Borderline by Janet Edwards

Author:Janet Edwards
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Telepath, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Urban Fantasy, Coming of age, Mystery, Superhero, Telepathy
Publisher: Wallam-Crane Press
Published: 2019-12-08T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-five

We rode on along the express belt in grim silence for the next two minutes, then Nicole spoke on the crystal comms. “A hasty patrol has sent us a report of someone they think could have been Beckett. He was close to the southbound half of the express belt you’re riding now, sitting by the bulkhead doors between Red and Orange Zones with his eyes closed.”

“Why would Beckett be sitting by the bulkhead doors?” asked Adika.

“I think it’s because of the countdown numbers,” said Lucas. “Beckett did heroically well, he found the best express belt to reach our unit, and rode it until he heard the warning that the zone bulkhead was approaching. Most of the teens would have stayed on the belt to jump the narrow gap between the end of the Red Zone belt and the start of the Orange Zone belt, but Beckett would have obeyed the safety instructions to leave the belt and walk across the boundary.”

Lucas shook his head. “Beckett did everything right, but the warning for the zone bulkhead approaching is followed by a lot of red signs with flashing countdown numbers. Beckett would have found all those flashing signs overwhelming without his light-adjustment glasses, so he’d need to find somewhere to sit down and close his eyes to recover.”

“The hasty patrol reports that some teen musicians arrived a few minutes ago and began performing,” said Nicole. “A crowd formed and blocked their view of Beckett. The patrol moved to a position where they could see where Beckett had been sitting, but he’d gone by then.”

“I don’t believe Beckett could have recovered quickly enough to get back on the belt,” said Lucas. “He’s either gone somewhere away from the crowds and the music, or is still trying to reach our unit by walking beside the southbound express belt. How many belt interchanges are there before we reach the bulkhead doors, Nicole?”

“Only one,” said Nicole.

“The Alpha team will jump belt at the next interchange,” said Lucas. “Forge, your Beta team can move to a separate crystal comms channel now if you want.”

“We won’t arrive in Blue Zone for a while,” Forge responded. “We’d rather stay listening in to your progress until we know Beckett is all right.”

A second later, Forge spoke again in an irritated voice. “I still think you should have told me about Keith trying to borrow you. We agreed that our relationship would be purely sexual rather than romantic, but ...”

Rothan interrupted hastily. “Forge, your conversation with Buzz is being broadcast to the entire unit.”

“Oh,” said Forge, in an embarrassed voice. “I thought I’d set my ear crystal back to receive only, but I ... Perhaps the best arrangement would be to have Liaison move the Beta team to a separate comms channel, and then give us regular updates on the Alpha team’s progress finding Beckett.”

“We can do that,” said Nicole cheerfully.

Eli sighed. “I was looking forward to hearing Buzz lecture the local teens about the new arrivals. I especially wanted to hear what withering things she had to say about the disreputable Forge.

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