Alice nodded, and they were all about to head downstairs when Harriet spotted something that gave her an idea. "Wait."
The others stopped. "What?"
"I might have another job for you." Harriet left the cover of the stairwell and ran for the ship. Once underneath, she crossed to the yellow access ladder, which was firmly planted on the roof. She grabbed the metal and shook it, then put her foot on the lower rung and pushed with all her strength.
"It's not going to fall off," said Alice, joining her under the ship.
"How much weight do you reckon it would take?"
"You're not that heavy, sis."
"I'm being serious!"
"I don't know. Three or four people, I guess." Alice's face cleared. "You're thinking of flying everyone out of here!"
"No, not that," said Harriet slowly. "I want you to fly to Dismolle."
"Really? Why?"
"You're going to collect Bernie."
Alice shook her head. "We already talked about that. She won't fit through the hatch."
"She doesn't have to." Harriet patted the ladder. "She can hold onto this."
Alice's jaw dropped, and once she'd recovered she protested volubly. "Okay, first she's just going to snap it off. She weighs a ton! No, two tons!"
"She can check the strength first."
"Second, even if the ladder holds, there's a good chance Arnie won't even get off the ground. And third … you want me to ask Bernie if she'll fly all the way to Chirless clinging to a ladder? Are you nuts?"
"Alice, if you get Bernie here we can wrap this mess up in no time. We'll be home in time for dinner!"
"Sis, I've tried your dinners. That's not gonna motivate me."
"Takeaway, then!" Harriet spread her hands. "I promise, if she scratches your precious paint I'll touch it up myself."
"It's daft. It's completely mad." Alice shook the ladder, then glanced up at her ship. "No, you're mad, but … hell, it might just work."
"Great. Get back as soon as you can."
"I just hope Bernie's still on the ladder when I get here. And I want three pizzas, good ones, not that bargain basement rubbish."
"It's a deal."
Alice and Ben clambered into the fighter, and Harriet stood back as they took off. The thrusters blasted her with dust and grit, and she shielded her eyes with the crook of her arm. By the time the cloud cleared, the fighter was a speck in the sky, and she watched it streak towards Dismolle with long tails of flame jetting from its after-burners.
She tried to call Bernie again, to let her know about the pickup, but hung up when she got the recorded message. Oh well, the robot would find out soon enough. She just hoped Bernie would go along with the plan, because there was only one thing better than spooking the enemy with a fake BNE-II crime fighting robot, and that was scaring the pants off them with a real one.
— ♦ —
Bernie eyed the setting sun with disfavour. The glare through the windshield was unpleasant, and although she could dim her vision, doing so reduced visibility all round. As a digital entity she was not a big fan of nature, with its infinitely complex variety. Where was the light switch, the control to adjust the climate, the setting to ensure all trees grew at the same rate, and conformed to a standardised height? Nowhere! It was chaos, and she wasn't happy about it.
The car whipped along the main highway between Dismolle and Chirless, and there was no traffic to speak of. There was barely any highway, since the route was rarely used, and trees and bushes grew right up to the edges. They were so close Bernie could have put her hand out and ripped a long swathe in the foliage, had she felt like it.
Instead, she turned her attention to their progress. "ETA?" she asked.
"Seventeen hours," said Steve. "Would you like some music to pass the time?"
"How would listening to noise help?"
"Humans seem to enjoy it."
"I don't know whether your camera is malfunctioning, but I am clearly not human."
"Yeah, I got that," muttered Steve. "So, how about a sing-song?"
"Do humans enjoy that?"
"Some of them. Usually the ones doing the singing."
"I'd prefer silence."
"Very well."
"Total silence," said the robot.
Steve said nothing.
Bernie glanced up as a ship passed high overhead, and she felt a stab of envy. They could travel between major cities in minutes, whereas her journey would take hours. Then she realised her journey didn't have to take any time at all. She set an alarm for sixteen hours and fifty minutes, and switched herself off.
Chapter 19
It was late afternoon, and the streets around the Chirless Peace Force station were quiet. The buildings surrounding the station threw long shadows, and it was dark inside the office. There was no suggestion of turning the lights on, because the darkness gave Harriet's group a big advantage. The enemy couldn't see them, and if they couldn't see them, they couldn't shoot them either.
Harriet was keeping an eye on the area in front of the station, and she hadn't seen a single car or pedestrian for thirty minutes. Birch was nearby, sitting on one of the file boxes with his gun at the ready.
"How long before they attack, do you reckon?" he asked, nodding towards the street.
"No idea, but we'll know when it happens."
"Who's keeping watch?"
"Duke."
Birch nodded. "He's a good man."
"I just hope he keeps his head down. If Darting's people get hold of a rifle—"
"I warned everyone to stay under cover."
"They shouldn't even be here, Dave." Harriet glanced at him. "Don't get me wrong, it's great to have their help, but they can't fight back unless we get hold of more weapons."
"You won't be saying that if the enemy breaks these barricades down. The two of us wouldn't last ten seconds, but with the others here we might have a chance."
"What are they going to do, throw furniture?"
"Yeah. That's exactly what they'll do."
There was a crash outside, and Harriet spun round.
