Page 88 of Enthraller

Crach moved away, backing into the wall and then sliding down it to sit with his legs extended in front of him. He closed his eyes as if he was going to sleep.

Navar reached out a hand out to see how feverish Wren was, and gave a start when his fingers touched her face.

“Do we have a med kit?” he asked.

No one even answered, and without commenting on that, Navar moved back to the wall next to Crach and leaned against it, crossing his arms over his chest.

She had enthralled them all.

Wren sat up, and Ed extended his tied hands to help her off the stretcher. She grasped his arms at the wrists and his restraints fell away.

He kept his face neutral, but he couldn’t believe how easy that had been.

They walked out into the pouring rain, Ed taking his lead from Wren, keeping his movements easy and flowing.

As soon as they were out of sight, they ran.

“That was inspired,” Ed said, finally dropping her hand so they could go single file through the narrow path between the bushes.

“It will only last a few minutes,” she said. “But I don’t think either of us wants to be there when Linao comes back.”

“No.” He wondered what Linao would make of what happened. What the men would make of it, too, come to that.

“She already thinks I have the nanos,” Wren said. “This will confirm it.”

“Maybe,” Ed said, holding a branch back for her as they worked their way deeper into the forest. “But she can’t know for sure, and none of those guys will admit they just sat down and watched you leave. None of them.”

She made a sound at the back of her throat, as if she wasn’t convinced, but he was. They were not going to confess to being manipulated.

Certainly not to Linao. She already thought they were lacking.

“We should head for the scientists’ camp,” Wren said. “They don’t have amazing security, but they do have some to protect against the Har Met Vent, and they hate the SF team leader on Ytla, Lieutenant Trent. They’ll hide us without a second thought.”

“Why do they hate him?” Ed saw the path widened up ahead, and paused so Wren could jog up next to him.

“He wouldn’t let them study the carvings, although we know now that wasn’t Trent, it was someone above him. But Trent was pleased to deny them. He acted like they were weaklings who couldn’t handle a bit of trouble when they called the SF teams in to help them with the Har Met Vent. Professor Tai was veryinsulted. She’s organized, careful and cares for her people. She thinks Lieutenant Trent is a condescending oaf.”

“How do you know all this?” Ed asked, amused.

“I was in the same runner up to the battleship with her, after I rescued myself. She was going up to complain about Trent, and she and I got on very well.”

“Well, you couldn’t have been feeling too friendly toward Trent by then yourself.” Ed wasn’t feeling too friendly toward him, either. “Is Trent still here?”

“I think the base was shut down and they’re back in Nanganya. They only came out to help Professor Tai, and the plan was to leave after I rescued myself.”

Causing mischief elsewhere, Ed thought. He hoped they weren’t amongst the crews looking for Ethan Hyt and Velda Shanïha. The Demeter captain and the Head of Defense would be in even more danger, if that was the case, because at the very least, Trent had been compromised.

“Did you pick up that Navar was on Trent’s team when I got back to the Ytla SF base?” Wren asked him.

“I did. But it looks like he’s in the Demeter team now. I wonder if he transferred over with Mornes and Jenik, the two who tried to kill Hyt at his apartment?”

“He might have come across earlier, because I’d have thought Ethan Hyt would have been suspicious of him, transferring across at the same time as those two. You’d think he’d be suspended.” Wren paused. “And Fenton is obviously not a transfer, he’s from Demeter.”

“This goes deep.” Way deeper than he could believe. He hoped they had finally reached the bottom of it, but he had a feeling there were probably a few more surprises to come.

The rain suddenly stopped, almost as quickly as it had started. It was already getting dark, and the cloud cover didn’thelp, but it was a massive relief when the hard, cold drops ceased.

Wren stopped, and he turned to her.

---