Kelly listened. At first the lazy trickle of the water was the only thing he could hear, but gradually he realized the area was alive with sounds that came to him to be identified one at a time – a bird call, the scurry of a small animal in the nearby brush. Were there poisonous snakes in this part of the country? Of course there were.
"A sitting duck…" he murmured under his breath. He'd never felt so completely and utterly helpless, not even on any of the numerous occasions his life had been in serious jeopardy. There had always been something he could do – find a way out of the proverbial locked room, stage a creative diversion, or employ the old tried-and-true spy tactic known as 'making a break for it'.
Not this time. He was fresh out of ideas, completely dependent on Scotty to return and lead him out of this hiding place and on to the next one. The fresh, warm air on his face told him which direction was the way out, but not the faintest glimmer of light reached him no matter how he strained. He closed his eyes again, and the pain eased up a little. He didn't remember much about the crash. One minute they'd been airborne and speeding above the desert towards Albuquerque, and the next Scotty had been pulling him across the sand away from the flaming wreck. All they'd been able to salvage from the mission was the knowledge that they'd come a little too close to Daegger's center of operations out here in the high desert, not quite close enough to pinpoint its location, but the hornets' nest was definitely close enough to smell. As for the head hornet, he knew they were spies and intended to kill them. And he'd damn near succeeded.
A sudden heavy sound from outside stood every nerve in his body on end, and Kelly turned with his hands reflexively extended in a martial arts guarding stance. Then a familiar voice reached him through his darkness.
"Steady there, Ace. I come in peace."
"Would you mind knocking next time?" Kelly asked, letting his hands fall back to his sides. "Once for friend and twice for foe would be helpful… I can't tell the players without a scorecard, and I can't see the scorecard."
"Well, if you feel like hanging around here, that's okay with me."
"You have something else in mind?"
"I do indeed."
00o00
Scott led him in a circuitous route to the farmhouse, wary of being spotted. Along the way he briefed Kelly on the situation.
"A girl, huh?" was Kelly's first comment.
Scott sighed. "Let me remind you of something that might have slipped your mind: we're in more than a little bit of trouble here, and this is not the time or the place for you to go trying to line up a date to the junior prom."
"I hear you, I hear you."
"Great; then all you have to work at is understanding me." He knew Kelly well enough to be assured he didn't need any reminders to take their situation seriously, nor could he blame Kelly for wanting a diversion or two from what had to be some pretty grim inner thoughts at the moment. They had shelter now, and that was definitely a step in the right direction.
The girl watched from the kitchen window as they quickly closed the distance to the house. She opened the door and took Kelly's arm while Scott made a visual check from the doorway to make sure they hadn't been followed. At first pulling back from the sudden unfamiliar touch, Kelly had his conditioned reflexes under control in a couple of seconds and put his hand on hers.
"How does it look out there, Scotty?" he asked.
"Olly olly in free," his partner replied, carefully closing the door. "Looks like we're in the clear."
"That's what I wanted to hear."
"I'm about ready for something to go right myself."
Kelly explored the delicate, feminine hand that guided him across the unfamiliar room. "What does she look like?"
Scott considered the blonde's youthful curves. "She wouldn't be too bad, except for her teeth."
"What about them?"
"They're in a glass on the windowsill."
Kelly managed a laugh, a feat in itself under the circumstances. "It's fortunate for you, sir, that the lady didn't hear you say that."
He was leaning a little more heavily on the girl than his condition warranted, Scott had no trouble noticing. "Need a remind you, my friend, that we are…"
"… in deep trouble; yes sir, I do recall."
The girl's eyes, Scott noticed, never strayed from Kelly – input from her sight, her primary sense, was what she focused on. And it looked as though Kelly was already learning a few things about sensory enhancement – if his hand on her shoulder was any indication. Scott cleared his throat purposefully. "Fine. Her name's Rachel, that much I got from passing a couple of notes back and forth."
"Rachel. I like that. What else?"
"She's bald, weighs six hundred pounds, and chews tobacco. Anything else I can help you with?"
"No, thanks, that'll just about do it for me. You're all heart, Scotty."
"That's what they tell me."
Kelly had already employed his own information processing system, independent of his partner's caustic sense of humor. The silky strands of hair that brushed the back of his hand were blonde, he guessed. The slender fingers resting on his arm hold him six hundred pounds was undoubtedly an estimate on the high side. And far from smelling like tobacco, the girl had a clean, sweet scent about her that he found both pleasant and alluring. The picture his mind was painting for him was definitely an encouraging one. "How much did you tell her?"
"Only that you and I had a little accident and managed to get ourselves lost. Knowing more than that might not be too healthy for her in the long run. Next step is to find out exactly where 'here' is, in regards to Las Cruces or any other outpost of humanity in striking distance."
"Outstanding. I think that's your department, sir."
"What were you figuring on doing?"
"Me? Oh… well… I've been thinking about passing out…"
Even if it had been a joke it wouldn't have been very funny. Scotty managed to catch Kelly just before he would have slumped to the floor, maneuvered him to the sofa and got his feet up. Damn… Kelly's impressive reserve of strength had finally run out. Well, better here than in the middle of the desert; if he had to fold up, at least he'd picked a reasonably safe spot to do it in.
