The getaway special Read Online Free Page A

orbit."
    "Velocity? How?"
    "Gravitation. We're falling toward the Moon. When we make our next hyperspace jump the velocity we gain will still be with us. We'll have to cancel it before we can go into Earth orbit."
    "Oh. Right." Judy tried to visualize the situation in her mind. Too close to the Moon; well, "Can you put us on the other side of the Earth?"
    "I don't want to fool around near the planets any more. I need to calibrate it. I think the danger of war is past, is it not?"
    Judy nodded. "Okay. Give me a minute to explain what we're going to do, then you can take us wherever you want. Within reason," she amended quickly. She turned on the radio again and said,
    "Control, this is Discovery . Doctor Meisner says that the Moon's gravitation is causing us to build up unwanted velocity. We'll have to make another hyperspace jump in order to leave the area, plus another series of jumps to calibrate the engine. We'll be out of radio contact for a while. Promise you won't let them blow up the world while we're gone? Over."
    "We'll do our best, Discovery . Things are a little hot down here." Judy imagined they were. If the ground controller didn't have a Marine holding a pistol to his head within the next couple of minutes she would be very surprised. "Just keep the lid on until we get back," she told him. "Remind the President that this would be a really stupid time to go to war."
    "We'll do that. Good luck, Discovery ."
    "Good luck to you. Discovery out." Judy switched off the radio, turned around, and screamed. 3
    "Be calm," Gerry said as he floated up through the mid-deck hatchway with the .45 from the emergency survival kit in his hand. "Allen, you may continue with your jump. Judy, you will please come away from the controls."
    "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.
    "I'm appropriating this vessel for the Russian Federation. You won't be harmed so long as you do as I say."
    "Come off it, Gerry. You're not going to fire that thing in here. One stray shot and you'd lose all your air."
    "There is that risk. I'd have preferred a less destructive weapon, but the survival kit doesn't carry a dart gun. I'll just have to be careful not to miss, won't I? Now come away. Slowly, that's it." He reached out and stopped her in midair, leaving her floating where he could see her move long before she reached anything to push off against.
    He glanced out the aft windows at the surface of the Moon beyond the cargo bay and said, "Allen, you may move us away now." He kept the gun aimed at Judy as he spoke. Allen swallowed. "Right." He turned to the keyboard and began keying in coordinates.
    "Why are you doing this, Gerry?" Judy asked. "You're not a Russian."
    "That depends on your definition. I've been a sleeper agent since before I entered the space program, since before the Union collapsed. In any case, my nationality is not the issue. What matters is my belief that the Federation should have this device."
    Allen cleared his throat. "I, uh, I was planning on giving it to everybody. You see, part of the reason I did things the way I did was to get everybody's attention so they wouldn't think it was a hoax when I sent the plans out over the internet."
    Gerry shook his head. "A noble thought. Unfortunately, the world isn't ready for it. Russia will have to keep your idea secret until the rest of humanity is sufficiently civilized to handle something this dangerous."
    "Bullshit," Judy said. "You can't believe that. You want to keep it for yourself. You want Russia to be a big superpower again, and you think this will—"
    Gerry waved the pistol at her. "Be quiet. Allen, you will make the jump now." Allen turned back to his keyboard and pushed the transmit key. The radio sent its timing pulse, but nothing else happened.
    "What—?" He looked out the window, pushed the key again, and again. Still nothing changed.
    "I must have miskeyed it," he said. He entered the coordinates again, canceled the tinier and reset it, and hit "Jump"