draped over their shoulders, while there was a large and impressive handgun on each hip. But the guns were holstered and held in place by a buttoned strap. I relaxed knowing that with Floyd there the touch of a hand to one of those buttons would bring instant unconsciousness.
'Welcome back, Dreadnought,' I said. 'Welcome as well your companion.
'He is named Indefatigable and is the Area Commander. That is Floyd with the beard, the other is Jim.'
Indefatigable did not shake hands but instead hit his closed right fist against his chest with an echoing thud. We did the same since it never hurts to learn the local customs.
'Why did you come here?' Indefatigable asked in a most cold and quizzical manner. I took slight umbrage.
'You might say we came to save your companion from certain death by the firing squad - your thanks are appreciated.'
'If you had not come he would not have fired and have been condemned to death.'
'Good point. But I do remember that he fired because of a group decision. Are you part of that group?'
I saw now that Indefatigable's brusque manner was a cover-up for the fact that he was very nervous. He chewed his lower lip and his eyes flicked from one to the other of us. He even looked down at the fake dog which barked. Finally, with great reluctance he spoke.
'I cannot answer that. But I have been instructed to take you to those who may answer your question. Now - you must answer my question. Why did you come here?'
'No point in keeping it a secret. We came here to find those who blew up a certain building and stole from it - and from us - an object of great importance.'
This news seemed to relax him a bit. He stopped the lip chewing and Dreadnought almost smiled; leaned forward to whisper something in his companion's ear. They both nodded, then remembered where they were and snapped into a military brace.
'You will come with us,' Indefatigable said, making it sound like an order.
'Perhaps,' I said. I hate orders. 'But you must tell us first - will it be dangerous?'
'We are born into danger; we leave it only when we die.'
It sounded like a quotation of some kind - particularly since Dreadnought's lips moved along with his.
'Yes, well, that is a pretty general philosophical statement. But I was speaking specifically about like right now.'
'You will be protected,' he answered, trying to control the sneer at our feeble physiques and his obvious superiority.
'Oh, thank you,' Floyd said with eye-popping sincerity. 'With that kind of reassurance of course we will go with you. Isn't that right, Jim?'
'Absolutely, Floyd. With their protection we need not feel insecure.' He could eat them - and a dozen more - for breakfast, but there was no point in bragging.
We reached for our packs but Indefatigable stopped us. 'You bring nothing. No weapons. You must trust us.'
Floyd shrugged agreement since he was always armed. 'At least some water first,' I said. Picking up my canteen and drinking a bit. Palming a number of small bombs as I put it back. 'And of course our companion, our pet dog goes with us.
Fido played its role by barking, sticking out its tongue and panting. Then overplayed its role by lifting its hind leg on my pack. Though this bit of canine ham acting may have convinced our new militaristic mates, because they nodded agreement.
'We must cover your eyes,' Dreadnought said, pulling out two black scarves. 'So you do not discover the secret of the entrance to Shelter.'
'If you mean the slab of rock under the polpettone trees that swings open, you can forget the blindfolds.'
'How do you know this!'
'Just say that we do. Now - do we go with you?'
They looked stricken by my revelation, stepped aside and conversed in quick whispers. Returned reluctantly, all scowls again.
'You will come. Quickly.'
We dogtrotted, including the dog, to the grove, then followed Dreadnought down the ladder into the tunnel beneath the slab. Fido barked, and when I looked up launched itself down at me. I caught it, then dropped it. Looked gloomily into the darkness as Indefatigable closed the lid.
I just hoped that we had made the right decision because my days were still running out. Going underground like this was a little too reminiscent of the grave.
And it would be my grave if I didn't get the antidote in time.
Chapter 24
Once my eyes had adjusted to the darkness I saw that a thin line of light ran along at shoulder height on each side of the tunnel. The floor was smooth and hard, as were the walls when I brushed my fingers against them. We walked in silence for some time until we came to a cross tunnel.
'No talking now! Breathe silently - do not stir,' one of our guides whispered. 'Back against the wall.'
We stayed that way for long minutes. I saw that there were glowing numerals on the walls where the tunnels crossed. I added to my store of useless knowledge the data that we were in tunnel Y-82790 at the place where it crossed NJ-28940. I leaned against the wall, and was thinking seriously about going to sleep, when I heard the thud of marching boots from NJ-28940. I woke up and remained silent and unmoving as a squad of about twenty men exited from the tunnel on our right and marched straight across and into the same numbered tunnel on the left. When the sound of their footsteps had almost died away we moved out to the whispered command.
'Turn left, after them. Quiet as you can.'
This was apparently the only dangerous part of our journey, because once we had left this tunnel for another our companions whispered together again. I wondered if Fido teas still with us.
'Don't bark,' I said as softly as I could. 'But if you are still there, man's best friend, and hearing this with your super hearing, a tiny growl is permitted.'
A guttural grrr sounded from somewhere around my ankles.
'Great. A double growl now if you are reading the tunnel numbers and memorizing same.'
A quick grrr-grrr reassured me. So I did not have to keep track of our many turnings. After this we marched in silence for a tiresome period; my strength still wasn't what it should be. I was more than grateful when I saw a glow of light ahead; almost ran into our new companions when they stopped.
'Silence!' Dreadnought whispered. Floyd and I silenced and listened - then heard the running footsteps as well. They thudded close, then stopped suddenly.
'The sounds of deadly battle - ' the newcomer said.
'Echo with the cries of the dying,' Dreadnought answered. Password and countersign. Pretty depressing though. 'Is that you, Irredeemable?' Dreadnought asked.
'It is. I was sent to warn you. A message was passed on from you-know-who that you were detected exiting and reentering the tunnels. Search parties are out and you must avoid them.'
'How?' Indefatigable asked. With just a touch of hysteria to his voice.
'I do not know. I was sent only to warn. May the God of Battles go with you.' With this blessing the footsteps thudded again into silence as he ran back the way he had come.
'What do we do?' Dreadnought asked unhappily.
His companion was just as assertive. 'I don't know…'
I swear that I could hear their teeth chattering. Whatever else they were, these two young men were not plotters or planners. Time for a pro to step in.
'I will tell you what we must do.' Speaking as an unhumble old plotter and planner.
'What?' They spoke the word together.
'If they are searching the tunnels - then we must leave the tunnels.'
