LOGAN (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 5) (15 page)

"In another day or two," Robin said, "we could all be just like them. We might even give up the idea of getting out of here."

Logan forced himself to remember what his attitude had been twenty-four hours ago. As good as he felt at the moment, he knew that wasn't the case then. He would never have acted on his desire for Tarla yesterday and he definitely would not have spouted his private thoughts to her. It was as if all his personal barriers had been stripped, leaving him vulnerable... and mindless. Just like the puppet people around them.

"Okay," Logan said in a voice that was almost back to normal. "We're being relaxed in some way. How?"

"The food?" Robin offered.

"The water?" Logan asked, immediately thinking about how many gallons he had consumed already.

"I was being facetious about the air before but we shouldn't rule that possibility out," Geoffrey said. "Or sonic waves, either."

Tarla sighed. It could be anything. "Obviously, we can't stop breathing or absorbing sound. And we might be able to fast for a day or two, but eventually we'd have to eat and drink again. The only way we'll be able to avoid whatever it is, is to locate the source. And only our caretakers have the answer to that."

"True," Logan stated. "But at least we can fast as long as possible, while we step up our escape plan."

"We have an escape plan?" Robin asked in surprise.

Logan laughed. "That's Geoff's department. He claimed he's a master of strategy."

Geoffrey made a face. "I believe I did say something along those lines." He rubbed his chin as he organized his thoughts. "All right. Let's start with what we know. The barn is a go-between but it's impregnable. An ill person can get out of here, but only if he's alone and then he's gassed first."

"We might be able to block the flow tube without them knowing it, so the patient could stay conscious," Logan suggested.

Geoffrey shook his head. "But that would still only be one person."

"Sometimes a single man can be more effective than a whole squad," Logan reminded him.

Again Geoffrey contradicted him. "Only when he knows what he's up against."

Robin brightened with an idea. "What if a whole squad was in the tack room, but hiding? You know, create an optical illusion for whoever is watching so they think there's only one man in there?"

"Excellent idea," Geoffrey said with a grin. "When all the candles are extinguished, it's completely black in there. We could set it up in darkness, during the night, then surprise them."

Tarla played devil's advocate. "At most, you could only hide a dozen people in there. Besides, we have no weapons. That's not much against an unknown power. I think we should hold off trying that until we're positive there's no break in the invisible wall where the whole company could get through at once."

Geoffrey nodded. "That would be preferable, but from what we've been told, I don't have much hope of our finding such a break. At any rate, the team examining the wall will be reporting back this evening. We should work on the tack room plan this afternoon and have it ready to go if the findings on the wall are negative. We could try it tonight. Agreed?" He met each of their eyes.

"Agreed," they replied in unison.

"Robin and I can spread the word about fasting," Tarla said.

Geoffrey gave another nod of agreement. "I'll start working on the optical illusion. Logan, are you willing to head up the squad?"

"Of course. Besides, I'm probably the best decoy we've got since they already treated me and shouldn't be suspicious if I claim to have another migraine."

"Good. Then I'll leave it up to you to select the others that will go with you."

Logan accepted with a thumbs-up sign. To Tarla he said, "Don't worry about our being unarmed. There are plenty of things in the tack room and elsewhere around the farm that could be used as weapons. It won't be the first time I've had to improvise."

"That's it then," Geoffrey said and everyone nodded their agreement.

"I have a different question," Robin said. "Has anyone else noticed that only one sun rose this morning?"

Although they looked skyward with some bemusement, only Geoffrey responded. "I suppose if there were still any question of whether or not we've been drugged, not noticing the absence of a ball of fire in the sky would seem to prove it. Perhaps it's more of a moon orbiting the sun than a secondary sun. It will be interesting to see how long it takes to reappear."

"Duncan mentioned something about that," Tarla recalled, trying to pull the memory out of her foggy brain. "I think he said, when a new person arrived, there was always a storm and the second sun. Could that be important?"

Geoffrey shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. Either way, we can't afford to ignore anything here. Thank you, Robin."

She made a face. "Noticing that an entire sun has vanished from the sky doesn't take a brainiac. Maybe I'm immune to the drug."

"That could be important also," Geoffrey said seriously. When no one had anything else to discuss at the moment, he ended their meeting.

As they each got up and threw out the remains of their lunch, Logan motioned Tarla aside, but she spoke before he could. "Before you start apologizing, I want you to know that what happened was obviously a result of whatever is being done to all of us. I don't blame you, nor do I hold you responsible for anything said. And I hope that you will forget my behavior as well."

Logan gazed down into her eyes for several heartbeats before speaking. "You took the words right out of my mouth." Without another word, he turned and went about his assignment.

Tarla had to fight the temptation to call him back. The way he had looked at her made her think she had hurt his feelings. But she knew his expression was no more genuine than the tender, respectful way he had treated her, or the beautiful romantic words he had spoken. He had been manipulated to behave that way by some unseen force. It was very similar to the way the narcotics in the hospital had altered his personality. Only this time, she had been affected as well.

How else could she have forgotten how he really felt? Now that she was aware of the cause though, she could make certain nothing like that ever happened again.

What a terrible shame
, the little voice in her head whispered, for nothing quite like that had ever happened to her before.

As she struggled to dismiss the entire episode, another unsettling realization sunk in. More than likely, a caretaker had observed her moment of weakness. How could she have so completely forgotten the probability that they were being observed from the instant Logan had bolted the door? It wasn't logical but the thought of the love scene being enacted for another being's amusement was terribly upsetting.

Throughout the rest of the day they each performed the tasks agreed upon. At one point, Tarla felt as though someone were watching her. She turned around and met Logan's gaze. Again she read something so vulnerable in his eyes that she had to stop herself from going to him. When he realized she was looking back, he had hardened his expression and turned away. She fortified herself with the hope that their plan would be a success and things would soon be back to normal.

All of the soldiers and nurses were cautioned about the food and water before dinner. The fast caused some half-hearted grumbling but everyone was too relaxed to make a serious fuss.

When the team that had been examining the wall came in, their report was a confirmation of Duncan's statements. The invisible barrier began at one rear corner of the barn and ended at the other. The back wall of the structure was apparently part of the barrier. There was no interruption or detectable weakness around the entire perimeter. It couldn't be scaled and went far higher than anything they could construct to climb over it. They had dug a twenty-foot deep hole, but the wall appeared to be bottomless.

They now had no choice but to attempt an escape through the tack room.

Geoffrey had selected five men and women to assist him in preparing the hiding places within the room. In case they were being observed, one person at a time went into the tack room to fetch or return an item and did their best to make their actions appear innocuous.

When everything was in place, Geoffrey met with Logan's team, which consisted of nine other men, Lee and Alicia. Logan and Geoffrey had decided that the major should stay behind. Each was given a diagram of the tack room and an assigned spot so they would be able to find it in the dark. The tube would be blocked only when the maneuvers began.

Taking advantage of what was available on the farm, each member of Logan's team had at least two weapons. Knives, cleavers, pitchforks, hammers and a variety of other implements had been scavenged by sundown.

As any good leader would, Logan warned them of the risks involved. For all he knew, they could be about to face an army of alien beings whose minds were all the weapons they needed. They could be charging into a situation more dangerous than anything they'd faced in the Orient. Their escape attempt could result in retaliation that would make their future even bleaker than it already was.

He gave each person the option to back out. No one did.

Since they had no way of knowing if activities outside the tack room were observed, it was decided that everyone else should retire to their tents as they had the night before. If anyone was watching, everything should appear to be normal.

Tension mounted throughout the evening as the time for action approached. Tarla knew part of the reason was coming from anticipation but she hoped it also meant that whatever had been relaxing everyone was losing strength. She asked one person after another if they could tell any difference since they had stopped eating and drinking but no one could be positive. Finally she sought out the one individual who seemed to have been the most drastically altered. Standing outside the circle of men and women around Logan, she waited for him to notice her then asked, "Could I speak to you for a moment?"

He excused himself from his team and walked away with her.

When she was certain no one could overhear, she stopped and looked up at him. "I want to wish you good luck."

He accepted her wish with a stiff nod. "You could have said that in front of everyone else."

She flinched at the harsh edge in his voice. "You're back to normal, I see."

With a negligent shrug, he said, "More or less. At least I'm in control of what I'm doing. Adrenaline alone has been known to counteract some pretty strong drugs, but it's been ten hours of no food or water and everyone seems to be getting back to being tense. So I'm fairly sure that's the delivery system."

"That's what I was thinking also." There was more she had wanted to say, but it no longer seemed necessary. They were back to being hostile acquaintances. "Good luck, then," she said and held out her hand.

He hesitated a second before taking it and, when he did, he held it considerably longer than necessary. She tried not to think about how the simple contact caused her heart to pick up its pace or how warm and strong his hand felt enveloping her own, or what she saw in his eyes. He had claimed he was in
better
control. Now she understood what he had not said. He still wanted her.

What she didn't understand at all was how hard she had to fight the urge to drag him to her tent and finish what they'd started in the tack room.

* * *

Immediately after Iris of Mergany had received the report of the unusual amount of activity in and out of the tack room that afternoon, she assigned a second technician to the monitors. It could be nothing but she didn't want to take any chances. They were both instructed to keep her posted and take no decisive actions regardless of how routine or peculiar it seemed to be.

Now it appeared that her precautions were warranted. The visual showed the first man who had been brought over the day before. He was again claiming to have a terrible headache. Had she not ordered the techs otherwise, they would have automatically opened the door to bring him over.

"Do a slow scan of the entire room," Iris said. The one candle lantern he had carried in with him didn't provide much light, but it was sufficient to confirm he was alone. "Fine. Transmit the anesthesia."

The first tech flipped the proper switch and almost instantly a red warning light appeared on the panel. She directed the computer to run a check on the system.

Iris watched the man on the screen slump over as he should have and thought the light was a false alarm. A few seconds later the system check was complete and a message flashed across the screen announcing a blockage in the pipe. But if it was blocked, the man should still be conscious.

"Bring up a life signs report."

The tech pressed a series of keys and the visual of the man blacked out. Instantly a white rectangle was drawn on the screen, in which the letters A through L were printed along the inside edges.

SPECIFY LIFE FORM OR PRESS ENTER FOR ALL

Iris stared at the words on the monitor and counted the letters. There were eleven other people inside that room! Neither she nor the techs had seen them. How very ingenious of these Earth men. She could hardly wait to share this information with Parisia.

"It appears that our new crossovers had thought to surprise us, ladies," Iris declared. "But due to your diligence, we have a surprise for them. Do nothing. Eventually they'll tire of their cramped quarters and give up. We will have to be even more observant for the next twenty-four hours in case they have any more ideas for escaping the commune. After that though, we should be able to return to our normal routines. Just continue to keep me advised, as you have, and pass the instructions on to your relief in the morning."