bring a charge of treason. Throw down your guns and step over into view."
"We know exactly why you are here!" shouted Faht Bey. "We refuse to tamely let you execute us!"
"I have no orders to execute you," shouted Heller. "But I have a prisoner here, Soltan Gris, that I must take to Voltar."
Faht Bey gave a short, barking laugh through the speakers. This doesn't fool us for a moment. Gris is probably holding a gun on you. He is wanted here for mortgaging this base. We have a black-jowled man in custody who has confessed. Only Gris knew how to sound that alarm. Gris! Step out into view or we will begin barrage fire!"
"Stop!" said Heller. "I've got Gris here. Are you going to listen to reason or aren't you?"
"Don't try to trick us, Gris!" shouted Faht Bey through the speakers. "We've already had an earthquake today and now you! I demand that you surrender! We promise a fair conference trial."
I wailed, "I didn't cause that earthquake! This Crown agent did!"
"So you are there!" cried Faht Bey. "FIRE!"
A torrent of slashing flame ripped into the tunnel mouth. Rocks fell! Stone dust swirled around the green glowplates.
"Cease fire!" shouted Heller in that high-pitched Fleet voice.
The shots ceased.
Heller yelled, "If you do not surrender at once, I'll bring half that roof down on your heads. Drop your weapons and step out where I can see you!"
The answer was a renewed storm of electric flame!
Heller was flat against the floor, up the tunnel and in back of me. I looked around to see how I could get in back of him. I had some idea I could blame the difficulties of the base on him, maybe get Utanc/Gaylov to say he put her up to it. I was in pain, my head was in a whirl, but I had not given up.
Heller had a small device in his hands—it must be what he had taken from the ledge. Amidst the swirling dust he was pushing a lever up and down.
"Blast!" he said. "The wall charges won't explode!"
Abruptly I understood what he was talking about. When he was here before, he had gone all over the inside of the hangar, saying he was testing for erosion. He had been planting charges in the walls! And when I had shot at Crobe with a needle stungun, no wonder it had brought tons of rock crashing down into the hangar—I had accidentally exploded Heller's charges! No wonder there had been so much reaction!
Gouts of fire were probing deeper into the tunnel. Heller inched backwards. He pulled me with him by the heel.
Then he did something very odd. He reached into his shoulder kit bag and got out two masks. He pushed one over my face. He put the other one on himself. Gas masks? Why?
He picked up his firing board again. It had three more switches on it. He closed them.
Muffled explosions sounded above the blastgun din.
The roof didn't come down. The firing did not slacken. What had he done?
After a moment, I saw a swirl of white smoke in a portion of the hangar I could see.
Then I heard some coughing. Faht Bey's cough joined it through the loudspeakers.
Somebody screamed, "Opium!" Another took it up!
The firing stopped.
There was the beginning rush of men trying to leave.
A white fog came swirling into the tunnel mouth.
The opium storage caverns! Heller had installed flame bombs in them last fall. Countless tons of opium were burning.
The electronic illusion which made up the hangar roof would not pass air. I had seen Heller test it!
That whole hangar was now full of a powerful narcotic– OPIUM SMOKE!
There was a sound of men falling who had been trying to run.
Then there was only the burning sizzle of flame as it ate into the opium stores.
Heller shoved me ahead.
Through the soporific mist I could see the crew. They were sprawled all about, draped over sandbags and guns, out cold.
Heller said, "Take me to that detention cell."
I still had my chance. I felt for the knife and planned how I could get him ahead of me.
Chapter 6
My brilliant idea to lure him with the corpse of the Countess Krak was about to pay off. We
"We know exactly why you are here!" shouted Faht Bey. "We refuse to tamely let you execute us!"
"I have no orders to execute you," shouted Heller. "But I have a prisoner here, Soltan Gris, that I must take to Voltar."
Faht Bey gave a short, barking laugh through the speakers. This doesn't fool us for a moment. Gris is probably holding a gun on you. He is wanted here for mortgaging this base. We have a black-jowled man in custody who has confessed. Only Gris knew how to sound that alarm. Gris! Step out into view or we will begin barrage fire!"
"Stop!" said Heller. "I've got Gris here. Are you going to listen to reason or aren't you?"
"Don't try to trick us, Gris!" shouted Faht Bey through the speakers. "We've already had an earthquake today and now you! I demand that you surrender! We promise a fair conference trial."
I wailed, "I didn't cause that earthquake! This Crown agent did!"
"So you are there!" cried Faht Bey. "FIRE!"
A torrent of slashing flame ripped into the tunnel mouth. Rocks fell! Stone dust swirled around the green glowplates.
"Cease fire!" shouted Heller in that high-pitched Fleet voice.
The shots ceased.
Heller yelled, "If you do not surrender at once, I'll bring half that roof down on your heads. Drop your weapons and step out where I can see you!"
The answer was a renewed storm of electric flame!
Heller was flat against the floor, up the tunnel and in back of me. I looked around to see how I could get in back of him. I had some idea I could blame the difficulties of the base on him, maybe get Utanc/Gaylov to say he put her up to it. I was in pain, my head was in a whirl, but I had not given up.
Heller had a small device in his hands—it must be what he had taken from the ledge. Amidst the swirling dust he was pushing a lever up and down.
"Blast!" he said. "The wall charges won't explode!"
Abruptly I understood what he was talking about. When he was here before, he had gone all over the inside of the hangar, saying he was testing for erosion. He had been planting charges in the walls! And when I had shot at Crobe with a needle stungun, no wonder it had brought tons of rock crashing down into the hangar—I had accidentally exploded Heller's charges! No wonder there had been so much reaction!
Gouts of fire were probing deeper into the tunnel. Heller inched backwards. He pulled me with him by the heel.
Then he did something very odd. He reached into his shoulder kit bag and got out two masks. He pushed one over my face. He put the other one on himself. Gas masks? Why?
He picked up his firing board again. It had three more switches on it. He closed them.
Muffled explosions sounded above the blastgun din.
The roof didn't come down. The firing did not slacken. What had he done?
After a moment, I saw a swirl of white smoke in a portion of the hangar I could see.
Then I heard some coughing. Faht Bey's cough joined it through the loudspeakers.
Somebody screamed, "Opium!" Another took it up!
The firing stopped.
There was the beginning rush of men trying to leave.
A white fog came swirling into the tunnel mouth.
The opium storage caverns! Heller had installed flame bombs in them last fall. Countless tons of opium were burning.
The electronic illusion which made up the hangar roof would not pass air. I had seen Heller test it!
That whole hangar was now full of a powerful narcotic– OPIUM SMOKE!
There was a sound of men falling who had been trying to run.
Then there was only the burning sizzle of flame as it ate into the opium stores.
Heller shoved me ahead.
Through the soporific mist I could see the crew. They were sprawled all about, draped over sandbags and guns, out cold.
Heller said, "Take me to that detention cell."
I still had my chance. I felt for the knife and planned how I could get him ahead of me.
Chapter 6
My brilliant idea to lure him with the corpse of the Countess Krak was about to pay off. We
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