The Moon Maze Game by Niven Larry & Barnes Steven

Author:Niven, Larry & Barnes, Steven [Niven, Larry & Barnes, Steven]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Adventure
ISBN: 9780765326669
Amazon: 0765326663
Goodreads: 10439988
Publisher: Tor Books
Published: 2011-08-16T07:00:00+00:00

24

No Resistance

1150 hours

Fear hung in the room like a curtain of hot, wet air. It was like trying to breathe steam. Scotty Griffin examined the plastic bands cuffing his wrists in front. Given time he could find a way to sever them … but would he have time? He couldn’t guess when or even if such an action might be advisable. And even if he managed to free himself and his companions, where could they go?

The captives were sequestered in a storage bubble. Ali had been separated a few feet from the other gamers. The implication was perfectly clear: This was all about the Prince.

Judging by the degree of deference displayed by the others, the lead kidnapper was the one named “Shotz.” A golden-locked golem, as solid as a granite spur. His face could look flat and hard or masculinely attractive, depending on his expression. Shotz radiated a sense of disconnected amusement about everything, and Scotty wondered where the man had picked up the scars on the right side of his throat. His second-in-command seemed to be the red-haired Viking goddess they called Celeste. He had the ugly suspicion he had seen her before, briefly, in Switzerland. And wondered if she had recognized him in turn.

She and a couple of the others had entered and exited the room repeatedly. She was now looking down at them with a low flame in her eyes, as if she enjoyed their helplessness and hungered for the opportunity to exploit it. He reminded himself not to give her an excuse.

“These names: Michael Abernathy, Maud Abernathy, Angelique Chan, Sharmela Tamil, Wayne Gibson, Scott Griffin … move to this side of the room,” she said. “On your knees, hands behind your heads.”

Ali looked as if he wanted to faint. Scotty wanted to say something, but was cautious about announcing their relationship to these people. Why give them information they had, as yet, shown no sign of possessing? “What about me?” Ali said weakly.

“Ali Shannar? Excuse me: Ali Kikaya the Third. You will come with me.”

Time to forget caution. “I’d like to go with him.”

“And you would be…?” The blonde said, smiling pleasantly. Her eyes roamed over him.

“His friend.”

She chuckled. “Well, ‘friend,’ I think not.” She leaned close. “I think I know you, my friend.” So much for Switzerland. “We may have playtime later. But now, I think you had better get back on your knees. Shotz?”

Behind her, Shotz seemed to come out of his internal trance, almost like popping in and out of a separate reality. “Here is the situation: We have business with Ali Kikaya the Third. In fact, it is this business that brought us here. We have no interest in any of the rest of you, which may be to your advantage, assuming you cooperate. If you cooperate, you will remain unmolested. You will be reasonably comfortable, and will have all the amenities we can offer in exchange for your cooperation. Because we don’t care about you.”

A pause. “But … if you cause us difficulty of any kind, that will be an entirely different matter.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.