“Is there any way you can stop that?” Carter asked, nodding toward the blood that dripped profusely from Lamont’s mustache. “This is a company car.”
“Yeah?” Asked Lamont, holding the inside of his coat against his nose. “What company?”
“The Company,” Carter answered simply.
“You still work for them!” Lamont realized.
“I still work,” Carter acknowledged.
Moments earlier, Lamont had managed to crawl into the low-slung vehicle with the three agents nearly upon him. As Carter accelerated away, they had watched the men level their weapons in the direction of the car, but thankfully they had not fired. Carter was now guiding them at a faster than advisable speed to the travel lanes on the outside edge of the cavernous settlement.
“I’m grateful, mate.” Lamont said, sniffing. “What brought you back?”
“I’ve read enough spy stories to know when someone is being tailed,” Carter replied with the smallest hint of a smile on his wide lips. “When I got home, it occurred to me that I should check on you. Who are those men?”
“They claimed to be policemen,” Lamont scoffed.
“Hell,” Carter grunted, flinching.
“Claimed is the operative word, mate,” Lamont assured him. “It was a ruse to capture me while we were in public. They babbled some nonsense about my wife, but if they’d taken me in for questioning, no one would ever see me again, I bloody guarantee it.”
“Why is that?” Carter asked.
Lamont smiled grimly. “Because I’ve already escaped from them once, which no one else has ever done.”
“Ah,” said Carter, but his expression was inscrutable.
Lamont felt the need to make his case more strongly. “They’ve been leaving clues that they were coming back for me. Things about my time in the East that weren’t in the book, things only they would know. When they started talking about Liza, I knew for sure it was them. She’s how they like to get to me.” He paused, then added, “I came to Hellas to see if I could flush them out.”
“You’ll excuse me if I don’t find your certainty infectious,” Carter replied tensely.
“Easy, mate. It’s a simple matter to prove that their claims were false. All I need to do is make a phone call.”
“You’d better make it, then,” Carter ordered. He extended a hand to the dashboard of the car, which was aglow with a complex grid of buttons, switches and indicators. By far the most advanced console Lamont had ever seen in a ground car, it looked more like the cockpit of a flying vehicle. Carter flipped a toggle upward, and a red indicator lit up beside a rectangle of copper-colored mesh.
“Operator,” a calm female voice emitted from the small speaker. “Please state your destination.”
Carter nodded toward Lamont, who cleared his throat and leaned forward. “Long distance collect to Earth. Chestershire one-three-nine.”
“That call will take—” There was a momentary pause. “—Thirteen minutes, fifty-eight seconds. Would you like to proceed with a message?”
“Yes,” Lamont replied. “And then I’d like to make a second call.”
“Very well,” replied the operator, a hint of skepticism creeping into her formal tone. “Please state your message when ready.”
Lamont took a deep breath, glancing at Carter, who’s eyes were fixed pointedly on the tunnel through which they were now gliding. “Hello, love, it’s me.” He dictated, his throat dry. “I heard something today that got me a little worried about you. Please let me know that you’re alright. Transmit.”
“Your message is being transmitted,” answered the operator a moment later. “What is your second destination?”
“London, five-five-three.”
“Earth again?” Asked the operator, somewhat incredulously.
“Yes, the bloody planet Earth!” Lamont snapped. Carter glanced at him, raising a brow.
There was a brief silence from the speaker before the operator’s voice came through again. “I’m sorry, sir,” She said evenly, “But that address doesn’t register in our system. Can you please check it?”
“What?” Lamont exclaimed, flustered. “I want to reach Harry Rowan at the Atlantic Free Press, London.”
Another pause. “We have a connection for that,” The operator confirmed. “You may state your message when ready.”
Sighing with relief, Lamont said: “Lamont Townsend, high priority for Harry Rowan. Harry, there’s skullduggery afoot. I need you to message back with a status update. Also, please confirm the last time you spoke with Liza. Got that? The last time you saw or spoke to Elizabeth. Thanks, mate. Transmit.”
“Your message has been transmitted,” The operator confirmed. “Will there be anything else?”
“No, nothing else,” Lamont exhaled, sitting back.
“Very well,” the operator replied. “Please remain near your telephone to await responses.”
There was a long, uncomfortable silence. Finally, Carter asked: “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” Lamont said, glancing straightening his back, which had become increasingly hunched over the course of his task. He looked out through the transparent canopy of the car; they were gliding swiftly and frictionlessly through a long, featureless tunnel, unmarked except for green bands of light. They flickered overhead at regular intervals that suggested a frightening speed. “Say, where are we headed?” He asked.
“We’ve got some time to kill,” Carter replied evasively. “Why don’t you tell me about Phobos?”
Next: Mars Remembers
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