A Matter For Men Part 40

"Uh, yeah. I got it."

"Is there anything you want to say to me?"

"Uh . . . thanks-I think." I added, "I'll know when the bleeding stops. Uh, I'm awfully embarra.s.sed."

"Listen, all new officers make the same mistake. You're lucky you made it here instead of someplace serious. You think the bars change you somehow. They don't. So don't let them get in the way. You're not your rank-you're just a person being trusted with that amount of responsibility. So I'll let you in on the secret. Your job isn't to order people-it's to inspire them. Remember that and you'll be very successful."

"Thank you," I said again. There was something about the way she spoke. "Are you related to Fromkin?"

She grinned. "I trained with him. Nine years ago." She stuck out her hand. "My name's Fletcher. Call me Fletch."

I shook hands gently. My wrist was still sore.

She said, "If you still want the bugs, take them."

I glanced back at the cage. The third baby millipede had finally gotten out of its sh.e.l.l. It was trying to crawl up the surface of the gla.s.s. Its belly was bright red. It stopped and stared at me. Its eyes were large and black and unnerving.

I shrugged. "I don't know now. I only wanted them back because I thought n.o.body around here cared. Now, I see that's not so. If you can do a better job . . ."

Fletcher grinned again. "Yes, we can."

I made a decision. "Well, then-keep 'em here. I just want to know what there is to know about them."

"I'll put your name in the computer," she said. "You can plug into the files any time you want. Our job here is to disseminate information, not hide it." Then her eyes twinkled and she added, "Visiting hours are every day from noon to five. Next time, bring flowers."

"I will," I said. I dropped my gaze away from her eyes. For some reason, they were suddenly too beautiful to look at. I made a show of looking at my watch. I was embarra.s.sed again, but this time for a totally different reason. "Well-" I said "-I guess I'd better get going. I have a plane to catch. Thanks again. For everything."

I turned awkwardly toward the door. She stepped in front of me. "Just one thing. That was a pretty fair piece of shooting. I was there. My compliments." And she stretched upward and kissed me warmly on the lips.

I could feel myself blus.h.i.+ng all the way to the jeep.

FORTY-ONE.

WE WERE on a high hill overlooking a shadowed valley, almost a canyon. At the bottom, a glittering stream sluiced down between the two sheer slopes, zig-zagging from north to south and forming a wide, shallow pond where the canyon opened up. The surface of the water reflected back the sky; it looked like blue gla.s.s. At the far end of the pond, the water poured gently over the edge of a low earth-and-wood dam.

A long shelf of land bordered the little lake. Near the dam was a rounded dome, almost unnoticeable against the black earth of the hill behind it. I studied it through the binoculars for a long time. The dome seemed darker than usual. It looked as if mud had been smeared all over its surface. Not a bad camouflage, but still not good enough to fool the computers. Satellite reconnaissance was monitored, processed and a.n.a.lyzed on a twenty-four hour basis for telltale changes in local terrain. The particular rounded b.u.mp of the worm hut, the dam, the local harvesting of trees-any of these things alone could have triggered an investigation; all of them together had put this valley on the ImmediateAttention list. It had taken us three weeks to get to it.

I pa.s.sed the binoculars over to Duke. He peered through and grunted.

"They're getting smarter," I said.

He nodded. "Yeah. This one is just plain inaccessible. There's no way we can get down there unnoticed."

Larry was studying the canyon upstream. "Can't raft in," he said.

Duke nodded in agreement. "Didn't think we could." He turned to Larry. "Call the blimp. We're dropping the team in." Larry nodded and thumbed his radio to life. Duke looked toward me. "What are you thinking?"

I said, "It puts it all on the shoulders of the first man. He's got to hold the position until the others are safely down." I closed my eyes for a second and visualized what it might be like. "I'll do it," I said.

"You don't have to," Duke said.

"Yes, I do."

"All right," said Duke. "Fine. Do you have any problems with the plan?"

"No," I said. And then I shrugged and grinned. "I hate it-but I have no problems with it."

Duke eyed me steadily. "What's that about?"

"I hate blimps. I have this thought the worms will hear us coming. Or see the shadow."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah. I hate heights."

"Is that it?"

"Yeah."

Duke looked at Larry. "You?"

"I'm fine."

"I don't get that from you-what's going on?" Larry shook his head.

"You still obsessing about Louis' death?"

Larry shook his head. Louis had died two weeks after his finger had been bitten. He'd started s.h.i.+vering one afternoon, then collapsed. He sank into a coma that evening and was dead the following morning. The autopsy showed that almost every red blood cell in his body had been exploded-from the inside. The killer was a virus that behaved like malaria. There were now thirty-four viral or bacteriological agents that had been identified as active agents in the Chtorran infestation. Louis had been lucky. His death had been quick, and relatively painless.

Duke said, "Larry, are you going for revenge?" Larry didn't answer.

"-Because if you are, you'll stay behind. It'll get in the way."

"I'll be fine!"

Duke looked at Larry. "You f.u.c.k up, I'll put a stake through your heart. I promise you."

Larry grinned, "I got it, boss."

"All right." Duke included me again. "Let's get moving. Be sure your teams are clear. We'll have a final briefing just before we go." Duke looked at me. "Jim, you and I will go over the attack plan with the pilot. You're right about the shadow-we have to keep it off the dome-and the engine noise, so let's see what the wind is doing. If it's light enough, we'll float across the valley."

We slid back down the hill. We'd left our jeep a quarter-mile away, on a fire road. It took us another half-hour to get to the landing site where the blimp was waiting. Our three attack teams were going through a last check of their equipment as we pulled up. Larry hopped out even before the jeep had finished rolling to a stop. "Only three torches-" he called. "There's too much fire danger. We'll use the bazookas-"

Duke poked me. "Let's talk to Ginny."

I followed him to the command tent, where a 3-D map of the valley was displayed across the situation table. He nodded perfunctory greetings to the watch officers and tossed his pack to one side. "All right, let's get to work." He stepped up to the table and picked up a light pen. He drew a red target circle in the large clearing next to the dome. "That's where I want to put the team."

Captain MacDonald stepped up to the table opposite Duke and frowned. Her white hair was pulled back into a crisp military bun. She wore a tight jacket, trousers, a sidearm and a stern expression. She pointed. "I've got fifteen knots of wind coming from the southeast. It's going to be tight."

Duke dialed down the magnification. The image shrank as if it were dropping away. The tabletop now included several square miles of surrounding mountains. "I got that. And we need thirty seconds over the landing site." He pointed at the now reduced red target circle. "Can we do it with the engines off?"

Ginny closed her eyes and thought a moment. She said, "Tricky. . ." She typed something into the keyboard and studied the monitor. "Looks like a split-second drop. Your men are going to have to take their cues from the box-"

She stopped and looked at us. "I can't promise to do it with the engines off. I can promise to give you forty-five seconds over the target site-and I'll keep the engines off as long as possible."

Duke didn't look happy. "There's a real potential for disaster here." He turned to me. "Jim, I don't want anyone dropping in the water. And I don't want anyone dropping too near the dome. Can we trust your team?"

"We'll hit our marks."

"Can I count on it?"

"I'm the one taking the biggest risk." I met his eyes. "You can count on me."

"All right." Duke turned back to the display. He dialed the image up to maximum and centered it on the dome. "What does that look like to you?"

I checked the scale indicator at the edge of the table. "It's too big. How old is this picture?"

Ginny looked at the monitor on her side of the table. "Eighteen hours. This is yesterday afternoon."

"Thank you." I picked up the light pen. "Here-this is where to look. Around the perimeter of the dome. Look for purple coleus or wormberry plants. Every time we find evidence of cultivation, we also find a fourth Chtorran. There's none of that here yet. Nor is there a totem pole in front-that would also be evidence. But" -I shook my head-"this dome is too big. I want an extra watch at the back of it."

Duke looked at me sharply. "Reason?"

"I don't have one. Just a feeling something's weird here. Maybe it's the location of the dome, maybe it's the mud camouflage. But I get a sense there's some intelligence here."

Duke nodded. He studied the terrain again. "I'll buy it. Ginny?"

Captain MacDonald nodded too. She touched the keyboard in front of her and wind lines appeared across the map. She studied the monitor screen for a second, then said, "There's your course, the red line. If the wind holds, you'll have fifty seconds over the target area. I'll come across the valley from the southeast." She pointed with the light pen. "Now, look, we're coming down a very narrow track. I've got mountains on one side and water on the other. The shadow will be north and west of us. And so will the dome. I can't promise I'll miss it, not without the risk of dropping men in the water, unless you want to wait till later in the day." Duke shook his head.

"All right. I'll do my best, but your first man will have to start down the rope even before we clear the dome. And he'll be hitting the ground awfully close-"

Duke looked at me. I shook my head. "No problem."

"-otherwise, the last of the team will be falling in the water."

"They had their baths this month," I said. "Don't worry about it.

"Anybody have anything else to add?" asked Duke. "No? Good. Let's go. Load 'em up." As we stepped out of the tent, he clapped my shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

I said, "Who's good idea was this anyway?"

He grinned back. "Right."

My team was to jump first, so that meant we boarded last. While we waited beneath the curve of the huge sky-blue blimp, I briefed them quickly. The job is routine, the jump's a little tight. Any questions? None. Good. Any problems or considerations? Larry had handled them already. Fine.

I moved among them quietly, double-checking the charges on their weapons and the expressions on their faces.

"How's it look, Cap'n?" That was Gottlieb. He had apple cheeks, a frizz of curly hair, and a perpetually eager smile. Right now he looked worried. I could tell because his smile was uncertain.

"Piece of cake."

"I heard the valley's awful narrow-"

"Yep. It is. That's just to make it interesting. These things are turning into turkey shoots. We don't want you falling asleep." I looked into his face. There was still too much tension there. I wondered if I should pull him. I put my hands on his shoulders and leaned over and whispered in his ear. "Listen, a.s.shole-I promise you, you're going to do fine. You know how I know? Because if you don't, I'm going to rip your arms off."

He knew I meant it. He grinned. "Yes, sir!"

He'd be okay now. He was more afraid of me than he was of the worms. The worms didn't stand a chance.

"Two minutes!" called Larry.

I turned and found myself looking at Amy Burrell. Eighteen years old, tiny frame, large eyes, dark hair. Trembling in her boots. She was wearing the helmet camera and carrying an AM-280. "Sir-?"

I knew what she was about to say. I didn't give her a chance to say it. "Ah, Burrell-good. Once you hit the ground, I want you to stay close. I'll be moving around to the back side of the dome. Keep fifty feet behind me and you'll do just fine. Keep your camera running, and if anything comes out of the dome, just keep looking at it. We need the pictures. Oop-the line's moving. Get going!" I turned her and pushed. I slapped her on the backside. From here on, she wasn't going to have time to be scared.

The blimp took us up quickly. Captain MacDonald was sharp. She turned into the wind immediately and headed south. She was going to give herself lots of maneuvering room before heading for the target.

The engines thrummed with quiet power. We could feel their high-pitched whine in our b.u.t.ts and our backbones. Beneath us, the ground tumbled away like a rumpled brown sheet. The wind whistled coldly past us. I licked my lips and wondered if they were going to get chapped.

We were on two platforms mounted on the sides of the gondola. Each one of us had his or her own rope. On the signal, all the ropes would be dropped simultaneously. On the count, we would drop as our numbers were called. I tugged experimentally at my pulley. It was fine. I realized I was fingering the doublebreakaway punch on my chest and stopped.

Captain MacDonald swung the blimp around then, heading us back toward the target. I watched our shadow as it moved across the treetops below. When she cut the engines, we were plunged into an eerie silence. Burrell looked at me nervously. The absence of sound was deafening.

I was about to thumb my microphone to life, to say something to fill the moment-when abruptly, music filled my earphones. Williamson's Angry Red Symphony. A perfect choice! Ginny was more than a pilot-she was an artist. I shut up and listened.

Too quickly, the approach to the target appeared before us. I recognized the escarpment at the top that looked like a dragon's backbone. And there was the fire road, and the place we had parked the jeep. And now, as we came closer, there was the canyon and the valley beneath it. The blimp shadow was sliding down the slope-and suddenly turned sideways. Were we heading in at an angle? Had the wind changed? Abruptly the engines came whining back to life-d.a.m.n!

The computer interrupted the music then. "Team One: stand by to drop."

There was the dome. And the blimp shadow was moving uncomfortably toward it "Five seconds!" said the computer. Something clicked, and all the ropes began dropping away, snaking to the ground like yellow spaghetti. "Three seconds!" I stood up. The blimp shadow moved across the dome. G.o.ddammit! "Two!" I released the safety on my pulley. And-"Drop Alpha!" I lifted my knees and fell forward into nothingness. The pulley shrieked and screamed as it careened down the rope. "Drop Beta!" Above me, I could hear an echoing shriek, and then another and another.

The ground rushed up toward me. The ropes below were crackling and undulating like live wires. And two of the largest Chtorrans I'd ever seen came streaming purple out of the hut- "Chtorrrrr! Chtorrrrrrr!"

"s.h.i.+t!"

I yanked a grenade off my belt, pulled the pin, and sighted below. There wasn't time, I was falling too fast. I dropped the grenade It fell short. The blossom of fire went off in front of the first charging worm, deflecting it but not slowing it down. The roar of the blast kicked upward like a hammer-blow. I grabbed for another grenade, knowing it was already too late-and then the worm was. .h.i.t by two more sudden explosions, one right after the other. The shock of them kicked me momentarily upward. Somebody above me must have dropped grenades-I hoped they hadn't dropped any more.

The Chtorran was writhing on the ground. It had been cut in half by one of the blasts. The second Chtorran was almost directly beneath me now, and the third and largest one was just coming out of the dome. I released the safety on my torch and pointed it straight down. I hoped Shorty had been right about this. The second Chtorran was reared up and reaching for me and I was dropping right into his churning maw-I could see straight down his throat. I pulled the trigger. The air beneath me exploded into flame. I couldn't see the Chtorran through it. The burning ground rushed up to meet me. I didn't even know if there was still rope for my pulley anymore. I pointed the torch sideways and fired again and the jet kicked me away from the burning worm. I released the trigger and hit the ground hard. I fell on my a.s.s-"Oof!"-and had the breath knocked out of me The third worm was charging straight toward me. "Chtorrrr! Chtorrrrrrr!" I didn't even have time to stand. I just pointed the torch and fired.

When I finally let go of the trigger, there was nothing left of the worm but a snaky dark ma.s.s of writhing, burning, rubbery flesh. It smelled terrible.