第6节

as he came to

attention.

'At ease, gentlemen,' said Anderssen. 'You too, Brickman."

Brickman blinked rapidly in the bright light and gulped air. Anderssen

studied the young man. Like Harmer, she found the long hair with its

seven ribboned plaits rather hard to take. In the Fderation the

haircuts fitted in with the general Marine boot-camp atmosphere;

crew-cuts or short bobs were the only styles allowed.

Only Mutes had long, weird hair-dos; Mutes and cee-bees. But that was

something the base barber could fix inside fifteen minutes. Anderssen

mentally deleted the hair and noted with approval his tanned,

well-boned face with its strong lean jaw, his clear blue eyes, square

shoulders and slim-hipped body. This was the kind of man she liked to

bunk down with in the few off-duty hours she allowed herself. This one

was strictly off-limits. Never mind. There were quite a few of them

at Pueblo; rock-hard jack-dandies that knew how to thump the tub. Not

all as good looking as this boy, but close enough to pass muster in the

half-light.

Anderssen fingered the piece of wood on which Brickman had carved his

name, looked up at him and nodded at the video monitor. 'We've been on

the Wire to The Lady. They confirm that an 8902 Brickman, S.R.

was posted aboard at Nixon/Fort Worth on the date you claim. The same

wingman was also listed PD/ET on June 12th following an engagement with

a strong force of Plainfolk Mutes northeast of Cheyenne. Naylor and

Fazzetti, wingmen from the same section were also listed PD/ET the same

day."

'PD/ET' was Tracker shorthand for 'Power down/ Enemy territory'; a

crash -with predictably fatal results - during combat operations over

Mute country.

Anderssen entered a three-digit number on the keyboard. Deke Haywood's

face appeared on the tv monitor. 'Deke - have you managed to raise

Grand Central yet?"

'No, sir-ma'am. We're still having a problem with that. I've had to

route the signal via Roosevelt/Santa Fe."

'Okay. Let me know the moment you receive that voice- and palm-print

data." Anderssen cleared the screen and looked up at Brickman. 'In

the meantime, we'll assume you are who you say you are." She looked

past him at Lieutenant Harmer. 'Did anything else turn up during the

body search?"

'No sir-ma'am. All there is is what's on the table."

Anderssen's eyes met Brickman's, noted the shrewd, intelligent gaze

that met her own; direct, unflinching.

'No ID-card?"

'No sir-ma'am." He spread his palms in an apologetic gesture, arms

moving as far as the chains would allow. 'I lost everything except the

clothes I'm standing up in."

Anderssen cast an eye back to the tv monitor where the details supplied

by the wagon-train were displayed. 'You went down on June 12th..."

she mused. 'It's now November 14th. Where have you been and what have

you been doing for the last five months?"

It was the question Brickman had been dreading as he

had sheltered in the high places on his journey south, waiting for a

threatening storm to pass, or for a favourable wind. Perched

precariously on mountain ledges, he had thought long and hard about

this moment, working out exactly what he would say, how much he would

reveal.

He had done so because he knew his reply was bound to lead to a great

many other questions; questions which, depending on his answers, could

transform his interrogation into a matter of life or death. He could

not tell the whole truth because many of those in positions of power

would find his story not only incredible but also totally

unacceptable.

What had happened to him, the things he had witnessed, what he now knew

to be the truth ran contrary to everything he had been taught as a

child of the Federation; what he had discovered challenged even the

received wisdom of the First Family.

Anderssen frowned. 'Did you hear what I asked you?"

'llh, yes, sir-ma'am." Brickman took a deep breath and jumped in the

deep end. 'I was taken prisoner by the Mutes. Plainfolk. The clan

M'CalI."

Colonel Anderssen exchanged a glance with her two battalion officers

then addressed Lieutenant Harmer and Line-Sergeant Nolan. They looked

as surprised as she did. 'Matt, Jake -' Harmer and Nolan leapt to

attention.