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He flashes a sad smile. The price of immortality might be higher than we know.
I hear a noise behind us. To my sensitive ears, everyone has their own unique gait, their own special way of breathing. I know it s Shanti running up the
dirt path that leads from the back of our house. Seymour and I stand as she bursts into view. The flesh on her reconstructed face is rich with blood. Her
eyes shine with fear, and her voice cracks.
Matt says they re coming!
Who? Seymour demands.
The Telar.
How many? I ask.
Too many! Shanti cries.
TWENTY-FIVE
Matt insists Seymour take Shanti and Teri and hide in the mine, in a place Matt prepared. Seymour has spent the last few days learning to fire an M16 rifle
and feels babysitting his word is too cowardly a role for him to play.
You won t feel that way if you take a bullet in the gut, Matt says, helping Teri into a bulletproof vest. I do likewise with Shanti. Besides, it won t be long
before Sita and I are forced to follow you guys.
Seymour will probably shoot you guys on your way in, Teri says. She sounds more alive than in a long time. She s scared, but I think the idea of battle
has stirred her naturally competitive spirit.
Seymour is unhappy. Let me at least guard that sniper hole you dug into the ridge. The one that looks down on the road.
That s Sita s spot, Matt says. He snaps grenades onto his belt. These are not ordinary shrapnel balls. They have Telar explosives inside that make
them especially deadly. Because they re perfect spheres and are able detonate every milligram of their explosive at the same instant, they can send out a
shock wave equal to a case of dynamite. Most humans would not be able to throw one far enough away to avoid getting killed.
We have a mix of Telar and conventional weapons. Unfortunately, we have only four laser rifles. Matt insists that we hold on to them. That s just common
sense. He knows he and I are going to do the real damage. That s why Seymour, Teri, and Shanti are all heading to the mine with M16s.
But I m not knocking human weapons. I m looking forward to turning the Gatling gun that Claudious used on me on his associates. I spent a small
fortune having it shipped from Truman to Goldsmith.
I was just teasing you, Teri tells Seymour. I d feel a lot better with you guarding us,
Me too, Shanti says.
Seymour isn t suckered in by a few kind words from pretty girls, but he knows when to accept his fate. He speaks to Matt. What s the source of your
info on this attack? Hiking back to the house, I didn t see a soul.
A dozen vans and trucks just rolled into Goldsmith, Matt explains. I ve got people there men I ve bought who called and confirmed the visitors are
asking about us. The caravan will be here in ten minutes.
I m surprised they didn t swoop in with helicopters and bomb us back to the Stone Age, Seymour says.
They want to take us alive, Matt says. But believe me when I say you don t want to be taken prisoner.
Seymour tells the girls that he agrees with Matt. Of course, he knows about the Pulse. Teri and Shanti don t. They have no idea how preferable death is
to sitting with that device.
If heavy shooting starts, won t the police be alerted? Seymour asks.
The Telar have already taken care of the police, Matt says.
How? Teri asks.
Bribes. Big ones, Matt says.
We should have opted for a heavily populated area, Seymour says.
Matt shakes his head. That wouldn t have stopped the Telar. More people would just have died.
At least tell us we stand a chance, Seymour complains.
Matt pats him on the back. Actually, I think we re going to kick butt. A small team dug in deep with plenty of ammo can hold off a platoon. I ve spent
years arming this house. I ve mined the entire area. But if we have to escape, I ve got a helicopter hidden on the far side of the mine. So we have options.
Seymour seems satisfied with Matt s answers and prepares to leave. But at the last second Shanti corners me. I need to stay with you, she says.
The Telar are attacking, not the IIC, I say.
The IIC knew when you were with Numbria.
That might have been a coincidence. Besides, you heard Matt, we re going to make a brief stand, then fall back. I ll see you soon enough.
Shanti hugs me. Whatever happens, I m grateful for everything you ve done for me.
Jesus, Shanti. I ve put you in terrible danger.
You ve kept me alive. You ve fixed me.
I squeeze her tight. Don t let them get their hands on you.
She hears the edge in my voice. I understand.
Seymour hurries off with Teri and Shanti. Matt and I continue to load our weapons while he explains the pattern to the mines he s laid out.
Delay detonating any mines as long as possible, he says. I don t want them to know that s part of our defense. I have a feeling they re going to come
in waves. Haru doesn t mind sacrificing his people. He won t stop until we crack.
So we ll end up using the helicopter.
Maybe not. Haru can t let the fight last forever. No matter how much privacy his bribes have bought, all the shooting is going to attract attention. At
some point the police and National Guard will show up.
How do you think the Telar found us?
I told you they would, Matt says.
But so fast. I thought we d have more time.
They re here. There s nothing we can do about it.
I hate leaving you in this house, I say. One well-aimed mortar and you ll be history.
They won t start with the big guns. They make too much noise. I ll know when to withdraw. How s your headpiece working?
We have miniature walkie-talkies implanted in our ears so we can stay in contact over the noise of battle, which can get so loud it can block even our
subtle hearing. We do a quick check they are working perfectly. It s a pity the rock surrounding the mine blocks the signal, or we could stay in touch with
the others.
Yet I have faith in Seymour. He s never been in battle before, but he s not scared. He s not afraid to die, and I wish I could say the same about myself. I
feel confident I m actually looking forward to the fight but a part of me senses that Haru has a surprise in store for us.
Matt must feel the same. His next remark worries me.
I stowed gas masks in the mine and at the sniper hole, he says. Put one on and keep it on.
I can see them gassing the mine. But how are they going to gas the entire side of a mountain?
You re talking about a man who started the plague.
Point taken.
Matt is all business. He hurries me out of the house. He wants me on the ridge because he needs my eyes as well as my cover fire. Now that the fight
has come, I m glad to let him take command. What I told him when he rescued me was insightful he is his father s son. Haru will have his tricks, sure, but
I suspect Matt has aces up his sleeve that none of us know about.
The twilight has deepened by the time I reach the ridge. Venus shines bright in the west, and Vega is visible overhead. A mile in the distance, from the
direction of Goldsmith, I see twenty vehicles heading our way. Like Seymour, I m surprised they re not using a surprise attack, but it could be a sign of
Haru s arrogance. I can tell from the powerful heartbeats of everyone in the vehicles that we re facing strictly Telar soldiers.
Three of the trucks are massive.
I wonder what goodies they have stored inside.
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