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"Harlan." Someone was calling his name. Insistently.
Harlan groaned and opened his eyes. His head thumped like the worst hangover but at least he was still alive. He sat up very slowly and tried to remember where he was. A faint glow illuminated the cave walls and then he saw Patrick and Rik, both sitting on the ground with a chain around their ankles, staring at him with hope in their eyes.
"Are you okay?" asked Patrick at the same moment Rik burst out with, "The lock didn't open! It must be hours after 16:00 by now."
"Just a sec, let me get my head together," said Harlan. "Is there any water?"
"Well there is," said Patrick, looking toward the bottles, "but I don't know how long we have to make it last."
"I'll just have a mouthful," promised Harlan, getting unsteadily to his feet. "Tell me what happened," he asked Patrick, who filled him in, while Harlan spent a fruitless couple of minutes seeing whether he could break the lock or the chains. He brushed an apologetic kiss over Patrick's lips. "I'm sorry, I can't get you free."
He looked across at the dirt-filled exit. "I'll just have to dig my way out and go for help."
~~~
Hetha and Lisa were back at the forest campsite, picking up the last few items that had been scattered around, glad of the small fee Patrick's tour company had offered for the job.
They watched the evening VidNews on their wristcoms with dismay. Rik and that lovely man Patrick were still missing. A day after the ransom had been paid. Nobody had ever heard of such a thing. Hundreds of people were searching the containers around Syden, spurred on by the promise of a million credits for whoever found the boy. Maddon had decided he could hardly offer less to Rik's rescuer than the kidnapper.
Lisa looked thoughtful. "You know, Hetha? When that shuttle took off, I remember being a bit surprised. The direction seemed wrong to me, a bit too far west from where I'd expected. I'm probably clutching at comet tails but it might be worth having a bit of a look around up there. The searchers might have missed something significant."
"You think so?" asked Hetha, doubtfully.
"I just have a feeling we'd regret it, if we didn't go and look," said Lisa. "It won't take long."
~~~
He had been digging for hours.
Hot and sweaty, Harlan would have given a year of his life for a decent excavator. The more rubble he scooped away with his hands, the more fell into the space. He suspected the landslide had been a last minute addition to the plan, one designed to keep him trapped. But it wasn't going to work. He'd keep digging for hours, days, if necessary. Kam had made a fatal mistake leaving him alive.
He took a mouthful of water—Patrick and Rik had insisted he take one of the bottles for himself—stood and stretched his back, then kept digging.
~~~
"This is where they turned off," said Lisa, heading confidently down the narrow track. Hetha sighed and followed.
"How much further?" asked Hetha, a while later, pausing to survey the boulder strewn area ahead. She wasn't as young as she used to be.
"We're still on the right trail," said Lisa pointing to an indentation in the ground. "Look."
She allowed Hetha a short rest then carried on, head down, as she studied the ground for tracks. The trail was no longer obvious. Luckily, there had been no heavy rain since the young men were taken, and she made slow but steady progress, until Hetha caught her arm and stopped. She was pointing at a flattened area off to the left. "Look over there, past that landslide! Doesn't that look like a flyer hovered there for a while?"
"You're right!" said Lisa. "Definitely a flyer, not a shuttle. What would a flyer be doing out here?"
"I don't know, but let's keep looking," said Hetha, feeling a new burst of energy.
The two women searched in ever-widening circles but found nothing. The wind caused by the flyer taking off had obliterated any evidence.
"I wouldn't go too near that landslide," warned Hetha. "That whole section doesn't look very stable."
Lisa turned to look at the six metre high gash of raw dirt. "No, you're right...What's that? On the ground?" she asked in a completely different tone.
Cautiously, she approached the base of the landslide and stopped. "It's a footprint. Or, to be more exact, it's half a footprint."
Hetha came to stand beside her, staring at the footprint half covered by the edge of the landslide. "I think we should call the police."
The two women exchanged sober glances. "And Chris Maddon."
~~~
An hour later, Chris Maddon stood and watched the excavator dig through the rubble. Two men with a machine followed behind, inserting a large metal tube into the space. Rocks and dirt rolled down the slope from time to time but the crew were safe inside the tunnel.
Maddon felt the insides of his cheeks were raw from being clenched between his teeth. He knew they had to move carefully, there were metres of rubble to clear. They were making progress but it was painfully slow!
Suddenly, there was a muffled shout.
"There's someone in there! Someone has been digging from the other side."
Maddon wanted to rush forward but his feet were frozen to the spot. What if they were too late? The silence was nightmarish.
Then Slocum, the man in charge of the rescue team and wearing a communication headset, turned to Maddon with a beaming smile. "They're alive! Dirty, thirsty and hungry, but they're alive. We just need a cutter to slice through the chain. And some water."
Lisa and Hetha stepped forward to catch him as Maddon collapsed, tears of relief running down his cheeks.
Rik crawled out of the tunnel first. Still handicapped by his torn muscle he hobbled anxiously across to his father, fending off the medics who wanted to examine him. "Dad? Are you all right?"
"He's fine," reassured Hetha, cheerfully, as Maddon enveloped Rik in a wordless bear hug. "Just a bit overwhelmed."
She left the two to their moment and went across to greet Patrick who was the next man out. She gave him a brisk hug and patted his back. "How are you?"
"Fine," said Patrick, smiling his relief to be out in the fresh air. Full of questions about their rescue, he was interrupted by Harlan coming out of the tube, covered in dirt, his hands raw and bleeding.
"But that's one of the kidnappers!" blurted Lisa in astonishment. "What was he doing in there?
The two Cascade police officers watching the proceedings, closed in on Harlan immediately. "Is that right, ser?" one of them asked Rik.
Rik hesitated for a moment, before throwing Patrick an apologetic look and answering, "Yes. Well at least he was. He was one of the men who chased Georg and me, and brought me back to the camp."
Rik heard a primal growl from his father, just before he lurched forward. Rik grabbed his arm quickly. "Wait, Dad! He changed sides, once he figured out that Kam and Lu were going to let us die. He's spent the last day or more digging, trying to get us out."
"Or save himself!" muttered Maddon, unconvinced.
Patrick had stayed quiet, letting Rik speak, but now he added firmly, "He saved my life. And he protected Rik from Lu. I think that should count for something."
Harlan cleared his throat. "Actually, I was on an assignment for the Patrol, and your own police department," he said, addressing the two officers who were holding each arm. "Your Chief can confirm that with the Patrol officer in question, Chang Wu."
~~~
Hours later, Harlan emerged from the Police station a free man. He was glad to be out but depressed that he had failed to complete his mission. He didn't think he was going to be reinstated to the Patrol anytime soon. Still, at least he, and more importantly Patrick and Rik, were alive. Now, to find a cheap hotel.
"Harlan?"
He spun around.
Patrick stepped out of the shadows. "I was just wondering whether you might like to come home with me." He smiled. "I have a spare room."