Page 96 of Stealing Mercury
She waited at the top, listening for any sign of the guards. She wondered again what she thought she was doing. She had no business going after Hera. What if she made things worse? She should’ve waited for help. No. According to Rachel, Owens had plans underway to move Hera tonight.
She heard Mercury’s voice in her head. How many times had he called her courageous? She had to do this for him. For all of them. She gave the last set of doors between her and the juvenile center a gentle shove and cringed at the racket it made as it slid open.
She squeezed through the gap and pushed the door back into place. A quick look around showed no sign of patrols. Rachel had promised the surveillance cameras weren’t operational. If she’d been wrong, she’d know soon enough. Samantha sprinted down the corridor to the first turn and stopped, back pressed against the wall, waiting for some alarm to sound or for a group of armed men to come charging out, but she heard nothing.
The rooms on the ground level all appeared to be schoolrooms. Instead of miniature chairs and tables, stacks of gear and wrestling mats sat in a corner waiting for children to need them again. If she had her way, not another child would be allowed to grow up in those dreary rooms.
Once she felt confident there was no guard at this end of the building, Samantha headed for the stairwell that led to the second level. The moment she got to the top she heard the guard patrolling the corridor. Samantha waited for him to round the corner and get a good distance away then headed for the nearest window. She took in the narrow ledge and decided it was better than a wide hall where she’d have to face at least one guard.
She made her way along the ledge and to the bedroom window of the building’s only resident. She found Hera sitting on her bed—no evidence of the child in the shape of her body.
Hera wore familiar black pants and a matching tunic. Her long, ebony hair had been pulled back from her face in a tight braid. The severity of the style emphasized her high cheekbones and wide, black eyes. Her nostrils flared as Samantha dropped into the room. Holding a finger to her lips in the universal sign for quiet, she approached the woman and sat on the bed.
“I’m a friend of Carn’s. I’m here to help you.”
“You shouldn’t be here,” Hera whispered, panic flaring in her eyes. “Carn can’t come here. Don’t let him come here.”
“He doesn’t know where we are. We’re going to have to go to him, okay?”
“I can’t leave. There are guards and a fence and no way off the planet. Please go before they find you here.”
Samantha had known Hera had been created and trained to be submissive, but she hadn’t expected her to be timid to the point of refusing to participate in her own rescue. She put her arm around Hera’s shoulders.
“I know you’re afraid, but you have to be brave. We need to get your baby out of here. Okay?”
“Baby?” Hera’s eyes widened as she edged away from Samantha’s touch. She stopped at the end of the bed but continued shifting like a tethered camule unable to get out of the path of an approaching sandstorm. “There are no babies here.”
Samantha allowed her eyelids to slip down over her tired eyes. Why would Rachel have lied? Or had Roma used her to bait a trap?
Samantha pushed to her feet. If it was the latter, she was in real trouble. “We have to get out of here now. Is there more than one guard on this floor?”
“I don’t know. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Samantha considered the window ledge, but this time she chose speed over stealth. “I’m going to go stand over in the corner. When I give the signal, you call out. I’ll stun them when they come in.” And she’d have to hope catching them by surprise was a big enough advantage. “As soon as the guard is down, you have to be ready.”
“The fence?”
“I have a different way out. You follow me.”
“Okay.” Hera visibly straightened. “I’m ready.”
Samantha stepped softly across the room and froze as a symbol carved into the wall caught her eye. She traced her fingers over the rough etching. It was one the symbols from the terraformers back on G-45987. Mercury had been right. The terraformers and the surrogates must have been one and the same. She stored that bit of knowledge for later.
Turning back to Hera, she gave the signal. Hera shouted out for help. The door banged open and a uniformed guard strode through.
Samantha waited. If there was more than one, she wanted them both to come through, but no one followed and the first guard was already starting to turn. Samantha fired. He fell to the ground like a stone and she wanted to jump for joy, but there would be time for celebration later.
Samantha took a deep breath then peered into the hall. No one. Could she be that lucky?
She started to wave Hera forward, but instinct told her to be methodical, take every weapon available. She dashed over to the fallen guard and dropped to her knees. She took his weapon first then rifled through his pockets and came up with some keys and a remote unit that looked right for the fence. It was always good to have more options. She shoved the remote and keys into her jacket pocket and pressed the weapon into Hera’s hands.
“I couldn’t.”
“It’s point and shoot. Easy.”
Hera shook her head frantically. “Please, I can’t.”
“Okay.” Samantha shoved one of the weapons into her belt and kept the other and the stunner in her hands as she led Hera into the hall. They made it to the stairwell and down. Her pulse was pounding so loud in her ears she knew she wouldn’t be able to hear a guard patrolling if there was one. She’d have to hope Hera would have the sense to warn her, if she heard something.
