Part 28 (1/2)
He held himself rigid, cords standing out in his neck.
Her throat continued to work while her nostrils flared and shrank, flared and shrank, until he cried, aG.o.d!a almost in supplication.
aHurts worse?a I asked.
aItas a indescribable, like j.i.s.m going backwards, I guess. A catheter feels something like aa Suddenly his eyes were huge. aItas fading out! My G.o.d, itas fading out!a aFading out?a aThe pain! Itas going away.a She released him and got to her feet. Her wet lips curled. aThatas a first, Tim.a aA medical b.l.o.w.j.o.b?a aHuh! Nurses do that all the time. No, I think itas the first time I ever let a d.i.c.k get out of my mouth soft.a Cleaver was holding himself, hands on either side of his b.a.l.l.s. aMy G.o.d, how wonderful! I can never thank you a” or pay you enough. Miss Edgeworth, please tell me how I a”a She raised a hand. aDonat babble! Weare not finished. Be quiet and open your mouth.a He blinked a few times but obeyed, standing ridiculously before the control panel of the worldas first s.p.a.ce s.h.i.+p, landed on the far side of the moon, with his pants down and his mouth open wide. It occurred to me that if Clara made a still of this image from my record, a publication threat might be as useful to control him as remote DISINHIBITOR.
Alice leaned forward and applied her mouth briefly to his, hardly what I would call a kiss. She straightened and explained, aThat begins your examination. Weall give the, ah, microexaminers an hour or so to look around, then Iall collect them and decide exactly what you need to cure that problem permanently.a aYou a think it can be cured a” without surgery?a aOf course, Harrison.a She laughed scornfully. aMenas bodies are simple.a He swallowed. aCan I pull my pants up?a She laughed. aHow long has it been since you asked a woman that, Harrison?a He actually flushed but followed it with a smile. aMiss Edgeworth, Iam afraid to breathe without your permission.a Though I listened carefully, I heard no sarcasm.
Not so her response. She grinned sardonically. aI admire the clarity of your perception.a * * *
Harrison Cleaver was obviously feeling much better. He joined us in a snack, accepting a sandwich and c.o.ke. Looking at our thin but brilliant half-ring of crater rim, he said with a grin around his food, aIave heard people talk about the crack of dawn all my life, but this is the first time Iave ever seen one. Am I a fully-tiled member of Fernworks yet, Tim?a I shook my head. aThis wasnat a Shrineras initiation, Harrison. We have several loose ends outstanding. For example, what do you know about the fate of my second s.h.i.+p and its crew?a aActually no more than you.a His face grew sober. aThe pair that stowed away on it, Moultry and Clinton, can be unpredictable. Moultry is cautious and always wants to go by the book. Clinton is a hot head. Usually they balance off rather well. Donat you have radio contact at all?a aI heard someone take over the s.h.i.+p. Since then not a peep. What orders did your men have?a aTo take control of the s.h.i.+p and keep it close to this one.a aAnd kill the crew?a aAbsolutely not! To make them prisoners, only.a aThey were armed?a aYes.a He heaved a sigh. aI do most sincerely regret it if anyone was hurt.a Alice declared ominously, aThat may be truer than you realize, Cleaver.a He sighed again. aI like it much better when you call me Harrison.a She only grunted.
The conversation had gotten around to future s.p.a.ce plans again when we all jumped. Someone a” or something a” was knocking on a landing strut, judging from the sound.
Aliceas eyes were like saucers. aMy G.o.d, Tim!a So were Harrisonas. aI thought you said we were on the moon!a Both of them stared at me as if I were responsible. Suddenly I knew what had to be the cause and was tickled for several reasons, not least that for once I was ahead of Alice.
aEither we know who it is or a lot of people have been lying their heads off. Alice, do a check on the suit radios.a Her internal computer had princ.i.p.al responsibility for the short-range suit communicators, which used narrow-band FM in the UHF spectrum, adapted from Claraas birds. I heard the click as she switched in the repeater for my benefit. aCommunications check,a she said. aIs that you, Karl?a aKarl-Heinz, if you donat mind, and Rosalind. Turn on your floods so I can see what Iam doing.a aMy G.o.d, Karl!a she cried while I commanded the outside floods to light up. aWe thought you were dead.a aSo did we for a bit back there. Aha! Watch this!a But of course we could see nothing but the brownish-gray soil directly below the bottom ports.
Alice asked, aAre you jumping high, Karl?a Suddenly Rosalind was laughing.
aVerdammte!a Karl declared along with a series of grunts.
aHe landed on his head,a Rosalind explained, subsiding in another peal of laughter.
aThis will take practice,a Karl admitted in an injured tone. aWould you please pump out your airlock and extend your staircase?a I issued that command too and said, aThe airlock is already open, folks. Please join us in our humble abode.a aGood!a noted Cleaver, staring at me significantly. aYour other crew survived.a aApparently.a aHow did they manage it, I wonder.a aWeall find out in a moment.a Alice sniffed. aLikely your crew didnat, else ours wouldnat leave its s.h.i.+p unguarded.a He offered weakly, aMaybe theyare just tied up.a We waited in silence. When a minute or two had pa.s.sed with no noise from the airlock, I keyed the suit channel and asked, aWhatas the holdup?a Karl answered aggrievedly, aThis d.a.m.nable dust! You canat brush it off. It must be static electricity.a aHe rolled in it,a Rosalind explained, no longer laughing, awhen he came down from his high jump.a aWe need some water,a Karl declared. aI see the nozzle. How about releasing a puff of steam?a A one-second puff did the job well enough. When they cycled through the lock soon after, the suits were clean above the knees. Karlas was not even wet. Of course water boils away immediately in a vacuum.
We helped them shed their suits in an orgy of welcoming hugs and no few kisses. Rosalind stared around at the cabin, eyes fixing on Cleaver, who had hung back. aYou!a she uttered through twisted lips.
Karl had never met him but of course recognized him from Claraas images. aSo! Herr General himself led the attack!a Perhaps because of the hard German G, Cleaver failed to understand Karlas ironic recognition. aIam afraid I led it, Mr. Haines: Harrison Cleaver, at your service.a aTell us what happened!a demanded Alice.
aOne moment.a I held up a hand. aFirst things first. You two are obviously healthy. Whatas the state of your s.h.i.+p?a aUsable,a said Karl.
aIf you donat need to breathe,a added Rosalind.
aWe canat seal it,a said Karl.
aIt wasnat air-tight after all?a I asked incredulously.
aIt isnat now. It has a hole above the control panel large enough to pa.s.s your fist all the way through the hull. I think the d.i.c.ks are dangerous when violently thumped. And we donat have any large patches. How could we have overlooked that?a Alice interrupted, thrusting her finger into a brown-stained hole in his s.h.i.+rt. aIam not so sure about the aobviously healthy.a How many times did they shoot you, Karl?a He waived his hand negligently with a smile. aOnly twice.a His gaze settled on mine approvingly. aThat diamondoid works!a aYes, I know.a I emitted a sigh. aAll right. Start at the beginning. What happened on your s.h.i.+p?a * * *
It had all been very quick. The two intruders had found or cut two pieces of canvas shroud left unnoticed in the back of the s.p.a.ce suit locker. They worked their way silently across the main cabin, apparently intending to blindfold and secure Karl and Rosalind with the canvas. Karl reacted instinctively when the cloth went over his head. He grabbed the a.s.sailantas arms and with the leverage of his tight harness, threw the man forward over the chair.