“The women,” I whispered, pointing. “They can’t work all the time—and some of the bunks are occupied.”

“Like us digging rock, two shifts maybe, so work goes on right around the clock.”

We skirted around the silent building—and there they were—stretching out of sight in red—lit darkness. The tables. The women bent over them. The sudden rustle of sound, accompanied by the foul odor, as another mass of the finely ground rock was released.

“I want to talk to them,” I said. “They will certainly know more than we do about this place. They came here from somewhere—so if there is a way in there must be a way out.”

I started up and Berkk held my arm. “Not alone. I’m coming with you.”

We ran together to the nearest table, dropped down in its shadows by the legs of one of the workers. If she knew we were there she gave no sign. “Ni estas amikof,” I said. “Parolas Esperanto?”

At first she did not answer or respond. Just kept her arms swinging in slow motion over the moving surface of the table, then she stopped but did not look down.

“Yes. Who are you—what are you doing here?”

“Friends. What can you tell us about this place?”

“There is nothing to tell. We work. Finding that which must be found. When we find enough, that thing knows about it. It always knows. Then it comes and takes what we have found and then we can eat and sleep. Then we work again. That is all there is.”

As her voice died away her hands began their slow sweeping motions again.

“What thing?” I asked. “What makes you work?”

She lifted her arm, then turned and slowly pointed across the table. “That thing, over there.”

I raised my head up just high enough to look—dropped down instantly and fearfully pulled Berkk after me into deeper shadow.

“Her thing is my robot. The one I told you about, that brought me here. It’s the devil in this particular corner of hell.”

“What do we do?” There was fear in his voice as well—for good reason.

“I tell you what we don’t do—we don’t let it see us. We’ll be dead, or at the very best back with the rocks and our obnoxious keeper, Buboe.”

We pressed as hard as we could against the dusty flank of the table. Hoping that we were concealed by the shadows as the robot appeared farther down the line of structures.

A woman was with it, head down, shuffling slowly—along. They walked towards the building we had so recently left. Passed so close that the smears of rust were clearly visible on the robot’s flank. That single glowing eye. As they entered one of the doorways I scrambled to my feet.

“Let’s go—as far away from that robot as we can get!”

Berkk needed no urging, was in fact well ahead of me in what was possibly a life—or—death race.

No heads turned in our direction as we ran by; the women’s aims kept sweeping, brushing.

“Something up ahead there, lights of some kind. Maybe buildings,” Berkk said.

I took a look behind us and put on a panic burst of speed; enough to pass him.

“It’s seen us. It’s coming after us!’~

When I dared to look again it was closer, running faster than us, steel legs pumping like pistons. We couldn’t win—

I turned my head back just in time to see one of the women leave her position at the table, just a silhouetted figure against the distant lights. She turned and was stepping out in front of me. I tried to go around her but she put her arms out to grab me. A sudden twist and I was thrown breathless to the ground.

An instant later Berkk fell on top of me. And the robot was almost there!

The woman arrived first. Throwing her body forward so that she landed on top of both of us, her face almost pressing against mine.

“It’s about time you showed up,” Angelina said.

Chapter 23

Darkness vanished and I blinked against the sudden glare of bright lights. I could feel Berkk writhing under me—while directly before my eyes was the most beautiful sight in all of the known, and unknown, galaxy.

Angelina’s black—smeared smiling face. I lifted my head and kissed the tip of her nose.

“Errgle,” Berkk errgled, trying to wriggle out from under our weight. I moved a bit so he could get free, still clutching harder to Angelina’s warm, firm body. We kissed enthusiastically and it was more of heaven than the Heaven we had just left would ever be.

“When you are through with that you might report what you found,” Coypu said. I would recognize that voice anywhere. We separated reluctantly and stood up. Still holding hands.

Behind Coypu was a very familiar laboratory.

“We’re in Special Corps Prime Base!” I said.

“Obviously, We moved the entire operation back here when you failed to return from Heaven. Slakey is very dangerous people. Soon after we got here there were a number of attempts to penetrate our defenses. They have all failed and the shields are stronger than ever.”

“You would like a drink?” Angelina said, whistling over the robar. “Two double Venerian Vodka Coolers.”

“After you, my darling. And another for my friend, Berkk, here.”

He still sat on the floor, looking around and gaping. His fingers clutched the glass the robar gave him and we all glugged enthusiastically.

“Now, tell me, Professor,” I said, hokling out my glass for a—refill. “What was Angelina doing in that terrible place—..and how did she get us back?”

Before he could answer the door burst open and Bolivaror was it James?—burst in followed by his brother. With Sybil a short pace behind.

“Dad!” There were enthusiastic embraces all around, and some more drinks from the robar so we could toast our successful return. As we lowered our glasses Berkk dropped his. When he bent over to pick it up he just kept going, falling heavily to the floor, unconscious. I grabbed his wrist—almost no pulse at all.

“Medic!” I shouted as I rolled him onto his back and opened his mouth to make sure that his air passages were clear. But as I did this I was pushed not—too—gently aside by the medbot that had dropped Out of the ceiling. It put a manipulator into Berkk’s mouth to secure his tongue. At the same time it pressed an analyzer against his skin, took a blood sample, extruded a pillow under his head, did a fast body scan, covered him with a blanket and had already radioed for a doctor who burst through the door scant instants later.

“Stand clear,” he ordered as the medbot slid an expanding metal web under Berkk’s body, popped wheels out of the ends and carefully drove off with him. “The surgeon is standing by,” the doctor said. “There appears to be a small blood clot on the patient’s brain, undoubtedly caused by a blow to the skull. Prognosis good.” He hurried after the medbot while Sybil hurried after him.

“I’ll see what happens and report back,” she said. She left with Bolivar and James right behind her. The three were inseparable now. Which might lead to problems that I did not wish to consider at this moment.

This put a bit of a damper on the party and we sipped glumly at our drinks. Before we finished them—modern medicine sure works fast—Coypu’s phone rang and he grabbed it up. Listened, nodded, then smiled.

“Thank you, Sybil,” he said and hung up. “Operation successful, out of danger, no permanent brain damage. He’ll stay in narcsleep until the treatment is finished.”

We cheered at that. “Thank you, Professor,” I said. “With this last emergency out of the way we can now relax and listen. While you tell us how my Angelina managed to drag me out of the hell in Heaven and how she got there in the first place. After which we will try to figure out what all the strange happenings that have been going on really mean. Professor.”

“We will take the explanation one step a time, if you don’t mind. To go back to the beginning. When you did not return after a good deal of time had passed I activated your undetectable interuniversal activator and the boot returned. Without you. Since you were not wearing the boot I reached the inescapable conclusion that my machine had been detected. Therefore I had to improve its undetectability. I did this rather quickly because I was feeling very, very rushed.”