Page 31 of The Lone Cyborg
“I wish we had time for more, love, but business first.”
“I know.”
They set off again and this time the end of the passageway was obvious, sunlight streaming through the narrow entrance. He kept her behind him as it approached it, checking for any indications that someone else might be present, but all was quiet.
He beckoned to her as he stepped outside and she joined him with a relieved sigh, raising her face to the sun.
“I don’t think I’ll ever take sunlight for granted again,” she said softly.
“Sometimes you have to lose something before you appreciate it.”
“Then in case it isn’t already clear, I love you and I appreciate you. I don’t have to lose you to know that.”
He kissed her again and then reluctantly pulled away.
“Later,” he promised. “I need to find a position where I can observe the claim.”
“Weneed to find a position.”
He laughed.
“All right. I suggest we start by getting out of this ravine.”
Fortunately, the wall at the far end wasn’t too tall and he was able to help her climb it while Sylvester chirped encouragingly.
“Easy for you,” she panted when she reached the top. “You can just fly out of there.”
The bird chirped again and she gave a breathless laugh.
“I think he feels sorry for me.”
“You did very well,” he assured her. “Do you know where we are?”
She looked around, frowning, then nodded.
“This is the northern end of the claim. The shelter should be just below those rocks.”
“Will you wait here while I take a look?”
She reluctantly agreed and he crept forward before peering cautiously around the clump of rocks she’d indicated. She was right—the shelter was just below him and he had a good view of the open space between it and the entrance to the lava tube. Two men were sitting in front of the entrance, swapping a bottle back and forth. He suspected they were the two who had been in the tunnel and they matched the Doc’s description of the man he’d treated and his “brother.”
A heavyset man was throwing sacks into the back of a beat up rover and he bit back an annoyed growl as he recognized one of Mattie’s pillows poking out of the top. What kind of idiot stole pillows?
A fourth man had brought one of her chairs outside and was bent over a data pad. Despite that, he kept a close eye on the others and Jeb immediately identified him as the leader. He hadthe upright posture of a former soldier and his appearance was neatly maintained—a far cry from the other three, who all looked as if they hadn’t bathed since they arrived on the planet.
After watching for a little longer, he concluded that there were no additional people anywhere around and that the rover was the only form of transportation. He spared an unhappy glance at the area where Trojan had fallen, the big horse still crumpled against the dirt. The electric pulse must have been stronger than he’d guessed. Those bastards were going to pay for what they’d done to his horse.
He cautiously slipped back amongst the rocks and returned to where Mattie was waiting anxiously.
“Four of them,” he said grimly. “If my weapon was working I could probably pick off at least two of them before they had a chance to return fire but without it, I have to get closer.”
“Are you going to wait until the two of them are back in the tunnel?”
“Yes. With any luck the explosion will distract the other two enough to give me an edge.”
The day passed with agonizing slowness, despite his frequent checks on the claim. The big man had joined the two by the lava tube and the three of them had emptied the bottle. The leader didn’t look happy about it, but he didn’t interfere. It wasn’t until midafternoon that he finally abandoned his data pad and went to join the others.
The four of them were clearly having an argument but the wind was blowing away from him and he could only make out a word or two. Finally the two men staggered to their feet anddisappeared into the tunnel. This was it. His nanites strained to keep his racing heart under control as he returned to Mattie.
