Chapter 20
The Sun swung down and touched the western hills. In small groups the village men came back from their fields, to be taken and disarmed—their faces slack with shock—by Alec’s men. By nightfall the entire village was safely under guard.
“Hey!” Gianelli shouted in the flickering light of the fire they built in the center of the village square. “We found the wine!” He waved a wicker-covered jug over his head, then put it to his lips.
Alec was sitting by the fire, eating with Jameson. “Better make certain that no more than a couple of those jugs are opened,” he said. “Put the rest under guard or break them. And keep the villagers inside their huts. I don’t want any of our men grabbing their women. I want to stay as friendly with these people as we can.”
Jameson nodded, finished scraping his plate clean, then moved off into the shadows.
Alec spent a fruitless couple of hours questioning the village men. None of them admitted to knowing where Douglas’ headquarters were, except that it was west of their valley. For years they had been sending grain over the western road in exchange for protection.
They spoke seriously and politely. They shared the wine from several jugs together. They would reveal nothing. They spoke of Alec’s father as “the Douglas,” like “the Lord.”
“You can see,” Alec said, being careful to allow a long time between sips of wine, “that he isn’t keeping his end of the bargain. Where is your protection?”
“It will come,” one of the elders said sullenly.
“Protection should protect,” Alec countered, “not revenge. My men could have burned your village, raped your women, murdered all of you.”
“Ahhh...” said the old man who had been napping by the gate. “The Douglas knew that you were no ordinary raiding band.”
“What?”
“He told us weeks ago that his son might pass this way.”
“Shut up, you old fool!” a younger man snapped.
But Alec waved him down. “Douglas came here and warned you that his son might raid your village?”
The old man looked troubled now, uncertain. “Eh... it was something like that... perhaps I’ve got it wrong... I forget a lot nowadays...”
So he’s expecting us, Alec thought.
They changed the subject, or tried to. Alec steered it back to the location of Douglas’s headquarters. Jameson joined the circle around the fire, but still the villagers would admit nothing. Finally Alec bade them goodnight; they got up and returned to their huts.
Watching them drift into the darkness, Jameson murmured, “Be easier to guard them if we packed them all into one or two huts.”
“Let them sleep in their own beds,” Alec said. “We have their weapons, and they don’t want any trouble.”
Shrugging, Jameson said, “They didn’t tell you much, did they?”
“Not much,” Alec admitted.
“We have the wagon crew. They know where Douglas’ headquarters is.”
“Yes.”
“And they know that we know. A little persuasion would open them up.”
Alec said nothing.
“I could... um, talk with them. The two men, that is. I wouldn’t bother the girl.”
“I’ll talk to her,” Alec said. “Maybe I can convince her...” He let the thought trail off.
“Alec,” Jameson said, his lean face hidden in the shadows, “What do we do if she tells us where he is? We can’t just walk up to Douglas and expect him to hand us the fissionables.”
“No—but we can call down as many men as the settlement can provide. And I think we can recruit some of the people around here. They can’t all be totally loyal to Douglas. They’ll join our side for a share of the loot, especially when they see the army we can put together.”
“You really think Kobol’s going to bring down an army for you?”
“Not for me,” Alec said. “For the fissionables. They’ll have to.” And he added silently, to himself, Even if Kobol’s gained complete control of the Council he’ll have to come here for the fissionables.
In the dwindling firelight, it was impossible to see the expression on Jameson’s face. He said slowly, “Listen, Alec... some of the men don’t think we’ll ever get back to the settlement. They think we’ve been written off.”
“That’s not true!”
“It’s what they think,” Jameson said. “And... well, they’re not all that unhappy about it. This is a big world here. We could carve ourselves a nice chunk of it, if we wanted to. Some of the men have even been wondering why we don’t join up with Douglas...”
Alec almost swung at him. At the last instant he managed to check himself, already leaning toward Jameson with his fists clenched and ready.
Forcing his voice to remain calm, Alec asked, “Join the traitor? Let the settlement die?”
“They’ve left us to die.”
“They’ll send all the help we need, when we’re ready for it.”
Jameson made a low, sighing sound. “It better be soon, if you expect to have any of these men following you.”
“It will be,” Alec snapped. He was blazing hotter than the fire now, not trusting himself to say any more. He started to walk away.
“Wait,” Jameson called. He unbuckled his gun-belt as he walked up to Alec. “If you’re going to go strolling in the dark, you’d better have at least a pistol. Don’t trust anybody.”
Alec’s anger softened. “All right,” he said. “Thanks.” He strapped the gun to his hip.
Walking down a crooked lane between two rows of huts, Alec saw that the stars were gleaming brightly. He recognized Orion rising sideways above the southern horizon. It’ll be winter soon, he thought. We’ve got to get the job done before the snows start.
He paced along the bare dirt path slowly, thinking, planning, trying not to think of confronting Angela and questioning her. I’ve got to find a power source for the radios. Douglas must have a few tucked away here and there, this close to his headquarters. Find one, make a raid, stay long enough to get a message off to the satellite.
A sound pulled him up short. A gasp, scuffling, heavy breathing. He flattened himself against the rough logs of the nearest hut and slid the pistol from its holster.
Again. A muffled sound, almost a groan, but stifled.
Carefully, Alec edged along the log wall. A dim light glowed faintly from a doorway in the next hut. He tiptoed for it. More gasps, whispers, then a low voice saying:
