Ri-ing. Ri-ing.
The front door banged open, and a voice shouted, sounding like the guard who had been outside. The second guard reappeared from the back of the house and ran out toward the front.
“Christ! Christ! Christ! Come on. . . .”
Ri— The tone cut, and a voice answered in Hyadean.
“Vrel?”
“Yes.”
“It’s Roland. No time to talk. I’m downloading the file. You have to get it to Chryse somehow.”
“What—”
“Just do it!”
An endless pause. Then, “Ready.” Cade nodded at Nyarl. Nyarl barked something at the Hyadean electronics. A crash followed by splintering noises came from the rear of the house, and then the terrified yelling of the housekeeper. More thuds from the front door. Indignant shouts, a couple of shots, then more screaming, getting louder as the door was battered in.
“It’s going through,” Luodine murmured.
Boots hitting the floor at a run; shouts; other doors in the house being thrown open.
An officer in peaked cap and army uniform, brandishing a pistol, appeared from the rear rooms, followed by troopers in helmets and flak jackets. “Everyone stay where you are! Hands high! Stop that!” Seconds later, armed Hyadean figures came through from the front, thrusting aside Thryase, who was trying to block the doorway. The leader barked something at Luodine, while another hauled Nyarl away from the table.
“Sent and deleted!” Luodine whispered to Cade. He released a sigh of relief. They straightened up to face the intruders.
The Terran officer came forward. “Ms. Marie Cade, otherwise known as Kestrel, I believe. And Mr. Roland Cade. You are under arrest as terrorists wanted for extradition to the United States.” More soldiers appeared from the rest of the house, making negative signs. One of the Hyadeans began checking the recording equipment. Luodine and Thryase were protesting in response to questions from another Hyadean, answering in English for Cade and Marie’s benefit.
“We’re simply doing our jobs. . . . I’m a political observer. She is a media investigator.”
“Tevlak doesn’t know anything about them. They were introduced as visiting professors.”
“No, I don’t know anything about a Teera Vrel. . . . Hyadean officer? What Hyadean officer?”
In the end, it was announced that the four Hyadeans would be detained pending a ruling from a higher authority somewhere. Cade and Marie were taken out to one of the craft that had landed, and boarded with a mixed Terran and Hyadean guard detail. The carrier took off immediately, accompanied by a second flying as escort.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
TODDREL LEARNED JUST AFTER the evening banquet at Derrar Dorvan that the two fugitives had been captured. They were being held in a detention facility at a base used jointly by Hyadean and Peruvian military forces near Cuzco, pending further instructions. Hyadeans had been at the house too, but there seemed to be some confusion over their motives and circumstances. In any case, Hyadean security was dealing with it. Toddrel’s concern at this stage was purely in establishing how much the two Americans had found out, and whom they might have divulged it to before leaving the country. And then silencing them. He skipped the next morning’s session of the meeting and left for Cuzco with Drisson, curious to meet face-to-face this couple who had been the cause of so much trouble. They flew south, with the wall of the Andes standing clear in the early sun, far off to the right.
“I’ve been thinking about those remote-detonatable munitions that Denham was talking about,” Drisson said. “If the Hyadeans are moving troops into the south Altiplano region to protect their action, it means they’ll be stashing a lot more hardware around there. If some of the munitions they bring in are of the new type, and someone could get the remote-access codes . . .” He looked at Toddrel meaningfully.
A lot of damage and confusion could be caused, slowing down if not halting operations completely, which Toddrel and associated interests would appreciate. It didn’t need spelling out. “And the media have already set up MOPAN with Chinese backing as the obvious culprits,” Toddrel completed.
“My thinking, exactly.”
“Hm.” Toddrel decided that it had possibilities. “It could be tough on a few of our Hyadean . . . allies.” He looked at Drisson questioningly.