James Axler – Bitter Fruit

Krysty found the audio control and opened the channel into the office. “Doc.”

He straightened immediately, his blaster in his hand. “Krysty, my dear lady, where are you?”

“Safe.”

“By the Three Kennedys, you should not scare an old man that way.” The smile on Doc’s face showed honest relief. “I was trying to think of a way to break it to friend Ryan that I had lost you.”

“You didn’t lose me, Doc. I lost myself.” Krysty searched the keyboard and found another pull-down menu. One of the coded encryptions was for opening the door.

“I think,” Doc said, “that your man perhaps wouldn’t have seen that so clearly as you state it. Your care was somewhat entrusted to me.”

“Old ideas, Doc, a man looking after a woman and being responsible like that. Mebbe if I was helpless.” Despite the tenseness of the situation, she couldn’t resist a pointed barb. “Unless you’re saying I’m helpless.”

“No, dear lady. I would never suggest such a thing as that.” The torch sputtered and popped, casting less light with every second.

“Step back.” Krysty punched in the access code for the hidden door.

From the vantage point provided by the sec camera, Krysty was able to see the hidden door swing open.

“I knew that was there,” Doc said, approaching the shadowed entrance. The view was of the back of his head as he advanced on the door. “However, none of my efforts to open yon portal met with any success.”

“The others are on their way there now,” Krysty said, “and they’re bringing company.”

“I had thought perhaps they were ill met,” the old man said. “upon hearing the thunderous cannonade.”

“Do you still have those explosives we picked up earlier?”

“Why, of course, fair lady. You were the only thing I was in arrears on as far as responsibility goes.”

“Dig them out,” Krysty said. “We’re going to try to close the door after the others arrive.” She clicked off the audio portion of the sec board. They had a way out of the redoubt if they could reach it, even if they didn’t know where it was going to lead.

“BURROUGHS,” Mildred said.

Ryan gripped the stairwell’s railing and threw himself over. Jak was a pale ghost sprinting ahead of the others, the blazing brand thrust before him, burning more brightly as it struggled to live against the quick movement. Ryan landed hard on the next set of steps, turned under the first set and headed in the opposite direction as they went down.

“Burroughs,” Mildred repeated, anger lighting her voice.

“Save your breath,” Ryan said, “for running. Got a long ways to go.”

In the distance Jak turned around the first corner two floors below and took part of the light with him. The din of the guns overhead had died away, but the warbling echoes of men’s voices drifted through the stairwell. The metal skeleton of steps vibrated under the constant pounding.

“Man said his name was Drake Burroughs?” Mildred asked, out of breath as she navigated the landing that led onto the floor Jak had taken.

“That’s right,” J.B. answered. “Heard him myself.”

“He’s a major.”

Ryan reached out a hand and caught the corner, throwing himself after the Armorer and Mildred. “Fireblast, I don’t have time to carry you if you run out of air.”

Mildred stopped talking, instead saving her breath to keep up with her companions.

Jak waited up ahead, his torch held away from his body so some of the shadows still shielded him. “Doc and Krysty are inside,” he called out.

Ryan scanned the office, taking in the artificed door bisecting the opening. Krysty and Doc weren’t immediately visible.

“Inside,” Jak said, pointing.

Ryan crossed the room and peered into the tunnel. A torch was lying on the ground, fighting for its life against a greasy wetness that covered the floor. Doc and Krysty were busy working plas ex around the inside of the narrow corridor.

“Where does the tunnel go?” Ryan asked.

“Mat-trans unit,” Krysty said. “Another room just beyond.”

“Powered?”

“Yeah. Evidently this redoubt was compartmented. Different levels worked off their own power sources.” Krysty worked another line of plas ex into the corner made where the ceiling met the wall. “Doc and I found the explosives earlier. I’d figured we’d pack them out of here, mebbe do some trading at one of the other villes for supplies we might need. Didn’t think we’d need this much.”