The mutant turned on his heels and walked off.
Hickok hooked his thumbs in his belt. “This is a surprise. I didn’t think I’d have the displeasure of seein’ your ugly puss twice in the same day.”
“We did not cover everything we should have discussed in our initial conversation,” Manta remarked.
Hickok chuckled. “I was wonderin’ when you’d realize the boo-boo you made.” He casually surveyed their immediate vicinity. They were standing in the Humarium near one of the large tanks. Inside were a dozen humans engaged in carpentry work. The bottom of the tank had been converted into a hardwood floor; the top was open to allow fresh air to circulate.
“Yes, I was remiss,” Manta admitted.
Hickok idly gazed to his right. The blamed hallway had to be around there somewhere! They were near the first tanks he’d seen when they’d arrived in the central section of the Humarium earlier. So the corridor had to be close at hand.
But where?
“What are you looking for?” Manta inquired.
Hickok faced the mutant. “Who? Me? I’m not lookin’ for anything.”
“You can’t fool me, human,” Manta said.
“I can’t?”
“No,” Manta declared. “I know you are looking for the female who arrived with you. She is not here.”
“Where is she?” Hickok inquired.
“I assigned her to the painting detail in the housing units,” Manta replied. “Don’t you remember? Humans have such pitiful intellects!”
“Oh. Now I remember,” Hickok said to promote the charade. Still, it was nice to know Hedy wouldn’t be in the Humarium or the kelp factory when the fighting began.
“I want to know all about you,” Manta said. “Where you are from. How many came here with you. Everything.”
Hickok pretended to yawn while swiveling in a half-circle.
Bingo!
There it was!
The corridor leading to the closet in which they’d been held.
“Did you hear me?” Manta stated harshly.
“I heard you.” Hickok gazed at the mutant, grinning.
“But give me one good reason why I should spill the beans to you?”
Mania’s lips curved back, revealing his pointed teeth. “If you don’t cooperate, I will send for the woman and feed her to the sharks. And I don’t mean those pathetic humans occupying eastern Seattle. I mean real, live sharks. I have conditioned several of them to stay near Pier 59 by feeding them regularly.”
“Pier 59?”
“The pier where this Humarium of mine is located,” Mama explained.
“You say you feed these real sharks regular-like?” Hickok inquired.
“Yes,” Manta affirmed.
“What do you feed ’em?” Hickok asked.
Manta grinned. “What do you think?”
Hickok scratched his chin, as if mulling the matter. “I don’t see where I’ve got any choice.”
“You don’t,” Manta asserted.
“Okay. Tell you what I’ll do,” Hickok said. “I’ll cough up the info you want, provided you answer one measly question of mine.”
“Don’t dictate terms to me!” Manta snapped.
“What can one question hurt?” Hickok asked.
Manta reflected for a moment. “What is your question?”
“Do you have any?” Hickok queried.
“Any what?” Manta responded, confused.
“You know,” Hickok said, grinning.
“No, I don’t know,” Manta rejoined in annoyance. “What are you talking about?”
“I was just sort of wonderin’,” Hickok mentioned, scanning the area to insure none of the Brethren were nearby or blocking his route to the corridor.
“What?” Manta spat, becoming angrier by the moment.
“About whether humans and the Brethren have similar reproductive organs?” Hickok said.
“Somewhat similar,” Manta said. “But what kind of question is that?”
“I was just curious about those briefs of yours,” Hickok commented.
As the gunman expected, Manta looked down at his briefs.
And Hickok lashed out with his right leg, kicking Manta right in the…
briefs. He didn’t wait to see the affect his kick had. The gunman took off lickety-split for the hallway. Only when he was about to disappear around the corner did he risk a hasty look over his right shoulder.
Manta was on his knees on the floor, clutching his genital region. Three of the Brethren were hurrying toward their leader.
Time to haul butt!
Hickok raced along the hallway, hoping he wouldn’t bump into one of the mutants. He tried to recall if there had been any turns between the sanitation closet and the central core of the Humarium. As far as he could remember, there hadn’t been. His moccasins squished on the tiled floor as he sprinted deeper into the corridor.
He was acting on a hunch.
Hickok had seen a lot of humans in the Humarium and the kelp factory, and he knew there were many in the housing units because they were forced to work in shifts, according to Captain Dale. But the gunman had not observed one other human in this corridor connected to the Humarium. Not one entering or exiting the hallway. Even the Brethren rarely used it.
All of which had aroused his curiosity.
If the corridor wasn’t being used frequently, then there must be an important reason. Or so Hickok speculated. And what better reason than the presence of a room the Brethren did not want the humans to see?
There was more cause for conjecture.
The Brethren had dumped the gunfighter and the Shark into a closet at the end of the seldom-used hallway. Odds were, Hickok told himself, the Brethren removed all weapons there and carried them to the storeroom.
He doubted the mutants would lug the weapons any great distance. The Brethren weren’t fond of firearms and despised anything manufactured by human hands. So logic dictated the storeroom must be in close proximity to the closet.
And there was one more factor.
Hickok knew of four passages leading from the Humarium proper. One linked the Humarium to the land to the east; another was the passage between the Humarium and the housing units to the south; the third was the one connecting the Humarium to the kelp factory to the north; and then there was this one, which seemed to angle to the west but served no functional purpose.
Or did it?
Maybe it served to house the Brethren’s collection of confiscated weapons at a prudent distance from the areas where the humans normally worked and lived.
Maybe Manta had grown complacent over the decades and had failed to guard the corridor properly.
Maybe.
Maybe.
Maybe.
Hickok caught sight of a series of doors ahead and increased his speed.
There were three on the left, four on the right.
The first door was the wide open door to the sanitation closet.
Hickok grabbed for the second door on the right and twisted the knob.
Another closet.
He lunged for the third door on the right.
Yet another lousy closet.
Hickok didn’t bother with the last door on the right. He crossed to the doors on the left and took hold of the first doorknob. The door was vibrating and there was a throbbing noise from the opposite side. He pulled the door open and discovered a green generator.
Which explained the lights.
Hickok darted to the next door and tried the knob.
Locked.
The gunman returned to the generator room and scrutinized the four walls. To his left was a shelf containing a toolbox. He moved to the blue metal box, opened the lid, and found a hammer on the top shelf.
The Spirit was smiling on him!
Hickok grabbed the hammer and hastened to the hallway. He stood in front of the locked door and raised the hammer.
“Down this way!” a raspy voice shouted from up the corridor.