or warehousing area. The other led . . .
Into a service alley that ran between commercial structures, which they entered after Flinx had disarmed the fire alarm on the door. A narrow, charged rail ran down the center of the alley, providing power and lift for robotic delivery vehicles. Flinx cautioned Clarity to avoid the rail as they hurried down the damp corridor. It would not kill, but it could badly shock a full-grown man.
“Where are we going? To get a vehicle, right? We’re going to get transportation and head for Alaspinport. Will there be a rental agency open this late?”
“In a town like Mimmisompo you can get anything you want at any hour, if you have enough money. But we aren’t going to rent. Rentals can be noted, and traced.”
He anxiously scanned the route ahead. Not for the first time in his life he wondered if he should be carrying a weapon. The only problem with a gun was that it was a provocation as much as a defense. Besides, Pip would deal much more effectively with any serious threat. Her reactions were a hundred times faster than his. As a child he had found himself in situations where possession of a weapon would have been more of a hindrance than a help, so he had learned to get along without them. That did not keep him from occasionally wishing for the comforting weight of one at his belt or in a shoulder holster.
Scrap rode high on Clarity’s shoulder, a good indication that the danger, while not ended, was not immediate. He could not count on her pursuers delaying for very long, he knew. They might be in the bedroom already, might have discovered their quarry missing. The next thing they would do would be to thoroughly search the hotel and its immediate environs, checking other rooms to see if Flinx and Clarity had sought refuge with another guest. Certainly the front entrance would be covered from the start.
It would take them a while to figure out that the alarm on the back stairs had been disconnected long enough to let someone out into the service alley. Despite his caution, he knew they were leaving all kinds of trails behind them. Body scent heightened by fear, pheromones, heat signatures—all could be isolated and followed if one had the right kind of equipment. It could not be helped. Whether their pursuers were equipped with such sophisticated tracking devices depended on whether they had anticipated possible failure. It did not seem likely, but he could not count on convenient oversights to shield them.
“This way.” He all but wrenched her arm loose pulling her around a sharp corner. Now that Alaspin’s second moon had joined its companion in the night sky, the light was better for trying to find a new route through the city.
Already they were passing residences, the service alley far behind as they kept to back streets. Lights made owls’ eyes of oval and round windows while the echo of tridee and music drifted out to the otherwise empty streets. There were no bugs to worry about. Industrial electronic repellers kept even the persistent millimite bugs a hundred meters from the nearest structure. Unfortunately, Mimmisompo was not wealthy enough to afford climate control, so it was still hot and humid. Sweat trickled from both refugees as they ran.
“Where are we going?” Clarity gasped. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up.” She was breathing with difficulty in the midnight heat.
“You’ll keep it up as long as necessary, because I’m not going to carry you.”
They had left the private homes behind and found themselves surrounded by air pressure domes and fabric warehousing. “I’m looking for the right transportation.”
She frowned as she searched the vicinity. “Here? I don’t see any cars.”
“I’m not looking for an aircar or slinkem,” he told her tersely. “That’s the first type of vehicle they’d watch for. I want something difficult to trace.” He paused. “This’ll do.”
It didn’t look like much of a fence,
Into a service alley that ran between commercial structures, which they entered after Flinx had disarmed the fire alarm on the door. A narrow, charged rail ran down the center of the alley, providing power and lift for robotic delivery vehicles. Flinx cautioned Clarity to avoid the rail as they hurried down the damp corridor. It would not kill, but it could badly shock a full-grown man.
“Where are we going? To get a vehicle, right? We’re going to get transportation and head for Alaspinport. Will there be a rental agency open this late?”
“In a town like Mimmisompo you can get anything you want at any hour, if you have enough money. But we aren’t going to rent. Rentals can be noted, and traced.”
He anxiously scanned the route ahead. Not for the first time in his life he wondered if he should be carrying a weapon. The only problem with a gun was that it was a provocation as much as a defense. Besides, Pip would deal much more effectively with any serious threat. Her reactions were a hundred times faster than his. As a child he had found himself in situations where possession of a weapon would have been more of a hindrance than a help, so he had learned to get along without them. That did not keep him from occasionally wishing for the comforting weight of one at his belt or in a shoulder holster.
Scrap rode high on Clarity’s shoulder, a good indication that the danger, while not ended, was not immediate. He could not count on her pursuers delaying for very long, he knew. They might be in the bedroom already, might have discovered their quarry missing. The next thing they would do would be to thoroughly search the hotel and its immediate environs, checking other rooms to see if Flinx and Clarity had sought refuge with another guest. Certainly the front entrance would be covered from the start.
It would take them a while to figure out that the alarm on the back stairs had been disconnected long enough to let someone out into the service alley. Despite his caution, he knew they were leaving all kinds of trails behind them. Body scent heightened by fear, pheromones, heat signatures—all could be isolated and followed if one had the right kind of equipment. It could not be helped. Whether their pursuers were equipped with such sophisticated tracking devices depended on whether they had anticipated possible failure. It did not seem likely, but he could not count on convenient oversights to shield them.
“This way.” He all but wrenched her arm loose pulling her around a sharp corner. Now that Alaspin’s second moon had joined its companion in the night sky, the light was better for trying to find a new route through the city.
Already they were passing residences, the service alley far behind as they kept to back streets. Lights made owls’ eyes of oval and round windows while the echo of tridee and music drifted out to the otherwise empty streets. There were no bugs to worry about. Industrial electronic repellers kept even the persistent millimite bugs a hundred meters from the nearest structure. Unfortunately, Mimmisompo was not wealthy enough to afford climate control, so it was still hot and humid. Sweat trickled from both refugees as they ran.
“Where are we going?” Clarity gasped. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up.” She was breathing with difficulty in the midnight heat.
“You’ll keep it up as long as necessary, because I’m not going to carry you.”
They had left the private homes behind and found themselves surrounded by air pressure domes and fabric warehousing. “I’m looking for the right transportation.”
She frowned as she searched the vicinity. “Here? I don’t see any cars.”
“I’m not looking for an aircar or slinkem,” he told her tersely. “That’s the first type of vehicle they’d watch for. I want something difficult to trace.” He paused. “This’ll do.”
It didn’t look like much of a fence,
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