Lynx grinned. “Anyone ever tell you how cute you are when you’re pissed off?”
Hickok turned toward the craft, then carefully advanced through the bushes to the clearing. He distinguished three immense wheels supporting the aircraft, one under the nose, and one under each wing. The wings were configured differently from those on the jet he’d seen. They began about a third of the distance from the nose, then flared out to form a gigantic triangular shape. They vaguely resembled those on a military craft in one of the books in the library, and he recalled a term he’d read: delta wing. A faint greenish light was visible under the canopy. And big white letters had been painted on the side.
Lynx came up on the gunman’s left. “I ain’t seen nothin’ like that before,” he said. “Not in the Civilized Zone, not with the Doktor, not anywhere.”
“Neither have I, pard,” Hickok remarked, his keen blue eyes sweeping the aircraft and the surrounding terrain. He angled toward the doorway, reflecting. How long had the craft been there? How could such a big thing have landed without being spotted? Jets and helicopters made a heap of noise. So why hadn’t anyone heard the craft in front of him? The ominous black aircraft was distinctly unsettling, and the implications of its presence worried him.
“Do you want one of us to sneak inside and see what’s in there?” Lynx queried in a whisper.
“If anyone goes in there,” Hickok replied, “it’ll be me. You just do what I tell you.”
“Yes, sir!” Lynx rejoined.
Hickok gazed along the length of the mystery craft. He estimated the aircraft was a minimum of 40 yards long. The wing span was difficult to gauge because of the darkness. He surveyed the edge of the clearing, perplexed. A ring of trees and brush surrounded the clearing. Didn’t jets require a lot of space to take off or land? So how the blazes had this black craft descended? Straight down? He shut all speculation from his mind as he neared the doorway, located 15 yards from the nose.
“What’s that mean?” Lynx asked, pointing at the side of the aircraft.
Hickok glanced at the white lettering. ANDROXIA.
“What’s Androxia?” Lynx questioned.
“You’re askin’ me?” Hickok responded. He cautiously approached the doorway. The door was open several inches.
“Perhaps we should knock, yes?” Gremlin inquired from behind the gunman.
“Are you crazy?” Lynx said. “We don’t know who’s in there.” He deliberately paused. “Unless, of course, Mr. Hickok wants to knock.”
“I’d like to knock your block off,” Hickok quipped. He reached the door.
“I’d like to see you try!” Lynx countered.
“Children! Please!” Ferret spoke up. “This is not the time or place.”
“Ferret speaks the truth, yes?” Gremlin added. “You two stop bickering, no?”
“Who’s bickering?” Lynx responded.
“Will all of you shut up!” Hickok hissed. “How can I sneak inside with you three idiots flappin’ your gums?”
“Who are you callin’ an idiot?” Lynx demanded.
“Go find a mirror,” Hickok retorted, and eased the metal door open.
The interior of the craft was lit by a greenish light emanating from recessed translucent squares in the ceiling. A narrow passage ran from the doorway to another, wider corridor.
“You three stay put,” Hickok stated. “I’m goin’ in.”
No one said a word.
Hickok crept into the aircraft. He was surprised to find panelling on the walls and carpeting underfoot. A row of doors lined the left side of the passage. On an impulse, Hickok reached out and yanked on the latch of the second door he passed. The door swung out, revealing four silver uniforms hanging from a rack. On the shoulders of each uniform, enclosed in a circle, was that word again: ANDROXIA. He closed the door and hurried to the connecting corridor.
“Which way?”
Hickok whirled.
Lynx and Ferret were right behind him.
“I thought I told you to stay put!” Hickok growled.
“Don’t lay an egg!” Lynx advised. “Gremlin is keepin’ watch.”
Hickok reined in his raging temper. He intended to settle the matter with the cantankerous feline at the first opportunity, but as Ferret had noted, now was not the time or place. He grit his teeth and took a right, heading toward the nose of the craft.
Lynx and Ferret padded on his heels.
Hickok passed four more doors. The corridor apparently ran the length of the craft. It widened slightly as it neared the nose, and suddenly they were in the spacious cockpit. A large canopy was overhead. Three cushioned seats were positioned in the middle of the cockpit, facing a complicated array of electronic components.
“That’s a computer!” Ferret exclaimed. “The Doktor used them all the time.”
“What are all those blinkin’ lights?” Hickok asked.
“I don’t know,” Ferret admitted. “I saw the Doktor use his, but I wasn’t taught how to use them.”
“All that bastard taught us was how to kill,” Lynx remarked. “As if we needed lessons!”
“The pilot isn’t here,” Hickok declared. “We’d best alert the Family.”
“I’ll go find Blade,” Ferret offered.
“Good idea,” Hickok concurred. “The last time I saw him, he was south of here a ways, lookin’ for a Bowie he lost.”
“I’ll find him,” Ferret stated. He turned.
Footsteps sounded in the corridor, the noise of someone in a hurry.
Gremlin appeared at the junction, saw them, and raced to the cockpit.
“They’re coming!” he blurted in alarm. “They’re coming, yes!”
“Calm down, dimwit!” Lynx barked. “Who’s coming?”
“Men in gleaming clothes, yes!” Gremlin exclaimed. “Gremlin saw them, yes!”
“How far away are they?” Hickok asked.
“Don’t know, no!” Gremlin replied. “Gremlin saw them coming through trees to south, yes! Maybe a hundred yards, yes!”
“Then it’ll take ’em a minute or two to get here,” Hickok said, calculating. “We can surprise ’em.”
“Did you see their faces?” Ferret inquired. “Are you sure they’re men, Gremlin? Are you sure they’re human?”
“Gremlin did not see faces, no,” Gremlin answered. “What else could they be, yes?”
“We’ll soon find out,” Hickok stated. “Find a place to hide.”
“One more thing, yes!” Gremlin said.
“What is it?” Hickok queried, searching the cockpit for a suitable hiding place.
“They carry someone, yes!” Gremlin told them.
“They’re carryin’ someone?” Hickok repeated.
“Are you certain?” Ferret inquired.
Gremlin nodded. “Gremlin certain, yes.”
“You saw them carrying someone that far off?” Lynx chimed in. “I know we’ve got good eyesight, but—”
Gremlin’s red eyes narrowed. “Gremlin saw them, yes! Don’t call Gremlin liar, no!”
“I ain’t callin’ you a lair, you ding-a-ling!” Lynx said.
“Find a spot to hide!” Hickok ordered. “And don’t nobody make a move unless I give the word.”
“Can I wee-wee without permission?” Lynx cracked flippantly.
Hickok ignored the cat-man and turned to a row of doors. He opened the first one. Inside was a closet containing a pile of boxes and a strange metal instrument, a square affair with a dozen switches and dials. There was plenty of space to the left of the pile, and he bolstered his Pythons and quickly eased inside. “Hurry!” he declared, then closed the door. Darkness enveloped him. He could hear the others scurrying to concealment. A door opened to his right, and he knew one of them was using the next closet to hide. He was about to ask who it was, when he heard a voice whispering.