“Will do!”
Alec signed off. For many long minutes he sat there, his mind whirling, wondering what Kobol was doing and why. But he was too tired to think straight. Slowly he disconnected the transceiver, then stealthily edged the door back to its open position and stepped into the bunker’s main room.
Douglas was sitting at the table in the center of the room, making the bunker look crowded with his bulk. Angela stood beside him, staring at Alec in cold fury.
“You made it through the summer, I see,” Douglas said. He was smiling, but there was no humor in his voice.
Chapter 22
For a stunned moment Alec didn’t know what to say or do.
Douglas seemed to enjoy his surprise. “Do you really think you’ve been out of my sight for one minute since you landed on Earth?” He spread his massive hands in an all-inclusive gesture. “From the minute you touched down at Oak Ridge you’ve been under surveillance. I’ve been impressed. You learn very quickly. There were only three or four times when I was tempted to step in and help you.”
“You haven’t lifted a finger,” Alec snapped. “We fought our way here on our own.”
“That’s right,” Douglas agreed. “You spent the summer working out an experiment—in survival. The experiment was a success. You survived. You even helped us to polish off some of those raider bands.” He laughed, and the underground bunker seemed to shake with it. “Lord, they’d get their attention all focused on your pitiful little gang and start licking their chops. Then Will would swoop in and clobber them. It was sweet.”
“Glad to have been of help to you.”
Douglas’s laugh faded to a cocky grin. “I’ve never turned down help from any quarter. I’m not too proud to accept your help.”
“As long as you can have things your way.”
“Of course.”
Still standing at the doorway to the radio room, Alec asked, “And what do you plan to do with my pitiful little gang now?”
“Will’s going to speak to them in the morning. Offer them a chance to join us. Most of them will, I expect. The rest will be escorted out of my territory, politely but firmly. Maybe they can work their way south again and link up with Kobol.” Douglas scratched at his iron-gray beard. “We, ah... overheard your radio conversation on the monitor in my jeep.”
“We,” Alec echoed, looking at Angela. She refused to meet his gaze. For the first time, anger began to seep in and replace the shock that had numbed him.
“Get yourself some sleep,” Douglas said, hauling himself to his feet. “We travel at sunup.”
He went to the stairs and started up. Angela followed him. She glanced over her shoulder at Alec for a fleeting instant, but said nothing.
Bitch! he snarled at her, silently.
Strangely enough, Alec slept deeply through the remainder of the night. Dreamlessly. He awoke with a slight sense of guilt at feeling so rested.
Douglas’s jeep was parked just outside the pallisade. Alec was marched to it by an armed man as soon as he got up. No breakfast, no formalities; none of the firebase crew said a word to him. The morning was raw and chill. Thick gray clouds covered the sky from horizon to horizon, making the rolling hills seem somber and grim, muting even the wild colors of the autumn trees.
Douglas was already at the wheel of the jeep, a dark blue windbreaker over his nondescript clothes. Angela was talking with him, very seriously. A blanket was wrapped over her shoulders.
The guard sat Alec in the back seat of the jeep. Angela started to go around to sit beside him. The guard looked questioningly at Douglas.
“It’s all right,” Douglas said, his big hands gripping the jeep’s steering wheel. “Let her sit back there with him. You ride shotgun up front. He won’t try to run away. He’s been waiting all summer to see our base. Right, son?”
Alec said nothing.
With a shrug, Douglas added, “Maybe, if you behave yourself, I’ll even let you see where the fissionables are stored.”
Angela climbed in beside him, the guard swung into the right front seat beside Douglas and laid his heavy black pistol on his lap. Douglas glanced at the threatening sky, then started the engine. The electric motor purred to life and the jeep started slowly, gathering speed as it jounced down the hillside, down the narrow trail.
The wind was raw and it sliced right through Alec’s thin shirt.
“Here,” Angela said. She pulled a thermos bottle from under the seat and took the top off. Steam wafted from its innards. Alec accepted it wordlessly and took a small sip of hot broth. Then a gulping mouthful. He handed it back to her.
“Thanks.”
She nodded and pulled the blanket closer around her shoulders. For several kilometers they rode that way, side by side, silent and angry. Finally, Angela shook her head as if she had been arguing with herself, then unwrapped the blanket and offered part of it to Alec.
“Before you freeze,” was all she said.
He hesitated a moment, then pulled the warm fabric across his shoulders. Automatically they slid closer together, huddling together under the blanket.
“You told Douglas where he could get me,” Alec said to her.
Her face set into a stubborn frown. “You used me, didn’t you? You had no intention of going back to the Moon without the fissionables. Did you think I fell for your lies?”
I fell for yours, he answered silently. Then he shook his head and said to her, “I guess I’ve been outsmarted all along.”
“You’ve outsmarted yourself.”
“We’ll see.”
