they would have spent hours flying over Africa, with Belderkan fighters in hot pursuit, other nations joining the chase and the world uproar gaining volume. By transmitter, if all went well, they could have Umluana in Geneva in an hour. They were racing toward Miaka, a branch transmitter station. From Miaka they would transmit to the Belderkan Preserve, a famous tourist attraction whose station could transmit to any point on the globe. Even now a dozen inspectors were taking over the Game Preserve station and manning its controls. They had made no plans to take over Miaka. They planned to get there before it could be defended. "There's no military base near Miaka," Rashid said. "We might get there before the Belderkans." "Here comes our escort," Read said. A big car rose from the jungle. This one had a recoilless rifle mounted on the roof. The driver and the gunner waved and fell in behind them. "One thing," Read said, "I don't think they'll shoot at us while _he's_ in the car." "Don't be certain, corporal. All these strong-arm movements are alike. I'll bet Umluana's lieutenants are hoping he'll become a dead legend. Then they can become live conquerors." Sergeant Rashid came from Cairo. He had degrees in science and history from Cambridge but only the Corp gave him work that satisfied his conscience. He hated war. It was that simple. Read looked back. He saw three spots of sunlight about two hundred feet up and a good mile behind. "Here they come, Sarge." Rashid turned his head. He waved frantically. The two men in the other car waved back. "Shall I duck under the trees?" the driver asked. "Not yet. Not until we have to." Read fingered the machine gun he had picked up when he got in the car. He had never been shot at. Twice he had faced an unarmed mob, but a few shots had sent them running. Birds flew screaming from their nests. Monkeys screeched and threw things at the noisy, speeding cars. A little cloud of birds surrounded each vehicle. The escort car made a sharp turn and charged their pursuers. The big rifle fired twice. Read saw the Belderkan cars scatter. Suddenly machine-gun bullets cracked and whined beside him. "Evade," Rashid said. "Don't go down." Without losing any forward speed, the driver took them straight up. Read's stomach bounced. A shell exploded above them. The car rocked. He raised his eyes and saw a long crack in the roof. "Hit the floor," Rashid said. They knelt on the cramped floor. Rashid put on his gas mask and Read copied him. Umluana breathed like a furnace, still unconscious from the injection Rashid had given him. _I can't do anything_, Read thought. _They're too far away to shoot back. All we can do is run._ The sky was clear and blue. The jungle was a noisy bazaar of color. In the distance guns crashed. He 

 Prev. P 5/14 next