Page 81 of Skinwalker's Bane
He put the terminal away again, eased around the corner and moved slowly toward the entrance to the narrow, irregular back alley through the Field. It was just as unpopular a route as the file behind the Wall, for there were places where one had to duck or knock themselves out on unexpected projections. The alley took sharp corners around protruding pipes and cases shielding more sensitive equipment. It was dusty, there and too dark for most people to feel safe using it.
Adam used the big pipe at the entrance as leverage to lean around and look as far along the alley as he could. Sauber was still moving confidently along it. Adam didn’t step in behind him, because the chances were just as high he’d be spotted as they would have been behind the Wall. He merely watched Sauber move along.
Haydn came up behind him, breathing hard. “He’s in there?”
Adam looked again. “He’s turned off,” he said sharply, for Sauber had disappeared. “Somewhere inside.”
“Let’s go in. Slowly,” Haydn said.
They moved down the narrow way. Adam kept his gaze ahead and to the left of the path, for there was very little superstructure on the right. The hull of the ship was barely a meter away from their right shoulders. Adam peered through the pipes and stacks, the mounds of terminals and controllers. The air in here was always thick, filled with ozone and the hum of equipment. Mechanical engineers did their best to keep the dust down, yet the smell of dank grime was still strong. It coated Adam’s throat in an unpleasant way.
He saw a hint of movement somewhere ahead and stopped. Then he took a step back, gazing through the forest of pipes, looking for what had caught his eye. He saw Sauber and gripped Haydn’s arm in warning.
Haydn shifted on his feet, peering around Adam’s shoulder.
The pipes here were many and crowded. Sauber had moved off the path, stepping through, around and under metal objects. He would have been invisible in there, except that the spaces between the pipes right in this one spot aligned to give Adam a five centimeter window upon Sauber’s location.
Sauber was talking to someone, his voice low and inaudible.
Adam swayed to one side, to see if the tiny aperture would give him a glimpse of whoever Sauber was talking to.
A square object—some sort of casing—cut off all but the top section of the narrow view. Adam caught his breath as he spotted a bald head. He looked at Haydn and pointed.
Haydn frowned.
So Adam twisted Haydn’s shoulders until the man was looking at the right angle, then pointed again.
Haydn straightened with a jerk. He glanced at Adam, opening his eyes wide to signal surprise.
Adam shifted back to monitoring Sauber. Whatever the two of them were talking about, it was intense, filled with tension. Sauber’s throat was working and he did not look happy. He reached out and drew the other person closer.
Adam watched through the slit as Sauber kissed the other man. Dhaval Bull. It was no light peck. They kissed like long-term lovers.
Haydn squeezed Adam’s shoulder. “Enough,” he breathed into Adam’s ear and pulled him away.
They hurried back out to the Capitol. The air felt fresher there and the restriction on Adam’s breathing ease. The grimy aroma lingered, though. It felt as though it was coming off his clothes. Or maybe it was just a lingering psychological reaction to what he had just seen.
Sauber was a Caver. Not just sympathetic to the root of their cause. He was intimate with the vaunted head of the Cavers, Dhaval Bull.
Haydn moved down the width of the Capitol, the Sixth, Fifth and Fourth Walls sliding past and Adam realized he was heading straight for the Institute next to the Second Wall. They could talk freely there and Magorian had to be informed, too.
They swung into the terrace between the Second and First Walls and Adam was almost relieved. They slowed down to a more normal walk.
“You saw Bull, too, didn’t you?” Adam asked.
“I did.” Haydn held up a hand. “Wait a moment. Let’s get inside a bubble first.”
They moved down the side of the Institute rail, then stepped over it, just behind Noa’s desk. There was a small round table there, separated from other sections by a bank of servers. Noa leaned around them to look at the two of them, her brow lifting.
Haydn beckoned her, then tapped in a command on the permanent screen attached to the servers.
The slight tingling of his skin told Adam the sound barrier was up.
Noa crossed her arms, one leg thrust out sideways for balance. “What’s happened?” She looked as though she was braced for bad news.
“Let me talk to Magorian first,” Haydn said, tapping the same screen. He entered a code Adam didn’t recognize.
Magorian answered almost instantly. Adam could tell from the moving background that Magorian was walking. He was leaving whatever room he was in, just to talk to Haydn.
