"Why are they after us?"
"I explained all that. All this," his hand gestured at the hills, "is a part of someone's holding. Trespassers aren't wanted."
"So they send an armada to catch us?"
"That's unusual," admitted Vardoon. "A patrol, maybe, but only one raft like we saw before. Even then they don't come out often. No one likes traversing the hills."
Unless they had good reason to find someone among them. Dumarest sensed the closing jaws of a trap. Did the Cyclan have agents on this world? Did they know he was here?
"If they catch us," he said, "they'll take the eggs. You know that."
"I know it." Vardoon tightened his hands. "I'll see them dead first. Earl, we've got to get away."
Cooperation won, for what it was worth, but a faster raft would have been a greater asset. Dumarest nursed the controls, balancing what he had to gain the greatest advantage, knowing even as he worked it wasn't enough. The raft behind would soon draw level-even now they were an easy target should the men inside decide to open fire. And he had seen sunlight reflected from the barrels of guns.
And they were heading in the wrong direction.
Ahead lay nothing but the marching hills, the crevasses, the ragged expanses of shattered stone. Safety lay to the south and if he hoped to reach it they had to head for it soon.
"You there!" The voice boomed from a loud-hailer. "Halt and hover or I'll burn you down!"
Chan Kline smiled as they did not obey. The search had been long, tiresome, and worrying toward the end when Zao had mentioned his disappointment that it was taking so long. Now he could enjoy the sweet taste of success, heightened by playing cat and mouse for a while. Let the fools run for a few more miles. They were helpless to escape.
"Shall I fire, sir?"
"No!" The man was a good marksman and could bring down the raft without touching its occupants but mistakes could always happen and Zao had made it clear that he would tolerate no mistakes. "Let them run for a bit longer," said Kline. "I'll tell you when to shoot."
Until then he could sit and dream of his promotion now firmly secure. A new house, extra servants, an extra wife, even. Irene was getting tiresome and needed to be put in her place. It was time she learned that the one who paid the bills dictated the service.
"Captain!" The observer didn't lower his binoculars as he spoke. "Rafts ahead, sir."
"Ours?"
"No, Captain. They bear the markings of the Maximus."
"How many? Never mind!" Kline could count. He frowned as he searched the sky. Three and more rising from a point ahead where copper made flashing glints against the brown of stone. Others coming from either side. Numbers to more than equal his own. Rafts which bore men bearing guns. He swore as the ruby guide beam of a laser settled on his prow. "The fools! What the hell are they doing?"
"Halt!" The command answered his question. "Back away or I fire!"
"Captain?"
"Do as he says." Kline snatched up his own loud-hailer as the driver obeyed. "This is Captain Chan Kline. I have a commission to search this area. Full permission has been obtained from the Maximus."
"By whom?"
"Cyber Zao."
"When I see it I'll let you pass."
"I haven't got it with me, you fool! Haven't you been notified?"
The voice said coldly, "I am Major Bran Mellia in full command of security appertaining to Rham Kalova's holdings. If you hope for cooperation, Captain, you had better change your attitude. As things stand you are trespassing. Do I make myself clear?"
"Perfectly." To his marksman Kline said, "Can you see who's behind that laser trained on us? Could you get him?"
"Not before he burns us, Captain. It takes time to draw a bead."
‹›He would be seen doing it and some trigger-happy fool would fire. A single shot could start a battle he would lose; he was outgunned and outmanned and if it came to an inquiry the major was in the right. Why hadn't he been notified of the gained permission? How the hell did Zao expect him to find and capture those men unless he had free access to all areas?
The man!
What had happened to the raft?
Dumarest had sent it diving fast and low, adding the pull of gravity to the pulse of the engine so that air whined thinly past the vehicle. A chance created by the confrontation of the opposing forces and one he had taken advantage of. Too busy arguing, Kline had forgotten them; precious seconds gained in which to reach a pass winding between ragged hills, to follow it as it looped south, to gain another and to move on beneath a narrow band of clear sky.
A rat scuttling frantically through a tortuous maze.
"Neat," said Vardoon. "Think we'll make it?"
"We'd better."
"If we don't we lose it all." Vardoon glanced at the pouches of eggs. His face was hard with ridged scar tissue; a determination evident in the hands clamped on the gun he held before him, muzzle pointed upward. "If that happens we won't go alone. I'll take some of those so-called soldiers with us. Did you hear them talk? They wouldn't last five minutes in any real conflict. I could have taken them all with a couple of rafts and a dozen men who know their business."
Talk, but if it gave him consolation there was no harm in it. There could even be gain, a man needing to talk often said more than he intended. As Dumarest chose another pass down which to send the raft he said casually, "Did you catch the names? The Maxim… Maxom…"
"The Maximus." Vardoon took the bait. "Rham Kulova- well, he was ripe for the job and it was only a matter of time before he won it. A hard bastard, greedy, too. I guess that's why he's after us. If we get away he could have reason to regret it."
"You know him?"
"Sure, I-" Vardoon broke off, added, "When I was here before I heard of him. Emil had no cause to love him."
"And the other? The cyber?"
"Zao? Never heard of him. He must be a recent arrival."
But established long enough to have gained influence and power. The implication of what Kline had said was plain and had removed any doubt as to why they were being chased. Why he was being chased-Vardoon had been unlucky enough to choose the wrong partner.
Now he said, "Can't you go faster, Earl?"
"No."
"If we're caught in the hills at night we're dead. If we lift they'll spot us and catch us before we clear the area. Willing to take a chance?" He explained as Dumarest nodded. "There's a trick I learned with models of this type. A way to short the engine so as to boost the output. It wrecks the plant but I guess we don't have to worry about that. You want me to try it?"
Dumarest said, "How long will the extra power last?"
"It depends on the engine and how greedy you are. Maybe a few hours, maybe less. It's a gamble but what can we lose?"
All they had if the engine burned out too soon. The same if Vardoon overestimated his skill. Dumarest looked at the sky and tried to guess the position of the sun. Already shadows dusted the bottoms of the passes and peaked silhouettes softened the walls of the hills. It was past noon, then, but how long until night?
How far did they have to go?
"Earl?" Vardoon was impatient to get busy. "What'll it be?"
"Go ahead. Just get everything ready to trigger the boost."
"Why not finish the job?"
Dumarest said patiently, "We'll save it until we need it. It's a long walk back even after we leave the hills and I'd rather ride slow than do it the hard way. Need any help?"
"No." Vardoon swung from the seat and produced a short-bladed knife. "Just keep this thing steady and yell if you see our friends."
A warning for him to get the gun into action, something Dumarest wanted to avoid. He steadied the raft as it bucked beneath him, felt it drop to touch stone, bouncing as it lifted to ride evenly down the pass. Mounded rock lay ahead, a thermal catching the vehicle as it swung past the heap and lifting it high. Too high, another updraft of heated air caught it, lifted it like a scrap of thistledown to reveal a glimpse of the sun, a dark fleck uncomfortably close.