No choice. It was rushing at me, no second chance. I finished last-minute adjustments, kissed Tilly good-bye, cautioned her with a finger to make no noise, and let myself out the door of cabin BB.
I had to go far aft and down three decks. Twice I slowed down to
avoid night watchmen making their rounds. Once I ducked through
a transverse passage to avoid a passenger, continued aft to the next
passageway across the ship, then went back to starboard. Eventually
I reached the short, dead-end corridor that led to the passenger airlock door for the starboard landing boat.
I found Mac-Pete-Percival waiting there.
I moved quickly to him, smiling, put a finger to my lips for silence, and clipped him under the ear.
I eased him to the deck, pulled him out of my way, and got to work on that combination lockÄ
Äand discovered that it was almost impossible to read the marks
on the dial, even with my enhanced night-sight. There was nothing but night-lights in the corridors and this short dead end had none of its own. Twice I muffed the combination.
I stopped and thought about it. Go back to cabin BB for a torchlight? I had none there, but perhaps Tilly had one. If she did not, should I wait until morning lights were turned on? That would be cutting it too fine; people would be stirring. But did I have a choice?
I checked PeteÄstill out but his heart was strong... and lucky for you, Pete; had I been fully triggered, you would be dead. I searched him.
I found, with no surprise, a pencil light on himÄhis job (tailing me) could need a torchlight, whereas Miss Rich Bitch does not bother with such things.
A few seconds later I had the door open.
I dragged Pete through, closed and locked the door, spinning the wheel both clockwise and counterclockwise. I turned back, noted that Pete's eyelids moved a touchÄclipped him again.
There followed a bloody awkward chore. Pete masses about eighty-five kilos, not gross for a man. But it's twenty-five kilos more than I do and he's much bigger. I knew from Tom that the engineers were holding the artificial gravity at 0.97 gee to match Botany Bay. At that moment I could have wished for free fall or antigrav gear as I could not leave Pete behind, dead or alive.
I managed to get him up into that cross-shoulder carry that some call fireman's carry, then discovered that the best way for me to see ahead and still have a hand free for dogs on airtight doors and such was to hold Pete's pencil light in my mouth like a cigar. I really needed that lightÄbut, given a choice, I would have felt my way through in the dark, sans unconscious body.
With only one false turn I arrived at last in that biggest cargo hold which seemed even bigger with only a pencil beam to cut
through the total darkness. I had not anticipated total darkness; I had visualized the landing boat as faintly illuminated with nightlights as was the ship proper from midnight to oh-six hundred.
At last I reached the hidey-hole I had picked out the day before:
that giant Westinghouse turbogenerator.
I guessed that this big mass was intended to run on gas of some
sort, or possibly steamÄit certainly was not meant for Shipstones. There is a lot of obsolete engineering that is still useful in the colonies but is no longer used anywhere that Shipstones are readily available. None of it is familiar to me but I was not concerned with how this thing worked; my interest lay in the fact that half of it was somewhat like a frustrum of a giant cone laid on its sideÄand this formed a space in the middle under the narrow end of the frustrum, a space over a meter high. Big enough for a body. Mine. Even for two, luckily, since I had this unwelcome guest whom I could neither kill nor leave behind.
That space was made downright cozy by the fact that the cargo men had placed a fitted glass tarpaulin over this monster before tying it down. I had to wiggle in, between tiedowns, then I had to strain like the very devil to drag Pete in after me. I made it. Minus some skin.
I checked him again, then peeled him. With any luck I would get a little sleepÄimpossible had I left one of my guards loose behind me.
Pete was wearing trousers, belt, shirt, shorts, socks, sneakers, and a sweater. I took everything off, then tied his wrists behind him with his shirt, tied his ankles with his trouser legs, fastened his ankles to his wrists with his belt behind his backÄthis is one hell of an awkward position, taught to me in basic as a way to discourage attempts to escape.
Then I started to gag him, using his shorts and sweater. He said quietly, "No need to do that, Miss Friday. I've been awake quite a while. Let's talk."
I paused. "I thought you were awake. But I was willing to go along with the pretense as long as you were. I assumed that you would realize that, if you gave me any trouble, I would tear off your gonads and stuff them down your throat."
"I figured something of the sort. But I didn't expect you to be quite that drastic."
"Why not? I've run into your gonads before. Not favorably. They are mine to tear off if I wish. Any argument?"
"Miss Friday, will you let me talk?"
"Sure, why not? But one peep out of you louder than a whisper and these toys come off." I made sure he knew what I meant.
"Uh! Easy thereÄplease! The purser put us on double watch to-
night. IÄ"
"Double watch? How?"
"Ordinarily TillyÄShizukoÄÄis the only one on duty from the time you go to your cabin until you get up. When you do get up, she punches a button and that tells me to set the watch. But the purserÄor maybe the CaptainÄis itchy about you. Worries that you might try to jump ship at Botany BayÄ"
I made my eyes round. "Goodness gracious! How can anyone have such wicked thoughts about little ole me?"
"I can't imagine," he answered solemnly. "But why are we here in this landing boat?"
"I'm getting ready to go sight-seeing. How about you?"
"Me, too. I hope. Miss Friday, I realized that, if you were going to try to jump ship at Botany Bay, the most likely time would be tonight during the midwatch. I didn't know how you expected to get into the landing boat but I had confidence in youÄand I see that my confidence is justified."
"Thank you. Some, anyhow. Who's watching the portside boat? Or is there someone?"
"Graham. Little sandy bloke. Perhaps you've noticed him?"
"Too often."
"I picked this side because you toured this boat with Mr. Udell yesterday. Day before yesterday, depending on how you figure it."
"I don't care how you figure it. Pete, what happens when you are missed?"
"I may not be missed. Joe StupidÄsorry, Joseph SteubenÄthe other is just my private name for himÄI have instructed to relieve me after he eats breakfast. If I know Joe, he'll make no fuss at not finding me at the door; he will just sit down on the deck with his back to the door and sleep until someone comes along and unlocks it. Then he'll stay there until this boat drops away... whereupon he will go to his room and sack in until I look for him. Joe is steady but not bright. Which I figured on."
"Pete, it sounds as if you had planned this."
"I didn't plan to get a sore neck and a headache out of it. If you had waited long enough to let me speak, you wouldn't have had to carry me."
"Pete, if you're trying to sweet-talk me into untying you, you are barking down the wrong well."
"Don't you mean `up the wrong tree'?"
"The wrong one, in any case, and you aren't improving your chances by criticizing my figures of speech. You're in deep trouble, Pete. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you and leave you here. For the Captain is right; I'm jumping ship. I can't be bothered with you."