The runner moved slowly once it was in the launch bay, and then settled into place.
The floor vibrated a little under his cheek as the ramp lowered and then there were the sounds of boots striding up into the small runner.
“How many of you made it out?”
“Ten, including Linao and Park.”
Ethan recognized the person who spoke as the one who he’d heard issuing orders on the runner during the flight away from the Caruso.
“That’s nearly all of you.” The person asking the question sounded surprised. “And the boss will be pleased you were able to rescue Linao.”
Other people began talking, and then there was the sound of a mass exodus. Ethan guessed they’d carried Linao and the other guard out.
Velda squeezed his shoulder after things had been quiet for ten minutes, and he gave a nod.
She moved first, cautiously lifting up the flap nearest her and then sliding out.
She crouched beside the flap in front of his face and opened it, and he handed her the laz.
She shuffled out of the way until he had managed to fight his way out of the tight space, and then she stood, a scalpel in one hand, the laz in the other, facing the now-closed ramp, until he’d gained his feet.
He had barely straightened when she spun, facing the pilot’s area. It was separated from the rest of the runner by a floor to ceiling screen with a narrow doorway, giving the pilots access to the back.
A door opened, and Velda pressed herself up against one side of the doorway, he the other.
She tossed the laz to him, and lifted her two scalpels, one in each hand.
Someone climbed onboard and stepped through from the pilot’s area into the back.
For a moment, he didn’t see either of them, his focus on the flaps under the seats, and Ethan shot him on a low laz setting.
He collapsed.
They looked at each other.
“He didn’t see us, so when he comes round there’ll be nothing he can say that would give us away.” Velda studied him.
“True. But why was he here in the first place?” Ethan asked. “Maybe their scanners showed something in the storage area, which would be us, and he came to see what it was they’d transported in.”
Velda gave a slow nod. “He was focused on the flaps. I think you’re right.”
That meant they’d lost the benefit of surprise.
“We need to find a place to hide as soon as possible, then.” Ethan didn’t want to be trapped in the runner. “Then we can plan how we’re going to take this ship.”
Velda eased through the doorway, crouching between the pilot and co-pilot’s seats, and looked out. “Seems clear.”
The door had been left open, and she disappeared down the ladder, and Ethan followed, laz up to cover her if there was someone watching.
They headed for the bay doors, but halfway there it began to open, and they were forced to dive for the closest hiding place, a stack of boxes and crates Ethan guessed were full of supplies.
He crouched beside Velda and looked around the stacks, saw a guard frowning as he headed for the runner. Before the guard got there, he began to call out a name. The moment he swung himself up into the runner, they ran again, reaching the doors and going through them so fast, Ethan was aware they were both able to move at unnatural speeds.
That was fine, as long as it helped to keep them safe.
No one was in the passage beyond, but that wasn’t going to last long. Voices were approaching from the left so they both ran right, and when Ethan heard footsteps just up ahead, he touched the panel beside one of the closed doors in the corridor they were in and grabbed Velda, pulling her inside with him.
He had his laz up as the door closed behind them, but no one was in the room. It was a bedroom, with a narrow bed onone side, two chairs and a table in the middle, and a wall of cupboards and a tiny bathroom on the other.
