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mplied with the order to dress. The trail

bags with their hidden radio packs had then been rammed against their

chests and they were given a few more seconds to pack the rest of their

belongings before being hustled down a bewildering maze of passageways

into a foul-smelling japanese underworld.

There was no point in protesting. Steve knew when these guys were

hyped up anything could happen and it was likely to be very

unpleasant.

That didn't stop Fran trying, but before she'd uttered three words, she

had been silenced by a rain of blows to her head and back delivered by

the Soldiers behind her. Steve got it in the neck too, just for being

there. The nightmare journey had ended in a dank corridor with a

cell-door being slammed shut behind them as they were sent sprawling on

their faces in a bed of straw that reeked of urine and human

excrement.

Having been raised in the Federation, neither of them felt

claustrophobic, but the sudden transition from relative luxury to a

dark, stinking cell had left them feeling totally disoriented. No one

had offered a word of explanation, but it was obvious something had

gone badly wrong. A major upset in which they were deemed to be

implicated. This was definitely not a fun place. The clammy stone

walls smelt as if they were coated with blood, sweat and fear.

Steve was alarmed at the sudden downturn in their fortunes, but he

wasn't frightened. For in the same instant as he collided with the

floor, the wall he had built around his mind blew apart, allowing Roz

to enter.

The telepathic bond between them was like a videophone line down which

he could send words and pictures.

But for Steve that was where it ended. Roz had the uncanny ability to

search him out with her mind and locate his position with the aid of a

map. And because Steve had been the only one, so far, to have suffered

serious injury, the mysterious process by which her body produced

replicate wounds appeared to be another unique attribute.

The link was clean and strong, just as it had been when he'd sent out

the desperate May-Day appeal from the locked cabin of the wheel-boat,

but the unexpected contact left his mind reeling.

Roz wasn't in Wyoming. She was here, in the Summer Palace- with

Cadillac!

They were involved in an operation against the TohYota.

That was the reason for the present uproar, and why he and Fran had

been arrested.

Terrific. Just what he needed!

What the hell did Cadillac think he was up to? Steve didn't give a

damn about the deal the Federation had been trying to set up, but he

did care about the fallout.

Even if Roz was able to make good her unspoken promise to spring him

from this rat-hole it would still leave everything totally messed up.

The overthrow of the present ruling family might be a good enough

reason for returning empty-handed, but if the P-G found out the deal

had been blown by Roz and Cadillac, 8902

Brickman S.R. could kiss goodbye to the high life and look forward to

getting his balls roasted.

His involvement with both of them was too deep for him to disclaim all

responsibility. Even though he and Roz hadn't been inside each other's

.heads since she'd left the Red River wagon-train, he couldn't prove

it. Karlstrom and the P-G were bound to believe he was in this up to

his neck. Prior knowledge and active involvement. A tough rap to

beat.

If the flak came his way, Fran would step aside. You could bet your

last credit on that. It made better sense to try and get Fran out on

his own. At least that would earn him an E for Effort. Yeah... plus

an A for an Amazing escape from a locked underground cell.

The only way it could be done was with outside help. Between them, Roz

and Cadillac had the skill and the power. If they concealed their true

identities from Fran, Brickman S.R. could avoid being fatally

compromised. All well and good, but AMEXICO had men inside Ne-Issan

with their ear to the ground - guys like Sidewinder. If the Toh-Yota

fell and the shit hit the fan, the truth was bound to come out.

Steve found himself smiling as these thoughts ran through his head. It

was one crazy kind of world where being rescued was the worst thing

that could happen to you.