Page 34 of House Divided
Chapter Six
TheMaracaibo’scutter touched down briefly, just long enough to let two figures run in a crouch from the landing deck onto the ground, and dusted off once more. Its landing lights off and engine sounds muffled by special stealth baffles, it disappeared quickly into the night sky.
Both Madeline and Enoch were wearing light packs strapped to their backs, and each was carrying a carbine energy weapon. Once the night was quiet once again, they huddled together, communicating in whispers.
“Where’s the rendezvous point?” asked Enoch softly. “I think we’re on the wrong side of the river.”
“No, the river just has a big oxbow bend. We’re on the right side,” Madeline whispered back. “East for five hundred meters, and we should see a warehouse with stacks of cargo containers around it. Then we wait for Aurelian’s signal.”
“Understood. Let’s go.” Enoch led the way, keeping his large frame surprisingly low to the ground and moving with the vigor and ease of a much younger man.
Madeline struggled to keep up his pace while staying low and once again marveled at Enoch’s conditioning.I can certainly attest to his stamina. He did mention that he’d been modified at one point. I wonder what all they did to him?
Enoch dropped to a low crouch and held up his hand. Madeline moved up beside him and matched his stance.
“Okay,” whispered Madeline and pressed her throat-mic to send two bursts of static.
Off in the distance next to the bulky shadows of cargo containers, a dim red light flicked on and off twice.
Madeline sent one more static burst.
The light flicked once.
“Okay,” whispered Madeline. Enoch nodded. “Here we go,” he said, and they moved forward in their crouching jog, up to the cargo containers. As they approached, they could see that the nearest container had an open door.
A figure all in black waved at them as the pair came near. “Inside the container,” a voice hissed in the darkness. Madeline and Enoch moved into the container as quietly as they could and stopped. The figure behind them shut the container door and bolted it.
As soon as the door was sealed, someone switched on a lamp, illuminating the interior of the container and showing the pair that they were not alone.
“Miss Marx,” said Aurelian, throwing back his hood. “Merci a le dieu. Come with us.” He pulled back a hatch in the floor of the cargo container, revealing a ladder.
“Aurelian, it’s so good to see you,” said Madeline warmly, hugging him. She looked up. “Is Kait with you?”
There was a laugh from behind them as the person who had waved them into the container pulled back her hood, revealing the face of Kait Pyne. “Happily, Miss Marx, I’ve made it a habit to never be far from my man.” She smiled.
“Soon, we will all catch up, but first comes travel to a secure place,s’il vous plait,” pressed Aurelian, low and urgent. “Down the ladder and along the passage, please.”
“I remember what life was like before underground passages,” grumbled Madeline half-jokingly as she descended the ladder.
“Believe me, you’ve no idea,” observed Enoch drily as he followed behind.
A brisk jog down the passageway brought them to a set of stairs, which led up into a warehouse. In the warehouse, they were joined by two others, dressed in the uniforms of maintenance workers, who opened the back doors of a transport carrier and waved them in. Aurelian and Kait joined them in the back as the two men dressed as workers shut the doors. They felt the vehicle power up and begin to move.
“Aurelian, you seem to have adapted rather quickly to covert operations,” said Madeline, smiling.
“Necessity is the mother of invention,” replied Aurelian with a rueful smile of his own. His face fell. “It was Marc who first told me that. You’ve had no word from him?”
“Nothing, I’m afraid,” answered Madeline, shaking her head. “I worry, but my hope is also strong. He is the most enduring person I have ever known.” She glanced at Enoch. “Well, one of them anyway.”
Aurelian followed her glance. “We meet once again, Master Enoch,” he said, his tone formal. “Speaking of my friend, Marc Duchesne always believed that there was more to you than the news reports would have had us believe.”
“I confirm Marc’s belief, in every respect,” said Madeline, hooking her arm around Enoch’s. Aurelian raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
“Ari, you idiot, they’re in love,” observed an exasperated Kait. “For heaven’s sake, catch up.”
Aurelian’s face was such a picture of surprise that Madeline was forced to laugh. “You aren’t the only one to find love in strange places, Monsieur Reynard,” she offered.
Aurelian nodded to her, in the same way that a person might when raising a glass in a toast. “Point taken, Miss Marx,” he acknowledged.
