“They are called doomies and seers,” Crichton said. “Now you are talking about serious nucleus-deep evil. Our experiments over the years have never found any physical reason for such powers. If we find them, then we destroy them.”
Dean was instantly on his feet, his mouth open. Ryan saw the movement and his heart sank. “You wouldn’t destroy Krysty or”
“You need your afternoon rest, son,” Ryan said loudly. “Seems you’ve been dozing and not listening to the baron. The professor, I mean. He explained that the power Krysty has is fine, not like doomies and those others who are real dangerous and should be stamped on. Real dangerous . You understand me, son?”
Dean nodded slowly. “Sure. I’m real sorry, Dad, for not listening and nearly saying something triple stupe. Sorry everyone. Guess I’ll go to my room.”
“Mebbe we all should,” Ryan said. “Thanks for the tour and the meal. But Krysty’s very tired”
BACK IN THEIR OWN WING, Ryan called everyone together. “Interesting, huh?”
“Nasty moment about seeing,” Krysty said, lying flat on her bed, eyes closed.
“I’m so sorry about” Dean began. “Just hearing him say that Krysty was evil and should be destroyed made me see red. Won’t do it again, Dad.”
“That’s all right. Didn’t do no harm.”
“Any, lover.”
“Any what, Krysty?”
“It didn’t do any harm. Not didn’t do no harm.”
“Yeah. Anyways, who’s got any comments? Mildred, you know more than the rest of us.”
She sighed. “Truly bizarre. There’s equipment here to run the finest hospital in Deathlands. They could spate endless misery for thousands of people a year. And all the medical wisdom has vanished forever. So they spend day after day, this inbred collection of small-brained whitecoats, month after year after damned decade, researching and experimenting away, slowly vanishing up their own assholes.”
Doc nodded. “That is precisely my own perception, too. My own feeling is that there is nothing to keep us here for any length of time. The food is execrable and the intellectual company is barely above the level of a brain-dead dung beetle.”
“Agreed,” J.B. said. “The sec men might be soft, but there’s a lot of them. And you don’t need to be a shootist to blow someone away with a 12-gauge. I think we should get ready to move.”
“They threatened us.” Trader stood in the center of the room, hands on hips. “We all heard it. The shit about those who get in don’t get out. I say we walk careful, pick our moment and start blasting.”
“Agreed with the first part. Not about the blasting away. Remember there’s only one road in and out and it’s guarded,” Ryan said. “Mebbe it’s better to let them talk to Krysty for a day or so while the rest of us recce and make sure that when we want to get out, then we all get out. No argument?”
“We split up for this?” The Armorer was sitting on Ryan’s bed, checking the action on the Uzi.
“Yeah.”
Krysty opened her deep green eyes. “I think I’d like to sleep for an hour or two. I don’t feel any danger around. They don’t have the balls for it.”
Mildred laughed. “Truth is, they don’t have any kind of equipment for anything, Krysty.”
Dean nudged his father. “Can I have a look around, ready for the breakout?”
“Go with Doc. I don’t want anyone isolated.” Ryan raised his voice. “There’s one other thing that you ought to know about this place. Ties in with what Mildred said about their equipment.”
“What’s that?” Trader asked. “You really do see more with your one fucking eye.”
“When we were in the research wing. Just when Buford was leading us all up to the top floor, away from those closed sec doors.”
“I didn’t see anything.” Abe looked around. “Did anyone?”
“It was a sign that had been painted over long time ago. But at a certain angle you could read the lettering underneathEntry Absolutely Forbidden to all But B12 Cleared Personnel. And at the end was Mat-Trans Units.”
“A gateway,” Doc breathed.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Snowing out.”
Ryan pulled back the corner of the blind, looking across the dark green river to the towering walls of quartz-flecked granite. By bending he was able to make out the leaden sky riding low over the valley.