第114节

yards east of where they should be.

As he grasped one of the carrying handles of his boat, Jodi and Kelso

stepped in and gave him a hand, leaving Steve, Cadillac and Clearwater

to shift the other. Steve briefed them on what was going to happen as

they proceeded down the beach behind the others. They each took a

face-mask from the bag, stowed it inside their tunics and did their

best to look as downcast as they'd been before.

Side-Winder found what he was looking for: a large watertight

compartment whose lid was concealed beneath a cunningly arranged mat of

pebbles and small rocks which matched this particular area of the

beach.

This was no temporary set-up: it was a transit point for people going

in and out of Ne-Issan.

After removing the power units and fuel tanks, they let the air out of

the inflatables and stowed everything inside the cache. Side-Winder

pulled out a hand-set, a fire-can, a mess-pot, an ice-pack to melt down

for hot drinks, a six-pack of moulded foam cups containing sachets of

Java and Sweet 'n' White and a flask - which he passed directly to

Cadillac. They replaced the lid, kicked a few loose pebbles back round

the edges, then carried their baggage and breakfast up over the

dunes.

A little way in from the beach they found an area of gently undulating

grassland. At some time in the recent past, a visitor had obligingly

mowed a wide strip down the middle of it. Side-Winder set up the

fire-can, pulled the ignition strip, then put the ice cubes in the

mess-pot. A few minutes later, he and the three other Trackers were

warming their hands on hot cups of Java.

Side-Winder, who had now dropped all pretence of being a Mute, inhaled

the aroma contentedly. 'Ahh, yes.

This is the real stuff, all right. Reminds you of all the things

you've been missing!" 'Sure does,' said Kelso, busily thinking of all

the goodies he would plunder from the beach store before leaving.

Side-Winder turned to Cadillac and Clearwater. Both Mutes were

crouched over the fire-can. Clearwater was warming her hands, Cadillac

was fondling the open flask of sake. 'Good stuff, eh? Just like I

said - right?"

Cadillac nodded and took another swallow.

'Get your friend to try some,' urged Side-Winder. 'Go on!" he said to

Clearwater. 'It'll warm you up faster than that fire-can will!'

Clearwater took a trial sip and clutched her throat as she was seized

by a fit of coughing.

'It's okay, it's okay!" said Side-Winder. 'Always happens.

Keep going. The second one will make you feel a whole lot better." He

watched her tip the flask up again and take another swallow. Then

another. 'That's it.

Y'see? Practice makes perfect."

Clearwater lowered the flask and put a hand over her face as she

started to giggle. She swayed against Cadillac and almost lost her

balance. 'Oops!" Side-Winder reached over and grabbed the flask

'Careful! Don't want to spill any of this." He offered up the flask

to the others. Nobody responded. 'No talkers?"

He raised the flask to Cadillac. 'All the more for you and me I' He

knocked some back and held the flask out to the two Mutes. 'Okay, who

wants it?"

Clearwater made an ineffectual grab, but Cadillac got in first. He put

the flask to his lips, tipped his head back and started to pour it down

his throat.

'Hey, Hey! Easy, easy!" cried the mex. 'Leave some for blue eyes and

me!" Cadillac sagged forward drunkenly and let Clearwater take the

flask from his hands. She drank a little more and giggled again. 'It

makes the ground move!" 'No,' said Side-Winder. 'It's not the sake.

We were a long time on the water. It's the motion of the boat that

makes it seem as if the ground's moving. You have some more of that

and you won't feel a thing."

Three minutes later, both Mutes were out cold.

Side-Winder emptied the last few drops of sake down his throat, then

looked up at Steve. 'See? Told you it wouldn't be a problem." He

capped the empty flask.

'These monkeys can't take this stuff." The mexican rose and switched

on his hand-set. 'This is Farm-Boy. Come in Sky-Bucket. Tell me how

you read. Over."

There was a slight crackle of static, then: 'Five by five, Farm-Boy.

Sky-Bucket One and Two standing by.