Beyond The Thunder

buzzing past them, going away from thecity. They were filled with orange-skinned men carrying shoulder arms.Probably Kanato police on their way to investigate a very recentkilling. Case gave silent thanks he had got this ride.

  There was a tense moment at the gate of the city. Heavily armed menswarmed about. But produce trucks seemed to be exempt from closescrutiny.

  Case's companion traded jeers and coarse laughter with the gendarmerie,and the truck rolled on down a wide avenue. The old feud between citydweller and rustic, Case guessed. He noticed that the citizens of Kanatowore clothing of high lustre and fine mesh.

  They must be a scrappy people. Almost every male citizen carried a gun.His own wouldn't be noticed, then.

  Before a huge building, the truck stopped. The end of the journey. Casehopped off, nodded his thanks for the lift and started walking.

  * * * * *

  Those three towers were at the edge of the city. Case made his waythrough a crowded square, turned down a fern-lined street and headed forthem. From behind him a light breeze came, wafting a familiar aroma tohis nostrils.

  Cigarette smoke! But until now he had seen nobody smoking. Acting onimpulse, Case drifted over to one side of the walk and bent as though totie his shoe.

  Men walked past. Case straightened up, got a look at the backs of theirnecks, and gasped. White--as white as his own skin. These were noinhabitants of this world, but men of his own kind!

  There were three of them. And now, as they finished lighting up, theywere talking plain Earth English with as little concern as though theywere strolling down the street of any Earth city.

  "By the time we get back, there ought to be news," one of the men said.

  "Yeah. That last one should have brought them around."

  The second voice was another surprise. It stirred memories. Somewhere,Case had heard that coarse tone before. He thought hard.

  Sure, now he had it. Pete Engels, hotshot engineer cashiered out of thespace fleet and turned adventurer bum. The other two men Case didn'tknow.

  "I'd give plenty for a look at Davisson's face now," Engels was saying.Davisson was commander of the moon base, to which Engels had beenattached.

  "He's probably running around in circles," one of Engels' companionslaughed.

  "Yeah. And don't think he ain't number one on my list when we takeover."

  A sudden humming filled the air as they drew closer to the three towers,and Case stopped listening to the conversation for a moment. The manahead had paused briefly, but they were now moving on.

  Pedestrian traffic had fallen off, Case noticed. He and the three aheadwere the only ones heading for the towers. It looked like the towerswere out of bounds for most citizens. A moment later he was certain ofthat, when he saw the number of armed guards around the entrance gate.

  But the guards didn't stop Engels and the pair with him. They jerkedtheir heads in a brief greeting and walked right through the cordon.Case paused, let them get inside the building.

  * * * * *

  Here goes, he thought. Nothing like a bold front in a spot like this. Hestepped forward briskly.

  But the bold front wasn't working. Hostile eyes swung his way. Fingerscame down to rest on triggers that could send death winging.

  Case looked up, pretended to be startled. A foolish grin spread over hisface. Would they believe he'd been day-dreaming? They would. He wasturning around and walking back the way he'd come and nobody wasstopping him.

  He cursed under his breath. Somehow he had to get inside that tower PeteEngels had entered. But how?

  An inviting doorway yawned back along the avenue, and Case steppedinside. He looked at his watch. A few hours left until the next blast.He'd have to move fast.

  Fighting his way into the tower was absolutely out of the question. He'dnever get past the guards. Maybe not, but he was sure going to try. Thistime the grin on his face was far from foolish.

  Case Damon had an idea, and he wasn't one to let time slip by before heacted on it. The idea was simple, so simple it might even work.

  An orange dye had gotten him into Kanato. But it would never get himinto that tower. Yet, Pete Engels and his pals had walked right in.Maybe that was one place where an Earth complexion would turn the trick.

  Case got out his handkerchief, spit on it a few times and startedrubbing. It was slow work, but he'd better not leave any telltalestreaks.

  When he came out of the doorway a few minutes later, he had left behindhim a handkerchief and as much of the dye as he could remove. Lucky he'dalways been an outdoor man. Whatever was left would be too faint to showagainst his tan skin.

  His walk was not too slow, not too fast. His step was the step of a manwho knew he wasn't going to have any trouble. The guards looked up andsaw him coming.

  Case kept his head down as though in deep thought. They could see hiscolor, but not his face. His right hand swung close to his holster. Nowa booted foot came into his line of vision.

  The foot moved toward him. Case bobbed his head up and down briefly,much as Engels had done, and kept walking. The guard hesitated, steppedout of his way. He was through the cordon and going up through theentrance.

  Then the yelling came from behind him. They had caught on.

  * * * * *

  One leap took Case through the doorway. Over his head, a pellet burst.They were shooting now. Somewhere in the building, a warning whistle cutloose.

  He ran down a long corridor, saw figures pop out of a room ahead. Butthere was a corridor running crossways. Case skidded, made a fast turnand pounded along that one. Plenty of shouting now. It sounded like hehad an army after him.

  These halls were too long. He was a dead pigeon if he didn't find aplace to hide soon. There were plenty of doors, but he didn't know whichone to try. Then a series of the deadly pellets broke around him andmade up his mind. The next door was the one.

  It opened into a big room filled with electrical equipment. Case bargedaround something that looked like a big transformer, and headed for adoor at the other end. The door swung toward him, disclosing a mass ofmen.

  His gun was in his hand now and spitting death. But there were too many.Their corpses blocked the doorway. He couldn't get around them.

  Something heavy cracked against the base of his skull and knocked him tohis knees. Half dazed, he turned and tried to fire and was buriedbeneath an avalanche of charging men. The gun was knocked out of hishand.

  "Hey!" A startled voice came through the roaring in Case Damon's ears."Hey! This guy is white!"

  Rough hands twisted his arms behind Case and other hands hauled him tohis feet. He shook his head to clear it and found himself facing PeteEngels. There was instant recognition.

  "Case Damon. Well, I'll be! I told Yuna to warn those guards, but Ididn't really think you'd make it."

  "I didn't, did I?" Case said bitterly.

  "What is it?" A voice said from behind Engels. "What is going on?"

  That was in Earth English, but with a heavy accent. The voice belongedto an orange skinned man who came through as the guards parted. This wassomeone of importance, Case realized. His metallic suit gleamed with thelustre of spun gold, and it filled his big body as though it had beenmoulded to it.

  "Meet Case Damon," Engels said with mock ceremony. "Damon, this is Yuna,ruler of Kanato and soon to be half ruler of the Earth."

  Haughty yellow eyes flashed at Engels and stilled his tongue. Then theeyes swung back to Case and gave him a thorough scrutiny.

  "So this is the one of whom we were warned," Yuna said. "I can see whythe Earthlings do not surrender so quickly."

  "They'll surrender all right," Engels snarled.

  Case saw an opening and lashed out with his foot. The kick caught Engelslow in the belly and drew a yell of pain. A fist thudded against Case'sjaw.

  "You rat," Case said through drawn lips. "You'd sell out your ownmother."

  "For the right price," Engels a
dmitted, cheerfully. He turned to Yuna."What'll we do with him?"

  "Put him with the rest. We can dispose of them later."

  * * * * *

  As a cell it was not too bad. But there was a stench that wasnauseating. Case adjusted his eyes to the gloom and looked about.

  There were bunks along one wall, a few of them occupied. With theshutting of the door behind Case, men stirred. Two thin legs swung overthe top of a bunk, followed by an equally thin body.

  "Take your gloating elsewhere, Engels," a sharp voice said.

  "The name is not Engels. It's Case Damon."

  "Huh?"

  There were more legs now, four pairs. Men were spluttering excitedly.Thin bodies slid out of bunks and feet came toward Case. There was oneman he knew, Burnine, the pilot of the Mars-Venus liner which hadvanished.

  "Case Damon! I knew sooner or later someone would get through."

  "Don't let your hopes run away with you," Case said. "I'm the only one,and it looks like I'll be the last."

  Burnine was crying, definitely and without shame. He fought to bringhimself under control.

  "They're going to get away with it," he said, brokenly. Longimprisonment had broken him down.

  "Maybe," Case said. "It all depends on what the chances are of gettingout of this cell before the next blast. The Council hasn't given upyet."

  "I know. But that humming means they're building up voltage for the nextshot. It won't be long."

  "How do you know?"

  "Engels. He comes down here every couple of days to tell us we're chumpsfor not coming over to his side. Meanwhile, we've learned what goes on.In a year you can learn a lot if you keep your ears open."

  "A year," Case mused. "Since those liners disappeared."

  "Yeah. Engels and his pals were on the one I was piloting. They stuckguns in our ribs and took over and brought us here."

  "There are a couple of things I've got to know," Case said. "First, whatkind of weapon are they using? Second, where are we?"

  "I can't quite answer the first. And I don't know exactly where we are,but I know how we got here. Maybe that will help.

  "It seems that someone on Earth was experimenting with a new force. Hediscovered that he could put a crack in the curvature of space. Once hegot through that crack and found Yuna, he realized that with this weaponof Yuna's he could take over the Earth. I don't know who this person is,but Engels is working for him. So are a lot of other people."

  "What about these towers?"

  "They work automatically. Two of them contain the apparatus for buildingup energy. The blast is fired from this one. It's all timed to fit withthe machine on Earth. That's why it takes exactly twelve hours."

  "Do you know where the main works are?"

  "On the level below this one. But what's the difference? We'll never getout of here."

  "Maybe not. But we can sure try. Are you game?"

  Burnine stared at him, looked around at the other three. Their thinshoulders had lost some of the sag. A spark had been kindled in theireyes.

  "What can we lose?" Burnine said.

  * * * * *

  They could tell when Engels started down the corridor outside theircell. His feet made a heavy sound. There were several guards with him.

  "What do you guys want?" Engels shouted through the door.

  "I've got a message for your boss," Case shouted back.

  "Go ahead. I can hear you."

  "It's in writing," Case called.

  Engels laughed sourly. "This better not be a trick. You're a dead tomatoif it is. Back away from the door."

  He came through, closely followed by four guards. All of them carriedguns in their hands, but when they saw Case in the middle of the roomwith the men behind him, they put up the weapons and moved forward.

  "Where is it?" Engels asked.

  "Here." Case put his hand out and Engels reached.

  Too late, Engels and the guards realized that there were only three menbehind Case. From behind the open door, Burnine's frail body hurtled andcrashed into the guards, knocking them off balance.

  Engels was thrown forward, his chin meeting Case's fist on its wayupward. There was the crack of a neck breaking. Case had put all hisstrength into that punch.

  Burnine kicked at a guard's head, dropped down to one knee and came upwith a gun. The other guards didn't have a chance. Burnine peppered themwith pellets that ate away flesh wherever they hit.

  "Let's go," Case snapped. "You take the lead. And don't stop to argue ifanyone gets in our way."

  Then they were racing down the long corridor toward a heavy door at theend. A pair of guards looked up and saw them coming and died beforetheir hands could reach their guns. Case paused to pick up a heavyweapon that leaned against a wall.

  Another guard stuck his head out of a side room and popped it back in.Within a second, warning whistles pierced the air. But over the whistlesCase could still hear a hum.

  "Not much time," Burnine panted. He was completely winded.

  A stairway made a dark opening and they plunged downward through it. Thesound of motors pounded up toward them. They were in darkness for longminutes. And then the darkness gave way to light and they were racinginto a vast chamber filled with scurrying men.

  Case brought up the heavy gun he was carrying, triggered it and wasgratified by the streak of flame that issued from the muzzle. But otherguns were popping steadily. Behind Case, a man went down.

  There was a sharpshooter behind a bank of instruments, and Case tooksteady aim. The sharpshooter dropped. Meanwhile, Burnine and the othertwo had not been idle. They had both flanks cleared.

  "This is it," Burnine gasped. "Good thing Engels liked to brag. That bigpanel is the converter."

  He reached out a bony hand for a maze of wires, but Case stopped him.

  "Wait. We don't want to do just a temporary job. And we don't want todie here either. There's a debt I've got to settle on Earth. What areour chances of getting a ship?"

  "Not much," Burnine told him. "The liner we came in is in a hangarbeyond the last tower."

  "Close enough," Case snapped. "You four watch the doors. They've got atank of atomic fuel here, and if I know my stuff I ought to be able torig up something that will do a permanent job on this installation."

  * * * * *

  Only two of them came up out of the lower level--Burnine and Case Damon.Behind them, they left a pile of corpses. Burnine was kept going bysheer strength of will, lugging a shoulder gun that weighed half as muchas he.

  The corridor on the main level was packed with armed men, but theycleared it by keeping a blast of fire always before them. Men meltedaway into side rooms, slid down intersecting halls. But at the entrance,the big door was closed.

  "Looks like we're stuck," Burnine grunted. "We can't burn our waythrough that. And if we move, we'll have a hundred men popping out againbehind our backs."

  "We'll try one of these rooms back here," Case said. "Always the chanceof it having a window."

  The first room they tried was a blank. So were the next couple. WhileCase kept the corridor cleared, Burnine stuck his head inside andinvestigated.

  "This one," he said at his fourth try. "Bars on the window, but maybe wecan burn them off. Looks like a council room."

  They darted inside, slammed the door behind them. Outside there was thepounding of many feet. While Burnine watched the door, Case turned hisfire on the barred windows.

  One of the bars turned red, glowed bright and started to melt. But itwas going to be a long job. And they hadn't much time now. Case snatcheda quick look at his watch and saw there was but an hour left.

  "Damon!" That was from the corridor. Yuna's voice. Too calm, Casethought. Yuma had a card up his sleeve. "Better give up!"

  "Make us," Case called.

  "There is a telecast machine in the room," came the reply. "Turn it on."

  Yuna wasn't just wasting time
. He knew something. Case hesitated, lookedaround and sighted the machine. It was the familiar kind, but with anunfamiliar attachment. He fiddled with it, got it going.

  "Damon," said a voice he remembered but could not identify. "Turn up thevideo."

  There was a threat in the words. But Case Damon was beyond beingfrightened. He had nothing to lose. Only curiosity made him flick theswitch.

  There was that room again, with its unpainted walls. There was thecouch. And there was Karin!

  "We decided to save her on the chance you'd get through," said thevoice. A moment later, a man walked into view.

  * * * * *

  It was Vargas. Somehow, Case was not surprised. It all made sense.Vargas had not wanted to join the Council. He'd held out forconcessions, and those concessions had included a certain freedom fromsupervision of his country.

  "Listen," Vargas said. "It is possible you have managed to do some harmthere. If so, undo it at once."

  His hand dipped into his pocket and came out with a gun. He calmlypointed it at Karin's head. With a sinking heart, Case realized thatthis time there would be no interference, this time Vargas would gothrough with it.

  "All right," Case said. "You win."

  He turned away from the video, and swung his gun around at Burnine. Hehated to do this, but it had to be done. His eyes avoided Burnine's ashe said:

  "Open that