Telepath

  I moved on again, trying to find anyone else in this park. The child. The target, or targets. Lucas had repeatedly used the plural, to emphasize we shouldn’t assume there was only one person involved. Some of the inconsistencies around the 600/2600 area might be because there wasn’t just one wild bee there, but two or even more.

  “I can’t find anyone,” I said, frustrated at my lack of success.

  “You’re getting nothing at all?” asked Lucas.

  “I itch.”

  “Itch?” he repeated. “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t know, Lucas. There’s an odd feeling that I haven’t felt before. Like an itch deep inside my mind. Add it to the list of weird things around 600/2600. I’m getting absolutely nothing other than that.”

  “The child could have been taken further away,” said Adika, “or already be dead.”

  “Amber, what mind level are you searching on?” asked Lucas.

  “Level 1 through 3.” I realized what he was thinking. “I usually start high level, find the right mind, and then go deeper. I’ll see if I can reverse that, and search on the subconscious levels.”

  I wasn’t sure I could do this. How did I even start? I picked Forge’s tension filled mind, went down a few levels, and saw some stuff about his feelings for Shanna. He’d seen her! Waste it, he’d found out her apartment location on Level 9, gone to see her on his first precious free day, and she’d …

  Shanna had been my friend for years, but I could pelt her elegant face with slime balls for treating Forge like that. The fact she’d made us all promise to stay friends after Lottery made it even worse. She hadn’t just sneered at Forge for being a hasty, but mocked him for getting his birthmark removed to please her.

  The irony of it was that Shanna had been so horrified to find a hasty on her doorstep, so proud of her status as a Level 9 Media Presenter, that she’d driven Forge away before he could tell her anything. If Shanna had learned he was Level 1, that Amber was in charge of his unit and could use her position to give Shanna work there too, then Forge was cynically sure her reaction would have been very different. Oh yes, Shanna would have grabbed the chance to be with him if it meant she could live in Level 1 luxury and dress in Level 1 clothes.

  I guiltily realized I was getting sidetracked from my real goal. That was the problem with fooling around on the lower levels. There were so many swirling feelings, that it was hard to avoid being sucked into the emotional morass.

  I headed down two more levels into Forge’s subconscious mind, and then tried to search without letting myself drift upwards again. I skated past the emotions of the Strike team and nosy squad, and finally found something.

  “I might have the child. They’re dreaming. I can’t judge distance properly on a subconscious level. Direction is hazy too. Can you move me?”

  Someone lifted me up. I didn’t know who it was. Anyone on the Strike team was strong enough to carry me while running at full speed. It was a pre-requisite for the job.

  “Move me forward. Left. More forward.” This must look incredibly silly, but the only information I had was whether I was getting closer or further away from the dreaming child.

  “Left again,” I continued. “No, back again, and try right. Stop. Forward. Stop. Backward. Stop. I think I’m right on top of her now. Still finding no indication of a target.”

  “No access hatch round here, and no signs of digging,” said Adika. “The child must be in a passageway, and the access to it is elsewhere. This is a park. The level below a park is just soil. Maybe she’s down on Level 82.”

  “She seems closer than that,” I said, “and it feels damp down there.”

  “The level beneath a park is earth and rock,” said Lucas, “but there must be other things in there, power cables, drainage.” His voice became sharp and urgent. “Nicole, we need the rain turned off in that park. It’ll be pre-programmed for regular times, and if it starts raining now the girl could drown.”

  “Working on that,” said Nicole. It was only a minute before she spoke again. “The rain controls should be near the largest lift. Access code is …”

  My brain skipped over the next bit, as I checked on the sleeping child. By the time I was listening again, the rain had been turned off, and Nicole was explaining the drainage system.

  “ … they join the main drain, and that leads into the lake.”

  “It would be simplest to dig,” said Adika.

  “I’ve called our own unit park keeper in to advise us,” said Lucas. “She says the area around main drains can be unstable due to leaks. If you try digging, there’s a risk of the ground caving in on top of the child.”

  “Digging is a last resort then.” Adika sighed so heavily that his crystal unit picked it up with a rustling sound.

  “The target must have taken the child in there,” said Lucas. “An adult couldn’t fit into most of those pipes, so the target must have entered the main drain from the lake end. There’d have been a grating over the end of the pipe, but that could be easily removed.”

  He paused for a moment. “I’m afraid someone has to go swimming. Amber, you’re sure there’s no one else down there? If we send someone in through the drains, then he’ll be an easy target for anyone lying in ambush.”

  “I’m as sure as I can be,” I said.

  “People outside are getting upset again,” said Nicole. “A man’s shouting that officials don’t care about the child because her parents are only Level 80. Can I give them a news update?”

  “Tell them the telepath has already located the child,” said Lucas. “The girl is alive, but trapped. The rescuers have to work extremely slowly to avoid hurting the child.” He gave a humourless laugh. “We’re actually telling the truth for once.”

  “I could use you here, Lucas,” said Adika. “You spend a lot of time training in the pool. Is anyone else good enough at swimming to cope with real problems underwater? Remember it’s not just swimming down from the lake surface to the drain entrance, there may be a long stretch of flooded drain as well.”

  “If the target could get in there with the child, then I can get in there too,” said Forge.

  “You’re sure?” Adika sounded doubtful.

  “Forge is an expert swimmer,” I confirmed without thinking. “He’s been surfing for years.”

  I instantly regretted saying that, but Adika accepted my statement without comment. He’d naturally assume I had my knowledge from reading Forge’s thoughts, rather than from standing on a beach watching him surf.

  “Ideal then,” said Adika. “Forge, see if you can find the underwater entrance to the drainage system. Amber, can you manage to keep track of both the child and Forge, so you can give directions?”

  “I’ll try. I daren’t lose the child, because she’d be hard to locate again. I’ll have to stay with her most of the time, while making occasional, split-second dips into Forge’s mind.”

  “All right,” said Adika. “It’s the best we can do. Sending more than one person wouldn’t help. If they hit trouble in a tight tunnel, the person behind couldn’t get a clear shot. Forge, I’ll want a running commentary as you go in.”

  “You should use extreme caution and watch for booby traps,” added Lucas.

  “Booby traps?” Even Adika sounded startled.

  “It doesn’t make sense to go to all this trouble to take the child into the drainage system, and then just abandon her,” said Lucas. “Amber has no indication the child is hurt, and she’s getting no target at all. The plan may not have been to harm the child, but to injure her rescuers.”

  There was a pause while we all thought that over.

  “Perhaps we should try digging instead,” said Adika.

  “If there really are booby traps, and one is near the child …” Lucas didn’t need to finish the sentence.

  “I hope you’re being paranoid about this, Lucas,” said Adika. “I’ve no choice but to send a man in, because getting a robot in there would take far too much time. It
probably wouldn’t function in the conditions down there anyway. Logic tells me a drain is wet and muddy.”

  “I’ll be careful,” said Forge.

  “If you see anything odd, anything at all,” said Lucas, “stop at once. It might be a good idea to take a long stick with you.”

  “A long stick!” Adika gave way to frustration. “Lucas, are you telling us to use a long stick to poke booby traps?”

  “Safer than using your hand,” said Lucas.

  There was a pause while Forge stripped to just his body armour and attached wristset lights to both his forearms. I still had my eyes closed, focusing on a small faint mind buried in the earth.

  “Going underwater now,” said Forge. “Can’t talk under there obviously.”

  There was what seemed like a long wait before he spoke again, sounding breathless. “I’ve located the entrance. There’s no grating over it. Going underwater again and inside.”

  Another long pause. “I’m in the drainage pipe now. Is my camera still working?”

  “Yes,” said Adika, “but you must have got some dirt on it. The image is a bit grimy.”

  “I’m not surprised there’s mud on the camera,” said Forge. “Everything down here is covered in mud, including me. There’s no room to stand, but more crawling space than in the vent system. Only the very first section of pipe was flooded. From this point on, there’s just a deep layer of wet silt. I can’t see any suspicious objects ahead, but there could be anything under the mud and silt.”

  “Use the stick to check the ground ahead of you,” said Lucas.

  I held on to my link to the child, and dipped briefly into Forge’s head. He was scared, but not nearly as scared as I was.

  “Using stick,” said Forge. “Moving slowly. There seems to be something lumpy ahead, almost buried in the silt. If I hadn’t been warned, I’d think it was just a tree root, but I’ll try the stick again.”

  “Wait!” ordered Lucas. “I can see the suspect object you’re talking about on your camera image. At one point, a glint of light reflected off it. Light doesn’t reflect off tree roots, mud, or ceramic drainage pipes. Better back off and try shooting it with your gun. Use a stun setting to make sure you don’t damage the pipe.”

  “Backing off,” said Forge. “Shooting now.”

  I dipped into his head. “Eek!”

  “Forge?” shouted Adika. “What happened there?”

  “The object is definitely made of metal,” said Forge. “It’s got jagged bits, like teeth. When I shot at the thing, it seemed to jump up out of the mud, and then the teeth snapped shut. If my hand had been in there …”

  “Lucas,” said Adika, “I love you.”

  Lucas laughed. “I love you too, Adika.”

  I managed a nervous laugh myself.

  “We’re getting nothing but a brown blur from your visual link now, Forge,” said Adika.

  “Sorry. When the trap went off, I jerked backwards and caught my head on the muddy side of the pipe. I can try wiping the camera.” There was a pause before Forge spoke again. “Is that any better?”

  “Not in the slightest,” said Lucas. “I think we’ll have to forget the visual link. What does the trap look like? Is it safe to get past?”

  “I think so. It’s snapped solidly shut. I’m pushing it aside. Very slowly. Moving on and using the stick to check what’s ahead.”

  “The target must have taken the child in, and then rigged traps on his way out,” said Lucas. “He’d know that we’d be looking out for more traps the same as the first one. I expect any remaining traps will be different.”

  “Thanks for that cheering thought,” said Forge.

  “He’d have had limited time,” said Lucas. “I doubt there’ll be more than three traps.”

  “Another cheering thought.” Forge gave a grunt of pain.

  “All right?” asked Adika.

  “The silt contains some very sharp stones,” said Forge. “I see a junction ahead. Left or right?”

  “Left,” I said.

  “Forge, stop well clear of the junction,” said Lucas. “Look it over very closely, and describe it for us. By the way, I’ve got Keith’s Tactical team listening in to a direct feed of our conversation, in case they can think of anything helpful. So far, they’re just unable to believe this is happening.”

  “I can’t believe it either,” said Adika.

  “This looks like a standard T-junction of big pipes,” said Forge. “I can’t see any sign of traps. Do I shoot the junction?”

  “Shoot it,” said Adika grimly.

  “Shooting now.”

  I checked Forge’s head. Shooting the junction did nothing at all.

  “I’ve shot it several times,” said Forge. “Using stick again. Still nothing. Advancing cautiously to junction.”

  “If the target didn’t trap the junction,” said Lucas, “I’m betting there’s a trap immediately you turn left.”

  “I can see the child!” Forge’s voice went a notch higher with excitement.

  “Don’t move!” shouted Lucas. “Don’t even think about moving. The target would expect you to head instinctively towards the child. Check the ground in front of you.”

  “It looks fine,” said Forge.

  I checked the view from his eyes. The ground looked fine to me too.

  “Give me a minute,” said Lucas. “I’ve got to think. There are three possibilities. The target booby traps the way to the child, or the other way, or both. The target surely can’t have had time to trap both directions, and would expect us to do the obvious thing.”

  Lucas’s voice changed from thoughtful to decisive. “Forge, take a look at the right-hand pipe. Shoot it a bit, prod it with the stick, and make sure it’s safe. The idea is you go into it a little way and turn round. That should give you a clear shot at the ground just inside the left-hand pipe, while still being a little distance away. You understand me?”

  “I understand,” said Forge. “Shooting. Prodding. Moving into right-hand pipe. Turning round … with difficulty. Made it. You want me to take a few shots at the ground in the left-hand pipe now?”

  “Yes,” said Lucas.

  “Shooting.”

  I dipped into Forge’s head just as there was a loud noise. I was thrown backwards and my head hurt. No, not my head, Forge’s head.

  “Something exploded,” I said. “Forge got thrown backwards and hit his head on the roof of the pipe. He’s dazed.”

  “I’m … all right,” said Forge.

  “He’s not feeling too good,” I said. “The child is still asleep. She must be drugged to sleep through that. The blast didn’t seem to hurt her, but water’s dripping on her now.”

  “I’m going in after Forge,” said Adika. “If there’s just a short section of flooded drain then I can make it. After this, I do more pool time. We all do more pool time.”

  “No! I’m almost there now,” said Forge. “There’s only a short distance between the bit I shot and the child. Surely if there were more traps, the explosion would have triggered them.”

  “I don’t think the target would have put a trap right by the child,” said Lucas. “If she moved, set off the trap and it killed her, then we’d just dig up the body afterwards. Be careful though.”

  “Shooting on stun,” said Forge, his voice sounding strained. “Careful not to hit the girl. It seems clear. Moving in now. Checking it’s safe as I go. Safety rules.”

  “What?” asked Adika.

  “Swapping to Forge now,” I said. “He’s in trouble.” I suddenly realized what was happening. “There’s some sort of gas in there! That’s why the child is asleep. Forge, grab her and pull back!”

  “Amber, you rode the rail,” said Forge.

  “Forge, hold your breath, grab the girl, move back!” I yelled.

  “Carnival.”

  “Forge is unconscious,” I reported. “He got the girl back to the junction.”

  “I’m inside the drain now,” said a breathless Adika.
“Heading for Forge. Let’s hope he didn’t miss any traps.”

  “Can we get fresh air pumped down to them?” asked Lucas.

  “I’ve already got an inflatable boat, an air supply, and a pump on the way,” said Nicole.

  “Rothan, get the pump working as soon as you can.” Adika was gasping for breath between the words. I checked his head. He didn’t seem in difficulties, just breathing hard because of the effort of the underwater swim and crawling along the drain.

  “Bringing the child out,” said Adika.

  “We’re launching the boat and coming to meet you,” said Rothan.

  There was a long pause before Adika spoke again. “Going underwater with the child.”

  I felt his anxiety, the cold of the water, and the relief when he surfaced and handed the child to the waiting Strike team. Adika took one desperate gulp of air before grabbing an airline from Rothan and swimming down to the drain again. As he surfaced inside the pipe, the pump started, sending a jet of fresh air out of the airline. Adika filled his lungs from that, before dropping the airline and crawling on through the pipe.

  After a minute or two, there was a groan from my ear crystal. It sounded like Forge, so I went back to him. “The fresh air must be reaching Forge,” I reported. “He’s waking up.”

  “Amber, I fell off the rail,” Forge’s voice sounded weak and confused. “Keep going. You can make it all the way. Ride the Hive!”

  “Forge, I did make it all the way. You’re in the tunnel, remember? Crawl back to the entrance. Adika’s coming for you.”

  “I remember.”

  Forge started crawling, met Adika, and they both headed back towards the drain entrance. I alternated between their minds as they swam up through the chill of the water. They surfaced, and reached for outstretched, welcoming hands that pulled them into the boat. It was over.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The emergency run was over, but the discussion afterwards dragged on for hours. That didn’t just involve my own team leaders, but direct audio links with worried Tactical Commanders from the other Telepath Units as well. None of them had ever had an incident like this, where a wild bee didn’t seem to be aiming to harm their original victim, but to use them as bait to lure rescuers into danger.