Part 30 (2/2)
”They're being controlled from the ground,” Vienna said, her eyes entranced by the twirling shapes. ”What's going on?”
Sam watched for a moment, then said, ”I think Ursula is playing with her toys.”
He rose and walked to the big picture window to get a better view. This close, his breath frosted the gla.s.s, giving halos to the dancing stars, turning them into distant fairy lights. He was conscious of Vienna's presence beside him.
”What did we do to deserve all this?” Vienna asked. ”Why us?”
Sam opened his mouth to say something, but it was lost as her hands slipped around his shoulders and drew them together.
His arms found their way around her, and her head dropped onto his shoulder. They held each other, watching the planes.
”Vienna-” he began, but the word wedged between his lips as she raised her head and kissed him lightly on the side of his mouth.
”Don't say anything,” she said.
The moment was long but seemed like barely an instant; then there was a noise from the direction of the door, and they split apart, red-faced, before it opened.
It was Dodge. ”Tyler's escaped,” he said.
45
THE DESERT
The Geiger counter clicked constantly on the car seat beside Sam. The reading was high enough to worry him, but according to the manual, they could handle this level of radiation for an hour or two. Still, the less time they spent in the more radioactive areas, the happier he was.
”Take the next right,” he said, trying to match up the streets in front of them with the maps in the book on his lap.
It was easier said than done. Few street signs had survived the blast, and buildings that might have served as landmarks were scattered in pieces across city blocks.
The pickup had a GPS, and he was tempted to use it. Even in Las Vegas, the satellite-based GPS system should work. The problem was that Ursula might well wonder what a GPS-equipped vehicle was doing roaming through the supposedly deserted streets of Vegas.
”We might be just wasting our time,” Dodge said, maneuvering the pickup around a pile of rubble to take the turn. ”If Tyler has any brains, he'll be watching and listening out for us, and he'll take cover the moment we get close.”
”Still gotta try,” Sam said, scanning the roadside for any sign of movement. A pair of binoculars sat on the seat beside him, but they were of little use in the built-up areas. ”If he makes it to the outside world, we'll have no chance of getting to Cheyenne Mountain. Our only hope is to stop him before he reaches somewhere with phones that work.”
It was their third day of searching. They took it in s.h.i.+fts, two out searching while the third person remained at the house, in case Tyler should turn up there for any reason.
Dodge said, ”Maybe we should just make a break for it now. Try and get to Cheyenne before he gets to Ursula.”
”There's no way out of Vegas on foot,” Sam said, and added, ”Try a left at the T-intersection.”
”Tyler's a member of the Tactical team,” Dodge countered. ”They're highly trained and very resourceful. I really think we need to give up looking for him and head to Colorado.”
”Without a vehicle, without water, he's going nowhere,” Sam said. ”But if we don't find him today, then we'll start making tracks. How's the Plague coming along?”
”It's finished,” Dodge replied. ”Just a little testing to do.”
”It's taken a while,” Sam said, hoping that didn't sound critical.
Dodge nodded. ”When I started working on it, I realized that I had to do more than just take out the time limiter. Ursula has seen this virus now. That means she will have had a chance to build defenses against it. So I've had to rewrite a lot of the virus to make it different, hopefully different enough that by the time Ursula recognizes it, it will be too late.”
”Let's hope,” Sam said.
Dodge pulled up at the end of the road and said, ”Where to now?”
Sam consulted his map. ”Okay, if he stayed in Vegas, I don't think we've got any chance of finding him. It's too big and too much of a mess. He could be anywhere. If he's headed out of town, he would be easier to spot. But we've already tried all the main highways out.”
”So we give up and head to Cheyenne?”
”Let's try Highway 95 one last time. We didn't go far that way yesterday because of the wind. It's worth another shot.”
The wind had come in from the north the previous day, while they had been searching, pus.h.i.+ng back the haze that covered the area. They had dared not venture under the open sky because of the risk of being spotted by a satellite, so they had quickly returned to the safety of Vegas.
”How's the gas?” Sam asked as they wound a tortuous route back to Highway 95.
”We're okay today,” Dodge said. ”Vienna found a treasure trove yesterday. Three vehicles in a concrete garage, all intact. Two had full tanks, and the third was at least half full.”
Sam put the binoculars to his eyes as they left the built-up area of the city. This end of Vegas had suffered little from the bomb, and the going was relatively clear.
He watched the road in front of them, hoping to catch a glimpse of Tyler before he realized they were behind him. The highway stretched ahead for miles, completely empty.
He scanned the desert to the left and right. It was brown and desolate, just a few sc.r.a.ppy bushes offering nowhere for a human being to hide.
A billboard advertising free credits at one of the casinos appeared to his right, and he examined it carefully as they pa.s.sed. It stood on tall posts, too narrow to hide behind, and he let it slip past without comment.
”You've known Vienna a long time?” he asked after a while, trying to make the question sound casual and innocuous. It still sounded forced and deliberate to his own ears, but Dodge didn't seem to pick up on it.
”A few years,” he said. ”Since she came to CDD.”
”Always just friends?” Sam asked, still as casually as he could.
Dodge looked sideways at him. ”No romances allowed in the office. It's in the rules. Didn't you read that?”
”Must have missed that bit.”
”You got your eye on her, Sam?” Dodge laughed suddenly.
Sam felt his cheeks redden. He turned away from Dodge and raised the binoculars to hide it.
”She's a hard nut to crack, that one,” Dodge said, still laughing. ”Think you're up to it?”
Sam said truthfully, ”No.”
”Still,” Dodge said, ”I suspect that if you ever managed to get through that tough outer sh.e.l.l, she'd be all sweetness and light on the inside.”
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