Peter Hamilton - The Mandel Files

Suzi lifted the Browning over the balcony again. The tekmercs in the lift had hunched down in the bottom. There was no sign of the two on the balcony. She got off six pulses, holding the beam on the lift. Then she saw one of the tekmercs on the balcony raising his electromagnetic rifle above the railing. She crouched down and raced for the corridor, blazing projectiles chiselling long gouges into the wall above her.

Greg and Malcolm collapsed on to the walkway leading down into the safety of the corridor. Suzi landed on the ribbed metal segments a couple of metres behind them. She realized how heavily she was breathing, air sucked into her lungs in fast gulps.

“You OK?” Greg shouted back at her.

“Yeah.” The walkway seemed to be crawling along, no speed at all. The corridor’s curve was too gentle, she could still see the entrance into the well. The moans and whimpers were fading, but the alarm was still howling away. “How’s Malcolm?”

“Functional,” the security hardliner answered with a weak reply.

“Can you make out if Leol’s team are coming after us?” she asked Greg.

“Not yet.”

Malcolm drew his cybofax out of his top pocket and muttered something to it. He studied the display. “There’s a SWAT squad on its way to the well, Prezda security think it’s a lone psycho burner on the loose.”

“Can you break in and tell them it’s a tekmerc team?” Suzi asked.

“Yes.”

“Do it; if the police go out there unprepared Leol’s crazies will snuff the lot of them.”

Malcolm spoke into the cybofax.

“How bad does this Reiger hate you?” Greg asked.

“Bad enough. Sodding mutual it is, too.”

“Will he leave Baronski to come after you?”

“Doubt it. He’s fucking insane, but not stupid. He knows he’s got to get Baronski now, or he’s blown his deal. I’ll be around for a long time. We’ll have our little chat later.”

Greg climbed to his feet, helping Malcolm to stand. Suzi looked back; the well was out of sight. She stood, yelling at the sharp unexpected pain in her left leg. When she looked down, the shellsuit was torn around the knee. A clump of glass needles were embedded in the flesh, blood flowing freely. Now her senses were calming down she was aware of other lacerations, arms, back, buttocks. Little tingle points, hot and sticky.

“Jesus wept,” she muttered.

They reached the end of the walkway. A group of people were milling about, numb and white faced as zombies. Some of them had cuts and nicks from the glass fragments. They looked balefully at Suzi. She realized the Browning was still in her hand, its red LED charge light winking steadily.

“Next set of lifts,” Greg said impassively. Malcolm was leaning on him heavily, limping. The back of his jacket was sodden with blood.

Suzi followed the pair of them through the silent group on to the next walkway. She hated the accusations in their stares. Wanting to explain, it wasn’t me. Blame Leol Reiger. No use.

“What next?” she asked. The alarm’s cry was reduced to a distant whistle now.

Greg’s eyes were unfocused. There was blood on his face, oozing from small cuts on his cheeks, a deep one right next to his eye.

They’d been lucky, she knew. If Leol had thought about it, planned it out instead of letting his instincts rule…

“Tactical retreat,” Greg said. “None of us is in any fit state to do anything. I’ve lost track of the observer. And chasing after the one back in the well is a definite no. Besides, if you’re right about Reiger, our lead over Fielder is getting narrower by the second. Bugger, but I wanted to know who else we were up against.”

At the end of the walkway they took a lift up to the next floor, then switched. Malcolm slumped against the steel-panel wall, sucking down shallow breaths. Suzi was getting worried about the amount of blood he was losing. It was dripping steadily off his jacket, soaking the floor. He was muttering something in a slurred voice.

Greg tugged his cybofax out as the lift doors slid shut. “Rachel, we’re in shaft A1 7, lift five. Bring the Pegasus as close to it as you can, and come and get us. It’s hit the fan, OK?”

“On our way, Greg,” Rachel’s voice said out of the wafer.

Suzi’s cybofax bleeped. She pulled it out of her top pocket with stiff fingers, knowing who it would be.

Leol Reiger’s face filled the little screen. His corpse flesh was actually coloured, cheeks red. She could see one of Baronski’s porno art paintings on the wall behind him.

“Two of my team, Suzi bitch. You snuffed two of them.”

There was a woman’s scream in the background, Suzi thought it might be Iol. Leol Reiger never paid it any attention.

“You fucking well brought them here, Leol. You ordered them to open fire when there were civilians around, you paranoid rat prick. They were sitting ducks in that lift. Your screw-up tactics. Your fault.”

“I’ve got a deal to close right now, Suzi. But afterwards, you and I are going to say hello. First I’m gonna sprain your mind, show you a scene that’ll make you scream; then I’m gonna snap your little kiddy body in two. You read me, bitch?”

“Bollocks. You’re on the wrong side of this deal, Leol. I’ve got the fucking English Army behind me.” She savoured the momentary flash of puzzlement on his face, then said, “Say hi to the SWAT squad for me, Leol,” and flipped him off. The tremble in her legs was nothing to do with the glass fragments.

The lift opened into a passenger lounge, plastic chairs arranged in a zigzag pattern, hologram adverts of civil hypersonics slicing through clean sunny skies, departure information screens, a children’s play area. An echoic tannoy voice was announcing a flight arrival. The first thing Suzi saw when the lift doors opened was Rachel and Pearse racing towards them, Tokarevs held ready. Waiting passengers scrambled out of the way.

Rachel’s eyes widened in surprise when she saw them. “Lord hellfire, anything serious?”

“Malcolm’s out, can’t walk,” Greg said.

“I got him,” Pearse said. He pulled Malcolm’s arms around over his chest, and lifted him piggyback style. Suzi didn’t notice any drop in speed as he began to jog for the lounge door.

The Pegasus was taxiing towards the lounge as they came out into the hangar. Greg went up the belly-hatch stairs first, then Pearse, Suzi followed with Rachel bringing up the rear.

Malcolm had been lowered into one of the chairs at the front of the cabin. A couple of wall lockers were open, aluminium first aid cases on the floor. Pearse was easing his colleague’s tattered soggy jacket off. “We’ll have to cut the trousers,” he said. It was all very tight and professional, she thought.

“Fine,” Greg muttered, raiding the first aid kits for a diagnostic sensor and antiseptic sprays. He handed Pearse an infuser tube, which the hardliner pressed against Malcolm’s neck.

The belly hatch slid shut.

“Where to?” Rachel asked.

“Out,” Suzi said. “Now. We should have some co-ordinates coming from Julia in a little while. But just get us out.”

Rachel snatched up the handset.

Suzi started worrying about Leol Reiger’s transport. Himself, a psychic, and at least six hardliners; whatever he’d arrived in it had to be big, and probably loaded with defence hardware, knowing Leol.

“Grab hold of something,” Rachel called.

The flatscreen showed the Pegasus turning towards one of the lift platforms. Suzi could hear the compressors surging. With a rush of childish delight she knew what the pilot was going to do. She sank quickly into one of the chairs. Her knee was giving her hell.

There was a push of acceleration, and the Pegasus began its run for the platform. Hangar staff rushed to get clear. She felt the drop as they shot over the edge, her belly suddenly freefalling. The grassy valley floor with its railway lines and twin autobahns filled the flatscreen. Then they were bottoming out, swooping up again above the Prezda’s dome.