Shadows, стр. 25
Tanavuna turned to get his own men moving when he overheard one of Moorefield’s men speaking with another.
“What did you just say?” Tanavuna asked, whirling to face the man.
“Sir, I—”
“What did you say?”
“I said we found tire tracks north of the city, and it was strange because they stopped without going anywhere.”
“Show me!”
Sergeant Brakkel was already descending the stairwell cut into the plateau, with Second Squad right behind him. Sergeant Scussian was about to follow the guide down to the breached wall. On hearing Tanavuna’s command, he stopped and turned back.
“Lieutenant, doesn’t Major Moorefield expect you to join him in the Inner City right away?”
Tanavuna squinted, thinking. Scussian was right; those were his mission orders from Major Moorefield, but he needed to pursue any clue as to Kesteluni’s whereabouts. Maybe those tire tracks were nothing. It wasn’t much to go on, after all, and changing the mission plan based on hope and instinct went against all of his training. Yet he also knew that he was going to do exactly that. He also had an excuse—a thin one, it was true—but an excuse all the same.
“We were ordered to find alternative exits that might be used by HVTs to escape, and I was given discretion in doing that. Find Major Moorefield and tell him I’m taking three men with me.” He pointed out two of the older men, Ammaii and Kuun, plus Kuun’s younger brother, Unaa. “Take the rest of Third Squad and reinforce Second Squad. Brief Captain Cutter on the situation but wait until I’ve been gone for ten minutes. Until you link up with Major Moorefield, you’re in tactical command. If these tire tracks amount to nothing, I’ll join you soon.”
Scussian’s expression showed that he wanted to argue, but he didn’t; Tanavuna had a reputation for fairness and patience…unless you argued with him. The sergeant nodded.
“Take me to this place with the tracks,” Tanavuna said to Moorefield’s man. “And be fast; time is not our friend.”
“I’ve got a small truck, Lieutenant, but I should ask Major Moorefield first…”
“I will accept the responsibility.” The muzzle of his M14 shifted slightly in the man’s direction. “Now show me this place!”
* * *
Standing in the powered vehicle, Tanavuna gripped a rail as it bumped across the plateau. He and his men scanned for any sign of wheel tracks. By that point, Sergeant Brakkel had to be well into the tunnel and moving toward Imsurmik underground. Part of Tanavuna still thought it was a mission he should have been leading instead of putting it off on his two sergeants. Either of them could have investigated the mysterious tire tracks…should have investigated them, not the only officer on the spot.
Yet wheel tracks to nowhere had to be explored; those were his orders. He had said nothing about the feeling that it would lead him to Kesteluni because, despite his agreement to carry out the primary mission first, he couldn’t bring himself to pass up a chance to find her. It was selfish, reckless, and dangerous, but—in the moment—he didn’t care.
“We will get her back,” Ammaii said. Even with his face wrapped against the blistering sunlight, the deep-cut lines in the man’s forehead showed his age. He’d been a close friend of Tanavuna’s father. “I’ve known Kesteluni since she was a baby, and I’ll die before I let these scavengers have her.”
Kuun, never a talkative sort, nodded in agreement, as did Unaa and Tanavuna; more words weren’t necessary.
“There,” said Moorefield’s man, pointing ahead. As soon as the vehicle stopped, Tanavuna jumped out. Trotting near the tracks, he motioned for the others to stay back. He walked back and forth parallel to the ruts in the dirt but always a few yards away from them. Then he waved his men forward.
“Many have passed here on foot, and their tracks end where the wheel tracks do. They came from the airship towers—” he pointed behind them, “—and several days have passed since these prints were made. There must be a way underground. Look for some type of door.”
Kuun found it within a minute and signaled them over. Ropes ran under the dirt and were affixed to a scrub tree as camouflage. Brown leaves clung to its dead branches, but under the punishing suns it was only one among thousands. Seconds later, they had the door’s seams outlined clearly in the dirt, but from thirty feet away, it was invisible.
Tanavuna followed the tracks leading to the trap door ten paces to the west, from the direction of Nuthhurfipiko. Shading his eyes, he could make out the trail for more than a mile.
“They brought Kesteluni this way,” he said with conviction that brooked no argument. “We will find her through this door.”
Moorefield’s man ran back to the vehicle to inform the major of their discovery and to get further orders. Tanavuna already had the orders he needed, though: investigate any additional ways into the city. For a brief flash, he wondered if the order had originated with Murphy or Cutter, and if it was Cutter, whether the captain had foreseen the situation confronting him. His mind shifted back to action.
“How do we get in?” asked Ammaii. “We have no explosives powerful enough to blast it open.”
“No, we do not.” One thing Cutter had emphasized throughout his leadership training was that logic and calmness always prevailed in stressful situations. Leaders who gave in to emotion invariably failed in their missions. Tanavuna had always been quick to anger and fast to