Chapter 15
As the cab sped — or rather, chugged — towards the spaceport, Alice was on the edge of her seat. She had no idea what Bernie would say when she discovered another trainee had gone missing, but there had been no time to explain. Anyway, Alice was absolutely certain Bernie would never allow her to mount the rescue attempt. And, from long experience, she knew the best way to do something people didn't want you to do, was to do it first and tell them about it afterwards.
Then her commset rang.
Alice jumped at the sound. She decided to ignore it, but then she heard Bernie's voice, slightly muffled by her pocket. It seemed the choice wasn't hers to make.
"Trainee Alice, where are you? Is your stomach any better?"
"I, er …" Alice thought quickly. Lie or tell the truth? "I know how to rescue Harriet."
"Excellent. When you return, we will go over this idea together."
"Yeah, I'm sort of already on the way to the spaceport." Alice winced as she waited for the outburst.
"I'm sorry, did you say the spaceport?"
"Yes. I'm hoping to find a ship and chase after Harriet. There was no time to lose, you see, and—"
"Good thinking, Trainee. Most efficient." Bernie hesitated. "Tell me, what is the rest of your plan?"
"What plan? I didn't mention any plan."
"The plan to rescue Harriet, once you catch up to Smith's vessel."
"Oh yeah. Still, er, thinking on that one. Over and out." Alice fumbled with the commset, cutting Bernie off before the robot could ask any more awkward questions. Then she switched it off completely, hoping there was no override to turn it on again.
As she put the commset away, her thoughts turned to the rescue mission. Smith was key, she knew that. Bernie didn't know him, but Alice did. When he found out he'd snatched Harriet, he'd probably throw her out the nearest airlock and come straight back for Alice. Bernie mentioned twenty grand to hire a bunch of mercenaries, but Alice was certain Smith could find a lawless bunch for half that. He wouldn't mess around with fake calls to the station, either, he'd be so angry he'd just march in and take what he wanted by force.
Alice knew Harriet might already be dead, but she pushed that thought aside. All she could do was give chase, and dwelling on ifs and maybes was not in her character.
The cab turned into the spaceport car park and stopped. "No, the landing field," said Alice.
"Cannot comply. Members of the public need clearance."
Alice held up her badge. "I'm not a member of the public and I've got all the clearance I need. Now move."
The cab obeyed, and they arrived at the barrier separating the landing field from the car park. The guard spotted her uniform and waved the cab through.
"Stop!" cried Alice, and the car obeyed. Alice hopped out and ran to the guard hut. "I'm looking for a woman, first name Teresa. Where's her ship?"
"Is this official business?"
"Of course!"
"I heard about that scuffle earlier. One of your people was snatched, is that right?"
"Just tell me where the ship is. I'm in a hurry."
"Sorry." The man checked his screen. "Her ship's on pad ninety-four."
"Which way?"
The guard gestured, and Alice thanked him and leapt into the cab. She gave directions and they set off, passing several ships on the way. Alice glanced at them, noting small details with her practiced eye. Deep space liner, survey ship, miner … her teen years had been spent stowing away on one vessel after another, and she could tell them apart with ease.
When the cab drew up at pad ninety-four, Alice got a huge surprise. The ship was not what she expected, not at all, and she wondered who this Teresa really was.
— ♦ —
When Harriet came round she experienced a moment of sheer panic, because it felt like someone was choking her. She turned her face from side to side, struggling to breathe, and that's when she realised the heavy black hood was still jammed over her head.
It became easier to breathe as soon as she relaxed, and the fabric rose and fell as she filled and emptied her lungs. Her head was foggy, and thanks to the hood she was in darkness and disoriented. The only thing Harriet knew for sure was that she was lying on a mattress, or something similar, and when she tried to move she discovered she was bound hand and foot.
After she'd taken stock of her immediate situation, she turned her attention to her surroundings. That's when she became aware of a distant rumble. She recognised the sound immediately, and her heart sank. The last time she heard a noise like that, she'd been a passenger aboard a cargo ship heading for the Dismolle orbiter.
She was aboard a spaceship, then. It was in flight, heading who knew where.
She tried to move her hands, but the bonds were strong. Worse, there was only a small amount of give in the rope, and when she explored with her fingertips, she felt a cold metal tube, about as thick as her wrist. The rope was tied around it, and when she followed the tube she came to a rounded corner. In her mind she could picture the scene perfectly - she was tied to the frame of a metal bunk bed, presumably in one of the ship's cabins.
As she turned her head, she noticed a patch of light. She squinted through the weave of the heavy fabric and saw it was a strip of light shining under a closed door. She turned her head slowly and made out several bulkheads with thick beams, confirming she was definitely aboard a spaceship. And it had to be Tyron's ship at that.
Harriet recalled the moment when the loader crashed into her patrol car, and she winced at the memory. Was Steve all right? She thought she'd heard him speaking after the crash, but she couldn't remember the exact sequence of events. Well, there
