James Axler – Stoneface

“Who’d notice in this place?” J.B. asked dourly.

“Maybe a clothing allowance is one of the warlord’s perks,” Mildred suggested.

At noon a sec man fetched them. He ordered them to leave their blasters behind, since the theme of the ceremony was one of trust. Reluctantly they did as he said, trooping downstairs to the barroom. There were twenty-seven sec men standing in sloppy “parade rest” postures aligned across the far wall. They were all gazing stone-faced toward Hellstrom. None of them appeared to be armed.

Hellstrom greeted Ryan warmly and bade him to stand on the left side of his chair. In a whisper, Hellstrom said, “Since our time is short, we’ll dispense with the public ceremony and the ritual marking.”

Ryan didn’t ask why the time was limited; he figured Hellstrom would tell him sooner than later.

In a ringing voicethe same powerful, persuasive tone he had used at Zadfrak’s cremationHellstrom announced, “This is Ryan Cawdor, a warrior of superior abilities. He has performed splendidly in the service of Helskel, in the service of our lord Charlie. As patriarch, as keeper of the sacred prophecies of Helter Skelter, I name him a scion of the Family. I further name him warlord, the master of all of you. His every command is to be obeyed without question, without hesitation.”

A murmuring broke out among the ranks of the sec men. For a moment Ryan thought they were voicing their discontent, but he realized they were muttering, “Helter Skelter has come down.”

Still, a few pairs of gimlet-hard eyes bored defiantly into his. One pair belonged to Phil.

“It is done,” Hellstrom declared. “You are dismissed. Be happy, be loving, and remember the watchwordsvigilance is survival. Go forth and work for our world. Charlie’s world.”

As the sec men filed out, Hellstrom called, “Phil, Clem, wait.”

“Painless enough,” Ryan commented. “Now what?”

“Now I’ll brief you on the plan. We lost precious time because of that idiocy last night and the track stand today.”

At a gesture from Hellstrom, the pair of sec men lifted the wicker chair and carried it toward the saloon doors. “Follow me, warlord and company.”

They followed Hellstrom and the sec men down the street to the eatery. A hand-scrawled Closed sign hung in the dust-streaked window, but the door was unlocked.

Hellstrom was carried to the largest table. After they placed him at its head, the sec men took up sentry positions before the door. Ryan and his friends took seats around the table. Krysty was gazing at Hellstrom distrustfully, her sentient hair lying tight to her nape.

From inside his white blazer, Hellstrom produced a large folded square of paper and spread it open on the tabletop. It was hand-drawn map, and Ryan could tell that an experienced hand had made the drawings. When he saw a dotted line leading west from a hilly area labeled MT. PIG, he realized the map depicted the region around Mount Rushmore.

Hellstrom began talking quickly, without wasting a word. “I have no idea what lies inside of Mount Rushmore, the layout of the Anthill complex or even how big it is. However” his finger traced the dotted line that terminated in a series of wavy lines, “the cave where we pick up our trade goods is here. The distance between the nose and the cave is 2.3 miles, so there has to be a tunnel system.”

“I thought you said there was just a single-destination receptor unit in the cave,” J.B. said.

“I’ve always assumed it’s one way because there are no control consoles there,” Hellstrom replied. “However, the station has to get its power from somewhere, and it’s reasonable to assume the gateway is connected to an energy conduit. Unfortunately we can’t search the cave for it because of the beetles. The only way into the complex is through the nose. Once someone gains entrance, the gateway controls can be located and used to transport an assault force inside.”

“Won’t the Commander become suspicious if he sees an armed squad hanging around the cave?” Ryan asked. “You can’t just sit around waiting and hoping that the gateway controls will eventually be under the control of your people.”