It was the work of a minute to unlock Kareena's leg-iron. He spent another minute tearing Kareena's blankets into strips and tying Rehna hand and foot. Then he lifted Kareena over one shoulder, her legs down his back and her hair falling over her face. With most of her bruises hidden, she looked rather like a Seeker who'd drunk too much while Blade was entertaining her. In spite of being half-starved, she was also heavy enough to make Blade glad he'd already hidden most of his equipment in the Hovercraft.
Kareena's disguise got her and Blade past the first four sets of guards and safely out of Feragga's tower. They were halfway to the vehicle building when two more guards loomed out of the darkness. Blade recognized them as two of Nungor's picked men, and probably briefed by their suspicious chief. He decided that against these two a surprise offense was the best defense.
«Good evening, men,» he said cheerfully, striding up to them. «I'm trying to get this lady home without anyone being the wiser. If you fellows will help me and keep quiet about it, you'll be a good deal richer.»
One of the men laughed coarsely. «Poking her out of her proper turn, eh? All right. It's no harm done to us, whatever Feragga may say.» He looked at her robe. «A Seeker, eh? If she lives in the Seekers' tower we've a good walk ahead of us. Let me take a turn carrying her.»
«Thank you.» Blade handed Kareena to the first guard, while the second turned his back to keep watch. The moment the first guard's hands were filled with Kareena, Blade drew his sword and slashed the second guard across the back of the neck. He'd kept the edge razor-sharp and the steel went through flesh and spine as if it were straw. The guard was dead before he could even start to fall.
The guard holding Kareena was frozen with surprise for a decisive second. Blade wheeled on one foot and kicked the man in the groin with the other. He dropped Kareena to the rocky ground and doubled up, his face a death-mask and both hands clutching his ruined manhood. He made no effort to defend himself as Blade chopped him across the throat with the edge of one hand. He only fell down and lay on his side, gasping and choking until his breath rattled to a stop and the life went out of him.
Blade quickly checked Kareena for injuries. She was unhurt, except for a few new cuts, and still unconscious, but her Seeker's robe was too badly ripped to be much of a disguise any more. However, there were replacements ready to hand. Blade dragged both guards into the shelter of a ruined building and started stripping them.
When he lifted Kareena again, she was wearing the first guard's clothing. He himself was carrying a laser rifle and two grenades as well as a second sword. He still wasn't in a position to fight his way through serious opposition, entirely apart from the danger of waking the whole city. He was no longer largely at the mercy of Kareena's disguise and his own ability to lie.
Blade ducked and dodged through the streets of Doimar to the vehicle building. When it finally came in sight, he stopped and felt like cursing. At the entrance to one of the ramps from the vehicle rooms, four guards sat around a small fire. Four guards, where normally there was only one sentry walking back and forth.
Maybe it was Nungor's suspicions, maybe it was just a precaution now that war was so close. Either way it was bad news for Blade. He wasn't going to be able to bluff his way through four guards. If anything went wrong it would be almost impossible to deal with all of them before either he or Kareena got badly hurt.
Fortunately there was a simpler method of dealing with the guards. Blade put Kareena down, unslung the rifle, put a fresh power cell into it, then lay down in the shadow of a building. The moment all four guards were properly grouped, he opened fire. His first shot took the leader in the face and he fell sideways into the fire with his mouth still open. The fire's going out made the other guards harder to see, but not that much harder to hit. Laser weapons light up their own targets. Blade killed all three before any of them could give the alarm, although he had to use three shots to do away with the last man. Then he snatched up Kareena, sprinted across the open ground, and plunged down the ramp.
Halfway down the ramp Blade felt Kareena starting to wriggle. Without breaking stride he whispered savagely, «Keep still, you crazy bitch! We're halfway done already! If you bugger things up now-!» She understood the tone if not the words and went limp again. She stayed that way until Blade reached his chosen Hovercraft. As he laid her down in one of the two couches in front of the control panel, she opened her eyes.
For the moment Blade had no time for her. He darted through the interior of the Hovercraft, inspecting his cached supplies. The bottled water and emergency rations were still there, although in a pinch he'd have been prepared to leave without them and take his chances on living off the land. The crate of hand grenades and the extra power cells were another matter. Without the first they might not be able to fight their way clear of Doimar, and without the second they certainly couldn't hope to reach Kaldakan territory.
Everything was in place. Blade brought the grenades forward and put the open crate on the floor between the two control couches. As he straightened up, he felt Kareena's eyes on him. For the first time in months, he was able to meet them.
After a moment she licked her lips. «Blade-are those men back there-dead?»
He snorted. «If they aren't, it's not my fault.»
«You-killed them?»
«You don't tickle people with a laser rifle!»
She shook her head as if stinging insects were swarming around her face and blinked. «Then-we are escaping?»
«Of course.» Blade resisted the temptation to add, «And we'd have been on our way long before this if you hadn't made me put you to sleep!» He had a fairly good idea of what she'd been through, and more harsh words were the last thing she needed now. Instead he held out a grenade to her. «You know how to use these?»
«Yes. Pull the ring on top, then throw it.»
«Yes. Or hold it against yourself, if you're about to be captured. That way you'll die quickly and maybe take a few Doimari with you as well.» He pulled out one of the maps of Kaldak and handed it to Kareena. «Take this, too, in case we get separated. It's a map showing all the rooms full of Oltec under Kaldak.»
Kareena stared. «Thank you, Blade-I think. I'm beginning to believe this isn't a dream.» She squeezed her eyes shut, obviously fighting back tears. He patted her hand, saw her flinch, and decided not to touch her again. It might be years before a man's touch didn't repel her, and if so this would be partly his fault.
However, feeling guilty never won any battles and might lose this one. Their escape was no longer a dream, but it might easily turn into a nightmare if he didn't get the Hovercraft moving soon.
Blade took several deep breaths, then sent his hands dancing over the controls without bothering to turn on the cabin lights. He'd memorized all the essential controls until he could use them in the dark. The motor started, then the fans whined into life. The Hovercraft started to shudder, then Blade fed more power to the fans at the same time as he cut in the propeller. In a single smooth movement the Hovercraft rose from the concrete and slid forward into the aisle.
Blade immediately learned that he wasn't as calm as he'd thought. He nearly ran the Hovercraft into an armored personnel carrier across the aisle before he could get it turned around. Slow and steady, Blade, slow and steady, he told himself. This isn't the place to use the Hovercraft's speed. He knew that most of his unusual nervousness came from the woman sitting beside him. He also knew that nervousness would do her no good at all. He took more deep breaths.