can bring Geof around.'
Darrell had me sit. He was very careful not to give me an opening for a move. He tied me with more of the plentiful rope they had brought.
Geof finally came to. I hadn't broken his neck, much as I wished I had. Rubbing his chin, he picked up his gun and stood up shakily.
'Bring her over here,' Moore then instructed, pointing at Darla.
I strained against my bonds. There was nothing I could do.
'She's pregnant, Zack,' Darrell said uneasily.
'So?' Moore thundered. 'If you haven't the balls for it… '
Darla didn't look at me. Her face was grim, but resolute. I was glad she didn't look at me. It would have been worse. They had her down when something happened outside. There was a light so intense that, somehow, it seeped into the dark of the trailer.
Moore rose, cursing. 'It's her,' he said.
Suddenly the back door flew up and white light flooded the place. To me it was a divine presence, a deliverance.
'SHOW YOURSELVES, MORTALS,' came an amplified voice. I recognized it.
Moore debated with himself before taking only one of the cubes. His face was pale, but he steeled himself and moved forward, squeezing around the Chevy. When he reached the opening, he dropped to his knees.
'We hear, Great Lady,' he said, shielding his eyes from the source of divine light high above. 'We have the object you desire.'
There was a slight hesitation before the voice answered sharply. 'YES. YES, VERY GOOD. IS THAT IT?'
'Yes, Great Lady.'
'GOOD. TELL YOUR COMPANIONS TO COME OUT. I WISH TO SEE THEM. NOT YOUR CAPTIVES-THE OTHER ONES IN YOUR BAND.'
Geof and Darrell began moving, but Moore waved them back.
'See here… Goddess,' Moore said tentatively.
'WHAT IS IT?' The voice was impatient.
'We had an agreement. Here is the cube, the object you told us to obtain for you. We did so, at great peril… we paid a dear price.' He grunted in discomfort, and rubbed his eyes. The light was much too bright to bear. 'I… can't see you, Great Lady,' he said.
'NEVER YOU MIND. I GAVE YOU AN ORDER, AND I EXPECT IT TO BE CARRIED OUT. PRONTO. ER, RIGHT NOW'
'What order?' Moore said suspiciously.
'I TOLD YOU TO COME OUT OF THAT TRUCK, THAT'S WHAT ORDER. AND LEAVE YOUR WEAPONS BEHIND, TOO.'
'What? I-' Moore strained mightily to see through the blinding glare. 'Look! If you'd cut out the bloody theatrics for a moment-'
'DON'T USE THAT TONE OF VOICE WITH ME, SLIMEBALL! WHEN I SAY RABBIT, YOU HOP UNDERSTAND? AND FURTHERMORE-'
Moore was beside himself. 'Just a bloody minute!'
Sam chose that moment to move. I didn't have time to wonder how he'd gotten free of the extra-sturdy lumberjack rope, because things started happening very quickly. He came running out of the front of the trailer, slamming into Geof after delivering a neck chop en passant to Darrell, who fell over. Sam and Geof tussled on the floor for a moment, then the gun popped out of their combined grasp and hit the floor. They both dove for it. Next thing I knew, John was cutting me free; I hadn't seen where he'd come from. As I clawed free of the ropes I heard the sizzle and saw the flash of energy discharge. John ducked. I crawled over to Darrell to look for his gun. The voice was still booming outside. Inside, shouts and general commotion. Glancing up, I saw Zoya on her feet, wielding a hunting knife. I found the gun and rolled toward the back of the trailer, coming to my knees beside the right rear tire of the Chevy. I popped to my feet, saw Moore aiming over the automobile's roof. I raised Darrell's machine pistol and let loose about ten rounds at him, then fell to my knees again: It was quiet toward the front of the trailer: I glanced back. Everyone was down. I could see Darla-she was huddling behind some empty food cartons; she was okay.
'Sam?' I called.
'He's hit, Jake,' I heard John say.
There was no movement at the back of the Chevy. I decided to risk it and charged to the rear door. Moore wasn't visible. Outside, the light had dissipated.
'John!' I yelled. 'Can you see him on the other side of the car?'
'No, he must have jumped out.'
I heard running feet out in the showroom. I poked my head out the rear opening and looked toward the front of the truck. Moore was running full tilt across the glossy blue floor. I brought the pistol up and got off a few rounds just as he disappeared through the entrance to a tunnel leading to one of the main factory buildings.
I went back inside.
Sam's eyes were closed, but he was breathing, which was miraculous in light of the massive chest wound he'd sustained. The energy bolt had seared a twisted black burn from his abdomen to the base of his neck.
'Do what you can,' I said to John quietly. 'I'm going after Moore.'
Darla was at my side, her grip tight on my upper arm. 'Don't go, Jake,' she said. 'Let's get out-let's leave.'
I took my jacket off and covered her. I kissed her.
'He must die,' I said.
Zoya was standing over Geof. There was a hunting knife in his back. I put one arm around her and hugged. She was stiff, unyielding.
'Good work,' I said.
'I have never killed before,' she said.
'How did you get the knife?'
'It was right next to me, under a loose piece of paper. They didn't bother to check. And they sat us so that we could pass the knife back and forth.' She ran a hand through her chestnut brown hair. 'Stupid of them.'
Darla said, 'Our last joyride really messed up things back here. That's Sean's knife, I think. I remember putting it inside this tool case. See? It fell and popped open.'
I hugged Zoya again, then checked Darrell, who hadn't moved since he'd gone down. His neck was broken, and he was dead.
'Where's the Reticulan?' I asked, suddenly remembering. Ragna said, 'The beast left in all hastiness when the shooting is commencing.' He pointed to the access tube.
'Damn. We'll have to check out the cab and aft-cabin.'
'Hi, there!' came Arthur's voice from the back of the trailer.
I went back and lowered the lift for him. He stepped on and came up.
'Did you see the Reticulan out there?' I asked.
'That ugly one in the chartreuse chitin? He took off after the other one. Did you like my little show?'
'Show?'
'I thought my performance was especially brilliant in light of the fact that I've never really heard the Goddess speak in person.'
'That was you?' I said in astonishment.
'Sure was. Tell me I'm not a true thespian.'
'You're a genius.'
Arthur feigned protest. 'Oh, really, it was nothing.'
'Thanks,' I said.
'Thank the plant people. They handled the special effects… '
'Only too happy to oblige,' the plant foreman said, its voice as usual coming out of thin air. 'Issue was debated, and was decided that some form of indirect intervention was required.'
'Again, we owe you,' I said.
