A Fistful of Trouble (Outlaws of the Galaxy Book 2) Paul Tomlinson (reading strategies book .TXT) 📖

are going over to the house?” she asked.

“We’re going to blast our way in,” I said.

“Or you could use the tunnel,” Harmony said.

“Tunnel?”

“The Colonel uses it to get from his house to the bunker. No one else knows about it. The secret entrance is just down the corridor.”

“How do you know about it?” I asked.

“It leads to a secret door in the house, it comes out under the stairs.”

“How do you know?”

“I’ve been using it to move around,” Harmony admitted. “Last night I slept in one of the Colonel’s guest bedrooms. They didn’t know I was there.” She grinned.

She slept in a feather bed while I was chained up in a cell worrying that she was chained up next-door. I was annoyed. But I did have to admit that she had guts and she had style. And she was better at the whole sneaking around like a thief thing than I was.

“Will Floyd fit in the tunnel?” I asked.

Harmony nodded. “But the door at the other end will be a bit of a squeeze.”

“I’ll breathe in,” Floyd said.

“Wait for us at the back of the house,” I said to Harmony. “No shooting anyone and don’t blow anything up.”

“You’re a lot more fun when you’ve got your clothes off,” Harmony said. “You should probably zip up, unless you’ve got anything else stashed in there.”

“Four of the robots have been dispatched to deal with us,” Floyd said.

“Only four?” Harmony said. “Colonel Hodge underestimates us.”

“Let’s hope he keeps doing that,” I said. I zipped my fly.

Harmony showed us the door to the tunnel. It was disguised as the cover to a ventilation shaft. Floyd and I entered the tunnel and Harmony closed the door behind us.

“Do you trust her?” Floyd asked.

“Of course not,” I said.

“Good. Because I don’t trust either of you.”

It was going to be a long time before Floyd forgave me.

“Would it help if I told you how sorry I was?”

“Don’t talk to me,” he said.

Chapter Thirty

“I’m not leaving,” Patricia Brennan said.

We were in the bedroom that Colonel Hodge had assigned to her. It was very feminine. She was dressing for dinner and didn’t seem especially concerned when I picked the lock and came through the door.

“Why not?”

“I’m not some swooning princess who needs a knight in shining armour to rescue her.”

“I’m not going to carry you out of here,” I said. “I just want to help you escape.”

“I don’t want to escape. I have made my decision.”

Knights in shining armour never have these problems.

“Do you think it’s heroic of you to give in and do what Colonel Hodge wants?”

“I don’t want anyone else to be hurt,” she said.

“That’s going to happen whatever decision you make.”

“The Colo... Damian has given me his word,” she insisted.

“You think if you jump into bed with him that will keep the town and your husband safe?”

“Damian hasn’t laid a finger on me. He’s being a perfect gentleman.”

“For now,” I said. “But he knows that you’ll do anything. All he has to do is threaten your husband.”

Her face clouded. “Then perhaps I will deal with Damian Hodge in my own way,” she snapped. “A knife in the ribs. Poison. A pillow over his face. He’ll never see it coming.”

“I have no doubt that you can deal with him,” I said. I could see it in her eyes. “But what about that army out there? You can’t smother a robot while it sleeps.”

“Then what would you have me do?”

“Leave here with me,” I said. “Because no matter what the Colonel has promised you, the troops in the back garden are preparing to attack Cicada City. People are going to die.”

“Can we stop them?”

“I’m not sure. Yet. But I have the beginnings of a plan,” I said. “I’m going to need your husband’s help. And he’ll only go along with it if he knows you’re safe and won’t be caught in the crossfire.”

Patricia Brennan turned her back on me. I thought she needed time to think about my request.

“Help me out of this thing,” she said.

“Pardon?”

“The dress. It was a nightmare to get into. And I certainly can’t run in the damn thing.”

I reached for the zipper. “It’s rather... er... tight.”

“It’s two sizes too small. I think Damian remembers me as I was twenty years ago.”

“Oops, that’s torn it,” I said.

“I don’t care. Just get hold of the top of it and yank it apart.”

“Do you have any scissors? Or a knife?”

“Try the top drawer of the dressing table.”

There was a knock on the door.

“Patricia, are you dressed?”

“Damian!” Patricia whispered.

“I didn’t lock the door behind me.”

“Hide!”

I ducked behind the curtain.

“The door’s open!” Patricia called. She stood facing it, making sure the Colonel wouldn’t see the tear in the back of her dress.

I heard the door open.

“Are you ready to go down to dinner?” Colonel Hodge asked.

“Not quite,” she said. “Why don’t I follow you down?”

“I don’t mind waiting,” he said. “The dress looks wonderful. I knew it would suit you.”

“I wasn’t sure which one to wear – there were so many.”

I admired the way she didn’t make that sound at all creepy.

“I want you to have nice things, Patricia,” the Colonel said.

I put my hand over my mouth so he wouldn’t hear my retching noises.

“This morning when you made your intentions clear,” Patricia said, “I didn’t quite know how to respond.”

“You don’t need to say anything,” he said.

“That’s good. Because I don’t think I can put it into words. But I can show you.”

“Yes?” He was breathless with anticipation.

Thock!

I can’t remember ever hearing a punch that loud. I stepped out from behind the curtain, thinking I might need to intervene. The Colonel was lying on the carpet. Patricia was massaging her knuckles, ready to swing another one if the Colonel got up. But he was out cold.

“You’re going to need some ice for that hand,” I said.

“Let’s just get out of here.” She gripped the neck of the dress and began tearing it off. I didn’t offer to help.

Chapter Thirty-One

There are ghost towns all over Saphira.