Cold Welcome

^{CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO}

Rafe Dunbarger jerked as if he’d been stabbed and dropped the plate of eggs he’d just picked up.

Grace looked up. “What’s wrong?”

“I—I have to go—” He turned on his heel and walked unsteadily, swiftly, in the direction of the guest suite.

His face was a peculiar unhealthy shade; she wondered what he’d eaten the day before. “Does he do that often?” she asked Teague.

“Not very,” Teague said. Grace glared at him, but Teague seemed impervious to her glares. “It may be his temporary biosculpt wearing off.”

“I forgot about that,” Grace said. She hadn’t, but it was a possible explanation.

“We should let him alone,” Teague said, spreading jam on toast.

“Tell me, Teague,” MacRobert said as he walked in. “Do you like fruitcake?”

“Fruitcake? That thing with dried fruit where they pour brandy on it and set it afire?”

“No,” Grace said, with a quelling glance at MacRobert. “That’s plum pudding. Quite different. I must make you a fruitcake sometime.” She looked at MacRobert. “Just a plain one, nothing fancy.”

“Where’s Rafe?” MacRobert said. “I have some information for him.”

“He felt ill,” Grace said. “He dropped that plate.” She pointed with her fork.

“Um,” MacRobert said. “Waste of good eggs.” He scooped it up and put the mess in the trash, then wiped the floor, finishing just as Rafe came back.

“She’s there,” he said, looking straight at Grace. “We made contact. She’s in one of those huts, as we thought.”

“How?” MacRobert asked as Grace said the same thing.

Rafe lifted one shoulder: refusal to answer. “She described the buildings; they’ve gotten into only the two huts and a shed with a generator. There’s electricity, but not for long—not enough fuel unless they find more.”

“She’s alone? How did she—”

“She’s not alone. She’s with the others that were on the shuttle, twenty of them. Some died from sabotage of the survival suits—the Commandant, his aide, the pilots, two more. And then two after. She’ll get me a list of names. I warned her about using the comunits, even if they come alive—that whoever’s secret this is will be aware the scans were unblocked for most of a day. She was exhausted, I could tell—but she’s alive!” He paused for breath, then went on. “They don’t have enough food for the whole winter; there’s some kind of entrance to a bunker or a mine, but it won’t open to the same code.”

Grace looked at MacRobert; his eyelid flickered. He thought he had figured something out. Teague had the totally blank expression he used when he was determined not to let anyone see anything of his reactions. Rafe—Rafe was excited, happy, ready to act.

“I need transport,” Rafe said. “A plane—long-range—that runway is long enough—”

“It’s more complicated than that,” MacRobert said. Rafe turned to glare at Grace.

“We haven’t told you everything yet,” she said. “It will take awhile.”