The Caverns of Mare Cetus (33 page)

   He turned and hugged Renata. "I did everything I could. She died about two hours ago."

   "I know you did," said Renata, returning his hug. "But how did she die?"

   He looked in her eyes. "What do you mean?"

   "You said it was an accident, right?"

   "Yes. It was," he said, the inflection in his voice changing.

   She let go of him. "I've been trying to make sense of what happened to her ever since I saw her. But I'm puzzled."

   "I'm sure you saw her leg. It's pretty obvious from that, isn't it?"

   "I'd like to think so," said Renata.

   "Are you implying something else happened?"

   "No. No. Not at all. I'm just trying to make sense of what I've seen, that's all."

   Trent's eyebrows narrowed, a strange chill Renata had never witnessed creeping into his face. "And what have you seen?"

   "What I've seen just bothers me," she said, her heart seeming to lodge in her throat as she suddenly became aware of his bloodstained jacket and pants.

   "She died so senselessly. After she shot herself, she went into shock. I tried everything I could to control her bleeding, but I just couldn't stop it in time. She lost too much blood, and without regeneration medication, I couldn't save her."

   "Hey, guys," said Edison. "I don't like leaving the women this long. We need to get going."

   Renata agreed. "We can clear this up when we get back to Isis," she said in a hush.

   "What did you say?" asked Trent. "I didn't catch that."

   "I said when we get back to Isis, we'll clear this up." She started walking.

   "Clear what up?" asked Trent as he followed her.

   She started into the narrow passage, Trent right behind her. When they got to the tightest section of the passage, Trent grabbed both of her ankles, stopping her.

   She looked back at him. "What?"

   "I need to know why you don't believe me."

   "I didn't say I didn't believe you. We'll talk when we get out."

   "No. Tell me now."

   She huffed. "Look. It's occurred to me that from the angle of the wound, it doesn't seem like she could have been carrying the gun that shot her. She would have had to be holding it behind her leg. That just seems odd. With all that's happened already, Explora and the government investigators are going to run over our mission with a microscope. Vimap logs will be torn apart and pieced back together. They'll do whatever it takes to resolve the problem. I'm just trying to hedge our bets, that's all."

   "Well, I don't think any of that's going to happen this time. Unless of course someone forces the issue."

   "Come on," said Edison. "Take your talk to a wider part. I'm dying back here."

   "You know me better than that," said Renata, feeling insulted. "And you know what happens when explorers die. We need to get our stories straight—now. Not later. If we don't, Novia certainly will. Now will you let go of my legs, please? Edison's having a fit."

   He let go of her ankles, and she started forward.

   "I think you're worrying too much," said Trent. "Sometimes things aren't as they appear to be anyway. Reality is perceived."

   She stopped crawling and looked back at him. "What?"

   "Seeing isn't always believing."

   Renata licked her lips uneasily. "I don't get the riddle. Do you know something I don't?"

   "Do you know something I don't?" he asked in return.

   "Come on now, guys," said Edison, raising his voice. "Move it already!"

   Renata started forward again, but she knew Trent was right. He had never gone before the Board. Hunter had. Even she had—when she broke her fingers in a careless accident while working on the Novian moon, Uxor Novia. Trent's knowledge and expertise in computers and his ability to sway people to his point of view had saved him several times—even when he was involved in a serious incident at a facility on Novia. She twisted her body to traverse a very thin pipe; she knew the passage would be opening up from here.

   Suddenly their lights began to waver. There was a rumble in the ground, and everything began to shake.

   "Marequake," said Trent. "It should be over in a minute or two."

   As the ground continued to shake, Edison began cursing at Renata and Trent.

   After a brief moment, just as suddenly as it had started, the ground stopped moving.

   "Get moving!" cried Edison, pushing on Trent. "And keep your mouths shut until we can stand up."

   Renata crawled as fast as she could, and within a few minutes, they were all out of the passage.

   "Look," said Renata, turning toward Trent. "How can you say you're not concerned, when you have to be? At the very least, you ought to be concerned about me. The Board is going to crucify me over this damned disaster."

   "A fucking disaster," added Edison.

   "Thanks, Edison," said Renata, glowering at him. She turned back to Trent. "I'm scared shitless with what's going to happen when the Company finds out. And then there's the Novian Government to deal with. They torture people, you know." She smiled, but Trent didn't seem to appreciate her joke. "I mean, what is with you? You're acting like you shot Isis."

   "Have you lost your mind?" exclaimed Edison.

   She gaped.
What had she just done?
But it wasn't what
she
had done—it was more like what had been done to her. She felt it was Trent who had shrewdly, expertly, pulled that rash allegation from her deepest, darkest thoughts.

   "Are you saying you think I killed Isis?" asked Trent.

   She choked on her words. "I-I-I didn't mean you killed her."

   "That's what it sounded like to me. So it must follow I had a reason to kill her then, right?"

   "That's just crazy. Why would you have any reason to kill her?"

   "I didn't say I did. But since you're accusing me, you must have something in mind."

   "I didn't…"

   "Maybe you'd like to take it a step further and incriminate Garrett as well—maybe we planned all this just to kill Isis."

   "Come on, Trent. That's ridiculous."

   "Is it?" He lowered his gaze. "You know, it's kind of sad. I had really hoped I'd hit her femoral artery so she'd quickly bleed to death. But only guessing at her anatomy, I missed. She woke from the pain, and I had to struggle to hold her against the ground. The horror in her eyes was hard to take." He looked up. "Now that's a gruesome thought, isn't it?"

   Renata stared at him incredulously.

   "Did you check her wrists?"

   "What?"

   "Did you check her mouth and see where I gagged her with socks from her own pack?"

   "Trent…"

   "And her back? Did you find any bruises from where I threw her against the wall?"

   "Stop. Stop this already." She didn't know what else to say, how else to react. He was talking crazy.

   "Or perhaps it is a conspiracy. Everyone likes a conspiracy. Maybe Isis discovered something about this mission, something only Garrett and I knew. So Garrett staged the malfunction on Kalo Two, giving us a reason to split up. And using that ploy, we were able to isolate Isis, knowing her high-strung spirit would let her fall into our plans…"

   Her body shuddering, Renata couldn't believe what Trent was saying, the way he was saying it. Words coming to her lips only to be sucked back in, she seemed unable to express her thoughts, unable to counter him. She looked toward Edison for some help, but he looked confused, perhaps frightened, and in his uselessness it was as if he had turned into stone.

   "…so we dragged her to the ground, and Garrett put the gun…"

   "Stop it," she said. "Stop it already!"

   "Why? Am I not just covering all of your suspicions?"

   "No. That's not true. I've never been suspicious of you—or Garrett."

   "You mean you haven't questioned Garrett's use of the Severon Incident to bring weapons to this lifeless planet?"

   "That was just a scare tactic. You know that."

   "Do I? Perhaps we've been duped, Rene."

   Renata hesitated in her response. "What do you mean?"

   "I've had a lot of time to think down here—you know—alone and surrounded by the darkness. Take Isis for instance. She was an expert in biological chemistry. A bit odd for this mission, wouldn't you say?"

   "I-I-I've considered that," she said defensively.

   "Were you aware Isis worked with Richelle twelve years ago at GeoMagnetics, which was once a major marketer of Velandrite-BC antibiotics through its subsidiary, BioMedical Corporation?"

   She shook her head, not sure what he was getting at.

   "Did you know they also worked together at Pasola Minerals in 92, and they both ended up at Tellurium Exploration in 95?"

   She nodded. "Yes, I'm aware of that. But what does that prove?"

   "GeoMagnetics, Tellurium, and Pasola were only truly successful at discovering velandrite deposits when both Isis and Richelle worked for them. Not before—nor after. I find that more than interesting. Don't you?"

   Renata scoffed. "You want me to believe those two had some uncanny knack for finding velandrite? What were they, wonder girls?"

   "Well, those two wonder girls certainly had a knack for working with places that got into trouble. All three firms were nailed by the government for fraud—but not until after Richelle and Isis had left them."

   "Now you're saying they helped those firms find velandrite, then ratted on them after they left? Why? How? What did they have to gain? You know, Trent, I think that's the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard you say."

   "Call it whatever you want, but the facts are there."

   "Sheesh! Those places got into trouble because they broke the law. That's just plain carelessness. Since most of our velandrite goes to Earth, those companies were well aware they had to adhere to the regulations applied to velandrite. The Novies have no love for Earth— if they had their way, they'd shut down every velandrite operation out here."

   "If Isis and Richelle were so angelic, why did Garrett go to several VPs to try to block their assignment to this mission? Being that he worked with them at both Tellurium and Pasola, that doesn't make sense." His voice softened to a whisper. "Then again, maybe it does."

   "What are you getting at?" she asked, wearied by his combativeness. "Tell me what Trent's brilliant mind has concluded."

   "Right now, unfortunately, the conclusions are evasive."

   "Well, that's just a wonderful answer," she said sarcastically. She kicked the ground with her boot in frustration, then looked up. "Trent. What are you doing? It's like you have me on a hook but won't bring me in."

   He smiled, as if he had expected her to say that, then it faded. "I could say the same of you. Don't you think?"

   They stared at each other for a long, tense moment, then she shouted. "Quit playing games with me!"

   "Would you get with it already?" exclaimed Trent, his temper flaring like a cork shooting from a bottle of vintage champagne. "Why would I try to save her life if I shot her? Check your Vimap. The data's been transferred by now. Everything I did after she was shot is in your hands."

   "Damn it. I am so, so sorry I ever said you shot her."

   "What I don't understand is how my friend, the woman I've always admired, could have let something slip through her lips like that. The bottom line is—Isis shot herself. I don't know how exactly, but she did it." His eyes softened and he chuckled. "What if I questioned you about Hunter, Ramon, and Devon?"

   "Why would you?" she asked defensively, instinctively.

   "Tell me, did you program the Kalo to be above the path at the moment they were near the edge of the pit?"

   Her voice strengthened. "That is ridiculous."

   "Maybe, but Explora might determine you had the opportunity and certainly the smarts to have worked out all the details."

   "That's crap, Trent. You know that isn't going to happen."

   "What about motives? Hunter's command, your hatred for Ramon, Devon the Iob."

   She put her hands on her hips. "That is just plain ridiculous."

   "Is it? You certainly jumped on Hunter's command."

   "I had the right, besides, you were the one who told me to do it."

"You asked for my advice. I gave it."

"Don't hand me that. You knew the situation."

   "As for another motive. What about your encounter with Ramon in the passage by the spring?"

   "What?"

   "I suspected all along you weren't telling the truth. That bothers me. You've never lied to me before—ever. I know he caught you breaking a bunch of STEPS directives and in quite embarrassing attire. But I just don't understand why you did what you did. You played right into his hand."

   "How the hell do you know about that?" she cried, redness flooding her face. She clenched her fists. "That creep! He promised he wouldn't tell."

   Trent put out his hands. "Calm down."

   "That lousy son of a bitch."

   "Don't blame him," said Trent. "Blame our technology."

   It dawned on her. "So, what? You pried into my log files?"

   His eyebrows rose. "I wasn't aware you had any."

   "You shouldn't be. No one should. I secured them."

   "But Ramon's weren't. Apparently he had his Vimap on him and was running an audio log. I'm impressed with your Spanish. I found his log when I was running routine file checks." Trent stepped forward and took her hands. "It's okay, Rene."

   She looked into Trent's caramel-brown eyes, suddenly seeing the tenderness and caring she had known for such a long time. She spoke softly. "I threw out all my common sense. After Ramon's insults, I went swimming in a spring I found. I saw a passage on the other side of the spring, and it looked intriguing. I was too impatient to put my clothes back on, and I only thought I'd be a minute or two, so I went exploring…uh, you know…no com on me. Nothing." She lowered her gaze. "I was too ashamed to tell anyone."

   Trent began rubbing her back. "Don't worry. I understand now. When I found the audio log, I was so angry I wanted to erase it, but I locked it up tight instead. Your access only. File RS-114T."