Cobra Alliance

'Are we safe here?' Ilona asked as Jonny set her down. Rubbing her ribs, she peered out the mesh-protected front window.

'Not really, but it'll have to do for the moment.' Jonny found a chair and sat down, wincing as he did so. With the danger temporarily at arm's length he finally had time to notice the condition of his own body, and it was clear he wasn't as unscathed as he'd thought. At least five minor burns stung spots on arms and torso, evidence of Troft near-misses. His left ankle felt like it was on fire from the heat leakage buildup of his own antiarmor laser—one of the design flaws, he realized, that Bai had warned them to expect. Sore muscles and bruises seemed to be everywhere, and in several places he couldn't tell whether the clammy wetness of his clothing was due to sweat or oozing blood. 'We'll have to wait until the aircraft overhead settle into a pattern I can thread, but then I should be able to get to a phone and alert the underground. They'll figure out where to stash you while I go back to the mansion.'

'While you what?' She spun around to face him, her expression echoing the odd intensity in her voice.

'While I go back,' he repeated. 'You didn't know it, but the only reason they let us go was to collect data on my equipment in action. I have to try and get hold of those tapes.'

'That's suicidal!' she snapped. 'The whole phrijing nest of them will be running around by now.'

'Running around out here, looking for us,' he reminded her. 'The mansion itself may not be well defended for a while, and if I'm fast enough I may be able to catch them off guard. Anyway, I've got to at least try.'

She seemed about to say something, pursed her lips. 'In that case... you probably can't take the time to go call the underground, either. If you're going back, you'd better do it right away.'

Jonny stared at her. No argument, no real protest... and suddenly it occurred to him he really knew nothing at all about her. 'Where did you say you lived?' he asked.

'I didn't say. What does that have to do with anything?'

'Nothing, really... except that I've just noticed I'm at a distinct disadvantage here. You know that I'm a Cobra, and therefore which side I'm on. But I don't know the same about you.'

She stared at him for a long moment... and when she spoke again the usual sardonic undertone was gone from her voice. 'Are you suggesting I'm a Troft hireling?' she asked quietly.

'You tell me. All I know about you is what you yourself said—including how exactly you came to be tossed in my cell. Sure, the Trofts could have plucked a random citizen off the streets, but they'd have done a lot better to use someone who could be trusted to pressure me if I still refused to perform for them.'

'Did I pressure you?'

'No, but then that didn't prove necessary. And now you're encouraging me to go back alone, without even calling for underground backup forces.'

'If I were a spy, wouldn't I want you to get me to the underground?' she encountered. 'I imagine the Trofts would like to get a solid line on the resistance. And as to encouraging you to go back alone—well, I admit I'm no expert on tactics, but doesn't it seem likely that before your backup forces got organized the Trofts would be back inside and braced for the attack?'

'You've got an answer for everything, don't you?' he growled. 'All right. Let's hear your suggestion on what I should do with you.'

Her eyes narrowed slightly. 'Meaning...?'

'If you're a spy I don't want you anywhere near the underground. Nor can I let you loose to tip off the Trofts that I'm coming.'

'Well, I'm not going back to the mansion with you,' she said emphatically.

'I'm not offering. What I guess I'll have to do is tie you up here until I get back.'

A muscle twitched in her jaw. 'And if you don't?'

'You'll be found by the shop's owner in the morning.'

'Or by the Trofts sooner,' she said softly. 'The patrols looking for us, remember?'

And if she wasn't a spy... they'd kill her rather than let word of their mansion HQ get out. 'Can you prove you're not a spy?' he asked, feeling new sweat break out on his forehead as he sensed the box closing tightly around his options.

'In the next thirty seconds? Don't be silly.' She took a deep breath. 'No, Jonny. If you want any chance at all of hitting the mansion tonight, you'll just have to accept my story or reject it on faith alone. If your suspicions are strong enough to justify my death... then there's nothing I can really do about it. I suppose it's a question of whether my life's worth risking yours over.'

And when put that way, there really wasn't any decision to make. He'd risked his life for her once already... and enemy hireling or not, the Trofts had clearly been willing to let her die with him over the wall. 'I suggest you find a hiding place before the patrols get here,' he growled at her as he moved toward the door. 'And watch out for aircraft.'

Outside, the sound of thrusters was adequately distant. Without looking back, he slipped out into the night and headed back toward the Tyler Mansion, wondering if he'd just made the last stupid mistake of his life.

It was a much slower trip than before, with aircraft and vehicles forcing him to take cover with increasing frequency the closer he got to his target. Enough so that by the time he finally came within sight of the mansion's outer wall the basic tactical reasoning behind this solo effort was becoming shaky. Nearly three-quarters of an hour had passed since their escape—enough time for the Trofts to begin worrying about a raid and to have drawn their troops back to defensive positions. All around him Jonny's enhanced hearing was starting to pick up a faint background of moving bodies and equipment, all interspersed with the mandible clack of the Trofts' so-called catertalk, as the aliens began barricading the approaches to their base. Forced at last to abandon the ground, Jonny slipped into one of the neighborhood's abandoned buildings, working his way cautiously to an upper floor and a window facing the mansion. With light amps at full power, he studied the scene below.