Escape From Altera Ch 13 14

[Note: This is not a "sexy story". It is a mix of WW II "The Great Escape" and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's "The Gulag Achipelago"... set in outer space)

Part II: Clifford Croft's Story

Chapter 13: An Unexpected Employer

The Time: Four weeks earlier

Croft:

I maneuvered my ground car through the narrow road into the parking area, careful not to trample the flowers on the left or right. The Silencer had shot people for less.

I got out of the ground car and made my way to the front porch of the ranch. It was a hot, sunny day on Grafton, and I waved my hand to scatter away some flies. I wondered if the Silencer shot them for fun. He certainly could if he wanted to. He was that fast.

Or maybe he was just quick enough to squash them with his fingers.

I pressed the button by the door and waited. The Silencer knew I was here, of course; he just liked to make people wait. No, it wasn't that he liked to make people wait, he just was never in a hurry to cater to the convenience of others.

Which made his request for me to come to him doubly puzzling.

He opened the door. "Clifford," he said bluntly.

Triple puzzling. He never, ever called me Clifford. What was going on here?

He escorted me into a spacious living room decorated with animal hides. I sank into a soft chair by an inactive fireplace. A young woman came into the room.

"Clifford," she said.

"Annie," I said. The Silencer glared at me. I wondered if he glared at everyone who said his girlfriend's name.

"So nice of you to come," said Annie. She took a seat, and gestured for the Silencer to do so as well. Looking reluctant, he sat down.

"Well, I was on vacation-"

"I know," said the Silencer bluntly. "We've been waiting."

"Waiting?" I said. "For what?"

"John needs your help," said Annie.

The Silencer looked hard at her.

Annie shifted uncomfortably. "Let me rephrase that."

"I need your services," said the Silencer.

I raised an eyebrow. The Silencer needed something from me? This would truly be a first.

The Silencer looked at me.

I looked at the Silencer.

He looked back at me.

All right.

"What do you need my help with?"

The Silencer paused for a few seconds more, perhaps basking in his victory. "As you're no doubt aware, the Slurian War ended a few months ago."

"I think I might have heard something about it on the interstellar network," I said.

"Under the terms of the armistice, each side was supposed to release all prisoners of war," said the Silencer. "One of them was my brother."

"Your brother?" I said.

"Martin," said the Silencer.

"He joined up and fought for the League?" I couldn't believe it. Graftonites didn't fight for anyone, unless they were paid. Well paid.

"Not exactly," said the Silencer. "From what I understand, he just got caught up in the fighting."

The Silencer paused.

"Martin got captured."

Wow. What an admission to make. I knew the Graftonites looked down on that.

"It was on one of the planets the Slurians took over earlier in the war."

"How did you know this?"

"We got a letter from him, some time after he had been captured. That was about a year ago."

"We thought about staging a rescue," said Annie.

"A rescue? In the middle of the war?" I asked.

"But by that time the war was clearly going the League's way," said Annie, ignoring the question. "It was reasonably clear that in a few months it would all be over. And it was."

"So?"

"Martin never returned," said the Silencer. "When the prisoners were released, he wasn't one of them. We made inquiries, and were told he was shot while trying to escape."

"That's very sad," I said. I looked sharply at the Silencer's expression. "You don't believe them."

"Do you believe anything the Slurians say?"

"It's certainly possible they're telling the truth," I said. "If your brother is half as determined as you are, he certainly would have tried to escape. And a Graftonite without a blaster can be shot like anyone else."

"I'll excuse your ignorance," said the Silencer coldly. "But we were prepared to consider the possibility that he was dead, until I spread some credits around and did a little research." He handed me a datapad.

I looked at it. It was a list of names and dates.

"What is it?"

"A list of prisoners 'shot while trying to escape'," said the Silencer.

"That's a lot of people," I said, frowning. "But I'm not surprised that the Slurians would be this brutal."

"Then I did some research on some of the names," said the Silencer. "Many of them were among the most capable officers in your military."

"That's logical, as they would be most inclined to be able to stage escape attempts." So far, the Silencer was just grasping at straws.

"But the bodies were never returned," said the Silencer.

I raised my eyebrows again. That got my attention.

"I spoke to several of the repatriated prisoners. Standard operating procedure was that prisoners shot while or after escaping were brought back and their bodies were displayed as an example to the others. A large number of the names on this list were never brought back to have their bodies shown to their fellow POW's."

My expression changed. "That's the first thing you've said that makes some sense." I knew standard Slurian procedure as well.

"They're alive. I talked to prisoners at the last camp my brother was stationed at. After his last escape, his body was never brought back."

"You think the Slurians are still holding onto him? And other prisoners?"

"It wouldn't be the first time," said the Silencer.

"No, it wouldn't," I said. "But why?"

"The why doesn't matter," said the Silencer. "Only the where, and the who." His expression hardened.

"What do you want from me?" I asked.

"I want you to locate my brother, and if you can, extract him."

"And if I can't?"

"Just let me know where he is."

"If they are holding him prisoner, he's going to be under some pretty heavy guard."

"Just let me know where he is," the Silencer repeated simply.

I paused, considering. I had earned a well deserved vacation, but I knew I couldn't turn down the Silencer's request. He may only care about his brother, but I had broader concerns. If there were League POW's still in Slurian captivity, I wanted them freed.

I didn't let any of that show on my face, however.

"How much?" I asked.

"How much what?" said Annie, looking startled.

"How much will you pay me to rescue your brother?"

"After all the times John has helped you-"

"And he's been well paid for it every time," I said. "More than once he's extorted an unusually high price for his services when he's been critically needed."

"That's because you wanted the best."

"And now so do you," I said.

The Silencer nodded slowly. "How much do you want?"

I paused, for dramatic effect. "Ten million."

"Credits?" said Annie, as if she couldn't believe her ears.

"I'm supposed to be on vacation," I said lazily. "What you're proposing is not only less than restful, but could be very, very dangerous."

The Silencer said nothing.

"How much is your brother worth, John?" I asked. "Name the price."

The Silencer gave me an angry look.

I worked to maintain my external calm. Let him know what it feels like to be extorted for a change!

"Ten million," said the Silencer, gritting his teeth. "If you get him out. But if you only locate him, you get three million."

"Five million."

"Four," said the Silencer.

"Are you bargaining for your brother's life in credits?" I asked. I put my hands out to put a halt to this ridiculousness. "I'll tell you what. I'll rescue your brother for free."

"What?" said Annie. "Then what was all this talk about money for?"

"To make a point," I said, staring meaningfully at the Silencer. "But maybe free is not the right term. I do want something in return."

"What?" said the Silencer.

"A favor," I said.

"What?" said the Silencer again.

"I don't know," I said. "But sometime in the future, when I come to you with a problem, you have to help me, without holding me up for millions of credits."

The Silencer considered. "Only once."

"I know your brother isn't worth more than one favor," I said.

The Silencer's eyes flared.

"Clifford, why are you acting this way?" Annie said.

"Because this is the treatment I get every time I ask him for help and I'm tired of it," said Croft. "Maybe now the blaster's in the other hand he'll appreciate how it feels."

"Do we have a deal?" said the Silencer.

"If your brother's alive, I'll find him," I said.

Then I instantly regretted saying it. What if his brother were alive but I couldn't find him? I shouldn't have been so definitive about it.

But I'm the best infiltrator there is. If anyone could do it, I could.

I did some research first, in the computer banks of the Column. For secure access I had to return to the Column offices, which raised a few eyebrows because I was officially off duty.

"Aren't you on vacation?" said one of my noisy coworkers.

"Yes," I said, typing away. "I find this fun."

"You know, you're only supposed to use the records for official purposes."

I turned and looked at her. "You know, it's not polite to criticize a fellow intelligence officer, especially one who is senior to you."

That put her in her place. It took another hour or two of searching, but I got the information I wanted.

Then I booked a trip to Sluria.

Sluria, the vacation paradise of the galaxy!

Ok, actually it was a rather drab planet. And commercial flights had only recently been reestablished. But I had a feeling I'd need my own ship for this, so I took one of the Column's unmarked scoutships. I knew they wouldn't object much, after the fact.

As Sluria didn't have an overwhelming number of tourists from the League, especially since we had ended a bloody war with them, I posed as a rich Rurrian eccentric on vacation. Rurria was a strong ally of Sluria, and I could speak Slurian with a Rurrian accent quite flawlessly.

I made my way through customs, had my false ID examined and reexamined, paid the appropriate bribes, and was on my way. Half the research I had done at the Column had been to locate one address, a simple apartment on the residential side of the capital.

I went there and let myself in. I sat and waited, amusing myself with the owner's computer terminal.

When the door to the apartment opened a few hours later, I was more than ready.

"What are you doing here?" snarled the owner of the apartment, one Torgi Rostov.

"It's good to see you again too," I said.

He moved to draw a weapon, but I was quicker, drawing my blaster first. I had managed to hide one or two things from the quite thorough customs inspectors, including a detachable blaster. "Drop it."

Rostov did.

"Now take a seat," I said.

He sat down opposite me. "What is this about?"

"I need a favor," I said.

"I already did you a favor," Rostov snarled.

"In return for saving your life," I said. "Is your life only worth one favor?"

"It was in return for not killing me," said Rostov.

"As I recall the exact circumstances, you were trying to kill me, and I spared you," I said. "That particular fact pattern seemed to make you quite needy."

"I already helped you once."

"So you did, but I need some help again."

"No."

I sighed. "Well, maybe we can trade."

"What?"

"What if I can prove that one of your agents is embezzling state money for his own purposes?" I said.

Rostov shrugged. "Why should I care?"

"This agent does not work with Slurian intelligence, but rather Slurian military intelligence. It's a rival agency. Don't you guys hate each other?"

"So?"

"If I were to give you the name of this agent, you would undoubtedly get a medal for exposing him."

"Let's not exaggerate," said Rostov. "What do you want?"

I took a breath. "A number of League military people are still being held as prisoners of war. In a war, I might add, which is now officially over."

I watched his reaction carefully. Rostov didn't have one. He knew.

"I want to know where they are."

"No," said Rostov immediately.

"The trade doesn't interest you?" I said.

"No."

"What if I sweeten the offer?" I said.

"How do you mean?"

"What if I tapped into the stolen money I mentioned, traceable from the terminal in your apartment, and arranged for some of that money to be deposited in an account with your name on it?"

Rostov said nothing.

"And then what if I anonymously informed your bosses that you were stealing state money as well? I don't think you'd get a medal of any kind then."

"All right, I'll do it," said Rostov quickly. A little too quickly. "But it will take some time to get the information."

"Why?" I asked.

"The camp is run by the military, and they keep their own secrets."

"So you

do

know about it."

"I have heard rumors," said Rostov. "Give me a week or two-"

"You have two days," I said. "I will return to your apartment in two days. I expect you to be here at 7 PM, two days from now."

I didn't wait for him to answer, but got up to leave, very careful not to show him my back as I left the apartment.

Well, that should start the wheels turning.

Two days later I was calmly sitting in Rostov's apartment again. I hadn't been idle the entire time; I spent the time acquiring some items I thought would be useful. As I sat in his apartment, I turned on some music. All I could find was Slurian opera, which was characteristically hideous, but it would do.

Rostov walked in the door, right on time.

But he was followed by half a dozen men, all with blasters raised.

"What's this?" I said.

"Here is the spy, Clifford Croft, as I promised," said Rostov, making a small frown as he heard the noise of the opera.

I sighed, pressing hard on my right toe. "Oh, you have betrayed me!" I said. "This is such a surprise."

Rostov noticed Croft's sarcastic tone. "If you're not surprised, then how did we just capture you?" said Rostov, blinking a bit.

Suddenly he heard the sounds of two of his men collapsing to the ground behind him.

"You didn't," I smiled.

Rostov looked confused, started to raise his blaster, but then he felt faint and collapsed, along with the rest of his men.

I sighed, getting up. I had anticipated betrayal, of course. So I had planted a canister of exceptionally fast acting knockout gas in the room. It was an expensive kind, virtually colorless and odorless. The only thing I couldn't mask was the sound of the gas escaping from the canister, which is why I needed the opera. I, of course, had nose filters plugged in and ready.

When Rostov awoke, he was tied up in a warehouse. I smiled encouragingly at him.

"Are you ready to talk now?"

Rostov snarled at me.

"All right," I said, getting up. "I guess I'll have to let your bosses know about that money you embezzled."

"Altera!" said Rostov.

"What?" I said.

"They're on Altera."

"The death planet. It figures," I said. "Where on Altera?"

"I don't know," said Rostov.

"What?" I said, pretending to be hard of hearing.

"I really don't know!" said Rostov. "It's military. I was lucky to find out that much." He had researched the information, just in case things hadn't turned out as he expected. Lying here hogtied in a warehouse certainly qualified as an unexpected outcome.

"Well, that's something," I said. "I guess providing me with this information is worth not reporting you to your boss." I started to leave.

"Wait!" said Rostov.

"What?"

"Aren't you going to untie me?"

I paused, remembering the ambush. "No, I don't think so."

So I headed to Altera. I felt confident that Rostov wouldn't betray me (again), if only because doing so could bring some unpleasant subjects to the attention of his superiors--such as the missing money, and exactly who told me about Altera in the first place.

Altera was a "closed" planet, even by Slurian standards, which made it very difficult to visit. I did a little research and found out the Rurrians had a mining operation there, so I simply adjusted my profile and became a Rurrian mining executive.

Once I landed on the planet, the first thing I realized was that it was cold. Really cold. There was snow everywhere. I shivered as I wrapped my jacket more tightly around me.

I won't bother with the small details of how I broke into the local military base or accessed their computer. I immediately used the terminal to punch up a list of holdings on the entire planet. Suddenly, the globe became dotted with symbols.

I'd have to narrow it down a little. A prisoner of war camp probably wouldn't have more than a company guarding it; I narrowed down the search to bases with fewer than 200 men.

Many of the dots disappeared.

They certainly would have at least a platoon or two guarding it. I eliminated bases with fewer than 50 men.

Many more dots disappeared. But there were still a few dozen left.

How else to narrow it down? The prisoners would undoubtedly be put to work. I searched for work camp installations.

Five installations appeared. I started punching up lists of prisoner names at each installation.

Slurians...

Slurians...

Slurians..

Slurians...

League prisoners!

It was a place called Mount Perm. Really isolated, on a mountaintop. I looked at an image of the mountain. Two miles high. It looked unclimbable. This was going to be a tough one. How was I going to get up there?

I'd have to fly in.

A few hours later I flew my scoutship to the top of Mount Perm, landing just outside the camp. From the cockpit window I could see from the troops shouting and assembling outside my ship. My, they seemed quite agitated. Had I landed in a forbidden zone?

The only thing that surprised me when I exited the ship was that most of the troops were Redcaps. The Loyalty Police. I had thought the military was in charge. I surrendered without the slightest resistance.

After a quick search, they hustled me with unnecessary roughness to the commander's office. The sign on the desk said Colonel Tenov, and I saw he was regular military. But to his side stood a bloodthirsty Redcap major. What was going on here?

"Your name?" the Colonel asked.

"Robert Clarity," I said. "I'm a journalist."

"Why are you here?"

"I'm doing a story on the prisoner of wars you're still holding." Most of the blood drained out of Colonel Tenov's face. "Can you be helpful and set up some interviews for me?" I asked.

"We should interrogate him for what he knows, and then eliminate him," said the Redcap Major.

Tenov glanced sharply at him, then turned back to me. "Where did you learn that prisoners were here?"

"It's common knowledge, all over the League. I read an article in August Today about it a few weeks ago," I said.

Tenov gave a sarcastic grin. "I hardly think it is common knowledge in your League."

"Let me have him, just for an hour!" said the Redcap Major.

"May I remind you, Major Semvarsk, that I am still in command of this installation?" said Tenov, giving the Redcap a nasty glare. He turned to me. "I think what we shall do first is verify Mr. Clarity's identity. Then we shall decide on a course of action." He pressed a button and spoke rapidly in Slurian; an aide entered the office, and took a holo of me as well as my prints.

"We should interrogate him immediately!" said Major Semvarsk, in Slurian.

"I will not torture someone, possibly a civilian, without urgent reason," said Colonel Tenov.

"But it may take weeks to verify his identity!" said Tenov.

"Perhaps a few days," said Tenov. "We have him and he isn't going anywhere. If it turns out he is lying, I will turn him over to you."