“Do not forget that the NKVD spotted us out there. We had to make this run back into Moscow in order to lose the pursuit. It was not wasted time.”
“Well-all right.”
“I think MC 4 is probably now fleeing back across the neutral territory to the German lines. They know no human would attempt that on foot.”
“Yeah! He has to flee the entire Soviet -held territory now. And that means we can still get him first! Even the NKVD won’t go all the way to the German lines. Let’s go!”
“We can attempt it,” Ishihara said calmly. “I must warn you that we have only a quarter tank of gasoline left. We have no money with which to acquire more and attempting to get some by stealth would probably also bring renewed pursuit.”
“Well…how far can this thing go on a quarter tank?”
“From our driving so far, I estimate that we might reach the German lines. I am certain that we would get within walking distance.”
“I want to go after MC 4 now, while we have a chance to snatch him out in open territory. Will the First Law let you try it?”
“Yes,” said Ishihara. “The Germans were not exactly happy with us, but they will certainly be more hospitable than the Soviets.”
“Then let’s go.”
Ishihara drove away from the curb.
“We can pick up his trail back at the ditch,” said Wayne.
“Our first problem is getting around the antitank ditches,” said Ishihara. “Those ditches are too deep and steeply dug for this car to cross. There are no bridges or causeways across them; that would defeat their purpose. We shall have to go around one end. Then we can search for MC 4’s trail.”
Wayne nodded.
“The greatest gasoline expenditure will be another evasive pattern through the city to escape the NKVD’s notice. Once we are past the ditches, I can slow down to conserve gasoline usage and still maintain greater speed than MC 4 has even at his fastest.”
Wayne said nothing. His earlier elation had been dampened by the need to reverse direction, but the news was not really that bad. In fact, if they could find MC 4 out on the open steppe with fuel in the car, then chasing him down and grabbing him would be even easier than apprehending him in the middle of a work brigade.
As before, Ishihara took them safely out of Moscow by a long, involved route with many turns. They reached the same unpaved road that they had taken to the ditches earlier. At first, Wayne did not see any other headlights as they left Moscow behind. After a while, however, he saw Ishihara glance into the rearview mirror.
“Trouble?” Wayne looked over his shoulder and saw headlights far behind them, but on the same road.
“Yes, but they are not aware of it yet.”
“Huh? What does that mean?”
Ishihara reached out and switched on the car’s communication system.
Wayne heard static crackling first, followed by a man’s voice speaking a couple of Russian phrases. The man waited, then spoke again. Wayne could not understand the words, but he could tell that the speaker was repeating the same phrases again.
“I first heard him over a minute ago on my internal receiver,” said Ishihara.
“What’s he saying?”
“He is just trying to get me to respond. It is merely a standard NKVD opening; I have learned that they all use it. He must have recognized this car as an NKVD vehicle, but is too far back to see our license plate. For this reason, he has not yet realized that we are in the fugitive NKVD car. He and his partner are almost certainly going to look for MC 4 at the ditches and he simply assumes that we are doing the same.”
Wayne grinned. “Well, we are.”
“True. However, I dare not respond. Instead of confirming to him that we are the fugitives, I shall wait for him to figure it out.” Ishihara turned off the car speaker again.
“What are we going to do about them?”
“I shall just keep driving. We have a good lead. Once we find a way around the ditch, we shall take off west across the open steppe.”
“Okay.” Wayne looked back again. The other car seemed to be just a little closer.
Steve felt the same familiar time shift as before. The team suddenly found itself jammed together in the dark, curved bottom of the sphere they used to travel in time. It opened and he could see Hunter climbing out.
“Please remain where you are,” said Hunter. “I shall program the console and rejoin you immediately.”
“Hold it, Hunter,” said Steve. “There’s no need to hurry right back, is there? I mean, we can go back to whatever moment we want whether we leave now or in a couple of hours, right?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Well, look. We’re all tired and we could use some good food for a change. You’re low on energy, and ought to recharge. Then we can return to the German lines in the morning, with our sleep schedule matching their time zone.”
“Sounds great to me,” said Judy. “Especially about getting a really nice dinner. Something with dessert.”
“Yeah, Hunter,” said Jane. “We can split up for now and come back fresh.”
“I agree that we should take some time here,” said Hunter, as he helped Judy get out of the sphere. “However, I do not want us to leave the Institute. I am concerned that unexpected distractions and unpredictable problems might arise.”
Steve jumped out and unbuttoned his coat. “You want us to sleep here? We can do that. What about food?”
“I can help, of course.” R. Daladier, the security robot who had been left here originally, was still standing motionless by the door that opened onto the hall.
“I will arrange for Daladier to bring whatever food or personal items you wish from anywhere in Mojave Center,” said Hunter. “Steve, after dinner, I suggest you sleep on the couch here. I shall help Judy and Jane find another room with couches elsewhere in the building.”
“Sounds okay to me,” said Jane, shrugging. “Go ahead and plug into the building’s power system to recharge, Hunter.”
“I shall do so,” said Hunter. “It will not take long. Then I shall arrange different costumes for all of us. We should not wear Soviet clothes to visit the Germans.”
“Now, then,” said Steve. “What are the choices for dinner?”
Wayne stared forward into darkness as Ishihara drove over rough, frozen ground at the southern end of the antitank ditches. From now on, Wayne knew, they had no road to follow. The car bounced hard, jarring him, and he grabbed the back of his seat to steady himself.
“Are they turning back?” Wayne asked.
“See for yourself,” said Ishihara.
Wayne looked back. Now four sets of headlights were following them. The NKVD car that Ishihara had refused to answer over the radio had obviously figured out that they were the fugitives. Other cars had been called and they had converged on the trail.
The chase continued over the open steppe. The car bounced and veered hard; at times Ishihara had to slow down to keep control.