Mirror Friend, Mirror Foe Part 13

"You sure did, kid," Rick interrupted"Saved your hide, too, HosatoWhat do we do now?"

Hosato felt a quick surge of anger at Rick's callous-ness; then it subsidedRick was rightThis was a time for action.

"Are you all right, James?" he asked brusquely, taking the boy by the shoulder.

The youth blinked vacantly, then nodded his head in stubborn a.s.sent.

"Rick, get their blasters."

Without waiting for the mechanic's reply, Hosato turned and strode into Gedge's office once moreThe security chief was conscious but out of actionHe was hunched over on his hands and knees, holding his head and moaning softlyHosato ignored him and moved to the desk, arming himself from his own a.r.s.enal, which Gedge had so conveniently laid out for him.

As he had noted earlier, his blasters were goneWell, no matterThey'd gotten new ones from the guardsThrowing spikes in his belt, knife in his boot One by one he secured the deadly tools of his trade at various points on his bodyItems such as clothing, he ignoredThis was a combat mission.

"I've got the blasters, Hosato," Rick said, joining him"Now what?"

Hosato gestured at Gedge's huddled form"Ask our friend there where they took Sasha."

Rick frowned"I don't think h.e.l.l tell me."

"They've taken her off to interrogate her," Hosato informed him"Thinking about that might help you find the right way to ask him."

"Right!" Rick said, his face hardening.

Hosato felt a twinge of guilt as he turned his back on the inevitable scene in the cornerHe shouldn't delegate such a task to someone else, but forcing in- formation out of people, especially injured people, had never been his forteStill, he winced at Gedge's first gasp of pain.

"Hosato?"

He turned, to find James at his side.

"I had to do it," the boy mumbled"He was going to kill you."

Hosato seized the boy's shoulders in an iron grip and shook him"You said you wanted to come with me, JamesRemember?"

"Yes, but-"

"Well, this is what I doI kill peopleWe may have to kill some more before we get out of hereIf we don't, they'll kill usI'm not saying you should like it, but accept itAccept it now, or when the next time comes, you'll hesitate and we'll all be dead."

The boy's eyes cleared"I'll be all right," he said levelly.

"You're sure?"

"Yes." His voice was surer now.

"GoodThen fetch my throwing spikeIt's in the guard's forehead over there."

It was a brutal thing to do, and Hosato watched the boy covertly as he went about his a.s.signmentThe boy was a bit wooden-limbed, but his hands shoot only slightly as he withdrew the weapon from the corpse's skull.

"I've got your answer, Hosato," Rick called"Sasha is in the room directly below usThe stairs are across the hall."

"Here's your spike," James said, pa.s.sing him the weapon.

Hosato took it absently and tucked it in his belt.

"Shall I kill him?" Rick asked, jerking his head at Gedge.

"NoHang on to himHe's our hostage for now."

"Okay, you're the bossWhere do we go from here?"

"I go after Sasha," Hosato corrected"You try to find if one of these uniforms comes close to fitting youJames,"-Hosato pressed a blaster into the boy's hand - "watch the doorIf anybody but me or Sasha comes through it, kill 'emAnd keep an eye on our friend there."

Their eyes met; then the boy smiled and nodded.

There was no one in sight as Hosato ghosted across the corridor and down the stairsLikewise, there was no one in the lower corridor, not even a guard.

His suspicions aroused, he crossed the corridor in one long stride and hurtled himself against the doorIt flew open with surprising ease, and he fell headlong into a dark roomAs he hit the floor, he realized what a beautiful target he made silhouetted against the open door, and rolled sideways into the shadows.

"Hosato?" came a cautious call.

"Sasha?" he answered.

There was a soft shuffle of movement, and the door closed behind himA moment later the lights came on, flooding the scene in the room with their harsh brilliance.

'Til say one thing for you, HosatoYou never miss a chance to make a big entrance."

Sasha was standing there, a blaster gripped loosely in her left handAside from her disheveled appear-ance, she seemed unharmed.

"Are you all right?" Hosato asked, rolling to his feet.

"Sure," she replied easily"Nothing like the smell of truth serum to clear away the cobwebsLuckily they didn't seem to think I was dangerous enough, to strap down." She gestured at the two crumpled and b.l.o.o.d.y forms on the floor.

Hosato whistled in silent appreciation.

"It looks like they were wrong in the worst wayHow did you do it?"

"With my trusty desk lamp," Sasha replied mod-estly, pointing at the implement"You know, they ought to outlaw those thingsThey're dangerous."

"I meant, how did you do it at all?"

Sasha shot an annoyed glance at him"By taking the one with the blaster firstAfter that, the other one was easyI'm surprised you didn't know that, Hosato."

"As a matter of fact, I am familiar with that tactic," Hosato retorted"But when I do it, it's neater."

Sasha shook her head and held up her blaster"Okay, HosatoIf we're done rattling our sabers at each other, maybe we can get a few basic questions answeredFor one, where the h.e.l.l are weLast thing I remember, I was fighting robots at the main corri-dor, then I wake up here with DrFrankenstein there about to shoot a load of goop into me."

Hosato' shook his head"McCrae isn't anymoreThe robots overran the place and killed everybody."

"Everybody?"

"Everybody except you, me, Rick Handel, and JamesWe were in the sand-crawler bay when they made their big push out, or we wouldn't have gotten out either."

Sasha whistled"I guess I shouldn't gripe about los-ing an arm, thenHow about what's-her-name SuziYour little robotDid she-?"

"Got chopped up by an ore scout on our way here."

"That's too badWait a minute, Hosato'On our way here'Are you trying to tell me we're at. ?"

She shot another glance at the uniform on the fallen guard.

"at Ravensteel," Hosato finished for her"It was our only chanceI thought they might help us."

"You're nuts, HosatoI'd rather take my chances with the robotsRavensteelG.o.d protect me from in-nocents."

"I've managed to figure it out all by myself,"

Hosato commented grimly"Anyway, that brings us up to the presentWe're trying to bust out of here before they have another chance to lavish some of their Ravensteel hospitality on us."

"Now you're talkingWhere are the others?"

"Upstairs in the room above this oneI suggest it's time to regroup our forces and plan our next move."

"You know, Hosato," Sasha said, "sometimes you show a positive brilliance for tacticsLet's goOh, one more thing."

She wiggled her stump at him.

"They gave me some kind of stimulant to counter-act the shock before they went to the truth serumRight now I'm pillow-walking, and I don't know how long it will last or how I'll react to this arm once it wears off, so keep an eye on me, okay?"

Hosato nodded his understanding.

"OkayLet's go."

They were halfway up the stairs when they heard the blaster fire from above.

Hosato bounded the rest of the way up the stairs, Sasha trailing close behindAfter the initial burst of fire, the sounds from above had ceasedWeapon at the ready, Hosato slowed his pace and peered ahead at the landing.

The door to Gedge's office was open, and he could make out the smoldering form of a security guard ly-ing in the doorwayHe shot a quick glance up and down the corridor to be sure the coast was clear, then called ahead softly, "It's Hosato and SashaWe're coming inHold your fire."

"All clear," James's voice came in reply.

Hosato beckoned to Sasha, and she darted across the corridor ahead of him into the officeHe followed, pausing to stoop and catch the fallen guard by an arm-pit, dragging him inside.

"Okay," he said, shutting the door and turning to the a.s.sembled group"Now we.."

He stopped suddenly as another uniformed guard appeared in the door to the adjoining roomHis blaster was halfway up before he realized it was Rick.

"Hold it, Hosato!" the mechanic called, raising his hands as if to ward off an attack"It's me."

"Right," Hosato breathed, relaxing his limbs"SorryFor a minute I forgot."

"I was going to ask you if you thought I could pa.s.s inspection." His friend laughed shakily"I think you've already answered the question."

A shrill beeping from the desk-robot interrupted their tableau.

Motioning the others to silence, Hosato moved to the deskTaking a deep breath for relaxation, he de-pressed the b.u.t.ton next to the flas.h.i.+ng light.

"Yea?" he said into the speaker in a brisk imitation of Gedge's voice.

"Everything all right there, chief?" came a worried voice.

"Of course," Hosato barked back"Why shouldn't it be?"

"We heard blaster fire and thought there might be troubleJust checking to see if you needed a hand."

"One of our guests tried to go for a walk," Hosato answered jauntily"But when the day comes I can't handle a motley bunch like this, you can have my job."

"It's a deal." The voice laughed"But Sammy won't like it."

"That's Sammy's problem," Hosato retorted with the same joviality"And you can tell him I said so."

There was a moment's pause before the answer came"RightWell, shout if you need help, chiefWell be here waiting."

There was a brisk click as the unseen guard shut off his transmitter.

"Whew!" Rick let out his breath"That was close."

"We may not be out of it yet," Hosato murmured thoughtfully"Sasha, was it just me, or did our caller sound suspicious to you, too. there at the end?"

"It isn't just you," Sasha confirmed"It occurs to me 'Sammy' could be a nickname for Samantha."

Hosato was kneeling at Gedge's side before she fin-ished speaking.

"Gedge!" he snarled, shaking the injured security chief"I don't want to have to hurt you any moreWhere's the s.p.a.ceport?"

"I can tell you that," Sasha supplied"It's upstairs, directly over us."

"You're sure?"

"Come on, HosatoDo you think we don't track their layout and security as close as they track ours?"

"Okay, let's go," Hosato said, rising"There's prob-ably a squad on their way here already."

"What about your gear?" James asked suddenly.

"Leave it," Hosato ordered"I've got everything I need!"

"But your swords!" the boy insisted.

Hosato hesitated and looked at the youth's expres-sionFor the first time he realized who had shot the guard at the door, and why.