Deep Black Road: The Head of the Snake

Chapter 34

They sped off down the road as fast as they could manage; but the flitters were still gaining.

"We've got no choice," said Suzanne. "If we're going to get out of this alive, we've got to stand and fight."

"Use your glow," said Ricky as they stopped and turned to face their enemy.

"How?"

"Touch the flitter with your glowing hand. That'll knock out the pilot."

"How's that work?"

Ricky hastily checked the flitters. "Trust me, okay?" And he shot into the air.

Suzanne followed him just as a plasma blast destroyed where they'd been standing.

#

"Missed!" shouted the flitter pilot who had fired the plasma gun. Then he radioed to Major Visier, "They took off right when I fired."

"Stay on them, and have your guns ready!" the major replied. "Don't let them get away!"

"Sir!"

They swung around, trying to face the robots, who were circling them.

#

"Get to where you're shielded from two of them!" Ricky radioed.

"Okay! I've got this one."

Ricky turned on the glow in his hand that wasn't holding Orkan's reactor, and grabbed a protruding part of the nearest flitter. This disabled the carnate pilot as planned; but Ricky found that he was also directly connected to the robotic pilot. Collecting himself, he ordered it to return the flitter to base.

The flitter Suzanne had disabled hung in the air while they both latched onto the remaining one.

"Watch what I'm doing," he said through the connection that now existed between them through the flitter, and commanded the flitter to return like his first one. Suzanne immediately understood, and went back to look after hers.

#

At the Pittsburgh city limits, they hid behind a clump of bushes.

"I've been monitoring the Network news ever since we left New Washington," Ricky said, "and it's like that incident at the House of the Federation never happened. Everybody's talking about the Ascendance of the Prophet."

"Whatever. You know, we really need to do something about our appearance. Right now we look like dweeb ninjas with all this black skin and these googly eyes."

"What are you suggesting? Going pink?"

"Hardly. We're trying to be inconspicuous. Can you turn off the black, say, only on your hands and head?"

"I don't know. I've never tried; but now's as good a time as any."

A few minutes later, he held out his hands, which were now pink. "That was pretty hard," he said. "I had to picture different parts of me being either in space or not."

"Okay. Show me how it's done."

Shortly after, Ricky stepped out onto the sidewalk.

A step behind him, Suzanne, 'dressed' in a black tee shirt and shorts, muttered, "It can't be helped."

"What?" radioed Ricky.

"Your butt crack," she radioed back. "It shows, even with the black; and no doubt so does mine. We'll have to walk fast, and hope nobody notices. Then maybe we can mooch some clothes from your dad's place."