I think I saw some of those weapons being made downstairs, she said, thinking of the fish-tank room. But youre right. Its just too tempting. The door was surrounded by big signs saying VALID PERSONNEL ONLY, and two men with rifles slouched in front of it. How do we get past them?
One of Corinnes men cleared his throat quietly. He drew something from his backpack and after a moment his companions did likewise. They strung the small compound bows with quick economical movements. Seeing this, Venera and the other leaders climbed back down and out of the way.
Count of three, said the man at the top. You take the one on the right, well do the one on the left. One, two
All four of Corinnes soldiers jumped out of the stairwell and rolled into crouches. Their shoulder muscles creased in unison as they drew back, and Venera heard an intake of breath and What the from off to the right, and then they let loose.
There was a grunt, a thud, then another. The archers whirled around, looking for another target.
The sound of typing continued.
Take out that office, Venera instructed the archers as she stepped into the hallway. Well go for the vault.
The heavy door had a thick glass window in it. Venera shaded her eyes with her hands and stared through for a few seconds. She whistled. I think weve found the mother lode.
The chamber beyond was largeit must take up most of this level. There were no windows, and its distant walls were draped in black like the corridors downstairs. Its brick floor was crisscrossed by red carpets; in the squares they defined, pedestals large and small stood under cones of light. Each pedestal supported some devicebrass canisters here, a fluted rifle-like weapon there. Large jars full of thick brown fluid gleamed near things like bushes made of knives. There was nothing in there that looked innocuous, nothing Venera would have willingly wanted to touch. But all were on display as if they were treasures.
She supposed they were that; this might be the vault that held Sacruss dearest assets.
The view was obscured suddenly. Venera found herself staring into the cold gray eyes of a soldier, who mouthed something she couldnt hear through the glass.
Deception wasnt going to work this time. Weve been seen, she said even as a loud alarm bell suddenly filled the corridor with jangling echoes.
Can we blow this? Thinblood was asking one of his men. The soldier shook his head.
Not without taking time to figure out the vulnerable points maybe doing some drilling
Thinblood looked at Venera, who shrugged. Its going to be a firefight from now on, she said. Better get downstairs and free those prisoners. Then we can Something bright and sudden flashed in her peripheral vision and there was a loud clang!
She stared in dumb surprise at the metal bars that now blocked the way to the stairwell. Blow them! she shouted, pulling out her preservationist-built machine-pistol. This is no time for subtlety!
At that moment there was an eruption of noise from the far end of the corridor. Venera dove to the floor as impacting bullets sprayed marble dust and plaster at her. The others either flattened as well or staggered back against the wall. Blood spattered over the threaded stonework.
Now a smoke grenade was tumbling toward her, each end-over-end bounce sending a gout of black into the air. It stopped just outside the bars then disappeared in a growing pyramid of darkness. Past that Venera heard shouted orders, gunshots.
You will lie facedown on the floor and put your hands behind your necks! Anyone we do not find in that position will be shot! You have five seconds and then we will shoot everything that sticks up more than a foot off the floor.
All she could hear after that was machine-gun fire.
She glared at him but said nothing.
Really, he continued in apparent amazement, what did you think you were going to achieve? Invading Sacrus? Weve forgotten more tricks of incursion and sabotage than you people ever knew.
Twelve of Veneras people knelt around her on the floor of a storage room that opened off the third-floor corridor. Mops and brooms loomed over her; a single flickering bulb illuminated the three men with machine guns who were standing over the prisoners. Two more soldiers had been tying their hands behind their backs, but the process had stalled out briefly as they ran out of rope. The commandant, who had at first seemed flustered and shocked, had soon recovered his poise and now appeared to be genuinely enjoying himself.
You did a good job of sealing off the front doors, but my superiors were able to slip this through the crack. He waggled the mimeograph at Venera. He was a beefy man with an oddly asymmetrical face; one of his eyes was markedly higher than the other, and his upper lip lifted on the left giving him a permanent look of incredulity. They also slipped in some instructions on how were to proceed while they cut through your welding job. It seems we had a He flipped the sheet over to read the back. a certain Garth Diamandis in our custody, as guarantor of your good behavior. Our arrangement was very clear. Should you fail to obey our orders, we were to kill this Diamandis. Id say that your little incursion tonight constitutes disobedience, wouldnt you?