voice. Like all those in the redoubt, he had been brought up to believe in the
innate superiority of the Gen, and even though he had faith in the sarj, there
was something that ran deeper.
“Do you really want those outsiders to make fools of us all?” Wallace said
softly.
“No sir, the Sarj says—”
“Screw that stupe. Hand that to me, boy, and we’ll say no more about it,”
Wallace interrupted. He held out his hand for the H&K the private held.
Mesmerized by the charisma of the Gen, the private handed it over.
Wallace smiled grimly and shot the boy in the chest, the force of the slug
throwing his already dead body off the chair.
“Never trust anyone, especially in times of war—and that’s what this is,”
Wallace stated before making his way into the anteroom.
Surveying the screens, he saw the mayhem that had broken out. He laughed gently
to himself, a laugh that bespoke his slide into insanity.
He’d teach the sarj to mess with him.
WHEN RYAN’S raiding party had emerged from the elevator, it had been a swift and
bloody race to the armory. They had emerged around the back of Murphy’s men,
taking them by complete surprise. The sec men had been blasted before they even
had the chance to turn and face their attackers. The sec men farther down the
corridor had retreated until they were holed up in the armory. Put on the
defensive, they had retreated until the only secure place was the armory itself.
There was no other way in. Alternatively there was no other way out.
Murphy and ten sec men were in the room, surrounded on both sides by Ryan’s
raiders, one group led by Jak and one by the one-eyed warrior himself.
With Murphy pinned down, Mildred and J.B. had set off with their small party to
secure the main comp center and close down the comp systems controlling the
redoubt.
It was here that they got the biggest shock. Arriving at the door Wallace had
guided them past during his tour, they found that it wasn’t guarded.
J.B. directed two of the ville dwellers to cover the corridor, while he and
Mildred took the door. The third man in their party was to cover them as they
went in.
The Armorer could only presume that Wallace had been so certain of his plan
working that he had left this section manned only by the techs and whitecoats
who worked here. Still, in a redoubt they could probably all use blasters. He
wasn’t going to take chances.
Bracing on his weaker ankle, J.B. used his good foot to kick open the door.
Unlike most of the others in this section, it was a simple wooden door, which
puzzled him.
The door crashed back on its hinges, and J.B. sprayed a short burst into the
room. There was the small explosion of destroyed equipment, and the squeal of a
tech mowed down at the knees.
J.B. and Mildred stepped into the room. Immediately the Armorer could see why
the door was a simple wooden barrier—this was only an outer room, with the inner
chamber protected by the usual sec door.
“Dark night, what has that madman done?” J.B. whispered as he caught sight of
the Plexiglas window that lined one wall.
“What is it, John?” Mildred asked as she followed him into the room. “Wha—Oh, my
God…”
J.B. and Mildred stood in front of the window, staring at the rat king.
And their eyes were drawn to Doc.
“Sweet Jesus,” Mildred husked, resisting the urge to gag. “How could they—? No,
scratch that.” She turned to J.B. “We can’t pull the plug until I see how Doc’s
connected. Leave me here with two for cover. Take one and get back to Ryan, let
him know what’s going on, then get back here.”
“Okay.”
J.B. left: He trusted Mildred’s medical skills to get Doc out of there if it was
possible. Otherwise he knew she would pull the plug if she couldn’t get Doc out.
Ignoring the weeping tech, lost in his pain, Mildred went through the sec door
and anteroom, into the main comp room where the skein of cables and wires