(eng) Kristine Kathryn Rusch - Retrieval Artist 03 by Consequences

Author:Consequences [Consequences]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Twenty-five

Anatolya heard the sound first.

She stood in the wide Port hallway, surrounded by her team and Collier. The team had just finished the link tests; they were back up and running, and she had never felt so relieved in her life.

Then she heard the noise. Voices rose in a low hum—not angry, but not calm either. Like people disgruntled with a turn of events, discussing, and egging each other onward. No one voice rose above the din, no words seemed to stand out.

Gianni moved closer to her. The rest of the team glanced at each other. The voices unnerved them as well.

Collier stayed at her side. His face had gone a ghostly pale.

“I think we should turn around,” he said.

But Anatolya shook her head. They couldn’t play these kinds of games with her. They had released her from the Port, and now they wanted to scare her back into it.

She started to walk, and the others followed. The signs, blinking against the upper walls, informed her that she only had a few meters left before she reached the exit. She had to make certain that her papers were in order, the signs warned her, because she would not be allowed back into the Port if they were not.

Generic messages for generic travelers—none of whom were at this exit of the Port. They had all veered off toward the main exit when she and her team started to leave. The Port Authority tried to be circumspect about it, but they had failed; Anatolya had trained herself early to observe everything that happened around her, and she watched as travelers were deflected, told to take other exits, or had similar messages sent through their links.

The handful of travelers who persisted were met by Port Security and moved aside. Apparently the Port or the City of Armstrong wanted no one near her or her team as they exited the building.

That had disturbed her as well. She almost did turn around when she saw that and the empty corridor ahead of her. In some ways, the growing sound outside the Port’s exit doors reassured her: yes, there was a plan; yes, it focussed on her; and yes, it was something she could handle.

She’d been half expecting an assassin waiting in the hallways. If that had been the plan, she—or the assassin—would be dead already.

The corridor made one final turn before the double doors opened into the street. Gianni was as close to her as he dared get. His massive frame did not block her view of the upcoming corridor, but he did block her view of the right wall. He was half a step in front of her, ready to block anything that came at her if the need arose.

Collier leaned closer to her left. “Please, Ms. Döbryn,” he said, his voice as low as it could be without a whisper, “we need to turn around.”

“I’m not going back into this port,” she snapped.

Her team moved faster, and Collier had to jog to keep up with them.

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