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AVA LED off into the trees again. She and Judith stopped at the edge of what had once be a clearing. Although the shed looked abandoned and neglected, Ava didn’t believe it had been empty since she had rescued Darlene from it ten years ago. The foliage surrounding it had been recently cut back.
She said as much to Judith.
“My controller doesn’t show any life signs,” Judith protested.
“That just means there is no one in the top section,” Ava replied. “The basement is shielded from scans. I will have to go inside to confirm it’s abandoned.”
“Don’t you mean we will have to go inside?”
“No, I need you to stay out here and make sure Sivano doesn’t send anyone to check things out if I set off an alarm.”
“Oh, I see. That makes sense, I guess.”
Ava took a portable code cracker out of the sled’s saddlebags and hooked it on her belt.”
“Where did you get that?” Judith asked.
Ava grinned at her. “It’s left over from my misspent youth. I opened my hidey-hole after we got back from the party. This little toy is something I used to take with me when I was a teenager.”
“How come I never heard about any of this stuff?” Judith demanded.
“Mom and Dad were trying to keep how wild I was under wraps so I wouldn’t ruin my chance of a good marriage.”
Judith dismounted and unlimbered her pulse rifle as she watched her sister’s
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CAT-FOOTED PROGRESS toward the shed’s door which was standing ajar. When Ava slipped inside, she checked the loads on the gun, cranking the pulse charges up to maximum. She had no issues with killing whoever came to check out the alarm.
It was dark in the shed. Ava touched her helmet controls, re-instating the low light filter on the faceplate.
The door to the basement was just as she remembered it. She set the code cracker beside the keypad and turned it on. The cracker turned a dim red while it worked. It took longer than she remembered. Well, it was old, she probably needed to download and upgrade to the newest program. Finally, after a long, stretch of time, it flashed green, and the lock clicked as the door opened.
Quietly, she crept down the stairs. Her com showed two life signs, both females.
She stepped out of the stairway and slid sideways, so her back was to the wall. She didn’t see any active robots, so she approached the two girls chained to the wall. Both girls were sitting on the floor. Their wrist chains were too short to sit comfortably, and their arms were stretched tightly upward. The chains on their ankles were also too short to sit easily, so both girls had their legs curled at an awkward angle. They were dressed in Tee-shirts and panties. Neither one was wearing a bra.
“Francisca?” she asked, and the dark-haired girl lookup at her, but she didn’t speak. Close up she also smelled faintly of vomit. She must have barfed up the drug they had given her.
“Who’s your friend?” Ava asked.
The other girl lifted her head. “My name is Tommasa de’Rossi, her name is Francisca Santana. Are you here to free us?”
“Yes, I am.” Ava replied. “You’re remarkably coherent for someone who’s been given the obedience drugs.” As she spoke, she set the code cracker next to Francisca’s wrist shackle. When it opened, her arm dropped limply to her lap and Ava moved on to the other one.
“That’s because I seem to have a natural resistance to their filthy drugs,” Tommasa said. “She threw hers up.” She added, gesturing with her chin to Francisca. “Some girls do that. I think she may be allergic to it—they had to give her oxygen after she barfed.”
“Hummn,” Ava finished unlocking Francisca’s ankles and moved on to Tommasa. “How soon will they be back?”
“I’m not sure,” the girl replied. “There’s no clocks in here and it’s hard to tell how much time is elapsing.”
“Okay,” Ava told her. “Stand up to make sure you have circulation back in your legs.”
She pulled Francisca to her feet and the girl stood swaying there. Grimly, Ava knelt and pulled her over a shoulder in a fireman’s carry.
“Follow me,” she told Tommasa.
When they came out of the basement, Ava heard the unmistakable sound of Judith’s rifle being fired.
Ava tapped her com. “Judith? Is it safe to come out?”
“Yes, but hurry. He was alone but he might have gotten off a signal before I took him out.”
Ava drew her pistol and went to the door. “C’mon Tommasa,” she said. “We’re going to move fast. Can you run?”
“Yes. If you have another pistol, I know how to fire one.”
Ava stepped over the fallen guard. She could smell the scorched flesh and plastic he was giving off. Apparently, her little sister had no compunctions in shooting to kill.
“Take his—he won’t be needing it,” she said.
Tommasa stooped and pulled the guards pistol and holster off his body, grimacing at the reek of the burnt man. She buckled it on as she ran.
“Did you com the others?” Ava asked.
“Yes, and I sent them the coordinates of this place. They should be here soon.” Judith eyed Tommasa, “Who is this?”
Tommasa straightened her body. “My name is Tommasa de'Rossi. Thank you for rescuing me.”
“You’re Welcome,” Judith told her. “Climb on behind me; we aren’t out of the woods yet.”
Ava groaned. “That is the most terrible pun—” she began just as two silver, falcon shaped sleds popped out of the forest.
“You got her!” Randal exclaimed.
“What’s the matter with her?” Devon asked.
Ava had managed to get Francisca mounted on her sled, but she was having to hold the girl steady with one hand.
“It’s probably the drugs they give their ‘trainees’,” she told him. “We need to get both these girls checked out by a doctor as soon as possible.”
Carlos’s big black sled finally pushed its way into the clearing. He set it down and got out.
“Francisca!” he exclaimed.
She raised her head but didn’t speak.
“What’s wrong with her?” he demanded.
“They gave her some drugs to make her more obedient. Apparently, she’s having some type of reaction to them. You need to get her into ER as soon as possible. Tommasa too.”
Carlos hadn’t seen anyone besides his daughter. Now he turned to look at Tommasa. “Who is this?”
Tommasa looked him in the eye and gave him her name.
“You appear to have survived better than my daughter. Why is that?”
Tommasa shrugged. “I seem to have a natural resistance to the drug. Its effect wears off quicker for me. Are you going to take me too?”
“Yes, of course,” he said. “I beg your pardon for not noticing you earlier—I’m afraid I didn’t notice anyone but Francisca.” As he spoke, he lifted his daughter off Ava’s sled and carried her toward the open door of his sled. “I’m going to lay her down in the cargo space,” he told Tommasa. “You can have the other seat.”
After a glance at Ava, Tommasa followed him.
“Let’s get out of here,” Randal said. His sled rose overhead, and he fired a pulse blast at the canopy of leaves directly above them, creating a hole. Devon and the two girls followed him through it.
Ava looked back and saw Carlos hit the building with a more powerful blast, reducing it to cinders and blowing a hole in the roof of the basement. He fired again and the basement exploded. He turned and followed them up above the canopy.
The Red Conclave’s standard mode of operations was to keep a low profile, but after the attack on the shed they sent a couple of sleds in pursuit of the rescue party.
Randal and Devon dropped behind to engage their pursuers. “Go, Judith,” he ordered. “We’ll meet you at the house as soon as we take care of these guys.”
“Okay,” Judith said, adding to Ava, “Dammit I don’t have any weapons! I need to get him to add a pulse blaster to my sled.”
