“Won’t the loss of Aurora hamper their business seriously?”
“For a little while. But things will be looking up in a few days.”
Chin reentered the Terminal at that moment, saying loudly,
“Attention, please.”
There was no response.
Chin walked over to the wallscreen, switching it off, then vaulted on top of the bar. “Quiet!”
The assorted conversations died out.
“Group Five departure time,” said Chin. “Show your boarding passes to the stewardess, please.”
One of the walls began to move.
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Chapter 14
The wall opposite the corridor—the wall with the “laissezfaire” modified Gadsden flag—slid several feet to the left, revealing a portable staircase five steps high, enclosed by an awning that concealed what lay beyond. The somewhat muted whine of turbines filled the Terminal.
Chin jumped off the bar, walking over to the staircase. “Okay, folks, let’s get going. Pick any seats and strap yourselves in.”
With the sole exception of Jack Guerdon, who was fixing another drink, everyone began lifting belongings and lining up near the staircase. “You’re coming, Mr. Guerdon?” Lorimer asked.
“Isn’t it customary for captains to go down with their ships?
Why not shipbuilders, too?” Guerdon noticed that the two youngsters did not know whether to take him seriously, so he added, “Just some last-minute business. I’ll be out of here in time enough.”
“Well, glad to have met you, sir,” said Elliot. They all shook hands and with a “Take care, now” Elliot and Lorimer joined the departing passengers.
The steps led into what appeared from the inside to be the cabin of an executive jetliner—eight rows of seats, four across with a center aisle—allowing for a somewhat cramped ceiling and no windows. Chin had been joking—there was no stewardess taking passes—so Elliot and Lorimer found two seats, the last two together, and strapped themselves in. Lorimer immediately lit a cigarette.
Chin shut the cabin door, saying, “No smoking, friends”; then, a few moments later, the turbine whine increased in volume and pitch, and Elliot felt the craft moving. Chin came over and glared at Lorimer. She snuffed out the 134
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cigarette and muttered to Elliot, “Damned prohibitionists.”
Elliot clasped Lorimer’s hand and smiled. She smiled back. Elliot was thinking that she had the most radiant smile he had ever seen when she was no longer there and, like the Cheshire Cat, only her smile remained. For some time after that, there was nothing at all.
Someone was shaking him, only he wanted to sleep some more. He tried saying, “Leave me alone—it’s Saturday,” but he found it hard to move his mouth.
“C’mon, now, up we come.”
His mouth was now free, and he tried focusing. There was a long haired girl a little in front of him. “Denise?” he asked.
“Are you okay?” she replied.
Elliot realized he was standing, braced against a seat in front of him. He took a deep breath and felt his mind clearing, then looked up. Chin was packing up a portable oxygen kit, with Lorimer a few feet behind him. “You know, you gave us quite a scare, just now,” Chin said.
“What happened?” Elliot asked.
“They gassed us,” said Lorimer.
“Who? The FBI?”
“No, the Cadre.”
Elliot looked over to Chin.
“There was a spy on board,” Chin began explaining. “A real Mata Hari. Transmitter in a cigarette lighter. There was no real danger—we’re shielded, of course—but the pilot knocked out everyone in the passenger cabin, including me, to avoid possible gunplay.”
Elliot took another deep breath, then exhaled. “I’d find that much easier to swallow if I hadn’t fallen asleep in the trunk to Aurora.”
“It happens,” said Chin. “Drink anything before the trip?
Anti-nausea pills?”
“Both,” Elliot admitted. “But they were given to me by a Alongside Night
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loyal Cadre ally.” He turned to Lorimer. “When you came in, did you fall asleep?”
She shook her head. “At least I don’t think so. In sensory deprivation, how can you be sure?”
Elliot scowled. “Tell your friends I didn’t like it,” he told Chin. “Next time I’ll go to the arbiters.”
Chin shrugged. “What would you sue for? This gas leaves no permanent aftereffects. No damages to demand.”
“I’ll sue for arbitrary recompense for violation of my civil liberties.”
Chin grinned widely. “Good for you. I’d be interested in the outcome myself.”