up a liberal civil administration here now, while the opportunity presents itself, I think there’s a good chance that Wellesley might accept it as a fait accompli, even if he does declare an emergency, and go along with us when he recognizes the inevitable—which I suspect he might be beginning to do already. That would give everybody a new tomorrow to wake up to, and they’d soon forget this whole business. But there isn’t much time. That’s why I skipped the meeting. Now you two can help, pretty much in the ways we’ve discussed. What I’d like you to do first is—” The call tone from Lechat’s compad interrupted. He looked down instinctively at the breast pocket of his jacket. “Excuse me for a moment.”

The others watched as he pulled the unit out, accepting the call with a flip of his thumb. Judge Fulmire peered from the miniature screen. “Are you alone, Paul?” Fulmire asked without preamble. His voice was clipped and terse.

“I’m with company, but they’re safe. What—”

“Stay off the streets and keep out of sight,” Fulmire said. “Sterm and Stormbel have pulled a coup. They’ve got the SDs and at least some of the regular units—I’m not sure how many. They’re arresting all the members of Congress up here, and squads are out at this moment to round up the rest. I’m probably on the list too, so this will have to be quick. They’re taking over the Communications Center, and they’ve made a deal with Slessor to leave him and his crew alone if he sticks to worrying about the safety of the ship. Get out of Phoenix if you can. I don’t know if—” The picture and the voice cut out suddenly.

“Who was that?” Jean gasped, her eyes wide with disbelief.

“Judge Fulmire.” Lechat frowned and tapped in a code to reconnect. The unit returned a “number unobtainable” mnemonic. He rattled in another code to alert a communications operator. The same thing happened. “The regular net seems to have gone down,” he said. “Even the standby channels.”

“Oh, God . . .” Jean whispered. “They’re going to bring out those bombs.”

Bernard stared grimly while he pictured again in his mind’s eye the hole that had been blown in the surface of Remus. “We’ve got to stop it,” he breathed. “We’ve got to get a message up there somehow . . . to Sterm . . . telling him what he’s up against. Thousands of people are still up there.”

“He wouldn’t believe us,” Lechat said bleakly. “It sounds like the first bluff anyone would try.”

Jean shook her head. “There must be something—the Chironians! He’d have to believe them. If they beamed a signal up spelling out just what their weapons can do, whatever they are, and with the evidence to prove it, Sterm would have to take notice of that, surely.”

“But we don’t even know which Chironians to talk to,” Lechat pointed out.

Bernard fell silent for a few seconds. “Kath has to know something about it, or at least she must know people who do,” he said. “After all, there aren’t billions of people on Chiron. And Jerry said that she has a lot to do with the people working on the antimatter project at the university. Let’s start with her.”

Jean glanced at the screen and then looked at Bernard. “Should we try calling her through Jeeves . . . via the Chironian net? It shouldn’t be affected, should it?”

“I’m not sure I’d trust any electronics,” Lechat cautioned. “Could be risky,” Bernard agreed after a second’s reflection. “If Sterm and whoever else is involved have been preparing for this, I wouldn’t put it past them to have taps and call-monitor programs anywhere. Someone will have to go there.”

“Who,” Jean asked.

“Well, Paul can’t show his face outside. You heard what Fulmire said.” Bernard replied. “So I guess I’ll have to.”

“But what about the border guards?” Jean looked alarmed. “We don’t know who we can trust. Fulmire didn’t know which side how much of the Army is on. There could be fighting out there at any minute. You don’t know what you’ll be walking into.”

Bernard shrugged helplessly. “I know. It’s a chance—but what else is there?”

A tense silence fell. Then Jay said, “I know at least one person in the Army who we can trust.” The others looked at him in surprise.

Bernard snapped his fingers. “Of course, Colman! Why the hell didn’t I think of that?”

“Who’s Colman?” Lechat inquired.

“A family friend, in the Army,” Jean said.

“Ye-es,” Bernard said slowly, nodding to himself. “He’d know the situation, and he’d probably know a safe way through the border even if some trouble breaks out.” He began nodding more strongly. “And we certainly know we can trust him.”

“I could go and see if I can find him,” Jay offered. “I don’t think I’d attract much attention. Even if the SDs are out, they’re not going to be looking for me.”

Bernard looked at Lechat. Lechat frowned and seemed about to object. Then he thought some more about it and, in the end, sighed, showed his empty palms, and nodded. Bernard turned back to Jay. “Okay, see what you can do. If you do find him, ask him to get over here as soon as he can make it.”

Jay jumped up and ran to a closet for a jacket. He looked at Jean as he pulled it on. “Yes, Mother, I’ll be careful.”

Jean forced a smile. “Just remember that,” she said.

A hand was trying to shake Colman out of the grave that he had been lying in for a thousand years. “Sarge, wake up,” the Voice of Judgment boomed from above, sounding uncannily like Stanislau. “Hanlon wants you over at the main gate.”

“Wha—huh? . . . Who? . . .” Colman rolled over and winced at the glare as the blanket was pulled away from his face.

The Angel Stanislau descended from the radiance and assumed Earthly form beside the cot. “Hanlon’s got someone over at the main gate who wants to talk to you. Says it’s urgent.”

Colman sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Why didn’t he put a call through?”

“Regular comm channels are all down, to the ship . . . everywhere. They have been for over an hour,” Stanislau said. “Emergency channels are restricted to priority military traffic.” Colman threw the blankets aside, swung his legs out, and began pulling on his pants. “Strange things happening everywhere,” Stanislau told him, handing him his boots. “Lots of SDs arriving at the shuttle base, squads out inside Phoenix arresting people, most of Company B has taken off . . . I don’t know what it’s all about.”

“Is Sirocco around?” Colman moved over to the washbasin to rinse his face.

“In the Orderly Room. Hanlon got him up earlier. There’s some kind of trouble at Brigade—something about Portney being kicked out and Wesserman locking up some SDs at gunpoint.”

Colman wiped his face with a towel, tossed the towel to Stanislau, and snatched a shirt from a closet. “Do me a favor and straighten out this mess,” he said. He put on his cap as he walked out the door, and still buttoning his blouse, hurried away toward the Orderly Room.

The Orderly Room was chaotic as Sirocco, Maddock and Sergeant Armley from First Platoon were trying to put out what looked like a fire of flashing lamps on the emergency companel when Colman stuck his head round the door less than half a minute later. “What the hell’s going on?” he asked them.

“Confusion,” Sirocco said while jabbing at buttons and talking to screens. “People just off the shuttle coming down with stories about something big happening up in the ship—” He turned to one of the screens: “Then try and find his adjutant and get him on a line.” Then back to Colman: “I’m trying to find someone to confirm the rumors.”

“Hanlon wants me at the gate for something,” Colman said. “Talk to you in a few minutes.”

“Okay. Get back here when you’re through.”

Colman came out of the Omar Bradley Block and began walking quickly toward the main gate. Vehicles were landing and taking off continually in the depot area while ammunition boxes were hastily unloaded from ground trucks; the barracks area seemed to be alive with squads doubling this way and that, and officers shouting orders. Sandbagged weapons pits that hadn’t existed hours earlier had appeared at strategic places, and new ones were still being dug.

The guard had been doubled at the main gate. Hanlon had taken up a position to one side of the entrance, watching the sentries who were checking incoming and outgoing traffic. Jay Fallows was standing just outside, by the wall of the sentry post. Hanlon saw Colman approaching and sauntered across to meet him. “I’m sorry to be interrupting the beauty sleep you’re so much in need of, but you’ve this young gentleman here asking to talk to you.” Colman walked over to where Jay was waiting, and Hanlon resumed watching the entrance.

Jay began speaking earnestly and in a low voice. “My father asked me to find you. It’s urgent. One of the people the SDs are looking for is at the house. Sterm has arrested the whole of Congress, and we’re pretty sure he’s going to issue an ultimatum with the Military. If they do, the Chironians will take out the whole ship. Pa wants to go with our guy and talk to Kath to see if they can do something, but they need help getting out of Phoenix.”

Colman’s face creased into a frown. “Take the ship out with what?”

“I don’t know,” Jay said. “It’s a lot to go into now, but we’re certain they’ve got the capability. It’s really that urgent, Steve. When can you get over?”

“Oh, Christ . . .” Wearily, Colman brought a hand up to his brow. “Okay. Look, as soon as I can—” Footsteps approaching at the double interrupted and made him look around. It was Sergeant Armley, from the Orderly Room.

Armley stopped in front of Colman and beckoned Hanlon over. “Sirocco wants you both back right away,” he said breathlessly. “I’ll take over at the gate. There’s trouble at the shuttle base. Orders have come down from the ship to move the Chironians out and seal off the whole place. Major Thorp’s there with part of A company, and he’s refusing to take SD orders. We’ve been ordered to send two platoons. Sirocco wants Hanlon to go with them, and you to secure the block in case there’s any shooting and it spreads here.”

Colman groaned to himself. Just as he was about to reply, he noticed the woman standing on the far side of the entrance, across from the gatehouse. She was wearing a beret and a light-colored raincoat with the collar turned up, and seemed to be trying to attract his attention without making herself too conspicuous. “Oh, Jesus—” He looked at the two. “Look, I need a few minutes. Jay, stay right there.” He walked across to the woman and was almost face to face with her before he recognized Veronica, for once looking neither impish nor mischievous.

“I’ve just come down from the ship, Steve.” She drew him close to the gatepost.

“Aren’t the boarding gates being checked?” Colman murmured, surprised.

“Of course they are. It’s all a mess up there.”

“Then how—”

“I know Crayford and his wife. One of the crew got me through. That can wait. It’s about Celia.”

It wasn’t a moment to be keeping up pretenses. Colman’s frown deepened. “What about her? Is she okay?”

Veronica nodded her head quickly a couple of times. “She’s not hurt or anything like that, but she’s in a lot of trouble. She’s gotten herself mixed up with Sterm, and she can’t make a move without being watched. She could be in real danger, Steve. She has to get away from there.”

Colman nodded but tossed up his hands. “Okay, but how can she?”

“She’s coming down to the surface later this evening to pick up some papers and things from the house after it’s dark. But she’ll be under escort. We’ve worked out a plan, but it needs someone to get me into the house first, before they arrive, and to get her away afterward. Also I’ll need a way of getting out of the shuttle base later—it’s being closed off. You’re the only person she’ll trust. Can you get away inside the next hour, say?”

Colman looked away in a daze. Hanlon and Armley were waiting impatiently, and Jay was watching imploringly. He thought furiously. Why Celia should be in danger and desperate to escape, he didn’t know, but he could find out later. If he said he had to get away for a few hours, Sirocco would cover for him, so that was okay. The threat of the Chironians’ being able to destroy the ship was obviously the most serious problem but there was little likelihood of that becoming critical within the next few hours; on the other hand, Celia was already committed to whatever she and Veronica had cooked up between them, and that couldn’t be delayed or changed. So Celia would have to come first. Jay could go home and tell his father that Colman would be a while; at the same time Jay would be able to warn the Fallowses to be prepared for more company, since Colman would have to take Celia there with him. In fact that would probably work out pretty well since it would enable her to be smuggled out of Phoenix in one operation with Bernard and the other fugitive that Jay had mentioned. Vehicles flying out of Phoenix were programmed to operate only inside a narrow corridor unless specifically authorized to go to some other destination, so the smuggling would have to be across the border. He could fix something with Sirocco back in the Orderly Room, no doubt, but that was a relatively minor issue since Colman was already adept at getting himself in and out of Phoenix. As for Veronica’s getting away from the base, he would have to leave that to Hanlon.