Talbot sat on the edge of Kylee’s bed, arm around Dya’s shoulders. The monitors were glowing, the room feeling warm and snug. Rocket lay curled on the floor making curious purring sounds.
“So, if we can’t think of a way to escape this place, if Aguila’s going to make it us or Mundo Base, what does this mean for Rebecca and Su and the rest of us?” Kylee asked.
“It means we have a choice,” Dya told her. “We can try and escape. Get away from here before you’re well. It means we’ll have to find a way to get you out of the hospital, somehow sneak you to the airfield, and steal an aircar. Then we have to make sure we’re not followed on the way home.”
“But they’ll come looking for us,” Mark said wearily. “They know we exist. Your wonderful salves are curing Aguila. She’s practically quivering with curiosity about how you’ve managed to adapt to the forest. And, Dya, that woman is desperate. She’ll stop at nothing.”
“The base is falling apart, Mark,” Dya told him. “Are we just fooling ourselves? Especially if within a year we’re living on the ground?”
“Other people live on the ground. I’ve heard of the Briggs, the Philos, and Andanis. Can’t be that hard. We’ve got standing structures that can be defended. Locally there’s stone. Lots of timber. We can build something more suited for habitation and defense than the shops and sheds.”
“Rocket and I,” Kylee added, “we’ll help. Keep guard. Like Dr. Turnienko says, we’ve got quetzal sense.”
Dya shook her head, shoulders slumping. “You said Aguila would deal? Fix what’s broken? Maybe it’s worth it.”
“Not your decision to make by yourself,” Mark reminded. “That should be up to the others. We can’t decide for them. Rebecca and Su would take that as a betrayal.”
“The only other choice is not to go back,” Dya told him. “Aguila can’t follow what was essentially a one-way trip. Knowing Rebecca and Su like I do, I’m not sure they wouldn’t prefer that we abandon them down there rather than bring the whole world crashing into Mundo Base.”
“Dya,” Kylee reminded, “they’re pregnant. How long can they climb the stairs with the lift broken?”
“The move to the ground is inevitable,” Dya countered. “The old dormitory is being used for storage. It’ll be easily converted back to living quarters. It has running water from the cistern. It’s a short walk to the fields. Damien and Shantaya can work the fields. The science will have to be put off, that’s all. They can get back to it when the babies are older.”
“And we’ll just surrender ourselves to Aguila?” Mark asked.
Dya shrugged. “We have skills that she desperately needs. We can trade. Contract for a time. Start at a year. She’ll push hard for more. In the end, it’s Donovan. She’ll meet our terms.”
Talbot reminded, “I’m the weak link, the leverage she can use against you.”
“Maybe. But she’s smart enough to know that if she pushes too hard, she’ll piss me off to the point that I refuse to give her so much as the shit off my shoe. She’s got my medicines, but she doesn’t have the formulae to manufacture them.” Dya tapped her head. “That’s up here. Makes me wonder what Shig and Yvette would pay for what I know. Maybe enough to buy you free of Aguila.”
“But that still leaves Rebecca, Su, and the kids abandoned at Mundo.” Talbot fingered his chin. “That’s family. People we love and who depend on us.”
“Mark, more than anything, we need to buy time. Let Kylee heal.” Dya squinted uncomfortably. “A couple of months. Wait until they relax. Somehow, along the way, someone’s got to recharge the aircar. We slip away some morning just before dawn.”
“Not the way they guard the gates here.” Mark rubbed the back of his neck with his good arm. “If we could just talk to Rebecca and Su. What do you think my chances are of sneaking into the admin dome and getting to the radio room? If we just had a little luck on our side and someone down at Mundo was monitoring the radio . . . ?”
“Won’t do you any good,” a voice said from behind.
Mark’s stomach dropped as he turned to see Talina Perez standing in the doorway. He asked, “How long have your been there?”
Dya went pale, loathing and despair in her fallen expression.
“Long enough.” Talina closed the door softly behind her. Stepping around the bed, she looked down at Kylee. “How you doing, kid?”
“Fine. Dr. Turnienko says I’m healing real fast. Says I’ve got quetzal power.”
“Yeah, I’ve got a little of that myself.”
“Son of a bitch.” Dya, hopeless, shook her head in defeat. “Talina Perez, once again fucking up my life.”
Talbot tightened his arm around her shoulders. “One day at a time, wife.”
To Talina, he said, “So, there it is. Now that you know we’re ready to run, what are you going to do? Turn us over to Aguila?”
Talina pursed her lips. “Sorry. Change of plans. You know the Frankenstein story? About the monster? It’s a classic right? Remember the townspeople? The pitchforks and burning torches?”
“Get to the point, damn you,” Dya said through gritted teeth.
“The point is, the locals are going berserk. I just had a standoff with a group of the good citizens at the front door.”
Perez bent down, staring into Rocket’s three eyes. “Sorry, buddy. But you have to go. And since you can’t go without Kylee, she’s in the same fix. But somehow, given what I just heard, I don’t think Mark and Dya want to stay here either.”
Dya, still seething, asked, “What are you talking about? Supervisor Aguila’s got a watch on our aircar.”
“And last I checked,” Talbot told her, “the power pack was still at twenty percent.”
“Yeah,” Talina said, standing. “And it’s going to stay that way.” She fixed her eyes on Dya. “Last time you and I had dealings, I did you and yours dirt. Now, I don’t really give a rat’s ass what you think of me. You’re a hell of a lot more right about me than you know. But I owe you and whoever’s left down at Mundo. So you’re going home tonight.”
“What about Kylee?” Dya asked. “She can’t travel yet.”
Talina smiled down at the little girl. “Sorry, kiddo, but you’re going to have to. Now, I’ve talked to Raya. She’s put together an emergency kit in case there’re complications. And we’re working out some alternative scenarios if you take a turn for the worse.”
Mark disengaged from Dya and stood, skeptical eyes on Talina. “We can’t take you there. It’s not our call. We won’t take you to our home.”
“She knows,” Dya whispered. “She’s been there.”
“But I thought . . .” Then he put it together. “Right. They never came looking because they thought you were all dead. Abandoned the place. Whatever.”
“My aircar’s out the back door,” Talina told him. “Raya’s getting a stretcher for Kylee. Pack your stuff. Once we’re in the hall, not a word. Aguila’s in a meeting in her room with that shithead Spiro and a couple of her engineers. We need to go fast, quietly, and without a fuss. You all got that?”
“So you take us back, and then what?” Dya demanded. “It means you’ve got your claws sunk into us again.”
“Your trouble is with Aguila. I represent Port Authority. Shig, me, Yvette? We haven’t missed you since you’ve been gone. Won’t miss once you’re back at whatever’s left of Mundo. Call if you need medical or supplies. We’ll deal. Either SDRs or trade. So far as we’re concerned, go live your lives. Mundo’s yours.”
“Hard to believe.” Dya seemed unconvinced.
“Yeah. Call it lessons painfully learned. Now, come on. We’ve got to get you the hell out of Dodge before either the pitchfork-carrying locals or the high and mighty Supervisor gets it into their heads to make my life more difficult.”
Talbot took a deep breath. “Why should we trust you?”
“Given who I am, and what I’ve done? Sucks doesn’t it? Let’s just say I’m doing it for Kylee and Rocket. That way there’s no weird awkwardness about debt and forgiveness, okay?”
Raya Turnienko stepped into the room bearing a pack and collapsible stretcher. Her Siberian features bespoke a tense unease.
Within moments, Mark had helped pack their few belongings. With Dya and Perez bearing the stretcher, they eased out of the room. But for the whisper of their shoes on the floor, and the clicking of Rocket’s claws, they moved silently.
Passing Aguila’s room, Talbot heard voices. Aguila’s strident, declaring, “Lieutenant, I’m at the end of my rope with you! We lose the smelter, we lose Donovan. Do you understand? If we can’t beat back this damned forest, all of humanity’s . . .”
And then they were past. Out the back. Into the darkness where Trish Monagan’s shadowy form waited by an aircar.
“Tal,” the security officer asked, “you sure you know what you’re doing here?”
“Nothing more than I have to, Trish.” Talina’s voice dripped bitterness.
And then they were loaded, Kylee carefully placed on the back seat, her form wrapped in blankets. Rocket immediately curled on the floor, his hide a kaleidoscope of riotous colors muted by darkness. Yeah, he really was terrified of flying.
“See you, Raya,” Perez called as she donned night vision, spun up the fans, and lifted into the darkness.
Talbot settled on a seat next to Dya, taking her hand. “Hope this works out,” he murmured into her ear.
“I don’t know that we’ve bought ourselves anything but a little time,” she replied. “When Aguila finds out, she’s going to be pissed. Eventually, she’s going to come looking for us. You know that.”
He did. And when that day came, it would mean he’d have to go up against his old team. He wondered if the armor would be up to it.