[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
downriver. The river widens here as it goes around the bend. There are two
islands: Sycamore and Nine-mile."
"Are the channels marked?" Sam asked nervously.
"Yes; there's still heavy barge traffic up here, so everything is well
marked."
Max finished sorting through the gear, and came up to the bridge to hand Sam a
pair of night-vision binoculars and laid a loaded shotgun along the
windshield. "Kill the running lights."
They slipped down the river, running silent and dark. Sam guided the boat
around the bend, navigating via the colored channel markers. The two low,
heavily treed islands bracketed the channel, acting as a dark screen on the
shore lights. Moving without lights, it was like gliding into a cave.
"Where did they go?" Sam whispered. She scanned the river in front of them
with the night-vision binoculars. "Do you see anything?"
"No." Ukiah pointed in Kittanning's direction. "But they've just entered the
cove between
Page 161
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Sycamore Island and the Blawnox shoreline."
Max pointed out dots of light bobbing on the island like fireflies "Someone's
already on the
.
island."
"Parity said they had more than one boat." Ukiah's eyes were adjusting to the
darkness, his vision switching to the sharp grays he associated with night.
"I'm going across; if they've got the machine set up already, it needs to be
shut down quickly "
.
"I'm coming with you," Max said
.
Ukiah looked at him sharply "What? No! I'm the nearly indestructible one."
.
"If you haven't noticed, you're the one getting the shit beat out of you all
the time," Max said.
"You're not being careful enough, kid. I'm going in as your backup."
"I don't suppose I can come too?" Sam asked.
"No," Max and Ukiah snapped in unison.
"I thought so."
"Get us in close," Max said, "and then be ready to get us off fast."
"Okay," Sam said. She eased the boat around as Max and Ukiah geared up in
vests, radio headsets, and guns. Then she pulled in as close as she dared
without running the
Endeavor aground.
"We're going to run on radio silence." Max duct-taped the laptop over the top
of twin drink holders next to the steering wheel. "Unless something happens.
If you hear us yelling" Max tapped his headset "come get us." He showed her
the tracer marks on the tracking system. "This is Ukiah. This is me."
"I'll be waiting. Be careful."
The water was bitter cold with the early fall. It pulled like thousands of
little hands on their legs as they waded through the hip-deep water, holding
their guns above their chests. The riverbed was rocky and uneven as they
worked their way to the low grassy bank. The wind thrashed the tops of the
trees, and far downriver, a flicker of lightning heralded the oncoming storm.
They made their way through tall, parched grass, dying of drought at the
center of a river. Ukiah pushed forward, into point position, and scanned
carefully for traps. Crude spear traps were cunningly hidden in the grass
except for the smell of sharpened wood and fresh-turned earth. He made sure
Max saw them and moved on.
The island was over a quarter mile long, but only a few hundred feet wide. The
Temple moved with stealth from two speedboats moored in the cove to the
island's highest point. The weave of their flashlights, while minimal, was
comforting; they weren't using night goggles. Kittanning was still in the
crate on the bow of the nearest speedboat. The two babies and Du-ae, however,
had already been moved ashore.
There had been houses on the island at some time in the past. Considering how
low the island lay on the river, it seemed likely that a flood leveled the
buildings. Footings and cement steps traced the outlines of the vanished
houses. The cultist had Du-ae set up in one of these level areas beside the
great rectangular pit of an ancient Olympic-sized swimming pool. Carefully
shielded camp lights dimly lit the area so no one would trip over Du-ae or
fall into the nearly empty pool.
The cultists had Du-ae covered with white silk. Two infant carriers sat at the
foot of the Ae, the
babies slept unbuckled. Seeing them there, and knowing that Core planned to
sacrifice them, made
Ukiah's blood run cold.
Page 162
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Ukiah counted ten cultists in all; Core, Hash, Socket, Io, and Dongle being
the only ones he could name. Three men and two women made up the balance. He
caught Max's eyes, and signaled his count. Max winced and indicated that he
had only spotted eight. Ukiah pointed out two cultists standing guard, tucked
between trees and standing still. Max nodded after a moment; he saw them now.
Hash and Io carried a generator up from the second speedboat and set it down
beside Du-ae.
Evidence of earlier trips, a hundred-gallon fuel tank was already in place,
reeking of gasoline; apparently only half full, the cultists had ten
five-gallon cans that they were carefully filling the large tank with. As
Hash connected the fuel to the generator, Core and Io uncoiled power cables to
link the generator to
Du-ae.
Lightning flickered on the distant horizon, and the cultists moved faster.
"It's going to storm," one of the women filling the fuel tank said.
"Do that later. Get the shelter out now," Core commanded without looking up.
"Socket, light the sacrament candles."
Socket searched her pockets, quickly at first, and then more carefully. "I've
lost the matches."
With a great sigh, Core paused to take his lighter from his pocket and fling
it at her, striking her midchest. "There. Light them."
She flinched, catching the lighter before it hit the ground. It flashed gold
in her hand as she turned it over and over, staring at it. "Where did you get
this?"
"Who knows? Who cares?"
"This is Grant's." She held it out so Core saw it clearly. It was Hutchinson's
diamond-studded gold lighter. Ukiah realized suddenly that the item was much
too expensive for Hutchinson to buy. The lighter must have been a gift to
Hutchinson a present from wealthy Christa. "Where did you get it?
What did you do to Grant?"
Core finally saw the crisis coming and stood up. "I told you to discourage him
from trying to see you. The government ranks are full of Fallen; we can't let
them know our true cause or the demons will use the gullible to close us
down."
"What have you done to Grant?" she whispered.
"I tested him and left him at the mansion," Core said.
"Just say he's a little shorthanded at the moment," Io quipped.
Core turned and kicked Io hard. "Shut up!"
Socket went pale, clutching the lighter. "You only needed a little blood."
"He put everything into jeopardy," Core snapped. "And Hash had to drag me out
of bed to deal with him."
"God forbid someone mess up your fucking some pretty boy," Socket spat. "So
you just left
Grant there? Left him to die?"
"I had Parity take him to the hospital and drop him off," Core lied.
"I don't believe you." Socket pointed to the babies. "You said that we were
giving the babies back. Why do you have them here?" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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downriver. The river widens here as it goes around the bend. There are two
islands: Sycamore and Nine-mile."
"Are the channels marked?" Sam asked nervously.
"Yes; there's still heavy barge traffic up here, so everything is well
marked."
Max finished sorting through the gear, and came up to the bridge to hand Sam a
pair of night-vision binoculars and laid a loaded shotgun along the
windshield. "Kill the running lights."
They slipped down the river, running silent and dark. Sam guided the boat
around the bend, navigating via the colored channel markers. The two low,
heavily treed islands bracketed the channel, acting as a dark screen on the
shore lights. Moving without lights, it was like gliding into a cave.
"Where did they go?" Sam whispered. She scanned the river in front of them
with the night-vision binoculars. "Do you see anything?"
"No." Ukiah pointed in Kittanning's direction. "But they've just entered the
cove between
Page 161
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Sycamore Island and the Blawnox shoreline."
Max pointed out dots of light bobbing on the island like fireflies "Someone's
already on the
.
island."
"Parity said they had more than one boat." Ukiah's eyes were adjusting to the
darkness, his vision switching to the sharp grays he associated with night.
"I'm going across; if they've got the machine set up already, it needs to be
shut down quickly "
.
"I'm coming with you," Max said
.
Ukiah looked at him sharply "What? No! I'm the nearly indestructible one."
.
"If you haven't noticed, you're the one getting the shit beat out of you all
the time," Max said.
"You're not being careful enough, kid. I'm going in as your backup."
"I don't suppose I can come too?" Sam asked.
"No," Max and Ukiah snapped in unison.
"I thought so."
"Get us in close," Max said, "and then be ready to get us off fast."
"Okay," Sam said. She eased the boat around as Max and Ukiah geared up in
vests, radio headsets, and guns. Then she pulled in as close as she dared
without running the
Endeavor aground.
"We're going to run on radio silence." Max duct-taped the laptop over the top
of twin drink holders next to the steering wheel. "Unless something happens.
If you hear us yelling" Max tapped his headset "come get us." He showed her
the tracer marks on the tracking system. "This is Ukiah. This is me."
"I'll be waiting. Be careful."
The water was bitter cold with the early fall. It pulled like thousands of
little hands on their legs as they waded through the hip-deep water, holding
their guns above their chests. The riverbed was rocky and uneven as they
worked their way to the low grassy bank. The wind thrashed the tops of the
trees, and far downriver, a flicker of lightning heralded the oncoming storm.
They made their way through tall, parched grass, dying of drought at the
center of a river. Ukiah pushed forward, into point position, and scanned
carefully for traps. Crude spear traps were cunningly hidden in the grass
except for the smell of sharpened wood and fresh-turned earth. He made sure
Max saw them and moved on.
The island was over a quarter mile long, but only a few hundred feet wide. The
Temple moved with stealth from two speedboats moored in the cove to the
island's highest point. The weave of their flashlights, while minimal, was
comforting; they weren't using night goggles. Kittanning was still in the
crate on the bow of the nearest speedboat. The two babies and Du-ae, however,
had already been moved ashore.
There had been houses on the island at some time in the past. Considering how
low the island lay on the river, it seemed likely that a flood leveled the
buildings. Footings and cement steps traced the outlines of the vanished
houses. The cultist had Du-ae set up in one of these level areas beside the
great rectangular pit of an ancient Olympic-sized swimming pool. Carefully
shielded camp lights dimly lit the area so no one would trip over Du-ae or
fall into the nearly empty pool.
The cultists had Du-ae covered with white silk. Two infant carriers sat at the
foot of the Ae, the
babies slept unbuckled. Seeing them there, and knowing that Core planned to
sacrifice them, made
Ukiah's blood run cold.
Page 162
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Ukiah counted ten cultists in all; Core, Hash, Socket, Io, and Dongle being
the only ones he could name. Three men and two women made up the balance. He
caught Max's eyes, and signaled his count. Max winced and indicated that he
had only spotted eight. Ukiah pointed out two cultists standing guard, tucked
between trees and standing still. Max nodded after a moment; he saw them now.
Hash and Io carried a generator up from the second speedboat and set it down
beside Du-ae.
Evidence of earlier trips, a hundred-gallon fuel tank was already in place,
reeking of gasoline; apparently only half full, the cultists had ten
five-gallon cans that they were carefully filling the large tank with. As
Hash connected the fuel to the generator, Core and Io uncoiled power cables to
link the generator to
Du-ae.
Lightning flickered on the distant horizon, and the cultists moved faster.
"It's going to storm," one of the women filling the fuel tank said.
"Do that later. Get the shelter out now," Core commanded without looking up.
"Socket, light the sacrament candles."
Socket searched her pockets, quickly at first, and then more carefully. "I've
lost the matches."
With a great sigh, Core paused to take his lighter from his pocket and fling
it at her, striking her midchest. "There. Light them."
She flinched, catching the lighter before it hit the ground. It flashed gold
in her hand as she turned it over and over, staring at it. "Where did you get
this?"
"Who knows? Who cares?"
"This is Grant's." She held it out so Core saw it clearly. It was Hutchinson's
diamond-studded gold lighter. Ukiah realized suddenly that the item was much
too expensive for Hutchinson to buy. The lighter must have been a gift to
Hutchinson a present from wealthy Christa. "Where did you get it?
What did you do to Grant?"
Core finally saw the crisis coming and stood up. "I told you to discourage him
from trying to see you. The government ranks are full of Fallen; we can't let
them know our true cause or the demons will use the gullible to close us
down."
"What have you done to Grant?" she whispered.
"I tested him and left him at the mansion," Core said.
"Just say he's a little shorthanded at the moment," Io quipped.
Core turned and kicked Io hard. "Shut up!"
Socket went pale, clutching the lighter. "You only needed a little blood."
"He put everything into jeopardy," Core snapped. "And Hash had to drag me out
of bed to deal with him."
"God forbid someone mess up your fucking some pretty boy," Socket spat. "So
you just left
Grant there? Left him to die?"
"I had Parity take him to the hospital and drop him off," Core lied.
"I don't believe you." Socket pointed to the babies. "You said that we were
giving the babies back. Why do you have them here?" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]