Tales From The Underground: 3 The Dirgible Read online

  The three of us move away from each other as we advance toward the building. Suddenly remembering, I call out, “The surface is like a drum. There’s no way to approach silently.”

  Kate nervously adjusts her grip on her gun but she keeps moving forward, creating more space between the two of us. As we spread out, I wonder if the reason for the drum surface is to prevent exactly what we are doing. Chatter from the engine room comes over the PCD.

  “Switch to combat channel,” Kate instructs tersely.

  I fumble for a moment before I remember it’s a simple switch on the bottom of the unit. Depressing the button, I announce, “Verify.”

  “I’m monitoring,” Jerome informs us.

  “Good to go,” Kate responds, which tells me Decker already verified.

  My poor reaction to a simple procedure causes a blush to heat my face. Taking a deep breath, I push away worry and fear in order to focus. I have an advantage; I just need to use it. Quickly dialing the PCD to vibrate mode, I send my hearing toward the building. Sensing nothing, I pull it back as I near one of the heat towers.

  “I’ve found an edge,” Decker notifies us, quietly over the PCD.

  Sweat slides down my back as I creep forward searching for the edge. Under my foot, I feel a ridge, almost like a curb on a sidewalk. Pulling back slightly, I announce, “Edge.”

  “Edge,” Kate’s voice sounds oddly calm. When we trained together, she always barked out commands in an authoritative tone. Strange how training doesn’t reveal how people will behave when it’s all real. “Rachael, do you hear anything?”

  “Checked. Nothing.” I keep my eyes scanning the area, remembering not to get too focused on the obvious threat that something else can sneak up on you.

  “Okay,” Kate breathes the word. “Forward for a ten count, listen, and repeat. Rachael, I want you to report at each stop.” Tension builds until Kate says, “Move.”

  The three of us step onto the platform causing a reverberation only slightly louder than when I stepped on it alone. Counting off the numbers, I find my body moving in sync with the others. Reaching ten, I immediately send out my hearing. The building is quiet but I send my hearing around the perimeter just to be safe.

  “Clear,” I blurt and start the ten count again, moving in unison. The rhythm might be relaxing under other circumstances. Instead, each pause cranks the tension higher. Sweat pours down my face, making me wish I had thought to put up my hair. Strands stick to the side of my face and the back of my neck, feeling slightly ticklish. Focus, I remind myself. All the training we go through to ride the dirigibles and it doesn’t prepare you for the stress and fear. Or, in this case, the sweat.

  Ten meters from the building, we pause as I listen intently. A whirring sound emanates from deep inside the structure but I can’t make out what it is. Holding up a hand, I check the perimeter carefully but nothing seems to be moving out there.

  “Something is moving inside,” I caution.

  “Human?” Kate asks.

  “No, machine,” I reply.

  “Could be operated by a person,” Decker warns.

  Listening intently to the interior, I decide the whirring sound could be an elevator just as my PCD vibrates. Hastily pulling my hearing back, I hear Brent voice.

  “─picking up motion in the trees.” The tinny sound of Brent’s voice doesn’t hide the worry in his tone.

  His words and tone trigger a moment of terror through my veins that disappears, as Kate calmly demands, “Human?”

  “Can’t identify but the movement is too coordinated to be animal.” Brent explains. “It’s a circle around you.”

  “Kate, I want you back here ASAP.” Jerome’s words sound clipped.

  “The repairs…” Kate begins.

  “I gave you an order,” Jerome cuts Kate off. “Get back here.”

  Clearly, whatever Jerome and Brent can see isn’t good.

  “Okay, let’s move.” Kate barely gets the words out when a clunking sound pulls our eyes back to the building.

  “What is─” Decker mutters.

  “Footsteps,” I announce, peering around the perimeter. Decker points his gun at the door, while Kate sweeps the edge of the platform. Hushed voices, footsteps, and some clinking sounds I can’t identify surround us.

  Glancing back, I measure the distance to the dirigible and realize we’re screwed.

  Chapter 19

  “Take cover!” Jerome shouts through the intercom. “We’re coming for you!”

  “Back of the building!” Kate yells just as the door begins to open.

  Decker dashes forward, slipping to the side of the door. I duplicate his move and wait. Kate rushes to the corner nearest me to cover the two of us. Two shapes step boldly out into the heat. Stepping forward, I slam the butt of my gun into the second head. As he drops to the ground, I realize it’s Ashton. Stunned, I stare down at him while Decker shoves his target back through the doorway. Stepping back from the door, Decker examines Ashton for a moment before pulling something off Ashton’s unconscious form. When I see a silver flash, I realize he grabbed a knife. Decker slams the door closed and hammers at the doorframe, managing to drive the knife into the locking mechanism. With a smirk, Decker drags Ashton across the ground to prop him against the door.

  “Move,” Decker growls as he grabs my shoulder and spins me around.

  Stumbling after him, I round the first corner and see Kate crouched to cover us as we sweep past her to the next corner. Decker flattens himself against the wall and, with a sharp inhale, peeks around the corner. His shoulders relax slightly so I’m moving to the back of the building even before he signals. Finding the center of the wall, I squat down and breathe deep. Decker drops beside me close enough that I feel it when Kate bumps into him as she settles into position.

  “Kate, nudge me,” I instruct and send my hearing out to find where the others are, trusting Kate to remember that I can’t hear someone right next to me while I do that.

  Wishing I could hear around corners, I send my hearing out to the sides, trying to find a spot where the sounds waves are not being deflected. A few noises like scuffling feet reach me but not much more. I wait, thinking I might be able pick up a shouted command. Sweat drips into my eyes while I stare into the distance, concentrating, trying to hear what they are doing. A shadow slides over us, making me glance up, knowing I will find the dirigible overhead. I snap my hearing back to normal. The three of us prepare ourselves to run as the dirigible continues moving.

  “Flak!” Jerome’s voice calls out over the PCD.

  Five seconds quiet and then exploding rounds of flak fire from the dirigible, creating a cloud of noise and dust in an oval around us. Surprised, I realize there must be a lot more people moving in on our position because the people on the other side of the building are inside the flak cloud with us. Jerome wouldn’t waste flak so they must be keeping others outside the oval.

  “Watch your back,” Kate orders as the rescue lines drop in front of us. “Go!”

  Together we jump up and race over the ground to meet the ratlines as they drop. A line slams into the ground to my right so I veer toward it. I slide into the ground like sliding into home plate and manage to snag the line as I slip past. Running the rope through my hands, I spill loops of rope to my side as I search for the bineer on the end. Fumbling with the lock, a small sound and puff of dust near my outstretched foot makes me glance back to the building. Five figures line up along the building, couching and taking aim at the three of us. Staying flat on the ground, I focus on the carabineer in my hand and clip it to my harness. Giving the lock a quick spin, I wait for the indicator light. The light turns green while a beep sounds in my harness. I roll over to fire toward the building, hoping to provide a little coverage for the others. Feeling motion to my right, I watch the rope snake upwards and roll onto my back to wait for the jolt as the bineer takes my weight. Another ricochet kicks up a tiny cloud of dust a second before I’m yanked into the ai
r.

  Shouts fill the air but the cacophony of zings and pops created by the flak cloud makes the words indistinguishable. Peering up, I check if I’m swinging too wildly to get through the opening. Spinning as I swing to port, I see that I am exceeding the width of the door. I try to remember the pendulum rule; as the rope shortens, the swing shortens, is that it?

  Swinging to starboard, something hammers into my back, halting my wild pendulum back and forth. I struggle to breathe and look down. Fear screams along my veins as I see five guns pointed at me. Small jerky motions of the people tell me that the weapons are firing but the noise is too intense and chaotic to hear the individual gunshots. Suddenly, I feel walls around me and realize I’ve slipped through the opening into the dirigible. Sighing with relief, I realize my mistake a second later when I fight for air with muscles spasms in my back and side. Dangling a couple of meters off the floor, I attempt a stretch to stop the twitching muscles but hanging in a harness isn’t the ideal way to accomplish that.

  The crashing racket of flak cuts off to a muffled noise, making me glance down at the same moment I realize they closed the doors. A small jolt causes me to gasp and then I’m slowly lowered to the deck. Hands grab me, carefully positioning me so I land on my feet.

  “Are you okay,” a voice laced with concern asks me as I gingerly take a breath.

  “Yeah,” I mutter. “I got shot.”

  “Good thing you had the vest,” the voice dryly comments.

  Looking up, I meet dark brown eyes. It takes a moment before I can see beyond those eyes to notice a roughish smile with crooked teeth.

  “Can you breathe?” he asks.

  “Yeah,” I nod. “Just a little sore. It’ll pass.” I start to fumble with my harness.

  “Here, I’ll help.” He gently pulls slack into my line while bracing me with a hand on my arm to make sure he’s not throwing my off balance.

  “When did you join the crew?” I ask as I undo one of the buckles.

  “Just eight weeks ago,” he says, unlocking my line.

  “I’m Rachael,” I tell him.

  “Liam,” he replies, flashing that same roughish grin. “But everyone calls me Sanders.”

  “Thanks for the help,” I say.

  “No problem,” Liam laughs. “You know, when I signed up they promised adventure and excitement but I can’t say I expected this.”

  I smile, “Believe me; it wasn’t this exciting when I crewed on this run.”

  Suddenly I stagger as my weight increases.

  “Steady,” Liam says as he supports me. “We’re doing a rapid ascent.”

  “Just so long as it’s not a rapid descent,” I comment and struggle to undo my harness.

  “Brent’s a good pilot,” Liam assures me.

  I walk across the deck to meet Kate and Decker at the lockers. Stripping out of the harness and helmet, I hang the items up in the jumper locker but have to search around before I remember where the combat lockers are.

  “Don’t forget, you have to clean your gun.” Kate comments as she strides past me to hang up her vest. Pulling out a holster, Kate shoves her gun in the holder and slings the holster over her shoulder. I manage to get out of my vest and hang it up in the only empty slot. Kate stops me as I turn to go. “Until I tell you otherwise, I want you armed.”

  Looking at her, I reach into the locker and pull out a holster. I check the safety on my gun before jamming it into the holder. As I toss the holster over my shoulder, I start walking across the deck, heading for the main level, thinking it feels like a million years since I had Otto’s French toast. It’s very hard for me to believe it was just this morning.

  Chapter 20

  Pausing to snag a cleaning kit, I warily make my way up the stairs. I’m half way up before I realize the dirigible is flying smoothly. They must have been able to affect some repairs in the brief time we were on the ground. Warily, I try to calculate the time but give it up as a lost cause. Maybe we were grounded for hours, maybe it was only ten minutes. Hell, maybe it was three days, I just can’t tell; too much has happened since I had lunch in town with Jonathon.

  “Do you need me to carry you?” Decker’s voice startles me.

  “What? No, I’m good.” I mutter, as I stop climbing the stairs to look at him. “Just a little tired.”

  “Yeah, it’s been fun,” he comments. A slow smile spreads across his face, making him look edible.

  Ignoring him, I turn away and grab a railing to haul myself up the last flight to the main level. As I emerge from the stairwell, I notice it’s still daylight. That actually makes me feel even more exhausted; the idea that they may be more to this day is just too much. Crossing the floor, I head to the huge dining table and carefully set the holster, gun, and cleaning kit down, afraid that if I don’t take extra care I’ll end up dropping everything.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I see Jonathon stand up and hesitate. Warily, I settle myself into a chair and turn to look at the cause of all this trouble. Okay, maybe I glare at the cause.

  Adam shifts forward to the edge of his seat while Paul just glares back at me, as if I’m to blame for what’s going on. Jonathon eases himself down onto the arm of the sofa. Turning away, I flip open the cleaning kit and start dismantling the gun as Decker pulls out a chair opposite me.

  “Soooo,” he drawls, affecting a casual air. Leaning back in his seat, he drapes an arm over the back and examines the three guys from the city. In an incredibly dismissive tone, Decker comments, “They’re a pretty lot, aren’t they?”

  Paul twitches as if he’s going to take a run at Decker but Jonathon gestures for him to calm down. I can’t help but think Decker is the pot calling the kettle black. Sitting across from him, I have a moment to really study his face and he’s probably better looking than any of the guys from the city. And yet it’s clear that Decker’s good looks are all natural. Decker grins at the guys, cocky and self-assured, as if, no matter what, he’s going to win.

  “Stop being a jerk,” Kate walks between Decker and the city guys, deliberately breaking the staring contest. She gives Decker a hard look before turning to glance at the guys. Meeting my eyes, she smiles faintly and raises an eyebrow, indicating that she agrees with Decker’s assessment of them as ‘a pretty lot’. I think she also agrees with Decker’s implied opinion that they’re useless.

  Unperturbed, Decker starts dismantling his gun as he flashes his cocky grin in my direction. I sigh, thinking this jerk is going to give me a lot of trouble.

  “So, Rachael, rumour has it that you’re some kind of superhero.” Decker wipes out the barrel of his gun.

  I pull out a toothbrush and scrub the frame while studiously avoiding eye contact with Jonathon or his friends. Pretending indifference, I say, “I’m not a superhero. That’s just comic book stuff.”

  Decker leans on the table, “Come on, I hear you have superhearing and some kind of…” He waves a hand out, wiggling his fingers, invoking the idea of spooky. “People say you can sense other things.”

  Peering into Decker’s eyes, I can see that I won’t be able to avoid explaining. I set the gunstock on the table and glance over at Jonathon.

  Decker squints at Jonathon and gives me another appraising look, “Don’t tell me you need his permission.” His tone, clearly meant to goad me into talking, just makes me smile as I pick up the toothbrush and gunstock but his words make me realize I feel a little ashamed with Jonathon discovering I’m not normal. I silently berate myself.

  “Come on,” Decker cajoles me with a big smile. “Jerome says you can hear a pin drop a kilometre away.”

  I sigh, knowing there’s no way I’m getting out of this conversation so I put down the toothbrush and gunstock. I decide it might be better to just get it out in the open so, picking up the barrel and bore brush, I sit up a little straighter as I correct Decker. “I can hear a pin drop two kilometres away.”

  The stunned look on Decker’s face is gratifying but, as I peek over at J
onathon, I see a look that indicates he thinks I’m insane.

  “Seriously?” Decker persists.

  I nod, “Maybe two and a half. So long as there isn’t a wall or something else to block the sound waves.” A little cloud of carbon puffs out as I push the bore brush through the barrel. I stare at the pieces for a moment, thinking, considering.

  “Two and a half K, wow.” Decker sits back, amazement shining in his eyes. He seems thrilled by the idea.

  “There are problems,” I mutter.

  “The biggest one is that she can’t hear something going on right beside her if she’s sent her hearing out,” Jerome explains as he pulls out a chair to join us at the table.

  “That doesn’t sound good,” Decker squints at me.

  “It can be dangerous,” I acknowledge, pulling out some grease for the pistol.

  “So, I could yell in your ear and you wouldn’t hear me?” Decker sounds thoughtful, as if he’s rethinking whether or not I’m a superhero.

  “Yeah,” I nod as I grease the sliding parts, making sure to spread it properly.

  Pointing his bore brush at me, he says, “So that’s why you asked Kate to nudge you when we were on the ground?”

  “Yes,” I agree. “I was trying to hear what was happening on the other side of the building.”

  “So you can hear around corners?” Decker tilts his head in an calculating sort of way, as if he’s trying to pin down all the details.

  “No, I sent my hearing out the side. The sound waves move out in a circle so, if I can send my hearing out to the side, I can find a spot where the waves haven’t been deflected.”

  “You know, that’s damn cool.” Decker looks so tickled by the idea that it makes me a little uncomfortable. “Superhearing, that’d be just awesome.”

  Chapter 21

  “Yeah, super awesome,” a new guy comments in a very sarcastic tone.

  Everyone turns to look at the newcomer. He’s very short and yet, oddly, his face has a stretched look, like pulled taffy. His tiny mouth, bunched up as if he smells something bad, radiates his displeasure.

  I glance back at Decker to see a wary and slightly sympathetic expression on his face. Taking a breath, the look vanishes to be replaced by a cocky grin as Decker turns to peer at the new guy.

  “Andy, were you on board when Rachael here crewed this run?” Decker asks in a mild tone that is probably supposed to mollify Andy but only succeeds in directing Andy’s anger in my direction.