Eric Flint - Time spike

When the answer came to him, he held his breath. They didn't want to take any chance that something in the corpses' lungs might get through a thin sheet. "Oh, shit," he said. Then, realizing what he'd done, took a quick breath and held it. He wasn't breathing again until thatthing was gone. " 'Oh, shit' is right," hissed Danny. "These guys don't come back into the prison. They stay out there, unless we need to haul out another body. That's why I'm taking out all of them, and that's why me and my guys are hauling these big damn backpacks. We gotta stay out there for a while too, watching 'em. We'll let just enough of 'em back in to do that job. And nobody who's handled a body directly ever gets back in, even for that. That's why Boyne's in this first crew of body-handlers." He gave Enders as evil-looking a smile as he could manage. Which was very evil-looking indeed. "Hopefully, we won't need to run through more than Boomer's boys. But if we do, I'm sure we can find suitable replacements somewhere. Now. Are you opening that gate? Or do I have to go get Luff?" Still holding his breath, Enders pulled a key ring out of his pocket. "You do it," he croaked.

Not letting any air out at all.

Chapter 33 "You okay?" James whispered. With everything piled on top of their heads, he was sure the soft sound couldn't be heard by anyone else. Especially since Bostic-he didn't know whether to curse the bastard or heap blessings on him-had wrapped the two of them so tightly together that his mouth was pressed right against Elaine's ear and her mouth wasn't much farther from his. "A little stuffy. But, yeah, I'm okay." "How about your wound?" "Hurts some. But no worse than usual." At least Bostic hadn't argued the point when James insisted that he had to be lying on the side opposite Elaine's injury, when they were wrapped up together. Whatever else he was, Bostic wasn't dumb. He'd understood immediately that if James was pressed against the wound, Elaine was likely to twitch at some point. At the wrong time, that could blow the whole thing. Corpses don't twitch.

James was trying not to twitch himself. He could feel every curve in her body, from her shoulder down to her toes. And it was a very curvy body, as small as it was. Worst of all, he'd gotten a curve himself.

And the damn thing was showing no signs of going away. He was sure she knew it, too, since his groin was pressed right against her. He felt like a jackass, but he just plain couldn't help himself. His body was paying no attention to the fierce commands he was sending down. She hadn't said anything, though. Hopefully, he could just keep pretending it wasn't happening. It was a crazy reaction, as well as an embarrassing one. Here he was, in one of the most dangerous situations he'd ever faced, and all he could think about was the girl pressed against him. But that was instinct again, he supposed. He'd read somewhere that the imminence of death tended to make people get really horny. At the time, he'd thought that was weird and hadn't really believed it. But he believed it now. Trying to take his mind away, he listened to what was happening outside their cocoon. He couldn't really tell. They'd stopped, very briefly, half a minute or so back, but they were moving again. The blanket and sheets around them didn't block off sound, as such, but they muffled everything. He could tell that people were talking to each other, but he couldn't make out the words. Was that the sound of a gate being opened? He thought so. He wasn't positive, but he thought so. "I think it's working," Elaine whispered. "Yeah, me too." "Tell me when you think we're through. And nobody can possibly hear us. I got things I want to say. Without worrying about having to be so quiet." "Sure, lady." "That's the first thing. Don't call me that." "Sorry. I didn't mean-" "I know that. I just don't like it because it's so formal." She issued something that sounded like a suppressed giggle. "Which is really silly, given the situation." Theywere through. There was a sudden little high-pitched metallic squeal. One of the gates always squealed like that, when it was about halfway open. A slight dent in one of the hinges, probably.

"Okay," he whispered. "We're through. But wait a couple of minutes. We still have to get through the holding area before we're all the way outside. There might be a guard in there." There were four guards stationed in the holding area, as it happened. But none of them were there any longer. Not with Danny Bostic ranging ahead, spreading the word. All four of them were now in the guardhouse, watching through the window. And standing about three feet back from the window. Just in case. "No, dammit!" Luff snapped. "I'm not worried about the fucking gate. Use your brains, Haggerty. We musta shot, what? Fifty guys there? Won't be nobody we're looking for stupid enough to try another break. They're all hiding somewhere. I want 'em rooted out."

He leaned over the diagram spread across the big workbench in the machine shop. "Now pay attention. Since Bostic's off somewhere, I'm putting you in charge of Operation Caduceus." "Cadoo… what?"

Luff's lips tightened. Where the hellwas Danny Bostic? At least the man had read a book or two. "Never mind, Haggerty. Operation Double Snake, how's that?" He took one of the triangular carbide tool bits he'd found in a drawer near the lathe and moved it across the big diagram to the location that marked the infirmary. "This is Larrocha's squad. They should be done with A-block by now. They search the infirmary. Top to bottom. And tell 'em to be on their toes. I think Cook's probably in there with the rest of Boomer's boys. It'd be a natural hiding place for him." He moved another tool bit next to it.

"That's Ollie and his guys. They're backup. If Cook's there, I want him shot dead on the spot. But don't kill any of the others unless you have to. Especially don't kill Boyne. Without the Boom and Cook, we can control Boyne-and we're still gonna need those fucks to get rid of bodies for us. In fact, they'll be doing a landslide business. So if they're there, and after they're rounded up, Ollie and his guys march them back to their cells and stay there, watching them. Got all that?"

Haggerty nodded. "Good." He took a third tool bit and moved it to the infirmary also. "And that's Zimmerman's squad. They watch Larrocha while he and his guys search. I catch anybody stealing shit from the infirmary, the blade's coming down. Make that clear to everybody."

Luff stood up straight, studying the whole diagram. "It's going pretty damn well. The best thing about today is that it finally gave us a chance to get rid of all the gang bosses. Cook's about the only loose end left. By this time tomorrow, we'll be in complete and total charge. Some sanity can be established." "We're clear," James whispered. "By now, we're at least thirty yards out into the open. But keep it quiet, just to be safe." "I would anyway. This is between you and me. First, I got a question." "What is it?" "Why'd you get sent up?" He thought about telling her the truth. No, she'd think it was a lie. Better-for now, anyway-to just say it… Neutrally, so to speak. "Second degree murder. I got in a bar fight and the guy died afterward." "A little more detail." He sighed. "He provoked the fight, not me. But if I hadn't been drunk, I would've just walked away before it got that far. I got a problem with my temper, sometimes, when I've had too much to drink. But even after the fight started, I wasn't trying to do anything more than whip him." She was silent, for a few seconds. "Okay. I can deal with that. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't something, you know… Sicko." He almost chuckled. "Uh, lady-Elaine. Second degree murder's not exactly considered a misdemeanor." "Yeah, sure. But it's not sicko. My cousin Eddie almost did the same thing. He got lucky, because the other guy didn't die.