Page 94 of Escape Velocity

“I’m Max,” he answered.

“Rafe,” his friend said, then flushed and glanced at the head man. “I gave you a false name when we first arrived because Tudor knows my real name—but not Max’s.”

The head man nodded.

Max returned to the introductions. “And my wife is Amber. What have you got for us?”

“I have worked inside Tudor’s house many times,” he said, “It is not like our dwellings.”

“Yes. It’s much larger,” Max said. “And more solid.”

Henri nodded. “I have walked through the rooms, and I have drawn the interior from memory.”

He unrolled the paper, and they all peered at the drawing.

“I don’t understand,” Amber said. “This looks like a set of boxes. Where is the house?”

Max could understand her confusion. Probably she’d expected to see a facade with a front door.

“It’s a floor plan. It shows the rooms of the house as though there’s no roof and you are looking down on them from above.” He pointed. “See, this is the front door. You walk into a reception area—and from there into other rooms.”

He mentally traveled through the grand edifice, then stopped, looking inquiringly at the man as he indicated one side of the structure where there was only a large blank space. “What happened here?”

“I have never been allowed in that area. There is a stout door with a lock.”

“So, we don’t know what’s in it?”

The man spread his hands. “It could be a storehouse for goods he steals from the bayou. Or it could be where he takes the women to . . .” He stopped and made a waffling motion with his hand. “There is always a guard.”

Max nodded. Beside him, Amber pressed her arms against her sides.

Rafe jumped into the conversation. “And this is another door to the outside?”

“Yes.”

“There are only two?”

“Two that I know about. There could be a hidden entrance—or an escape route. That would make sense for a man like him.”

“Right.” He thought for a moment. “Do you know who built the house?”

“Men from the city.”

“So we won’t be able to get any information from them.”

“How many guards does he have and where do they live?” Max asked.

“When I am there, I see perhaps four or five. Others may be sleeping—here,” He pointed to a building that was separate from the main structure.

“Right. He wouldn’t want the nasty guards sleeping in his palace,” Rafe muttered.

“So, anyone in there could be eliminated in a stealth attack,” Max added, then asked, “How are they armed?”

“All of them have the powerful beamer weapons, but some also have those long guns.”

“Cannons?” Rafe asked.

“I think that’s what they are called.”

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