To the Stars Trilogy Part 16

Twenty.

Before Jan could react he was seized from behind so tightly that the air was driven from his lungs as he was dragged down.

"Bring him in, Fryer," Sara said, and he was released, pushed forward. "Close the door, quickly."

"You should not be here," Sonia said. "It is a danger-ous mistake..."

"Listen, there is no time," Jan broke in. "Thurgood-Smythe knows about you, Sara, and he knows about this meeting. The police are on the way now. You have to get out of here, quickly."

They were stunned. Fryer broke the silence.

"Transportation won't be here for an hour more. But I can take care of this one." He pointed at Sonia.

"The ice in the ca.n.a.l is still sound. I know a way out that way. But just for me."

"Get going then," Jan ordered. He looked at Sara. "Come with me. If we can reach my car we can start moving, stay ahead of them."

The light was out and the door open. As Sonia went by she reached out to touch Jan's face lightly.

"Now I can tell you how wonderful the work has been that you have done for us all. Thank you, Jan."

Then she was gone and they climbed the steps after her. The towpath was still clear and Jan and Sara hurried down it.

"I don't see anyone," she said.

"I only hope that you're right."

They ran as fast as they could on the slippery surface, t6 the bridge over the ca.n.a.l. As they were about to turn onto It a car tore around the corner of the road, motor racing, and accelerated toward them.

"Under the trees!" Jan said, pulling Sara after him. "They may not have seen us."

Running, cras.h.i.+ng through unseen branches, while the car grew louder and louder behind them. It hit the humpback bridge with a loud clas.h.i.+ng of springs, was up and over, the headlights sweeping toward them.

Jan fell face forward, dragging Sara down beside him.

The lights flashed past them and were gone. There was a metallic crash as the car turned into the towpath, riding down the sign that barred the way.

"Come on," Jan said, pulling Sara to her feet. "They'll start searching as soon as they find the boat is empty."

They ran down the first turning, running for their lives. At the next street there were pedestrians so they had to sloW to a fast walk. There were more people about now-no sign of pursuit. They slowed to catch their breath.

"Can you tell me what you found Out?" Sara asked.

"I'm probably bugged and whatever we say is being recorded."

"Your clothing will be destroyed. But I must know, now, what has happened."

"I bugged my dear brother-in-law, that's what. The biter bit. I have a recording, right here in my pocket, of all of his recent conversations. I couldn't understand most of it-but the last bit was clear enough.

Recorded today. Planning to break up the meeting tonight on the ca.n.a.l boat. Those were his words. And he referred to 'the Israeli girl."

Sara gasped; her fingers dug into his arm. "How much can they know?"

"An awful lot."

"Then I must get away from London, out of this country at once. And your recording must reach our people. They must~be warned."

"Can you do that?"

"I think so. What about you?"

"Unless they know I have been here tonight I'm safe enough." There was no point in telling her abou~ the deadly warning he had received. Her survival came first. 'When that had been arranged he would worry about himself. "I've checked my car for optic bugs and it should be clean. Tell me now where you are going and don't talk again after we get in."

"The security barrier for vehicles is at Liverpool Road. Find a quiet street this side of it and let me out.

I'm going into Islington."

'All right." They walked in silence for a moment, coming out of the side streets into Maida Vale. "The woman in the boat," Jan said. "What about her?"

"Can you forget you saw Sonia tonight?"

"It will be hard. Is she important?"

"Right at the top level in the London organization. One of the best people we have."

"I'm sure of that. Here we are. No talking now.

Jan unlocked the car and got in. He turned the engine and radio on, then muttered to himself. Getting out again he went and opened the boot and rattled his tool box, waving Sara into the car ahead of him.

'When she was seated he got in and drove slowly away.

Going down Marylebone would have been the most direct way, but Jan had no desire at all to go past Security Central. He turned instead toward St. John's Wood, through the quiet residential streets, then past Regent's Park. As he did so the music died away and a man's voice spoke loudly from the radio.

"Jan Kulozik, you are under arrest. Do not attempt to leave this vehicle. Wait for the police to arrive."

As the words crashed out of the speaker the engine died and the car coasted to a stop.

Jan's fear was mirrored in Sara's horrified eyes. Secu-rity knew where he was, had been tracking him, were coming for him. And they would find her as well.

Jan tore at the door handle but it would not move. Locked. They were trapped.

"It's not that easy, you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!" Jan shouted, rooting in the glove compartment for a roadmap, jamming in the cigar lighter at the same time. He pulled the map free and tore ~ff a large square just as the lighter popped out. Holding the glowing element to the edge of the paper, blowing on it. It caught fire and he let it blaze, touching it to the rest of the map.

In a moment it was burning fiercely and he jammed it up behind the facia, in among the instruments and circuits.

The instant he did this the fire alarm began~sounding and all of the doors unlocked.

"Run!" he said, and they jumped free of the car.

Once again they fled, not knowing how much time they had before the police arrived, running for their lives. Into the dark side streets, racing to put distance between themselves and the car. Running until Sara could run no more, then going on, walking as fast as she was able. There were no signs of any pursuers.

Walking until they were in the safety of the crowded streets of Camden Town.

"I'm coming with you," Jan said. "They know all about me, about my connection with the resistance. I've been warned. Can you get me out?"

"I'm sorry I ever got you involved in this, Jan."

"I'm glad you did."

"Two people will be no harder than one. We are trying for Ireland. But you realize, if you do this thing, you'll be a man without a country. You won't ever be able to come home again."

"I'm that already. If they catch me I'm a dead man.

Perhaps this way I can be with you. I'd like that. Because I love you."

"Jan, please..."

"'What's wrong? I didn't realize it myself until I blurted it out just now. Sorry I can't be more romantic.

That's my engineer's love song, I guess. And how about you?"

"We can't discuss this now, it's not the time Jan took Sara by the shoulders, stopping her, moving them against a shop window. He looked at her, and lightly held her chin when she tried to turn away.

"There's no better time," he said. "I've just declared my undying love for you. And what do you respond?"

Sara smiled. Ever so slightly, but still she smiled, and kissed his fingers.

"You know that I am very, very fond of you. And that is all I'm going to tell you now. We must go on."

As they walked he realized that he would have to settle for that. For the time being. He wondered what perverse streak had forced him to discover his love now, in this place, and declare it out loud like that.

'Well it was true, even if he had just admitted it to himself. True-and he was glad of it.

They were tired long before they reached their desti-nation, yet they dared not stop. Jan had his arm around her waist, supporting her as well as he could.

"Not much... farther," she said.

Oakley Road was a street of once elegant rowhouses, now derelict and boarded up. Sara led the way down the crumbling steps to the bas.e.m.e.nt entrance of one of them and unlocked the door, closing and sealing it carefully behind them. The hallway was pitch black, but uncluttered, and they felt their way along the wall to the furnace room in the rear. Only when this door was closed did Sara turn on the lights.

There were lockers along the walls, the welcome warmth of an electric fire, and the disused fur-nace in the rear. She found blankets and handed him one.

"All of your clothes, shoes, everything, into the fur-nace. They must be burned at once. Then I'll find you some clothes."

"You better take this first," Jan said, handing her the lighter. "Get it to your electronics people, Thurgood-Smythe is in the memory inside."

"This is very important. Thank you, Jan."

They had little time for rest. There was a knock on the door a few minutes later and she went into the hall to talk with the newcomer. After that they had to hurry.

"We have to get to Hammersmith before the buses stop running. Old clothes for both of us. I have some ID, won't stand up to anything more than casual interest, but we must have something. Is everything burned?"

"Yes, all gone." Jan stirred the red ashes with the poker, turning up the smoldering ma.s.s of his wallet.

ID, papers, identification, his ident.i.ty. Himself. The unthink-able had happened. The life he knew was over, the world he knew gone. The future an indecipherable mystery.

"We must go now," Sara said.

"Of course. I'm coming." He b.u.t.toned the ragged but heavy coat, fighting down the feeling of despair.

He took her hand as they felt their way down the dark hallway, and did not release it again until they were out in the street.

Twenty-one.

It was the first time in his life that Jan had been aboard a London omnibus. He had driven past them often enough without giving them a thought. Tall, double-decked, and silent, driven by the energy captured in the large flywheel beneath the floor. During the night thick cables would hook the bus to the electrical mains, using the powerful motor to run up the revolutions of the flywheel. During the day the motor became a flywheel-driven generator to power the electric drive motors. Reliable power, nonpolluting, cheap, practical. He knew that, the theory, hut he hadn't known how cold the unheated vehicle could be, how littered with rubbish, thick with the smell of unwashed bodies. He held his bit of ticket and looked out at the cars that pa.s.sed and vanished down the road ahead. The bus stopped for a traffic light and two Security police got on.

Jan stared straight ahead, just as the other people on the bus did, staring at the rigid face of Sara sitting across from him. One of the men stayed by the rear entrance while the other stamped the length of the bus, looking at everyone there. No one glanced his way or appeared aware of him.

The next time the bus stopped the two of them left. Jan felt relief for a few moments, then the fear returned. Would it ever go away again?

They got down at the last stop, Hammersmith Termi-nal. Sara went ahead and he followed well behind as be had been instructed. The few other pa.s.sengers dispersed and they were alone. Above them a car thrummed by on the elevated highway of the M4. Sara headed for the darkness of the arches that supported it. A small man with bent shoulders stepped out to meet her. She waved Jan to join them.

"h.e.l.lo, h.e.l.lo, you nice people come with me. Old J emmy will show you the way." The man's scrawny neck seemed too thin to support the globe of his head. His eyes were round and staring, his fixed smile empty of any teeth. He was a fool~)r a very good actor. Sara took Jan's arm as they followed Old Jemmy into the totally dark and empty streets, among the rows of ruined houses.

"Where are we going?" Jan asked.

"For a little walk," Sara said. 'just a few miles they say. We have to get past the London Security barrier before we can get transportation."

"Those friendly police who used to salute me when I drove by?"

"The very same ones.

"What happened to all the houses here? They're in ruins?"

"London used to be much bigger, centuries ago, many more people. I don't know the exact figures. But popula-tion, over the entire country, was cut back to a smaller replacement level. Partly by disease and starvation, partly government policy."

"Don't tell me how they did it. Not tonight."