When he heard, “Alert three!” from the mine radio in his belt, Jonnie had slid out of the coffin buried close by the platform and inside the atmosphere armor curtain. He was dressed in a camouflage radiation suit and wore an air mask under its face shield. His pouch was hanging from a wide belt. He was armed with three kill clubs, a dirk, and a flame thrower. He had a couple of other things for contingencies.
He had not expected the Brigantes to be inside on the platform. Six guards and General Snith! He hadn't thought even a Brigante would be crazy enough to let himself be fired to Psychlo. Money! They had bundles of money on the platform.
They were all looking at Terl. Terl was turning away from pushing the firing button. The Brigantes had not noticed Jonnie thirty feet away and slightly behind them.
Well, it would not matter. Jonnie started to ignite the flame thrower.
And then he saw a movement. They had something in a long bundle. The end of it was open. They had somebody there. A hostage they were taking to Psychlo? Gray hair, the scrap of a cloak.
Sir Robert!
Jonnie had to abandon any thought of using the flame thrower. It would kill Sir Robert as well!
Terl was walking easily and confidently back from the console to the platform center. The wires were humming. He halted, thunderstruck. Just a moment ago he had seen what he had thought was the animal, outside. Way over by the car.
And here he was inside the armor curtain!
Was the curtain off? No, he could see it shimmer through the snow. How had the animal gotten through it?
Just as Terl was about to charge, he saw the animal drop a long rod weapon he carried. The animal's hand darted toward a pouch at his belt.
Jonnie withdrew the contracts Terl had signed. He skimmed them to the platform center, the red seals glaring in the falling snow. Unmistakably the contracts Terl had signed!
Jonnie shouted as loud as he could to be heard through masks and faceplates: “Don't forget to record these on Psychlo!"
Terl was horror-struck. The last thing he wanted to appear on Psychlo's platform were those phony contracts!
Terl started to dive toward them and pick them up. He collided with Snith just as the general sought to give orders to his bowmen.
Reaching down, Jonnie picked up a beryllium ultimate bomb. He had intended to just throw it on the platform. It was wrapped with a cord. The golden glow of its metal, its size, and its hexagonal shape made it totally recognizable. The cord was not a fuse. The fuse was inside it set for eight minutes by a timing device on the top. It had an access plate in the bottom that was purposely jammed.
Jonnie touched the igniter he still held to the carrying-cord end. Two poisoned arrows whizzed by him.
“Grenade!” shouted Jonnie.
He pitched the eighty-pound weight straight at Terl. It struck the Psychlo a glancing blow and bounced down under his feet.
One glimpse of a lit grenade, their own favorite weapon, caused the Brigantes to run. At that moment trumpeting elephants sounded outside. The Brigantes hit the atmosphere-armor curtain and were thrown back from it.
Terl took one look at the bomb and any thought he had about papers fled as his horror turned into terror.
It was the bomb! But it had a time fuse. How had the animal gotten it away from Brown Limper, unwrapped it, and changed the fuse all in no time at all?
But Terl knew what he had to do. He had to get rid of it fast!
He was about to pitch it off the platform when the Brigantes came thudding back in recoil off the curtain. He knew that if he threw it, the bomb would just bounce back.
The wires were humming! Terl knew he had to get that access plate off and remove the core and do it fast! He could even see the time fuse closing.
He crouched down and began to claw at the access plate in the bottom. It was stuck! He fought with it.
Jonnie sprinted past Terl. He had to get Sir Robert and get him over to the
console.
A Brigante was up on one knee. A poisoned arrow slapped past Jonnie's head.
Jonnie dragged Sir Robert clear of the long case. His hands and feet were tied. Sir Robert was shouting something, something like, “Leave me and save yourself!"
All chaos had broken out beyond the curtain. There were Scot battle cries, and the roar of stampeding elephants.
Flame splashed against the other side of the atmosphere armor. The falling snow, even inside the platform, was converting to rain. Heat!
Terl was clawing at the access plate. He had no annealing knife to cut the metal. He was trying to scrape a circle and cut it with his claws. He was bellowing in frustration and adding to the uproar.
Two Brigantes charged Jonnie. He let go of Sir Robert, snatched a kill-club from his belt, and struck twice. They went down.
He was able to drag Sir Robert a bit further. It was a long way to that console!
Another Brigante was up. Jonnie threw the kill-club. It hit the mercenary's forehead and his head went back at an incredible angle.
Snith was up, shouting and pointing at Jonnie.
The din was deafening outside this cage.
A Brigante tackled Jonnie in the legs. Jonnie got another kill-club and smashed his brains out. He got Sir Robert a little further. The Scot was heavy!
Snith was trying to get the last two of his guards to fire. Their bowstrings were too wet. They snatched out bayonets and charged.
Jonnie threw a kill-club and one Brigante was catapulted backward. The other came on. Jonnie took his last kill-club from his belt. He parried the bayonet and struck the Brigante alongside the head. The kill-club flew out of his hand.
He got Sir Robert a bit closer to the console. He was trying to pick Sir Robert up and carry him.
For a moment Jonnie's back was turned. General Snith snatched a poison arrow out of his crossbelt and rushed.
The heavy impact of the body hit Jonnie's pouch. General Snith raised the poisoned arrow and drove it into Jonnie's upper left arm, drove it in through the radiation suit, and deep into the flesh.
Jonnie went down. He rolled, pulling a dirk. He came up and drove the knife into Snith's heart.
The pain of the wound was savage. Jonnie grasped the arrow shaft and pulled it straight out. But he knew the damage was done. The ferocious fire in the wound was almost more than he could bear.
He gritted his teeth and rallied his strength. They had said it was a slow poison. He still might have time to save Sir Robert and the console.
He grabbed the hilt of the knife and tried to yank it out of Snith's heart. It was stuck. He looked at Terl.
The Psychlo, still raving, was clawing at the access plate. Tearing his claw points he was actually cutting into the hard metal to make a circle and remove the core.
It was quieter outside. Dwight's voice came out of the mine radio at his belt, “Ten seconds to withdraw!”
Jonnie knew he was late. The wires were still humming.
Jonnie made himself concentrate. He still had a job to do. He could feel his heart revving up.
He got a hand under Sir Robert's armpit and dragged him through the slush. He got to the console. He knew it had a bomb in it he would have to disarm fast.
But he tucked Sir Robert in close to the console so the dome coming down would not amputate his arms or legs.
He glanced at the console. The switch was in the up position. It would have to be in the down position when next this was fired. He wished he had time to tell somebody.
He fumbled for his remote control box. There was broken glass in his pouch. His arm felt like it was on fire. That broken glass was the serum ampule! He had no serum.
The remote shook. No, it was his hand shaking. He threw the switch and swung the crane. No. He had to turn off the armor curtain first. He was getting flashes of blackness. His heart was beating faster and faster.